Our hike today was much shorter than the past few days... Which was appreciated by all of us!
Within 15 minutes of our start, we were crossing a gap that would never be seen in the US. Across a steep hillside, the trail had washed out in a mini-mudslide. We saw it from across the canyon at first, and the 'fix' barely looked like it would bear our weight- much less the weight of our loaded horses.
But to the trail-makers' credit, the new section looked better from above than across... It was wide enough for us with our hiking poles, and only by peering over the edge could we tell that it was so precarious.
As it turned out, there would be several crossings like that over the course of the day. Some we never even saw, except when we happened to peek over the edge of the trail and see nothing but air below us!
We hiked far down to the Thimphu River canyon once again - an awesome area with steep cliffs on both sides that fell to the narrow river valley and our trail. It was not a place I would like to walk after a heavy rainstorm- it seemed like the river would wash you away!
In this tight canyon, the temperature was incredibly variable. There was at least a 15-degree difference from sun to shade, making us all shiver in the frosty shade... and then slow our pace to bask when we walked into a patch of sun.
We had a steep hike up to today's camp site - perched on a wide, flat, grassy area partway up a small mountainside. We arrived with over an hour of sunlight left, and after several long days we were all ready to sit and relax in the warmth.
But even the salmon turned out not to be the highlight of this day. Since this is our last night on trail, and no other groups were using this site... We had a bonfire!! All the crew, including the horsemen (the guys who care for the horses carrying all our gear), disappeared into the woods and came back with huge piles of firewood. Some were carrying small trees on their shoulders!!
It was special enough that we all got to sit around the warm fire, laughing and enjoying ourselves... But then several of the crew decided to dance and sing for us! They moved in unison around a circle made of two camp lanterns... And sang Bhutanese songs that ranged from traditional to frivolous to love songs. It was definitely one of the coolest experiences of the trip... and not something I will soon forget.
It struck home as they sung for us, just how special this country is- not just for its beautiful landscapes but also for its wonderful people who live a simple, pure life that is too rarely seen in our world today.
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