Camping at 4640m altitude!

It is a great camp site here on the pass with views into 2 valleys below me! But the weather today is cloudy with wind from the east! I hope it will improve over the next 24h. I might stay here till tomorrow noon! I met nobody on the route and dont expect anyone to come! Most people go for the easy 4-days Santa Cruz Trek and they even hire guides for that! This way at least the locals earn some easy money!

When I use the word porter I actually mean the persons that care for the donkeys! Here no person is carrying heavy loads on his back - the tough work is done by the donkeys and sometimes also horses! In Nepal I had better experience with porters: there they are inexpensive, very strong and very reliable! Here they dont go the last mile, e.g. originally we agreed that they carry my 20kg load over 2 passes! Later they told ne that the second pass is too steep for donkeys, but of course this was not the truth..

Maybe I go solo the next 2 weeks, because it is better for photography without any "group pressure"! If i could I would just hire a nice donkey, but without an additional person! Then I would have everything under control! And no negotiations on how far and when to hike!

So raining now! But never mind! i have a rest day in my tent with reading books and music!

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