Zangskar

Hello from Padum! Our crew of seven students, two staff members, and Tashi have finished a ten-day trek through the Greater Himalayan Range, crossing a 16,500 foot pass through bitter snow in the Zangskar region of Ladakh, and camping beneath 20,000foot peaks. We've been shadowed by twelve ponies, three ponymen, a cook and a helper, to smooth out some of the rough edges of camping here. After the pass the weather gradually grew warmer and sunnier and today we enjoyed a day trip to the 700-yr-old Karsha Monastery wearing T-shirts and sandals. We've now been in India for two weeks, and will not reach our home at Secmol for another fifteen days. I couldn't handle the hair nappiness and decided to have a nice proper shave and haircut today in Padum. During the trek we covered about 80 miles with hardly any altitude problems at all. We harvested barley, played pony shoes, read Siddartha together and sort of adopted a dog for a little while. We visited the famous Phuktal Monastery, built into a cave and cliff above the Kargyak River. Over the next couple weeks, we're going to pass through Kargil in western Ladakh, stay at a nunnery in Mulbekh, and spend a few nights in Tashi's village before helping to harvest in the Sham region. The landscape is different from that I experienced here in the spring. Barley fields cast a golden glow over every village, and even the occassional patches of trees provide greens and yellows at least somewhat reminiscent of our autumn on the east coast, which we will all miss very much. Things couldn't be more beautiful here, but I'm most excited about my role here, and doing whatever I can to help this crew get as much as possible out of these three months here. And in the process I'm learning so much more about this land of intimidating mountains and gentle people, bright sun and glistening glaciers. More to come soon. I miss you all, and can't wait to see everyone at Thanksgiving time!