Himalayan Quest

13-Mountain School

May 8 (cont.)

13-Mountain School

Adam clutched at the rope, feeling the pain throbbing in his weak shoulder, then quickly shifted his balance so the other foot took all of his weight. Only one foot had fallen through. It had dropped so far that half of his left leg was below the bridge, although it had felt at first like he had lost everything. For a split second, he feared he was a goner, then he caught a break. Adam's heart pounded. The right foothold and both hand grips all remained steady. He only got a major scare.

"Dammit, Adam. Pay attention!"

Don't rush. You're not in a hurry. It's like riding on top of the bus. Focus.

Big mistake. But he was okay. No fun, but it was an important reminder. He had plenty of confidence driving on crowded Los Angeles freeways. But he had lots to learn about crossing homemade bridges in Nepal. Adam took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, glad to be alive. Then he concentrated on the final few steps and finished.

That must have taken maybe ten minutes to cross maybe a ninety-foot stream, but it felt like hours. Crazy. The bridge was sturdier than anticipated. But I'm glad to be across without suffering what could have been the equivalent of disappearing into an abyss.

He smiled a little and shook his head.

I'm also grateful that I didn't slip in front of the porters. My story would have become their dinner entertainment. I'll probably be their discussion topic anyway. No other foreigners around here. I'm a novelty. They must wonder what I'm doing hiking the Dudh Nadi. So do I.

Adam resumed his climb. The sun reached down, heating him up. Soon he took a short break to shed his outer layer, storing the rain gear in a zip pocket. He took sips of the iodine water and continued his ascent.

Crows sat on branches in scraggly trees. He imagined they had heard how he almost bit the dust on the bridge. As different as Nepal was in some ways, the birds reminded him of what all countries have in common. He half expected to see the Wizard of Oz's Scarecrow appear to shoo them off. But it didn't look like there was much food to tempt the crows.

If it's tough for humans to get enough to eat here, it must also be slim pickings for other creatures. I'll bet I won't see the crows higher up, where it's too cold for the fruit trees to provide free food for them.

The gorge narrowed and the trail climbed higher. He continued two more hours, meeting no one else. Adam had seen that there was a lower trail on the far side of the Dudh Nadi, one that would be safe enough still, before the river level rose during the monsoon rain season. But the path he now followed would guide him away from the river to a particular village, his destination that night.

*****

He soon reached it and visited the one-room school there just after students finished for the day. It was the only one in the whole Dudh Nadi valley. There were two teachers, working with a handful of students. He introduced himself in Nepali as Adam, an English teacher, choosing not to share about his athletic past.

The pair of instructors had long names but insisted that he call them Hari and Jindi. Both talked a little about their jobs. They understood Adam's story about Devi's surprise regarding seeing writing for the first time and explained their reaction to it.

"Adam, she is like so many children in the remote areas of Nepal," said Jindi.

He was the taller of the pair, maybe 5' 9", slender build, dark brown face, and deep, nearly black eyes.

"Look around us. This village is far from the river. Sometimes the creek is flowing, but usually it's dry. Often the people must walk half an hour each way to collect and carry water back here. The little girl and her family have enough to do each day just to survive."