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At first it seemed ludicrous that we would need a large team of guides, porters, and animals for ten days of mountain hiking. But we were finally convinced that this is the way it's done out here and decided to go along with the program (with some skepticism). In Darjeeling, we met a couple of Canadians, Hannah and Jason, who also wanted to do some trekking. So with our group of four, we were accompanied by two sherpa guides, a cook, two kitchen helpers, three porters, two "yakmen", two djos (cross between a yak and a cow), and four horses. We had two sleeping tents, a dining tent with table and chairs, kitchen tent, and toilet tent. (The staff slept in the park service huts located at each campsite.)
All we had to carry was our daypacks with a camera and some warm clothes! And with hot coffee delivered to our tent at 6am every morning, afternoon tea, and three hot meals cooked on two huge kerosene stoves, it wasn't that hard to get used to the program.
Sadly, Jason suffered from an increasingly bad sinus infection as we moved to higher altitudes and colder climates. He and Hannah turned around and walked back to town on day five, taking a sherpa guide and two porters with them. That left Liza and I with our team of 7 staff and 6 animals for the rest of the trip. And, although it was bitter cold at times, our trek in the mist-shrouded lowlands, through bamboo forests, past giant rhododendrons, up to the high elevation silver fir forest, finally emerging at the base of snow-capped peaks high above the tree line, was one of the most magnificent hikes we've ever had. |
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