February 13th, 2015 Aiako Harria yesterday, first time this year; overtaken by the beauty. It is at about this time along the hillsides and in the thickets that the brown of the end of winter starts mixing with the green of the beginning of spring. But an outing like this, though refreshing, can do nothing for the interior state of mind when one is tired and helpless; it only offers a slight reprieve, but we are back again, missing it: the sights, the sounds, the smell of the forest--somehow it only adds to the misfortune. It is difficult to wander along the thin trails because we have built up a reason and an inspiration for our coming; there is a goal, a new plant to find; something to be attained, a new path to take. All the expectation dies with each step, and yet it is still beautiful, still appealing, still the key to some secret meaning we have created for ourselves; and when we stop and look at it all, we realize we are merely the sum of our attainments, the sum that keeps
September 19th, 2014 Samdo 3875m. Yesterday was a rest day. We took a short side-trip to Birendra Tal, a glacial lake on the trail up to Manaslu Base Camp. On our way there we passed a Gumpa where an old lady was drying yak meat on a blanket near the door. Inside was a statue of Guru Rinpoche, the man who brought Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century, perhaps along the same trails we are on now. There was also another young woman who had a child that was crying hysterically--only later did we find out it was because of our presence. Near the lake we had a marvelous view of the glacier higher up and could hear the cracking and grinding movements of the ice. All around us were mountains of up to 8000 meters and the silence was so profound that between the few words we exchanged with our companion, the sound of avalanches echoed throughout the valley. Short walk today; the altitude tires one quickly. Samdo is perched on an eminence above Larkya Bazar, a place where a sea