Wonderful Valley

Wonderful valley

The morning is not rainy anymore. After a long vertical some hundred meter high and half a km long wall I turn left crossing the river by bridge into the valley which will bring me in proparbly two days to Dat. (Its already the 8th of September). The valley is outstanding beautiful. Most areas in the Ladakhi Himalayas are so dry. But this is a valley so green. A stream of calm flowing water is coming from my direction to go. Small Fraser and burger are growing in the valley and quite a number of monkeys are enjoying the food and the silence. Beside the valley further up the mountains again everything without vegetation. I actually love both, because I love to see the emptiness and structures on he mountains and the growing green in the valley.

I sit down half a km further and imagine having a house or tent here for the summer season or even in winter. I sink into a beautiful long meditation, first with open, then with closed eyes.

Then I continue my walk, steadily uphill along the river. The clouds moving on such a way, that I think, it maid not rain there, where I walk. Later situation change and it starts gently raining, and I enjoy the rain in this valley so much…. The green vegetation becomes so beautiful. Further on some horses are graze. At the late afternoon I come to a place where 3 rivers meet. What is the right way. Not sure. To the left it goes steeper uphill. It seems that a glacier formed here earlier a bank, so that is proparbly not the way. It comes proparbly from the KangYatse range area. Strait it feels strange to, because the river, which is now smaller, comes somehow through the bank, finding a little way through. To the right I guess it’s not the way at all. Ok. It’s very proparbly strait. Unexpected some 100m further I find a camp. Some hikers with guide and horses (which I saw earlier) confirm my choise. Also on the way to Dat.

I find the last little green grass area before the next pass, to build up my tent. The feet are wet from rain, but also cold from crossing all the day the river.
Now I want to do it better. Earlier I saw some nipple there, at the corner of the inner tent, where I always try to fix the flexible bars, I need to have a look, if I can fix the bars ar these nipples. And I don’t believe my eyes, the bars have a hole inside to fix the nipples. So much easier I can build up the tent now, shaking my head back and forth, that I was such an ‚Idiot‘. And also laughing to myself, can I write about this stupidity in my blog?….Yes. I can.

In the early morning I again wake up, shaking, because it’s so cold. In a millisecond I have a image of some half naked people shivering in a concentration camp in Germany, this shocks me. Do I have to do something with it? Is that just an image? Is it a image to have compassion?

I feel since some days, that the shivering in the early morning has not only to do with cold temperature outside. I am very warm covered, better dressed on my upper body….. my lower body has only one layer of trouses. …. The upper body has 5 layers, but still freezing. … sure, it’s true, the sleeping bag is not made for cold temperatures, 11 degrees minimum….. And it’s maybe five degrees….. The shivering comes from a triangle between my shoulder blades and my heard chakra on the back side. So maybe my concioussness will show me, there is a cold part of your heart and this cold part of your heart needs to be healed….. ok…. I will keep that in observation…..

Because it’s raining I decide and I am anyway so late, I decide to rest for one day. So. Sleeping, meditating, testing, sleeping…. here and then I open the tent, exept of toilet there is no need to leave the tent all day long…. Around evening time realize, that during the night it maid be snows. .. temperature will drop further…. So it makes sence. … I am at around 4.800m elevation.

Also I feel sympatic with the idea of doing this somewhen in winter, with the right equipment. … it must be so nice to walk through the mountains, knowing no-one to meet, in the silence of winter……

To this time of the year, there is usually only a little period of ‚bad weather‘. Rain or snow is even rare to this time of the year….. And when it comes it disappears in a few days again.

Yes and right. The next morning some snow, but not fully covering the ground. It’s time to continue the way.

That resting day was good… uuuhhh!!!
Coming up further to the Zalung KarpoLa Pass (5.190m) the snowfall started again. I can see where the trail is, but now the ground is fully covered with snow. I can’t see very far so I sent a wish to the elements to open up, when I reach the pass, just to see, where the trail goes down and not to take the wrong valley (because there is another trail leaving from this pass into another valley. While reaching the pass it was still snowing, so I had no choose to wait… one minute later the sky opened up and I have the best view into ‚my‘ valley, all the valley way along. Still it was not so easy to find the path. First I thought it’s on the left side, going there I felt more attract to go down at a area I was before, what I finally do… also some other people and a horse want down here earlier, but to see later, that the real way, but very steep, was on the more right side….. Anyway, I make it down, little bit uncomfortable. … but on this side of the pass, the south side, nearly now snow, further down anyway not…..

I still love this way so much, still in the lower parts green. So beautiful.
I still think about that concentration camp image and I more and more don’t care, if that is more or less my image, or just an image, or someone else’s image, or from whom ever image, a German or world image, it has to be healed, and when this is with me now, I am very happy to heal it for me, or whom ever else…. I am very happy to do so……

A camp again and to reach Dat the next day. At the end of the long valley there was a right turn before going left towards Dat. It was seen even from the pass the way before, but reaching the area I am confused. There where it goes left it’s much to steep. This area and Dat has only a elevation difference of 100m. I study the map and I am still confused. Further around the corner, lots of trees and a wall of rocks. Ok. A green area is also marked in the map. I dont know where to go.
……
What I do in such situations. I just wait. Sure, if I can’t find it at all, I have to go back all the way, which I would find. But after so many days and km I don’t want to turn around just 10 or 15km before the goal. In June I came from the other side to Dat (See earlier article) and I did not continue the way because in all the villages including Dat was no-one, and my food was nearly gone. Is it so difficult to reach this Dat?
So I look again in the map and to the surrounding environment to find a solution, a answer. Ok. If the way to the right and then to the left is to steep, there must be another one. To the right so many trees and then this rockformations strait to the sky. I don’t know if I even can pass through that narrow valley. But I try. Crossing the river several times in the kind of jungle I am so curious if there is another valley to the left later on. Some times before I was so surprised how long the actual way was, misinterpreting the distance on the map….
And finally, just before I reached the valley to the left passing this narrow part I meet a hiking guide, telling me, just 100m further,  follow the trail, yes and around the corner, the rest of the small group with the other guides and horses…
And again…. what a beautiful valley, what a calm and soft flowing river, so rich of vegetation, so many willow trees and sea buckhorn bushes, and here on even 4200m the bushes have ripe orange berries, so delisious. ……
And spectacular rocks for another 5 or 8 km until the valley opens more.

Coming closer to Dat the nature is after the rain nearly like a swamp. But no problem…. I am used to have wet socks in my sandals…..

In June, and now again, there is this kind of feeling…. is the peace walk finished here in the outback of Ladakh, in Dat? Is that the reason I had to walk to Leh again this year. Is this area, where I had the vision about in June the reason, I had to walk again to Ladakh?….. I just register in my mind this realisation. ….

So finally, I reach Dat. Again I see no people in the village and I am irritated. But I know from the guides, my mat and my food arrived and someone from the village asked already to look for me. I am 3 days late…..
So I go to the monastery.  But no-one to see. Temple close! Building on the left of the temple close! Building on the right of the temple close!  ….hmmm…..
Everything seems to be close…. There is a dog barking, but not so penetrating then in June….
There is another building beside thecright building of the temple…… I come closer….. the dog, too….. I hear a radio or TV making sound. …. I knock at the door….. nothing…..
How can it be…. a radio or TV running but no-one there….. I knock more intense, also at the window of the room, where the sound comes from…..
Suddenly a monk, Rangdol, opens the door…. ‚Ah, are you Thomas, yes come in….‘