Druk Path Trek - Day 2

It was freezing cold out (although we were nice and toasty in our sleeping bags) but my back was sore from sleeping for 11 hours so got up around 6:30am, just as the sun was hitting our campsite. It felt good warming up in the sun.

Breakfast was really good - cereal with hot milk, then omelettes with sausages and toast. There was even peanut butter! There was a large thermos filled with boiling water and lots of tea, coffee or hot chocolate to go around. (At almost every occasion the thermos would make an appearance - I've never drank so much tea in my life). Anyways lots of energy to keep us going on the trek.

We walked up past the Jili Dzong to a peak. Before we left for the trek, we had purchased prayer flags in Paro, for Heather, me, and our Moms. The colour of the prayer flags depends on when you were born. It's similar to the Chinese calendar, except there's also an element attached which determines the colour. I was born in the year of the Iron Dog so my flags were white. There's 10 flags, each about 8"x10", with the same prayer written on each. The belief is that the prayer is said when it flaps in the wind.

Heather's flags were green; Heather's Mom was the Iron Horse so also white. There's a different prayer (for compassion) for those who are passed away, and always white, for my Mom.

The guides strung the flags for Heather, me and Heather's Mom, and then attached to wooden poles about 20' tall. The poles were then places in post holes. My Mom's flags went on a separate set of poles.

It was cool to see the flags flying in the wind, overlooking Paro Valley with 7,000m peaks in the distance. My Mom always liked traveling, and liked that Heather and I travel, so we though it was very appropriate.

We continued on the trek, along a ridge overlooking Paro Valley. There were many ups and downs, between 3,800 and 4,050m. The altitude affected us a bit, we got tired easily. But no headaches.

Lunch was a hot lunch again, rice, meat, vegetables, fruit for dessert. The cook sure knew what he was doing. It was tasty and nutritious.

We reached camp around 3pm, on a east facing side of a range, at 3,600m. Once again we were the only group at the site. It got cold quickly once the sun disappeared behind the hill. Because we were the only group, we were able to have a campfire with dead wood gathered by the trekking crew. (It's a safety concern if there's a lot of tents).

Dinner was excellent, and then we huddled around the campfire and looked at the stars in the sky. We even saw a shooting star! I had thoughts about waiting for the moonrise, but then realized that I'd have to wait until 9:30pm, so instead we called it a night around 8pm.