This is the ninth (and most dense) post of a three-week series. Please visit the “Adventure Journal” page of our website and start with “Why Nepal?” to read in order! As always, I have added perspectives from the kids (as they allow me to).

Cover Photo: Our Day 8 picture with two of the silent monks at Mu Gumba (at 4,000m on the Tibetan border), after our prayer flags were blessed and we were given an offering of scarves.

*Please note that to see Cover Photo on email notification, you will need to click “Read On” at the bottom of the email.

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Day 8: Rest Day at Chhule (Tsum Valley) (3,300m)

June 5, 2019

Stats (Visit to Mu Gumba and back)

Walked: 4hrs 9mins
Distance: 6 miles
Ascent: 1,200 ft
Descent: 1,200 ft
Elevation Gain: 0 ft

Today was a “rest day” at the Chhule camp. The usual 6am wake-up call was pushed back to 7:30am to allow us to “sleep in” a bit. The night was cold and the tent was stuffy inside and wet inside. Apparently, we had been in a misty cloud all night and slept on such a slant that we were all sleeping with our legs smashed up against the lower part of the tent, towards which we slid down. Somehow, despite the interesting night of “sleep and slide,” we all woke up at 5:30am—a good two hours ahead of the wake-up time!

It had started with Kaysee stirring and needing to go to the bathroom tent (which was a good 20 yards away from our sleeping tent). As soon as he bundled up and unzipped the tent, he shouted, “oh my God...look at those peaks! You guys have to see this.” Zayan and I sprang up out of our sleeping bags and rushed outside. It was an amazing sight. Though the sun had not fully emerged on Tsum Valley, it was an absolutely clever sky and in front of us was the sprawling, ice-capped, Thaya Himal. To the right of us, we could see the sacred Ganesh Himal; and all around us were the beautiful 5,000m+ “hills” (as the Nepali’s call them), with gushing waterfalls. We were all mesmerized and too excited to go back to sleep.

View of the campsite with awesome views of the surrounding Himals.

The peak emerging just in front of where I was reading/icing my foot the day before!

We finished breakfast off with a taste of “Yasargumba,” or the half insect, half plant medicine that the people of this village were scavenging high in the mountains (at about 4,800m) to sell to the Chinese. The medicine is also called, “Shiva Prasad,” by the Nepalis, translated to blessings from the Hindu Lord Shiva (God of Destruction and Power, but an incarnation of the God of Creation). It is taken with milk and said to boost “immunity” though we figured it may have something to do fertility (because of Shiva reference). The Nepalis explained that the insect generates a larva that buries itself underground and dies, just before a grass-like blade grows out of its brain (above the ground). It is picked and dried and can be sold for up to $20 USD for one larva/plant. We were gifted a smaller, $5 USD valued version of the Yasargumba to try, and of course, we did. It was earthy, chewy, and went down quite easily with the milk!

This is a smaller $5.00 USD version of Yasargumba.

Long (but fascinating) Side Note about Yasargumba: The Diplomat described Yasrgumba as “Biological Gold” and explained that “Yarsagumba is a unique caterpillar-fungus fusion that occurs when parasitic mushroom spores (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) infect and mummify a ghost moth larva living in the soil.”

At a price higher than gold, Nepali highlanders flock to get a financial boost. According to The Himalayan Times, in 2016, the price per kg of the Himalayan fungus in the same year rose to as much as $130,000 in Singapore. In that year, price of per kg of gold stood at $68,000. Annual production of Yarsagumba worldwide stands at 83 to 183 tonnes and they yield $5 billion to $11 billion per year. (Citation: https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/yarsagumba-lifts-living-standard-of-rural-nepalis/ )

I now understand that this collection season is becoming very dangerous. People are territorial over their historic collection places, the conditions are cold and hard, and the yield is less than they would have predicted. Here is a YouTube video on the collection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWO0bANqWsk

Interestingly, according to an online herbal carrier, there are a whole host of benefits to Yasrgumba. Cordyceps or Yarsagumba or Yarchagumba has traditionally been used for impotence, backache, to increase sperm production and to increase blood production. It is used specifically for excess tiredness, chronic cough and asthma, impotence, debility, anemia, to build the bone marrow. Check out the full list of benefits: http://www.nepl.com.np/cordyceps/benefits_of_cordyceps.php

Back at camp, we opted to do a day hike to a monastery resting at 4,000m (13,123 ft) on the Nepali border of Tibet. The walk was supposed to be a simple 3-hour round-trip leg-stretch, but it ended up taking almost three hours just to get there (which was only about 3 miles one way), likely due to tired legs. Additionally, Kenza woke up feeling under the weather, but still wanted to join-in on the day hike...which meant that Kapil carried her on “piggy back” most of the way up the mountain. Ironically, Kaysee and Kenza, the two slowest walkers of the day (or in Kenza’s case, non-walker), were the two that weren’t around when we tried the Yasargumba! I wonder if there would have been any difference in their energy levels, if they had been given a taste!

Kapil getting his workout in…carrying Kenza (at altitude) for a big chunk of today’s hike.

As we approached Mu Gumba, we were just kilometers from the Tibetan border…and I so wished I had access to Google so I could learn more about the history between China and Tibet. All I know is that China has occupied Tibet since 1950 and the current Dali Lama (#14) was granted permanent political asylum in India. The guides and porters taught me that in 1959 there was a huge Tibetan uprising against the anti-religious communist Chinese government to allow their religious practices. The Chinese suppressed the uprising through genocide and burned the old temples and monasteries (see this article for more on the history: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dalai-lama-begins-exile) . This is all to say, that since so much of the traditional Tibetan culture of Tibet has been destroyed, we feel blessed to be at here, in the region that is considered the “most culturally Tibetan”. In other words, we are now in a place more Tibetan than Tibet, though technically, we are still within Nepali borders.

The monastery (Mu Gumba) was over 120 years old and was actively run by monks, though the main Lama was at the subsequent monastery in Kathmandu. We met three monks there who all eagerly welcomed us and opened the actual “Gumba” or shrine room for us. We toured the small room and took notice of the old, traditional religious scripts, bound between wooden planks and wrapped with cloth. There were statues of Bodisatnvas and pictures of important Lamas in the Nyingmapa (word translates to “ancient”) sect of Vajrayana Buddhism, which is said to be the oldest and most original word of Buddha. The most interesting thing I saw, were ornate mandalas made from yak butter! Like most mandalas, the meditative practice is in creating them, and the lessons of impermanence and detachment are in destroying them. Therefore, the butter mandalas are only temporary, and the kids felt special to be able to see them.

Kids looking at all of the offerings at the shrine…bowls for Buddha’s steps and the butter mandalas (you can see them behind the crowd. They will be deatured in the Nepal video at the end of the series.

Two of the three monks that greeted us were in the midst of a 16-day ritual of silence. They “clicked” their tongues to get someone’s attention, and only spoke when they were reciting a prayer. One of these monks blessed our prayer flags with earnest prayers for all of the beings on Earth. When he was finished, he adorned us with white scarves, or Khatas. The Khata is is possibly one of Tibetan culture’s most popular customs, and its an offering, recognizing the respect or love of one individual for another.

As our visit was winding down, the wind was picking up. The monks invited us for Tibetan tea and noodle soup before we started our walk back. Tibetan butter tea is like a rich salty hot butter that has been flavored with tea, and though it sounds gross (Kenza and Kaysee didn’t care for it), it tastes delicious at altitude in the cold weather. The tea leaves are a special Tibetan blend and the buttermilk is usually from a Yak! Despite the mixed reactions, the kids were excited to try the tea because today was the first day that they encountered Yaks, or the Himalayan versions of Andean Alpacas.

When we finally got back to camp from our outing, we completed our non-“rest day” with school work, reading, and a good night’s sleep.

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Excerpt from Zayan’s Journal (12 years):

These last two days have been all about resting—a rest from walking, not from learning. This region of Nepal is one of the last remaining strongholds of Tibetan culture. Although I am still learning, from what I understand, Tibetan culture is mainly comprised of different sects of Vajrayana Buddhism. As a result, there is an abundance of prayer flags and chortans (a structure made of stone tablets, inscribed with mandalas and blessings) everywhere.

We visited a monastery that had an experienced monk bless our prayer flags. The ceremony took longer than expected so the monks treated us to some yak butter tea and warm soup before our journey back. The hospitality of the monks amazed me—we walked in unexpectedly and instead of shooing us away or rushing us to leave, they gave us tea, food, blessings, and a blessed satin scarf. In turn, we gave a nominal donation in the temple box.

One thing that I have noticed at this elevation is an abundance of yaks. From milk and butter, to meat (only when they die naturally) and wool, yaks are one of the most useful animals to have around. On top of that, they are really cute. Multiple times, I have had an urge to run up and hug one. Even with their colossal horns always at the ready, they’re cute!

Zayan drew prayer flags in his journal and wrote down color representations:

Color Coding of Prayer Flags:

Blue: Sky
White: Clouds/Wind
Red: Fire
Green: Water/Plants
Yellow: Earth/Ground

Z approaching the gates of Mu Gumba after some steep switchbacks.

Side Note: I have had some sinus issues the last couple of days. What has been interesting is that while trekking, I have nothing to think about but my discomfort— which was not fun. Thank God I’m better now.

Excerpt from Kenza’s Journal (9 years):

Today I got to eat a late breakfast because I was nauseous and light-headed. I think my body is finally understanding what is going on and doesn’t like the idea. We had the choice of a small day hike and I was very conflicted about whether I should go or not.

Once I decided to go, I changed and off we went. About 10 minutes into the hike, Daddy noticed how miserable I was, so he decided to carry me “piggy-back”. It was such a beautiful day and you could see a beeeeeeeeaaaaauuutifuuuul mountain with amazing glaciers. We also saw our first yaks today. Yaks look so fluffy and cute that you just want to run up and cuddle them.

We walked for some time until we reached our destination—an active monastery. At the monastery, one of the monks blessed our prayer flags. Two of the monks were on a sort of festival where they couldn’t talk but the next day they could—and they would keep doing that for 16 days.

We also got blesses shawls and Tibetan tea. Tibetan tea is a combination of yak milk, yak butter, and salt. I did not really like it so Daddy had it for me.

When we got back to camp I finished both my books: Love, Simon, by Becky Albertall and How to Rob a Bank, by Tom Mitchell. I hope tomorrow will bring good hopes and new books. Good night!

Excerpt from Kaysan’s Journal (7 years):

Today it was uphill and flat in the beginning. We went to a 120 year old Tebetin monastery. We saw silent monks bles our prayer flags. While he was blessing the flag, I notest the temple had lots of picturs, mandalas made out of buter, candels, and old text books. At the end of the blesings, we got blesed scarfs. After that we got noodles and buter tea. Then we began the hike back, which was flat and down hill. Hiking back we had to cross a lot of rivers