A few hiking highlights ; Mass burning of old crops

Yesterday I took a hike down what literally looked like the yellow brick road from Wizard of Oz. There are a lot of stone paths like this in the area. It is amazing how nicely put together they are and how much work it must have been to build them.

At the base of the path, there were some nicely decorated small horses grazing. A young boy was quite proud of his horses and at his urging photos were taken.

I walked back to the ashram via the road. The landscape here has big boulders intermittently scattered. They seem lonely when you come upon them. Like a lost sheep away from his flock. It makes me wonder about the geology of the area.

I also came across some Langur Monkeys on my walk. They are quite handsome. I always carry a walking stick with me. Monkeys can be aggressive and I have had things stolen from me by monkeys while walking.  I always go armed!

A practice throughout third world countries is crop burning. The local farmers are currently burning all their old crops. They are also burning piles of pine needles. The needles make walking on the rocky trails treacherous. They cause you to slip and slide. The air has been smokey and the Himalayas have not been seen for several days now. There are falling ashes in the air and your throat gets coated with the smoke. Last night there were fires burning on the hillsides all around us. The fires from a distance eerily look like lava flows. We are eager for the air to clear!