Mountain Trek

About three weeks ago, if you had tried to locate me on Google maps, I would have been a minuscule dot somewhere in the mountains just north of Chiang Mai.

Zoom in a little further and you could have seen me walking a long a hiking trail, pack only a third full, passing through a stunningly beautiful corner of Thailand.

The three day trek I took through mountains, across rivers, and round hill tribe villages was really amazing.

Covering 16 kilometers on the first afternoon, I walked through beautiful bamboo jungles, crossed parched rice paddies, greeted grazing water buffaloes and cows, and briefly peeking into three different hill tribe villages.

Sweaty and tired, that first night I was filled with a sort of crackling energy, thrilled with all the wonderful things that had filed the day. I helped our guide Mr. S and a local man named Sari cook our dinner, and I was given a lesson in how to properly roll spring rolls. Another group member joined me in cooking, and we enjoyed our time in the kitchen,  laughing and joking with Mr. S and Sari even though we didn't speak very much of each others languages. That night, around a warm fire, our guide told us about the Karen Hill tribe. he told us about their history, their movement east and south out of Burma over the years, about their clothes, about their customs and how things have changed for them over the last few decades.

We slept in a large wooden hut. Out beds were simple mats on the floorboards with a blanked and a small pillow. It was lovely. And truth be told, I swear I'm not kidding, I could see myself living in one. They're so simple. Kitchen and bedroom raised up off the ground, the space under the hut devoted to daily life.

It gets cold at night in the mountains at this time of year. So one blanket wasn't quite enough. I woke up at 3:30 am, very, very cold. But made it through the night with a sense of humor and a smile.

Early the next morning, I woke up and breakfasted in the chill mountain air, though I didn't know it, this day would prove to be even better than the previous one.

It started off with an easy forty five minute trek into a nature reserve. There, we met two kind elephants, healthy and happy. I got the privilege to ride on along a river that wound through a tight valley. One of the most beautiful places I've every been. Riding elephants is a tricky, bumpy business sometimes. And my friend E and I thought we might fall off a few times as we went down steep hills!

A quick stop at the village school before lunch and  swim in the nearby river after, we set off for our second day of trekking later in the afternoon. This trek might have been even better than the first. Just as beautiful, and we waded through a gorgeous stretch of river, before spending a few minutes on a sandbank learning a bit about walking meditation.

Beautiful. Beautiful. I kept repeating that through the day. It was peaceful. Tranquil. And to just move! It's been a long time since I've worked so hard, walked for so long. I missed it.

Another night was spent by the side of a laughing river, found us in the firelight again, laughing, singing along to guitar.

In case I ever doubted it, I learned that night that music is a powerful connecting force. Never will I forget singing in the middle of northern Thailand, with our wonderful guide.

The next morning, bamboo rafts carried us down the river and over some rapids. Two hours later, we pulled up to the banks of the river, the trek coming to the end.

If I ever thought  that I did not hiking. If I ever though that I did not like nature, or the outdoors, those three short days would have changed my mind forever. There isn't anything more rewarding than looking up from the dusty path to see the sides of mountains rising up and away from you, the delicate greens and purples of the forest layering themselves over the parched ground. Working up a sweat feels great, but so does washing it off at the end of the day in a cold shower, or better yet, cold river. The world is a beautiful place. Despite all the horrible things we hear about that are happening everyday, there are still beautiful spaces and wonderful people. There's no better way to remember that than to go out into the world.