to a thick crust of frost outside and cold condensation on our windows. We have adopted a method of overlapping our two sleeping bags and sleeping in nearly all our clothes to stay warm at night. This has the added bonus of allowing a very quick getaway the following morning, as we are already pretty much dressed as soon as we roll out of bed.The hike itself followed a wide, easy path along the valley into Manang. The valley cut a relatively fertile swath through the surrounding stony and snowy peaks. Herds of yaks (like small, fluffy buffalo with goat-like nimbleness), ponies, blue sheep (like a blue-grey goat/sheep hybrid), and regular goats grazed on the grass and low shrubs in the river's floodplain.
We arrived in Manang before noon, and promptly washed and hung out our clothes. At this elevation, it is fairly cold all day, and because of the surrounding peaks, the sun goes away early. If the laundry isn't out by one PM, even if the day is very sunny, it will not get dry. This isn't too much of a problem - damp clothes can be safety-pinned to the outside of the pack and dried over the course of the next day - but it is somewhat annoying, and even the few ounces that the dampness adds can be felt. As we sat on the rooftop deck of our guesthouse, guarding our laundry and chatting with a young Czech couple, we mentioned that we had recently moved from Seattle. A girl sitting at the next table over asked what we had done there, since she had recently been living in Seattle too. Turns out she was another UW alum, an undergrad who finished in 2004. Stranger still, she worked with another girl who had traveled on the Bonderman Fellowship last year. Strangest of all, she was not only from the UW, but from the UW Drama Department! Turns out we know, and have worked with many people in common. Small friggin' world!
We finished the day with sunset over the valley. Dramatic, no?
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