Off to Har-Ki-Dun... Valley of the Gods

So I have upped the ante a bit, instead of Yamnotri I am headed to a place called Har-Ki-Dun. One of the most incredible treks in the Indian Himalaya, or at least so I am told. I have read much about this place in my research of India, talk to many people, and just have THAT feeling this is a place I need to see. So I am going to see it. Wish me luck.

I Am a Flying Baba

So this weekend I loaded up the bike with paraglider, camping gear, and myself and headed down to DehraDun to do a little paragliding. I have been in email contact with some pilots from Delhi for the past 5 months or so, this weekend I finally got to meet them and go paragliding. They call themselves the Flying Babas, what a great group of guys they are. They picked me up in Dehradun and welcomed me into their group like they knew me for years. After that it was off to the hill. The site is called Hangfire, it got this name because the landing zone is an Indian Army firing range. They shoot missiles and mortars across the river towards the ridge. Scary I know!!! Luckily they were not firing this weekend, but scars from years of use can be seen all over the mountain. The flying conditions on Saturday were not good. No one could sustain much more then a 20 minute flight. But that is OK, it was just nice to have my knees in the breeze. Got 2 flights, great launches and landings. That is all that matter.

Saturday night we camped at Merlins family land on the Sang River. Swimming in the river, drinks, a bonfire and good company made for a great evening. Might end up spending my quarter break heading further up into the mountains with them to paraglide some more this coming weekend.

Here's the bike loaded down on a beautiful Saturday morning, ready to head down.

Here are those pics I promised...Me just after launch on a beautiful afternoon flight

Some of the Flying Babas, minus me and Merlin

Me feeding the cows chipatis (flat bread) Sunday morning at the camp. In my hand is a glass of milk from those same cows.

Me waiting for the bus out on Sunday. Yea, so I am a little hung over, whats it to ya?

Fair Weather Holiday and Yamuna Bridge

Today the powers that be decided to give the weary students and teachers of Woodstock School what they call in India a "fair weather" holiday. Not exactly sure where the name comes from but I guess now that the monsoon is ending I guess the weather is getting nicer. Whatever, all I know is I had a day off from school, not conducive to getting through the curriculum but well needed and appreciated none the less. I used this opportunity to jump on the Enfield and take a cruise. My destination; the holy Yamuna River 50km to the east of Musoorrie. The road snaked steeply down the mountain the whole time. The road surface ranged from butter smooth to filling rattling washout and potholes. The road was literally blasted out of the mountainside, so a few potholes and gravelly sections can be overlooked.

Me and my trusty stead at my final destination, Yamuna Bridge

Pretty sweet looking bike, huh? I will get some better close ups of it soon.

The Yamuna is the second holiest river in India after the Ganges. River Yamuna is revered by millions of Hindus as the blue-coloured (nila-varna) Goddess Yamuna. According to legends, she is the daughter of the Sun God and the twin-sister of Yama, the Hindu God of death. The Goddess is believed to have come down from the heavens to sanctify the world. Once at the river, it was impossible to fight the call of the clean, cool glacier fed waters of the holy Yamuna. So I joined the 15 or so water buffalo that where cooling off in the mid-day heat and jumped in. The water while cool at first was absolutely perfect temperature once you got used to it. The temperature down in the valley is about 15-20 degrees warmer than up in Mussoorie due to the 4000' of elevation difference.

A local kid that is obviously comfortable around 1500 pound animals. After I took this shot he jumped up on the buffalos back and dove off.

This is the same way I will be driving next weekend when I ride out to the source of this holy river in Yamnotri, many miles upstream. Next weekend is fall break so I am going to do a little ride, visit some temples and hike up into the heart of this amazing mountain range.

Stay tuned.

Why Does This Tree Make Me Happy?

The ferns never lie, browning ferns equal the end of monsoon.

Have Bike, Will Travel

That's right, I got a bike!!!! 81 Royal Enfield Bullet. Kinda old I know, but I figured it has been running this long so I thought I would give it a go. Not only that is was only 18,000 rupees!!About $450, not bad huh?

My buddy Dilip rides a Royal Enfield so I asked him if he might know where to find a nice used one. His mechanic Kalu just so happens to fix up old Enfields and sells them. So I went down to Dehra Dun today to look at a few. A few turned into one but the price was right so I made a deal. Dilip rode the bike and insisted Kalu give it a tune up before I rode off with it. So for 1000 rups more I got a complete tune up. My concern was that they would not get it done before dark, I did not want to ride the hour back up the crazy road from hell in the dark on a new to me motorcycle. They insisted no problem, I would be out of there by 5:00. Well I guess they were on India time cause I rode out at 6:45, it was dark as can be. Not only was it dark but it was rush hour in Dehra Dun talk about crazy drives, it was nuts. I got out unscathed, almost. An auto rickshaw ran over my toes, surprised me more than it hurt, it was kinda funny actually. As I was about to ride up the mountain another motorcyclist rode up beside me to ask if I was going to Mussoorie, of course I said yes. We stopped for a minute exchanged names and then took off up the mountain. It was pretty sketchy, but would have been 10 times worse without my buddy. Yes Katie! Yes Mother! I will be very careful, I promise ;) Better pics of bike to come.

My Indian pit crew, they did a ton of work on the bike in a few hours.

This kid is affectionately known as Robert. Must be 12 but he ripped apart the rear wheel on the bike changed the brakes, greased and installed new bearning like a pro.

Time for Silent Reflection

I have always wanted to learn to meditate, the ability to focus your thoughts on some worthy goal or purpose seems very appealing. Since I was a child my mind has raced a million miles a second; mental noise, thoughts, feelings, intuitions, worries all swirling around in one jumbled mess. Don't get me wrong, it has served me well and got me successfully to this point in my life. Needless to say, I have no serious complaints. But to be able to block out the mental noise and focus my thoughts towards one goal is a skill I would love to obtain. Like juggling, I feel like I will never get there. But guess what, I learned to juggle, I think I can learn to successfully meditate. Little did I know I have been meditating for many years, just a different kind of meditation. Meditation is when your mind is focused completely on one thing, from this very deep thinking we enter into an intuitive state of thought. While kayaking a class V river or barreling downhill at 35 mph on a mountain bike the only way to survive is to think intuitively.

I want to experience this is my everyday life. When thinking stops and intuitive experience takes over, this is meditation. These moments are where the deepest moments of revelation and intuition are born, and we reveal our real self. It is a slow process but I am determined to get there. With all the things in my life, both good and bad, if I can center and focus my thoughts I feel it will make me a better, happier person. Wish me luck!

My place for silent reflection, on the cliffs above Woodstock School (self-portrait, thanks tripod!)

Wonderful Weekend - Freedom in the Hills 2.0 and Top Tibba Hike

It was a wonderful weekend in the Indian Himalaya. Monsoon is slowly losing its grip!!! Ferns are turning brown, much more sunlight, and clearer mornings/evenings. It's not over yet but that light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer, another couple of weeks.

Saturday, my friend Steve could see I needed to get out of town so he lent me his scooter for a couple of hours and I took off into the hills. (thanks Steve) It makes me so happy to be out exploring these amazing mountains and the villages that seem to grow from the mountainside. I can't wait to get my own motorcycle (should be this week) so I can see much more of it. It is almost meditative navigating these crazy mountain roads on a two-wheeled vehicle. Nothing else matters except staying on the road and not getting smooshed by a Tata truck. It is so much fun!!

Sunday about 12 of us took a hike up to one of the peaks in the area called Top Tibba. 3 of us are leading a middle school hike there next Saturday and we needed to scope out the route, the others where just along to enjoy the hike. After a few wrong turns we eventually made it to the top of the ridge which we would follow most of the way to the summit. It was a great hike! We had sun, wind, rain, and thunder. And actually for a spell, all 4 at the same time. It will be an interesting hike with middle school. It is reasonably strenuous, I think there will be plenty of motivational speeches to get some of them to the top, but we'll make it. I'll let you know how it goes.

I feel my life here in India becoming better as I settle in and enjoy the wonderful surroundings. It also helps that monsoon is slowing, monsoon is a serious bummer. I never believed in S.A.D.
(seasonal affective disorder) until I lived in a monsoonal climate. Lack of sun can seriously affect ones mood. Add to it mounds of mold, a damp feel to just about everything and it can seriously get you bummed. I think that within the next two weeks everyones mood on this hillside will improve. There might have to be an end of the monsoon party!!! Hope everyone is well.

The gang enjoying lunch before the final push to the summit. Billowing clouds surround us!

Cross Country Day = OUCH!!!!!!

Have you ever raced a 5k at 7000' of elevation? Me either, until today!!!! And all I can say is that it sucks. Today was the umpteenth annual cross country day at Woodstock School. It was not compulsory for staff to run but I figured to gain a little street cred I would participate. Not only that, it gains point for my "house" the defending champion Merlins (extra credit if you know what a Merlin is, hint it is not a guy who wears a pointy hat and casts spells). Of course I had to run with the big dogs, the 11th and 12th grade boys, lets hear it Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Our course was five kilometer from the school gate up to Flag Hill (aprox. 2.5K, 90% uphill) and then past the school gate to a turn around, then back to the school gate 5k in total. Let me tell you it was an asskicker!!!!!! I have only run once since coming here and a few time early this summer to get that beach body on. So I was pretty out of shape. BUT, drum roll please. I still finished 8th overall out of 38 runners. I beat all but 3 students (staff do not get a places only students). The old men (staff) got 5 of the top 8 places. I have not run a foot race like that since junior high school. It hurts, but you know it kind of gives you a natural high pushing your body that hard. But I don't want to repeat it too soon.

Format Change!

As you will notice I have changed the format of my blog. A beautiful, enlightened creature has let me in on a little secret, a web page with a black background saves energy. Makes sense to me. It takes no energy to put black up on a computer screen. Every little bit helps right? Hope everyone is well. Stay tuned new blog coming in less than 24 hours.