hi folks.
I have finished an 11 day trek to the pindari glacier and am now back in Ranikhet for a 5 day course in wilderness advanced first aid. in four days, i am going on a 14 day rafting expedition in the garwhal region of uttarakhand. then i'll be spending two weeks living with a family in munsiari (during elections!), then over a month trekking in the milam valley. COOL.
here's what I'm thinking about my time so far:
I turned 21 on a plane, which flew right through my birthday (12 hour time change, 14 hour flight). the flight attendants gave me a complimentary first class bottle of wine, which i shared with some new friends about 30,000 feet above greenland. speaking of which, i've met a lot of great people who i'll be spending quite a bit of time with.
during my hike in the pindari glacier, i spent a lot of time talking with one of my instructors named Reena. She is from darjeeling, has two sets of twins (aged 2 and 4), and her husband is currently climbing everest for the third time. we had a lot of great conversations about religion and natural history, and she's helped me with my hindi quite a bit.
the story of the himalayas is a sad one. in summary, the brits planted a lot of foreign pine trees which grew quickly and straightly, expediting the building of India's profitable railway. the pine needles are too acidic for the region, making the growth of any other plants nearly impossible, resulting in no undergrowth, erosion, landslides, floods, etc. the mixed forests that once comprised all of the indian himalaya now exists only in 4% of india. That 4% is the portion that I hike in. bo-gus.
during the trek i performed a 21st birthday rap for a new friend of mine atop Khati khal, got cloistered with another friend who sprained her ankle for three days with very little food, have mastered the indian left-hand-poop-wipe (which is superior to toilet paper), and met a dog friend named Kalu who slept in the vestibule of my tents, and followed our hiking groups for over a week.
the outdoors have been very good for my temperament. however, i am now faced with 4 more days of 8 hour class inside. That's going to be rough.
I hope yins are well! Let me know of releavant news in your lives either publically (comments) or privately at corner@nyu.edu. I'll be able to check this in a few days once more.
love,
dc
Hey Slim, We miss you. Thanks for keeping us up to date. It sounds wonderous. I had a call from Moura B today. I'm meeting her on Weds. to give her her camera. All is well here. Bri says there's a lot of girly conversations going on- I love having the girls home!We love you Dave and keep you close in our hearts, Mom
ReplyDeleteYou missed cake tasting for the wedding, but your time sounds a bit more exciting. Reind me to tell you NOT to share your left handed new talents!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's really a shame to see invasive species screw up an ecosystem...we've got a lot of that going on in Florida too.
ReplyDeleteThere have been riots in England, a shooting in Binghamton, and a couple of earthquakes since you've left. I can't think of any good news, sadly.
Thinking of you. I hope everything is wonderful and enlightening.