Chapter 14: Second Camp – Sirkot:
Sunday, April 21: The previous night we were instructed to be ready by 8:30 to start walking from Ale Gaun to the second health camp at Sirkot.
A few restless sleepers reportedly heard every drop of pouring rain, which continued heavily throughout the night with no sign of letting up. It seems it’s been raining forever. No wonder this bamboo jungle is so lush. And this is the dry season? We didn’t plan on this amount of rain and pray it stops.
We are told Sirkot is a good four + hours hike uphill. Some of us prefer not to slog along in the downpour. The ever-smiling Amrit offers an opinion to cheer us, “Since it’s raining this week we probably won’t run into a snow storm on the trek.” The team was trying to be in good spirits. Tim and Sukey are the most optimistic. "What a great adventure." Naturally, this was a walk-in-the-park for Amrit.
A few restless sleepers reportedly heard every drop of pouring rain, which continued heavily throughout the night with no sign of letting up. It seems it’s been raining forever. No wonder this bamboo jungle is so lush. And this is the dry season? We didn’t plan on this amount of rain and pray it stops.
We are told Sirkot is a good four + hours hike uphill. Some of us prefer not to slog along in the downpour. The ever-smiling Amrit offers an opinion to cheer us, “Since it’s raining this week we probably won’t run into a snow storm on the trek.” The team was trying to be in good spirits. Tim and Sukey are the most optimistic. "What a great adventure." Naturally, this was a walk-in-the-park for Amrit.
Before moving on to Sirkot we stopped, as planned, at the Ale Gaun school. By now it had been raining for 15 hours straight with no sign of letting up. We box up the precious cargo of meds for the porters to carry.
Among the four men was a young and very skinny woman, with a bruise near her eye. (I privately wondered if she would be one of the patients in Sirkot. Doctors are privy to more information than the public sector. Unfortunately, abuse toward women happens here just as in many cultures.)
Along the way we stopped in a village to seek squatty potties, drink tea to warm ourselves, and get out of the rain for a bit. We learned that locals don't like to be in the rain either and wonder what the turnout would be at the next camp.
Along the way we stopped in a village to seek squatty potties, drink tea to warm ourselves, and get out of the rain for a bit. We learned that locals don't like to be in the rain either and wonder what the turnout would be at the next camp.
Looking down on the fast-moving clouds below the vistas were as amazing as promised. One moment you could see the mountains. The next moment you couldn’t. No mishaps so far. If you were not aware of every move you might miss your step, and a potential tumble down the steep hillside. Upward paths zig- zagged ahead with a combination of steep and level. It took a bit more than four hours to climb.
Once we arrived at the upper village of Sirkot we gathered in a chilly hut constructed from bamboo and plastic tarp. A smoky wood fire burned outside. While Kazi began his preparations for a hearty and delicious lunch, three of the Nepali medical providers (Kabita, Alija and Sadikshya) tended a large cauldron of ramen noodle-type, steamy soup. Nothing tasted as satisfying after the long and chilly hike. Hot and delicious. Most of us had three servings
Goats, Brahma-like cows/ bulls, and several dogs roamed freely. The landscape dotted with patches of grass also featured stones here and there creating strategic piles and fences.
Colorful, hand-painted signs on the school building informed:
National flower - rhododendron
National color - crimson
National bird – Lophophorus
National animal – cow
National flag of Nepal - According to Wikipedia this is the world's only non-quadrilateral national flag. "The flag is a simplified combination of two single pennons, the vexillogical word for a pennant. Its crimson red is the color of the rhododendron. Red is also the sign of victory in war. The blue border is the color of peace."
National flower - rhododendron
National color - crimson
National bird – Lophophorus
National animal – cow
National flag of Nepal - According to Wikipedia this is the world's only non-quadrilateral national flag. "The flag is a simplified combination of two single pennons, the vexillogical word for a pennant. Its crimson red is the color of the rhododendron. Red is also the sign of victory in war. The blue border is the color of peace."
Sukey pointed out, “When the clouds lift we will be able to see a range of high mountains.” But look quick. Clouds are moving fast. By mid-afternoon the sun came out and at 4 p.m. we can see the ethereal, snow-covered mountaintops and valleys. Still it’s not warm enough to shed jackets, and would be a bit uncomfortable with only our short-sleeved scrubs or tee shirts. “Unusual weather,” Amrit quips again. The cold continued throughout the day.
It's been six years since the last health camp was here. Ours was only the third group from USA these villagers have ever seen. The two previous were Amrit's "Where There Be Dragons" youth groups.
Awaiting us were villagers who showed us to small, dark, humble rooms – their personal quarters. Nothing more in the room except for two heavily blanketed, twin beds, which they had so generously given up for us to use over the next three days. The floor, like all those in the two villages, was hard-pack clay/dirt. If we left the door open for too long chickens wandered in to keep us company. We were asked to wash our feet before entering. Lin said, “After seeing my flip-flop-clad feet and after having trekked in the rain and mud it’s no wonder they made this request.”
Donna and Lin shared a room. Mike was in the same building complex and the young boys outside his room were noisy quite late into the night. They were probably just showing off for this manly- and tattooed- American, who had served in Desert Storm.
Now that Donna was feeling better she, Tim and Sukey climbed to the ridge Amrit pointed out that morning.
Taking turns getting sick: By now Lin was at the height of her illness, which for her was a highly uncommon condition. “I’m from the hot desert. Here it’s damp and chilly. No heat in school rooms or homes through villages. It seems it has rained off and on every day since we arrived. “
Not feeling well Lin headed to rest at her host family house after the late lunch. She promptly got lost. “It seemed I walked in circles. The village didn’t look that large, but it goes half way up the mountain. One wrong turn and I ended up in the backyard of one family home after another. I would shrug, signaling I was lost, and the locals just laughed at my antics. They couldn’t help me, since they didn’t know where I was staying. I could have been in trouble as it would soon be dark. After 40 minutes of this I backtracked to the lunch shed. Amrit came to my rescue and walked me to my room. I slept from 5 p.m. until the next morning and missed the evening meal.” (It wasn’t until the Himalayan trek that Sukey and Dr. Del got sick. Donna got hit again for a second round with the pesky virus and perhaps a touch of altitude sickness trekking above 12,000 feet. Mike and Dr. Tim had less severe reactions.)
Lin continued, “Even though I had a rain jacket my fleece jacket underneath was damp. Amrit asked a village woman to dry it over her wood-burning outdoor kitchen. Retrieving the jacket the next morning it was still damp. Worse was the strong odor of smoke from the wood fire. It would be un-wearable without a thorough washing. I wasn’t terribly upset when I lost the jacket somewhere between this village and Pokhara where I purchased another fleece for under $20 U.S.”
Additional clothing in Lin’s backpack was wet. She discovered the water bladder inside the backpack was leaking because she had not properly sealed it that morning. Talk about learning the hard way.
Awaiting us were villagers who showed us to small, dark, humble rooms – their personal quarters. Nothing more in the room except for two heavily blanketed, twin beds, which they had so generously given up for us to use over the next three days. The floor, like all those in the two villages, was hard-pack clay/dirt. If we left the door open for too long chickens wandered in to keep us company. We were asked to wash our feet before entering. Lin said, “After seeing my flip-flop-clad feet and after having trekked in the rain and mud it’s no wonder they made this request.”
Donna and Lin shared a room. Mike was in the same building complex and the young boys outside his room were noisy quite late into the night. They were probably just showing off for this manly- and tattooed- American, who had served in Desert Storm.
Now that Donna was feeling better she, Tim and Sukey climbed to the ridge Amrit pointed out that morning.
Taking turns getting sick: By now Lin was at the height of her illness, which for her was a highly uncommon condition. “I’m from the hot desert. Here it’s damp and chilly. No heat in school rooms or homes through villages. It seems it has rained off and on every day since we arrived. “
Not feeling well Lin headed to rest at her host family house after the late lunch. She promptly got lost. “It seemed I walked in circles. The village didn’t look that large, but it goes half way up the mountain. One wrong turn and I ended up in the backyard of one family home after another. I would shrug, signaling I was lost, and the locals just laughed at my antics. They couldn’t help me, since they didn’t know where I was staying. I could have been in trouble as it would soon be dark. After 40 minutes of this I backtracked to the lunch shed. Amrit came to my rescue and walked me to my room. I slept from 5 p.m. until the next morning and missed the evening meal.” (It wasn’t until the Himalayan trek that Sukey and Dr. Del got sick. Donna got hit again for a second round with the pesky virus and perhaps a touch of altitude sickness trekking above 12,000 feet. Mike and Dr. Tim had less severe reactions.)
Lin continued, “Even though I had a rain jacket my fleece jacket underneath was damp. Amrit asked a village woman to dry it over her wood-burning outdoor kitchen. Retrieving the jacket the next morning it was still damp. Worse was the strong odor of smoke from the wood fire. It would be un-wearable without a thorough washing. I wasn’t terribly upset when I lost the jacket somewhere between this village and Pokhara where I purchased another fleece for under $20 U.S.”
Additional clothing in Lin’s backpack was wet. She discovered the water bladder inside the backpack was leaking because she had not properly sealed it that morning. Talk about learning the hard way.