LOCALadk Magazine
Issue link: https://localadkmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1513784
LOCALadk 35 1) While traveling through this land, we will encoun- ter villages and residents to whom we should be open and receptive. We are not so different. 2) We are not alone as the river and trees are living beings with their own energy to share. 3) A long journey such as this can help cleanse us of our dirty karma. The race begins The journey begins on a misty morning at 6 AM. The monks have been awake, praying for hours. We start up a dirt road for several kilometers before eventually hitting the end and turning onto a trail. The trail varies from double track to single track to mud pit. I pull off the trail several times to allow trains of horses to pass. This first day, we ascend 10,000' to Night Halt 1 at 16,200'. The high alpine terrain is rocky, wet, braided trail that can be seen across the high steppe. This al- titude is uncharted territory for me. My body is func- tioning and making forward progress, but with some resistance. I come into camp as first female for the day and quickly get to work on recovery. After being checked by the medical personnel in camp, I eat, wash, and lay down in the tents pre assembled by the crew that has been camping out waiting for us for several days. While in camp we hear a massive avalanche of ice and snow on the adjacent peak crash to the ground several kilometers away. After a broken night of sleep, the athletes gather in the kitchen tent. My shoes have frozen solid, and there is a fresh dust of snow on the ground. As we ascend the first pass of the day near 17,000', we get one of the first clear views of the enormity of the mountains surrounding us. I exchange a few shouts of exaltation with the runners around me and continue down to the valley below. Here's where the wheels start to fall off. "Hike with me," says Nicki, a fellow athlete who I've been leapfrogging with over the last few hours. I'm stopped, leaning forward on my poles, having a mini pity party. We've descended into a river valley, the L ef t to right: Monks at Gasa Dzong gather, photo credit Nate Bender. The things I carried. Mandatory gear. A t ypical trail user on the Snowman Trek . Pack animals move goods and people, photo credit Gabe Joyes. L ef t to right: Mud on Day 2, sometimes waist deep. Traditional Cham Mask Dance.