Monday, December 21, 2009

Hike to Nam Hoo

(A tough hike. Beautiful Forest)
(playing with the children at the school in Huay Nam)
(A Karen woman, wearing traditional clothing, at work)
(The tea served to thirsty, tired hikers)


(The fungus is among-us: a forest shot)

The hike to Nam Hoo was brutal. The first 40 minutes were pleasant, but the next 3 hours were straight up hill. At one point our guides got frustrated by the relatively slow pace of our group and just booked it to the top. We spent the next hour trying to discern where the path was and searching for the footsteps of our guides. At the top we paused for lunch, only to find that leeches had wiggled their way in past our gaiters, pants and socks. The anticoagulant that they secrete left us all with bloody feet and ankles.

After lunch we were under the assumption that the rest of the hike would be easy, because we were following a road down to the village of Nam Hoo. The second half of the hike turned out to be one of the most strenuous hikes I’ve ever done. After hiking straight up for another hour and a half with no shade (because we were on a road), we went straight down. The roads were not paved, but rather bumpy dirt roads that were washed away in many parts and eroded on the sides. The compact dirt and loose gravel made it difficult to get a solid footing. The downhill wreaked havoc on my shins, toes and quads. We had a few close calls, with people slipping here and there and their heavy packs pulling them down on their backsides. If it were not for a great group of people, singing and making good conversation, the hike would have much much worse.

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