TRAVELMAN NEPAL: Dog Day Afternoon on Day 2 of The Poon Hill Trek

I’m going to start this post with a short story of something that we’ve all experienced in some form, in some place, at some time. My time and place on this occasion was in a freezing cold tea house on the side of a mountain.

Around 4:00 A.M. I was under warm blankets and in a sleeping bag, the bathroom was surely, freezing, cold, smelly, and not as nice as my bed. My bladder woke me up, asking to take a trip to the freezing cold, smelly place.

I said, “No, go back to sleep bladder.”

“...I can’t sleep, I’m a bladder. Besides, I’m full.”

Can’t you wait a couple hours! It’s freezing!” I went back to sleep.

Ten minutes later, my bladder was like, “Psst, Travelman ...Travelman, hey. ...psst ... ...hey, I’m really full. ... ...Travelman!”

I was like, “Shut up. Just wait, two more hours! I’m in I charge, and I say wait!”

Nine minutes later, like a snooze button going off, “Travelman... Hey, I’m telling you, it’s go time. I mean it. There’s no choosing here... ... ... ...TRAVELMAN!!!!!”

“Fine! That’s just freakin’ great! I’m going! You happy???” I got up, and yes it was freezing, and yes everything in the bathroom was even colder, and gross, and everything echoed and made a lot of noise. But I felt better and went back to sleep for two more glorious hours.

The moral of the story is listen to your body, even when it’s asking you to go someplace cold and gross. Your mind, body, and soul will find relief and you’ll sleep easier.

The freezing cold night bathroom trip is the worst!

6:30 A.M rolled up on me. I dreaded slipping out from underneath the heavy blankets and sleeping bag that kept me warm but I couldn’t fall back asleep. Heck, I’d gone to bed shortly after 7:00 P.M. the previous evening.

I went downstairs and asked for breakfast. I had muesili and a pot of hot tea. Food in the Tea Houses is expensive. I’ve never spent so much on tea in my life. My total bill for the room, my dinner and breakfast was around $25 dollars. You could probably escape for between fifteen and twenty, but I was treating myself to some overpriced comforts like hot drinks.

I hit the trail around 7:30 A.M. They should call it “stepping” instead of trekking...

I stopped to take a picture of this stable full of ponies. I couldn’t get the framing I wanted and then the ponies all moved around and ruined the shot.

A dog came running up to me from somewhere. I was hesitant to interact with him (her? I didn’t check), but he stood next to me and wagged his tail. I gave him a little neck scratch. I continued on up the trail. The dog walked with me. He’d run ahead and get behind, but he’d always come over to me when I stopped...

The dog stuck with me. After a half hour, I began to wonder if he was a stray...

Every time he’d disappear and I thought he’d gone his own way for good, he showed up at my side. We passed a couple hikers, but he had no interest in them.

I named him Everest. He even answered to it after a few minutes. I’d call out “Everest!” And he’d come ambling up to me. I was a little bit worried I was going to live out the scene at the end of the movie Shane, tears in my eyes, shoeing him away, saying “Go on now! Git! Git outta here! Stupid dog! ...Wait! Don’t go Everest, I’ll get you shots and quarantine and you can live with me in the states!”

Around the time I was planning our shared future together, Everest disappeared... He probably went back home. He was simply giving me a morning escort through his territory. If you love something set it free, if you meet a dog in the Himalayan Mountains, don’t fall in love. He’s just keeping you company....

I stepped onward and upward. It was cold in the shadows of the mountain sides. Frost covered the ground, and puddles were frozen over...

I came around a corner and saw this mighty steed waiting for me. A mythical white horse come to save my tired legs and carry me up the mountain...

He’s saying, “Move on, buddy. I’m just a pony. I live on that farm over there. Keep walkin’.” ...

Then, I met this little guy! He came running out of the brush when I was about forty minutes outside of Ghorepani. He stayed with me as well. I was encountering a lot of fellow trekkers at this point and he wanted nothing to do with them. They’d reach down to pet the puppy and he’d run over to me.

Travelman, friend to dogs and children all over the world. I named this little guy K2. He was thin, I was worried he was definitely a stray...

K2 and I reached Ghorepani around 11:00 A.M.

The Tea House owners were impressed with the speed of my hiking. (Yeah, well, you know...No big whoop.) K2 followed me into the Tea House. The owners thought he was mine. I explained the situation...

The five year old daughter of the owners loved K2. The feeling was not mutual. K2 appreciated her screaming “Puppy!” repeatedly even less than I did...

It’s a unique life for people in these villages (towns? I don’t know the distinction). It’s not like they’re savages separated from society. They’re just like everyone else except for a few things, like less material comforts, and it being a pain in the ass to go into the big city...

The daughter had a regular, very old, doll and this creepy homemade one as well...

I don’t know if she had other little kids her age nearby (a small school was next door), but her family gave her a lot of attention and love. The grandfather played with her out on the deck, and you can’t really see it, but a looped rope hangs from the ceiling in this area. With some blankets wrapped around it, it acted as a swing. Her grandfather would push her on that swing and she’d have a grand old time...

K2 was tuckered out from the trekking. I shared some of my Dal Bhat rice with him, then he took a nap...

And I had some overpriced homemade pie. It was okay, but it was still pie...

K2 left me after his nap. Don’t ever fall in love, they always leave.

I went to bed early again because the next morning was the Poon Hill sunrise ascent (not as dramatic as it sounds). I’d be waking at 5 A.M. Hiking up and down Poon Hill then continueing onward on my stepping.

Stay tuned for the next installment of Travelman Treks Nepal!

Travelman log, day 201. Attended a ceremony for a dead Buddhist Lama yesterday. !steemitworldmap 28.4007 lat 83.7027 long Dog days of Poon hill trek,Nepal, d3scr 345 Followers and counting, 991 steem earned. Rep 59.2 Travelman out.