Day 6

Wednesday 3 Oct 218

Today we needed a fresh set of horses, as each team only goes a certain distance, but they still had not arrived by the time we left. We followed the river for a while, crossing a bridge close to the house at the end of the valley where Michael Palin met with the old Bhutanese composer during the filming of his Himalaya series. Climbing steeply at first, we should have gained views toward Jhomolhari and Jitchu Drake but the clouds obscured them. In spite of this we were treated to sunny spells and plenty of wildlife including Himalayan Griffon Vulture, many Chough and an Eagle.
We caught our first sight of Marmots busy preparing their burrows for the winter and some interesting plants growing in improbably poor soil conditions.

Now very near the Tibetan Border, we made our way along a broad hanging valley to the final steep slopes leading to the Nyele La (4850m). Like all Himalayan passes, it was adorned with prayer flags and we all yelled “haa gey lo” meaning “may God be victorious”.

From the pass we descended to our windy lunch spot and visited a Yak herders tent, the lady, her husband and her son made smoked and dried Yak cheese living and working under a blue plastic sheet tent for 3 months of the year whilst baby yaks were born and high pastures were rich, then decending to the comfort of a house in the valley for the coldest months.

Yak cheese is dried into cubes on strings which sell for 200 nulgrums.

We followed a long ridge before finally dropping through forests of rhododendron and pine to our camp at Lingshi beside the river (3990m).
Distance 14km 8hrs

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