#19 - Nepal? (~1977)

I am trying to remember where we first met.  I believe it was another dinner party at Doug's house, similar to the one which led me to Royalty in Belgium.  During the evening, I was introduced to a fellow named Bob Wilson, who was a college instructor, member of Mazamas Mountaineering Organization and an active mountain climber. Bob told me about the Mazamas sponsored Men's American Annapurna I expedition scheduled for 1979 that he would be leading and heard that I had a locally based trekking company.  He was looking for assistance with the climb in the areas of logistics, travel arrangements, luggage/climbing gear cargo as well as a possible fund-raising trek around Annapurna.  Would I be interested in joining the team and providing these support services?  Of course, I would.

The next morning at home, I searched for a world atlas and found Nepal tucked away in the Himalayas.  A short distance to the west of the capital, Kathmandu, at least visually, was the Annapurna massive and Annapurna I.  Fortunately, I had more than a year to research airlines flying from the west coast to Kathmandu, cargo requirements, trekking the Himalayas, local weather and any other questions that Bob or the other climbers may have had regarding their destination.  The climb was set for fall 1979 and the climbing team met regularly to plan and implement the Annapurna I expedition.

A brief reminder, once more, that we planned and researched without computers and the internet.  I "interviewed" local support services in Kathmandu via aerograms, which took between several weeks and a couple months to receive any responses.  There weren't a lot of options for local support services, so the "interview" process was short on numbers but long on communication exchanges. 

One of the climbers had a friend who was CEO of a company called CornNuts and they became one of the climb sponsors along with the Mazamas.  When the Around Annapurna Trek was finalize, the company sent nine  of the eighteen hikers to join the trek.  This would have been a large trekking group in any situation and it taxed our young Sirdar as well as the Sherpa staff, porters, cooks and the trek leader who had done only one Nepal trek previously.

Susanne (wife, whom I met through Sunset's "Things To Do" column - (another story)) and I arrived in Kathmandu about 2 weeks early to get organized and take a short trek together with our young Sirdar in the Gosaikunda region.  Except for my passing out while walking down a dry river bed in the intense heat, all went well.  Yes, this was the "one Nepal trek previously."  We were ready to greet our members and lead them on the Around Annapurna trek, or so we thought.

 

Around Annapurna Trek Airport Member Greeting (1979)

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Walking, ideally, is a state in which the mind, the body and the world are aligned, as though they were three characters finally in conversation together, three notes suddenly making a cord.
                                                                                                                            Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust

#18 - Zurich, Avignon, Rome, Athens (1977)

In post #2, I had been rejected from taking a book to the Royal Family of Belgium. You may remember the light mist in the air in post #4 as I walked along the Limmat River carrying my backpack, crossed the street stepping over the trolley rails running down the middle and entered onto a cobble stone walkway in a seemingly dingy section of the city which appeared to be a hotel district.  At several hotels, a young woman stood at the front door to welcome new guests.

I did not find my hotel that night and returned to the train station to continue my onward journey as well as some needed sleep.

Why visit Avignon?  I don't remember the exact motivation, but it was a learning experience on the cultural impact of historic events.  On the train, I met a young German fellow who was sightseeing around Europe.   He was going to visit Avignon and asked if I would like to join him.  Of course, I could.  After arriving at the station, we walked around the city carrying our packs. Late afternoon, we begin looking for a reasonable hotel for the night.  We had been communicating in my limited German and his limited English, but neither of us spoke French.  Thinking that many Europeans speak several languages, he asked the first hotel for available rooms.  None available.  The same response came at the second hotel, then the third. At the forth, I asked about rooms in English and turned to answer, in German, his question when the hotel clerk responded that they had no rooms.  The fifth hotel clerk told us, basically, that they didn't have rooms for Germans.

I walked back to the train and continued on to Rome and Athens.  He stayed in Avignon looking for a place to sleep.

Greece had captured my imagination as a location that could be planned similarly to New Zealand, i.e. travel with a small group via passenger van and visit historic and cultural sites.  Language would be a major problem and I would need a Greek speaker to accompany us. I took the ferry from Brindisi, Italy to Igoumenitsa, Greece and bus to Athens to research my future Portrait of Greece for May 1978.  Having learned my lesson in Avignon, I spoke English and found a rooftop room in the Plaka with a view of the Acropolis.  One evening while dining on a Taverna patio, a fellow at the next table asked how I happened to be in Athens. During our evening conversation, I learned that George was a Classics Professor from Ohio State on a short visit to prepare for his sabbatical year in Greece. He spoke Greek. Would he be interested to travel around Greece with a small group of Americans in a passenger van finding hotels and restaurants as we went?  Of course he would. We agreed that I would cover his apartment and travel expenses during our journey.  I had found our guide, a van rental company and an accommodation Athens, so it was time to return home and find some travelers.

Sunset Magazine, "Things to Do" column, Portrait of Greece, May 1978.  Fifteen requested more information and six deposits were received for a 28 day cultural tour with a Classics Professor and a driver who had never driven in Greece.  It was a fantastic trip.

Chania Fishermen Mending Nets (1978)

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I prepared excitedly for my departure, as if this journey had a mysterious significance.  I had decided to change my mode of life.  "Till now," I told myself, "you have only seen the shadow and been well content with it; now, I am going to lead you to the substance."
                                                                                                                        Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

#17 - The Art of Travel Design

Let me start by repeating two quotations from blog #1:

"For the history that I require and design, special care is to be taken that it will be of wide range and made to the measure of the universe.

For the world is not to be narrowed till it will go into the understanding (which has been done hitherto), But the understanding is to be expanded and opened till it can take in the image of the world."  

                                                                                                                                                                                                        Francis Bacon

I would like to draw from the mission statement directing my work and suggest the I will be writing for those Travelers who seek life-long learning in a creative, stimulating environment while promoting cross-cultural understanding.  The Traveler's whose focus is the diverse cultural and geographic settings of our global community that provide an environment for growth in understanding international relationships through a prepared, personal encounter with regional nationalities and the environments that molds their culture.

I want to apply Seven Principals of Art Design to travel design and, as a text suggests, "How one applies these principals determines how successful a design may be."  The Principals:  Balance, Emphasis, Pattern, Repetition, Rhythm, Variety & Unity.

Variety:   A new location or experience should be scheduled into a journey without alienating the traveler or overwhelming the local community.  If the traveler is removed too far from their comfort zone, the new experience may become a distraction rather than captivating.  The local community should not be impacted to the extent that they become unwelcoming to the traveler (i.e. many Bhutan festivals have pushed the local community into the back as foreigners move in and jostle for prime viewing areas), but the welcoming should not become a culturally artificial tourist show.  Every destination has a "bucket list site" that must be included as a recognized historic or cultural place. But, these "must see" places should not exclude the "you need to see" sites that are significant and known locally but not necessarily internationally.

Emphasis:       Travelers, usually, join an overseas trip which has a focus: trekking, hiking, wildlife safari, birding, culinary, cruising, sailing, wine tasting, etc.     Context is important.   Without losing the focus, or the traveler's purpose for joining the trip, the diverse cultural and geographic setting of the local community should be introduced so that the traveler's "understanding..is expanded and opened."

Rhythm:      If you have been on a trek lasting 10 days or more, you understand how this principal may apply to travel.  There is a daily routine that the Sherpa staff follow beginning with the cook and kitchen staff 4am breakfast preparation for trekkers and their fellow Sherpa, cleaning and packing up the campsite, loading porters, sending out the Sherpa guide ahead with the trekkers, cook and staff passing the trekkers in order to prepare lunch along the trail, serving lunch and cleaning up, Sherpa staff passing the trekkers in order to set up the tents at the next campsite while the cook and kitchen staff begin dinner preparation, serving the trekkers dinner and, finally, bedtime for everyone except one or two Sherpa who stay awake during the night for security.  There is a rhythm to trekking as well as cruising, sailing or any other type of travel.    If either of these are disrupted due to weather, political social events or facility/transportation maintenance, it is important to plan equilibrium so that the disruption does not become the overriding focus of attention.

Balance:    Accommodations, for example, should reflect the local history, culture and architecture as much as possible.  Consideration of traveler's health and safety must be considered as well as whether the place and location enhance the traveler's experience through accessibility to the community or cocoons and isolates the traveler away from cultural experiences.  A historic and expensive hotel, such as the Strand in Yangon, can be included by finding several less expensive yet satisfactory accommodations.  Above all, accommodations should not become a distraction from the travel experience due to faulty facilities or questionable food conditions.    

Pattern & Repetition:    We have all experienced the museum, monastery, cathedral, ancient ruin, etc. etc. travels that pique one's interest at the beginning but the repetition drags down the enthusiasm. How does one pique interest to a peak and not down to a valley?   Every person and place has a tale which can be told as a static event in history or, better, as a archival story which expands the local historic narrative.

Unity:       On the final day, has the journey encouraged more questions or has one "been there & done that."  No matter what the overall trip emphasis, the experience should not "be narrowed till it will go into the understanding (which has been done hitherto), But the understanding is to be expanded and opened till it can take in the image of the world."  The parts, the individual experiences, must fit into and enhance the whole. 

Inya Lake  - Leg Rower Fisherman (2013)

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The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.

                                                     Neil de Grasse Tyson, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

#16 - A Chair, A Desk & Sunset Magazine (1975)

I had a small basement office with a chair, a desk and a typewriter.  Fort Lewis College had asked me to organize their Hawaiian Botany course for the next February, but I needed to work with an organization.  Or, perhaps, I could start my own.  What would I call it?  The name must celebrate local cultures and customs, plus, include an overseas element and a hint of adventure.

Please note:  this was before computer, cell phone, internet and FAX - all those inventions that would make office work and communications much easier.  I didn't have a copy machine or office supplies.  I had enough money to print 500 letterhead and envelopes.

I sat down on my chair, behind my desk with a typewriter at my side.  Folkways International Trekking was conceived.

Some folks who heard about the Hawaiian Forestry asked me to repeat it.  I had begun working on a trip to New Zealand at the Forestry Center and a couple wanted to join.

My parents subscribed to a magazine called Sunset, which had articles covering restaurants, hotels, places to visit and special interests in the western states.  In the back of the publication, readers would find a small section titled, "Things To Do."  I wrote a letter to the editor and described my upcoming New Zealand Town & Country.  Seventy people responded to the trip description and requested further details for the November departure.

One New Zealand Town & Country, a Ft. Lewis College Hawaiian Botany in January, a Hawaiian Forests & Gardens the following April, two PCC Community Education hiking and backpacking classes as well as a couple wilderness outings and Mt. Hood climbs for a Portland drug and alcohol halfway house. Folkways International Trekking was launched.

Pond Reflection - Three Sisters Wilderness (2014)

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Walking is among the most life-affirming of human activities.  It is the way we organize space and orient ourselves to the world at large.  It is the living proof that repetition - placing one foot in front of the other - can in fact allow a person to make meaningful progress.  It's no coincidence that parents celebrate their child's first steps - the first, and perhaps the greatest, signs of independence.
                                                                    Hiking with Nietzsche:  On Becoming Who You Are (page 26) John J. Kaag

#15 - Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (March 2019) II

Question:  Why are these hoods raised?

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Answer:  Packrats build nests in dark, enclosed spaces where they will chew electrical wiring.

#14 - Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (March 2019)

Organ Pipe Cactus

Soaptree Yucca

Ocotillo Cactus

Saguaro and Ocotillo Cactus

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Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a U.S.National Monument and UNESCO biosphere reserve located in extreme southern Arizona that shares a border with the Mexican state of Sonora.  The park is the only place in the United States where the organ pipe cactus grows wild.

#13 - Joshua Tree National Park (March 2019)

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Summer clouds sit silently.

They sit, quietly gathering strength.

Gathering strength from the good winds.

This strength that becomes thunder.

The thunder so loud it vibrates the earth.

The thunder that surrounds us.

                                                                            "Cewagi" from Ocean Power by Ofelia Zepeda.