Team BEST Crosses Final High Pass
Friends, family and loved ones,
Big party last night to celebrate Sue’s birthday. Festivities included some singing, balloons, cake and some party favors supplied by Jack.
Some of the horses were still celebrating this morning.
We are now checking in from the other side of our last high pass. We had a longish but rewarding day as we climbed on a mostly moderate slope almost 3,000 feet to the top of the pass at 16,400 feet.
We descended on a wet, rocky trail to the valley floor, where we are camped for the night in an alpine meadow beside a cascading stream — a very nice location.
The weather today included blue sky (5 mins), mist, low clouds, rain and hail. Thank goodness for tarps:
The altitude together with the mileage we covered was significant but we rose to the challenge and used the techniques we’ve been practicing to finish strong and in good spirits.
We’re looking forward to our hike to Laya tomorrow!
Thanks for following,
Carole and Vern
Team BEST Hikes to Robulthang
Friends, family & loved ones,
Checking in from middle of beautiful nowhere! It’s just us (and some grazing yaks) relaxing in the sun at 13,600 feet in the mountains after a full day of hiking. A steep ascent to Jerala pass in the morning, followed by a rocky descent through the forest and a sporty river crossing over a log bridge were the highlights of the day. The Team is strong and healthy and is now making quick work of popcorn and crackers at tea time.
We’re planning to surprise Sue with a birthday cake in a few hours. Going to need to pressure breathe to blow up the balloons at this altitude! We’re gearing up for a big day tomorrow, as we will cross our highest and final pass of the trip.
Thanks for following!
Carole & Vern
Team BEST Hikes to Chebisa
Friends, family & loved ones,
We had a good mix of hiking and cultural activities today, starting with a climb up to Lingshi Dzong, a fortress that was on one of the important historic trade routes between Bhutan and Tibet. After exploring the Dzong we visited Lingshi school, where we met with the 4th and 6th graders and some of the younger kids. The kids sang us a song and then the principal asked our Team to sing a song. Luckily, Vern had his ukulele at the ready and so we were prepared. From the school, we moved on to the village of Gongyul, where we had lunch the home of Chimi, one of our horsemen, and got a tour of his village. A short walk high above the river led us to Chebisa, where we are camped for the night. Some close up views of blue sheep and yaks grazing along the ridge made for a very picturesque setting along the way.
Unfortunately we’ve got very low bandwidth tonight and so can’t send any of the many photos we took today, But all in all, it was an interesting day and a very pleasant hike. Perfect to rest up for a longer day tomorrow, when we will cross our second high pass.
Thanks for following!
Vern and Carole
BEST reaches Shomuthang
Team BEST Calls In From Chebisa
Guides were excellent! and all planned just right. Food and staff were great … the local staff was superior to the others we saw along the trail and from what we heard from parallel travelers, our experience was superior in all ways.
