October 1, 2013
Heading up the Panjyan Khola valley (Lobsang Sherpa)
Adam Angel reports that the Dolpo team had a shorter day today, reaching Shimen in time to take bucket showers this afternoon and wash some laundry. The team has now travelled from Saldang in the Nankhong Valley over into the Panjyan valley. These valleys are north of the Himalayan watershed and drain west into the Karnali River. The small villages in the area are all in the midst of the harvest season, with lots of barley being cut, dried, and threshed. Tomorrow they continue up the Panjyan Khola (river) past the old trading village of Tingue (Tinje), from the days when salt mined in Tibet was the main trading commodity. Nowadays it is mainly Chinese hardgoods being carried across the nearby border by mules and porters.
Eric Simonson