clear sailing

the waiting is over.  the flags are now flying on a craggy ridge top high over the shanti stupa overlooking the town of leh. it took some work; besides the long, sweaty and breathless hike up the loose gravel gullies to gain the ridge, i had to fashion suitable mounting points for the flags in what proved to be a fairly precarious setting.

predicting the need for some rudimentary rigging materials, i kept a keen eye to the ground as i walked the roads and trails towards the hills.  stuffing small pieces of wire of various gauges into my pockets and pack proved useful.  together with some pieces of telephone cable and frayed string i had found the day before, i felt reasonably confident i would be able to fashion some secure mounts for the flags.  after some serious scree scrambling and once on the ridge top, i climbed up to the highest point.  here, others had hoisted their flags using long sticks that they must have carried from the valley bottom. the sticks were jammed into cracks in the bedrock and buttressed with piles of loose rocks.

the present tangle of others' flags had been hammered hard by the weather, so i was determined to build as durable a mounting system as i could in such conditions.  space was at a premium, and the only viable location was along a teetering series of loose spires that dropped downward as a narrow spine from the high point.  slipping off in any direction would have likely resulted in broken limbs, at least.  i found a couple of weathered sticks that had long since lost their moorings and their flags, so i took a risk that the gods wouldn't mind if i used them.

warily, i worked my way over and around the spires.  for those of you familiar with the loose and grainy quality of some of the rock in joshua tree, you know what i was dealing with.  every hold was dubious...either covered in pea sized gravel, crumbling to pieces under the slightest pressure, or teetering and creaking from its base.  i managed to jam the longer of the two sticks into a suitable crack in the last and lowest spire.  i pulled out my collection of string and wire and lashed the smaller stick to the larger, making a decent flag pole.  slowly, i worked my way back and forth along the spires; each trip involved finding head-sized rocks back on the ridge top and carrying them carefully down to the sticks.  finally, i had built a reasonable cairn around the base of the sticks to provide extra support against the coming winter weather.

the flags are now flying high and carrying my prayers to wind. the blessing of these flags was handled by a collection of monks at the residence of the local ringpoche.  i had been holding out for the ringpoche to do the deed, but he was never around when i visited.

call it coincidence or simply my mind's own wanting, but i do feel much lighter now that the oracle's instruction to me has been fulfilled.  for the past week, i have been feeling restless...partly homesickness and partly confusion as to whether to stay longer in ladakh.  the homesickness i knew would come, and the comings and goings of other travellers has added to this sense.  this feeling has abated...for now.

whether to stay longer in ladakh (versus travel to other parts of india) is a question that comes up most days.  there is so much to india and the options are nearly endless, yet the thought of packing up and moving around does not appeal to me right now.  i enjoy the friendly ladakhis with whom i share my daily bread and there is so much more to learn and do here.  the tourist season has pretty much ended, so it is wonderful to experience the area without the presence of so many other foreigners.  tripping off to dharamsala or goa or varanasi or any other location on the ticklist just feels like...i don't know...so predictable!  who knows, i may yet pull up stakes and shuffle off to the coast of karnataka and find somewhere a little less...consumed.  for now, i will continue to hang my toque in ladakh.