A stroll up the valley accompanied by dog - eventually called Thame.
When we left the compound dog jumped over the fence and became our constant companion - running ahead, stopping, looking for us, chasing the occasional yak.
The map does not really show the trail correctly but we follow our nose up the valley - apparently on the wrong side. We had crossed to the true left and wind up nd around a bluff cut into with well placed steps. the next open meadow we cross back - urged by a Nepalese lodge owner returning with supplies.
We walk with him and two Sherpani who would appear to be going for a vista or returning home a fee a visit.
Eventually of course pleasant strolling turns uphill and we ascent to Lunden - our home for the night - but which lodge? We wander thru a cluster of tea houses eventually deciding on a small one - run by a Sherpani with a little kid (2 yrs old)
We are only 7 folks - a nice small group. Two German speakers , boy and girl, with guide (an instructor of guides), us and late two tired girls arrive after crossing the snowy pass - a 10hr crossing.
Our ‘guide’ tells stories : wolves and yeti’s
Yeti’s used to live in the hills and eat yaks occasionally. the local sherpa’s got sick of this and knowing the yeti’s watched there every move from up high and then come into the village in the night and recreate what they saw during the day.
The sherpa’s set up a ruse - played at a festival - getting drunk (pretending) - fighting with knives (in this case wooden) - knowing the yeti’s were watching
The yeti’s came downed repeated the ‘festival’ - except with strong chang (beer) and got rolling drunk and fighting with super sharp knives. The result - the drunken yaks killed each other and those still alive are killed in the morning by the villagers. Except one - a pregnant female who had stayed in the hills. she migrated to the Gokyo Lakes area. she mated with one of her sons and they killed three yaks and attacked a women in 1974 in the area of Machhermo in the Dudh Koshi River Valley downstream from the Gokyo Lakes
She bore no more children and eventually there three remaining yet’s died and nothing remains except the ‘legend of the Yeti’
Wolves
10 years ago wolves appeared in the Thame Valley - they came over the Khumba la Pass from Tibet. They are of course protected like all native animals in Nepal and this is a problem for the Shepa’s and the Yaks (but we didn’t hear any in the night)
