sweet sweet baby trek

So it took me two days to recover from my altitude sickness. I felt the worst I have felt in about six years... it felt like I had a bad case of the flu while riding a really radical carnival ride for about a day and half. I had to leave Vid (my sweet Buddhist Slovenian friend) to his own devices in the Markha Valley and opt for join my German friend, Mierko, on what the locals call the "baby" trek. Likir to Nurla.. however, this was quite a long trek and we didn't have pack animals and although the highest pass was around 4K meters, it was pretty hard in the midday heat.. hottness.... It took us two days and it was lovely and I can't wait to share pictures. It is starting to turn to Autumn here, but it is still super hot during the day.

Now I am back in Ley for a bit. I am actually thinking to maybe leave for Manali/ Vashist tonight... I just feel like getting a move on... time to see something new and I want enough time to do some trekking in Dharamsala and maybe see the Spiti Valley too.

I have 12 days left. Today in the midday sun I missed Alaska. Did I mention that it is really really hot here? I need a swimming hole.

The people that I have met in Ley have been interesting. This is a hippie/ tourist/ trekker town and the different nationalities tend to stay in different areas of town. I found a wonderful guest house in Chanspa, away from the hustle and bustle of people an the hundreds of Kashmiri shop owners that try to get you to buy pashminas.... The owners of the guest house that I have been staying at are darling and their garden and view are both amazing. I was grateful for that the two days that I could not move from the sickness...

Being out of Ley for the past few days has been a great feeling. Being in the small Ladakhi towns is quite nice the people in the villages that we have stayed in and passed through are so welcoming. I slept under the stars last night and hummed myself to sleep under the most starts I have seen since the Blue Range in Arizona.

My trek partner Mierko and I have had some interesting conversations. He is 26 and has been thinking about his future and his life in Germany... what he really wants and needs to be happy... we have had some interesting conversations indeed. It has been nice to trek with someone, as opposed to all by my lonesome...

Maybe tonight I say goodbye to Ley.. maybe tomorrow, but soon for sure.... onward I go.