I can't move on without talking about electricity and the increased importance of solar

 Electricty seems to be everywhere, but continually, I heard the phrase: "Not working today." In small shops, shop owners offer candles to shop by or step outside to show merchandise customers seem interested in. I've enjoyed meals by candlelight because of: "Electricity not working tonight." Most businesses and homes are allowed four hours of eletricity which comes and goes randomly at all hours of the day and/or night. Hotels with steady electricity are those with generators.  Thus, solar panels are spreading  across the country, heating up water for "hot"showers and laundry and lighting up the night with solar streetlights,  living room lamps and  power source plug-ins. In the trekking regions, porters are carrying solar panels up steep mountainsides in order to attract trekkers who embrace the idea of hot showers and cell phone/tablet plug-ins. In the city of Kathnandu and in the highest regions of the Himalayas, solar power has made great strides in improving the lives of people.

Continued Progress Will Restore the Sacred Structures at Swayambhunath, The Monkey Temple

The beauty of this national heritage site will eventually be restored; meanwhile, it is a peaceful place to contemplate the meaning of the last picture…a memorial to…"a world of peace."

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The Devestation of the Earthquake Rippled across the Mountains and Hung Heavy Around the City of One Million People

Taking the short flight from Lukla–across the mountains–to Kathmandu resembled a scene from "Back to the Future" as the tiny plane linked two different worlds struggling to recover from the devistation of the earthquake. Kathmandu has the look of "business as usual" with some highlights of improvement that came through "an influx of cash" helping to "speed the recovery" of this poor country and its people in their "search for survival."

Along with construction workers rebuilding these  centuries old heritage sites, there are many volunteers working at sorting the sacred bricks and soil that will be used in part of the reconstruction process.

              

                                           

  

Friends on trail–some traveling during gap years–others negotiating time off to reassess; all richer for the experience

The opportunity to–trek with, talk with, laugh with–people from all over the world was stimulating and inspiring on many levels. They admired my tenacity at the age of seventy while I applauded their their determination to make the world a better place.

My favorite trail partners: Yaks

Yaks on the trail are a reminder of the heavy loads that must be carried to find the success we seek: to cross the finish line, to hustle to the top of a mountain, to reach the end of a trail, to survive the end of life, to make it through a debilitating injury or loss…the list goes on. The yaks are like the friends we have who help us shelter the task of moving forward when exhausted, of hanging on when life looks hopeless,  of trudging onward against the wind and preservering through all odds. When I hear the bells announcing another yak train, I stand back in awe at these amazing creatures and the what they stand for.

How can I go on to a life without bridges

Brides are like intersections: they connect porters, guides, trekkers, families, school children, workers and friends on one mountain with those on another mountain. Bridges shorten the journey, open up a breathtaking tapestry and offer opportunities to cross paths with ponies, yaks, related animals and unrelated people from all over the world. Bridges order a respectful closeness.                               

                             

Earthquake devistation on the trail

Huge mountain slides rearranged the landscape, sending us scampering around boulders, trees, rivers and across makeshift bridges. Pictures cannot begin to show the magnitude of the mountains releasing their long time hold on tons of rock, earth and sludge

  

Nor can the view of tiny bridges describe the anticipation and engagement of trekkers as reality sets in and eagerness takes hold.

Everywhere, sherpas are working on clearing, rebuilding and redesigning trails, crossings and housing.

Regardless of the work, simple brides capture and engage the attention of trekkers.

…and steep slides–ending at the river's edge–will linger in the souls of those passing on.

On my way down, gazing at one of my favorite villages–so close–yet so far away

Look closely to the right, and you will see my favorite mountain, Ama Dablam, poking up in the background. Study the plateau in the middle of the picture…see the charming snow covered village of Pangboche…full of tea houses, sherpa villagers, trekkers, Yak herders, sherpa  children…all living above 4,000 meters. I want to go there to play, but in a world without wheels, it is more than an arduous day away.

Glacier Lakes

 The Glacier Lakes reached out to greet us as we came over the mountain side. Lakes one and two had a lot of thawing, but early morning snow brought a white blanket over everything…causing the golden ducks to strut with prominence and flash their colors with flare. 

                      A snowstorm set the stage for a beauty pageant.     The Yaks showed up in their black coats and lumbered around trying to steal the show from the Golden Ducks; however, the ducks were not to be denied their fair share of the action. The traversed across the lakes, flasing their colors while ignoring the sounds of the frozen lakes shifting loudly.

Sharing three days with this arresting beauty
fullfilled my long awaited desire to trek around
the Glacier Lakes and witness the grandeur.