Bruce and Bryan are up at dawn the next day to catch the first clear view of Jomalhari.
Bruce starts out for our next campsite just as day breaks. He has offered to jog ahead of the rest of us to make sure we get a good spot at the Jhangothang base campsite, where we we'll spend a rest day.
We walk through the remaining oak and conifer forests, quickly climbing above the tree line to an alpine scrub environment. Yak trails crisscross the long, grass covered slopes. A misstep here would potentially result in a fall, roll, slide several hundred meters long downhill.
Philip and Michael are feeling a bit better. We all still feel the effects of the altitude to varying degrees of discomfort. The afflicted plod along, one step at a time, focusing on the task at hand, which is to reach our next camp site where we will rest. |
 |
Bruce takes this early morning shot of Jomalhari from our campsite at Thangkathangka. |
 |
Brian captures the early morning radiance of Jomalhari. |
 |
Another shot of Jomalhari by Bruce. |
 |
With only a four-hour (shorter for others) walk to Jhangothang, we take a leisurely breakfast. |
 |
And a leisure few cups of tea. |
 |
A prayer wheel, which serves as a prayer multiplier by spinning out (and also, in this case, sending along the waterways) the prayers inscribed on the wheel. |
 |
Philip stands near a stone building used for temporary housing by the Bhutanese military. |
 |
Our horses round the corner. |
 |
When people and horses arrive at the bridge or narrow spot on the trail, the horses always go first. |
 |
Moving above the tree line into alpine scrub, we all wear our sunglasses to protect our eyes in the intense high mountain light. |
 |
The color of autumn in Himalayan Bhutan. |
 |
A flat, wide spot along the trail invites us to take a short break. Notice the other trekking group in the background. |
 |
Distances and depths can be difficult to judge in this vast landscape. The river is actually more than a hundred meters below me, and about 30-40 feet wide. |
 |
A typical yak herding family prepared for the long winter ahead. Grass and other plants, which are fed to the yaks during winter, are dried and prepared for storage. |
 |
A lonely silhouette on the crest of a hill. |
 |
Bruce greets a resident of the yak herder homestead. |
 |
 |
chorten, flanked by prayer flags, and mani (prayer wall) |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
