May 19, 2022 | Leave a comment Ukalo oralo: a Nepali special. A colloquial go-to meaning steep ascent and downhill. Ukalo oralo go the trails weaving between 8,000-meter peaks. Ukalo oralo goes my emotional rollercoaster. the secret of the mountain is that the mountains simply exist, as I do myself: the mountains exist simply, which I do not. the mountains have no “meaning,” they are meaning; the mountains are. the sun is round. i ring with life, and the mountains ring, and when i can hear it, there is a ringing that we share. —peter mathiessen, the snow leopard tutta la strada per il paradiso è il paradiso —caterina da siena so when they passedlove couldn’t lasti lost love and you and april too —nat king cole Monthly Mood: Ukalo Oralo Nepal. Small, precious, exploited for outdoor tourism. Annapurna Circuit. First snowcocks and snow pigeons and herds of Himalayan blue sheep, visually the most beautiful days of my life, deforestation, shards of Snickers wrappers strewn into earth. Besisahar to Nayapul with zero motor vehicles. 300 kilometers in 34 days. Idly creeping up to 5,416m and then blowing through the finish of the trail because April turned to May and the views were eaten by thick clouds. Previously I’d described how happy I was to part with the five-digit fine India gifted me for visa overstay, certain that it could only mean earning it back by a multiple of ten. At least ten. Before I had the chance to pay I was offered a job as a cook in a conscious restaurant in the South of Germany. On the trails I had the job interview and it was on. A year in Europe. Earning. Extra savings to upgrade my gear and electronics, to pop over to Santorini or the Dolomites or the Northern Lights or a legitimate croissant from some unlikely petite ville. Then the complications. The wait-time for approval to work could cost me the equivalent of a year’s of play in Asia. Yes the point would be to earn it back, but a year-long commitment falls heavy on the fragile ears of a full-time traveling, temporarily-retired, birdwatching, cappuccino-sipping, beautiful writer. I pulled back. Why not thoroughly finish my experience in the East, continue with the momentum I’ve gained from consecutive years out here, and invest the money that I would have spent renting a flat in one of the world’s priciest nations into my own writing and food projects? Why not go as far as using money to grow my platform? further comments on circuit life It pleased me to maintain the practice of morning meditation before setting out for the day’s walking. Mostly my thoughts ran marathons for 20-minutes with an occasional remembrance to become the observer, but I accept me for where I’m at. With no time restrictions I did not know in advance where I’d sleep. If the weather changed to wind and rain, I stopped for the day. If my body felt fatigue or I wanted to wait out bad weather, I stayed put. This ensured brilliant views on the days that mattered most. I love and appreciate my body for taking me so far and high, for adapting on its own accord. Acclimation was effortless and incredible to witness—to feel—on my stretched out schedule; medication was not necessary beyond a paracetamol on two occasions. My hands took on an unprecedented shade of black-red. Kilometers closer to the sun, Himalayan wind, gripping trekking poles for five (sometimes eight or ten) hours a day. Looking down at them is as if I am watching the fingers of a stranger. The only Snickers consumed was fun-size, gifted to me by a beautiful Vietnamese boy during my descent from Tilicho Lake. Relevant read: Ghanan and Ivorian Lives Matter Having permission to walk a golden retriever cocker spaniel mix sure makes it easy to hang out for six nights in Manang. Excuses include but are not limited to1. recuperating from the 1,085-meter ascent and descent of the Ice Lake day-hike,2. waiting out lousy forecast for Tilicho, and3. stuffing oneself silly with wodges of apple crumble at Nilgiri Bakery. I worship my Black Diamond trekking poles. No more trailside sticks, too brittle to support my weight. No more knee-abuse. Eight years of that and desiring lightweight, sleek, matte polished poles instead of living in the moment and investing in what matters. Poles. Shoes. One pair of merinos. Windbreaker and backpack already Arc’teryx and Osprey—highest of their kinds. The remainder of my 2.5 sets of clothes were picked off a used clothing table running on donations. For the sake of climate change, stop shopping, minimalism, and not amassing new belongings only to toss them at airports or abandon on hostel beds. Once a beautiful friend told me her mom emphasized the importance of dressing well because “if you feel like you look good, you’ll act like you look good.” If I feel like I hike good, I will hike good. This trip began four years ago with hiking the ‘O’ in Torres del Paine of Chilean Patagonia. After being cheap and struggling for seven days, a friend lent me their BD poles on the final day. I flew. That sensation stayed in my veins for four years. So much of my travels are about experiencing quality and truth. With BD in each hand I had five weeks of high quality hiking. The eagerness to stick my poles in some dirt helped get me out of bed in the mornings when the sun hadn’t yet risen. I breezed by barking dogs or potentially creepy men with confidence. an opinionated opinion Dictionary.com defines ‘circuit’ as “an act or instance of going or moving around.a circular journey or one beginning and ending at the same place; a round.a roundabout journey or course.” This falls into place with what geometry class taught me. I quickly learned that when everybody speaks of hiking the Annapurna Circuit, they mean an Annapurna ‘segment’ or ‘slight curve.” A jeep is taken far into the circuit, Diamox is taken twice a day, and after the highlights and the pass, a jeep or flight is taken back to the cities, leaving me to inhale a bottomless cocktail of dust and exhaust. Sometimes I raged, but more often I eased into the Type II Fun of it. The road-building gets for fanatic with each passing year. Some days I was only on road, others I was lost or in danger if I didn’t take the asphalt. It was not ’trekking’ but walking between villages with a bag packed for an overnight stay. Food and beds await every few kilometers. Throngs of tourists or not, it was clear in my mind that I would experience this part of Nepal on foot. Looking at the red pins on my map gives me a joy that I still cannot fully comprehend. buckwheat bread, dhido, momo room service ‘tibetan bread,’ tilicho snickers cornbread, momo diner, Nilgiri Bakery munchkin rolled out of a truck in front of the conservation area ranger office hens sold in cities have their beaks cut as per poultry industry protocol, making every egg harder to stomach a solo hike in selfie language clearly not possible to tell when i got off the trails obsessions: buckwheat breadcornbreadboiled eggspumpkin souprhododendronssesame oilkailas jeevanfireplacesthe morning after snowfallannapurna iiannapurna iiiapple crumblehimalayan blue sheepamericanosacclimatinggolden cocker retrieverspitchers of hot water on repeatblack diamond polesfrozen tilicho lakehimalayan snowcocksnow pigeontickell’s leaf warblercold beer in natural thermal bathschamomile teapotato momosdeep-fried ‘tibetan bread’ढिँडोthakali cuisinefrench pressfrench toastgorkha strongpancake sundaytoast tuesdaypizza fridayvegan complète galette @ french crêperie, pokharaavocado toast @ the vegan way, pokharafish curry @ begnas lake Bird of the month: Chukar Source: Ian Routley, Macaulay Library. Comical first species identified in Nepal that I didn’t already recognize from India. Panicked partridges screaming and running at each other, distinctly striped in zebra vibes, cherry-red feet and beaks, cheeks worth chubbing. Nothing crosses the high-altitude road quite like a quirky chukar. “…in hindu mythology, the chukar sometimes symbolizes intense, and often unrequited, love.”—chukar partridge, wikipedia Current book: The Snow Leopard, Peter Matthiessen Previous Monthly Mood: Does Leaving India Exist Explore my full archive of Nepal and Monthly Moods. Learn more about this round-the-world solo trip.