notes and images

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How to trek the Markha Valley (with or without a kid) – and what to expect

Kongmaru La Pass – 5,260 meters / 17,257 feet

We recently did an amazing seven day trek with our eight year old in the Markha Valley in Ladakh in the Indian Himalayas. After sharing some photos and details of our rich discussions with the people we met, we had multiple questions from friends. How did you organize it? How did you communicate with the locals?

There are lots of stories online about how to do it without a guide. For this trip, with a little kid, and lacking Ladakhi in our modest suite of languages, we decided to go with a guide. Not everything has to be hard.

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Raiders of Ojo del Albino

“Can I ask a question?” he said in Spanish (that much I knew, though my traveller’s Spanish is all but gone). “Is this the path to Ojo del Albino?”

I looked at Barcelona. Barcelona looked at me. We both shrugged at the guy we would come to know as France. There were no names on this mission, no background stories. Just three guys from three places, brought together by fate for one purpose – to find the Eye of the Albino.

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To the Far East in Bolivia

Sept 2010: The Milton Farm. A tiny Quaker family in far eastern Bolivia. We’d just finished a hike and had stopped in to buy some fresh yoghurt. Our friendly guide, the young friend of Milton W’s five kids, told them about the yoga poses Yon had done on the hike.

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The High Cliffs of Huangyukou

^ With Ben (left) on top of the cliff at Huangyukou

Most navigation arguments have little real consequence. “You missed the exit!” “That was the exit?” “I told you to get in the right lane!” You might be late, but you won’t have to sleep outside in the cold.

But on the side of a cliff in failing light, they take on a different complexion.

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Sunrise above Shuitoucun

November, 2016. Sunrise above Shuitoucun. Set off at three in the morning, a cold November Sunday, hike four kilometers through fog and forest to the pass, down to the Watergate and then up the long line of Great Wall. The first light rises as you breach the cloudbase, and then, southeast, to your left, the huge yellow sun bursts into the world from beyond the range.

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