Yeti- The Ecology of a Mystery by Daniel C Taylor

Author:Daniel C Taylor
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: N/A
ISBN: 9780199091362
Publisher: OUP India
Published: 2018-02-15T05:00:00+00:00

ten

From Whence Knowledge

10.1 A Cryptic Jungle Trail?

Source: Author

Verity of Darkness

November 1983. We need more bear skulls. They need to be sympatric, from the same habitat—at least one ground bear and one tree bear. As I land at Tumlingtar, the ­airline agent informs me about available return flights to Kathmandu; with the Dashain holiday in two weeks, only one seat is left, and that flight leaves in six days. If I do not take that seat, no seat would be available for a month. So I start walking. Our previous trek to Shyakshila took five days, one way.

Villagers loiter at the tea shop beyond the edge of the airfield. Over glasses of sweet milky tea at the end of the day, government officials and friends are catching up while watching the perpetual carrom game where four players flick their fingers to ricochet black and white discs into the four corner pockets on the board. From thorn bushes behind the tea shop a dove coos. I tighten my pack straps; the goal for tonight’s unplanned evening hike is 10 miles away. I must cover half the distance planned for tomorrow tonight, so sleep will be in Bhotebas, 6 miles beyond Khandbari. Then I must reach Shyakshila in two days to return for my flight to Kathmandu. For, in addition to the urgency of my airplane ticket, if adoption paperwork now started goes as hoped, a daughter will be waiting in Kathmandu.

A visibly angry young man steps out of a dry-goods store and tromps off uphill. There’s no village before Khandbari, so he’s probably going that far. Maybe the miles to Khandbari Bazaar can be shared. I hustle to catch up; he’s walking fast and will make a good trail partner. His wife is probably beginning to cook lentils and rice for his dinner. As he turns the switchback above, I glimpse his profile which suggests he’s a Brahmin. His dress suggests he is probably a schoolteacher.

I close in on him until 10 yards behind and then adopt the flow of his climb. Neither of us says anything. Westerners learn their climbing on staircases. As children we hold the banister, taking one riser at a time, each tread a stage to the next. By contrast, Nepalis learn climbing on slopes lacking symmetrical breaks, legs always adjusting with the hill. The foot placement does not get regimented with the consistency of a carpenter’s cut; step selection is what makes the climb easier. Legs prefer short strides and quick movement. Ascending, bodies bob as shoulders lean in and out to the slope to balance their weight over the feet, stride adjusting, flowing uphill like water running down—that is the Nepali way, though the city-bred, staircase-taught Nepalis can also be spotted by their clothing. In a land of mountains, the way of walking speaks volumes about where the person has come from as does the accent in one’s speech.

The eager Brahmin knows I am behind. He can probably describe me even though he’s never looked straight at me; he did turn his eyeballs in my direction at bends in the trail.

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