between the Nakvak and the Korok: an expedition to the Torngat mountains. Hiking through the Valley of the cirques, climbing Mont d'Iberville, fishing in the Nakvak Valley, Canada, Torngat Mountains, northern Québec, trek, Nakvak, Korok, icefield, caribou trail, summit, travelogue, trip, travel, hike

 
 
 





Desolate landscape, first day of the trek


 

Sunday, November 16
A moment between Pokhara and Muktinath

The higher we got, the slower I went. I learned to use my two trekking poles to allow my arms to take some of the weight and help my legs out with the constant climbing. Hour after hour we trekked through the desolate landscape, which made me feel very small and far away from everything familiar.

The blustery cold wind was at our backs, sometimes seeming to help push us along. It all seemed to take on a very poetic feeling. As if the trek were moving through one vast temple, with the ceremonial silences interspersed with sounds of rushing wind and running water from the creeks we passes, and little temples by the trail where I could here people chanting and at other times singing, and below us where there were some areas of soil, little farms where people invoked the sacraments of life.

A woman and a man plowing their field with oxen. The growing of food, a few green trees in the vast brown vista. The continuity of life in a world of rock and wind and sky and water and sun. And the rhythm of the trek, one step then another, arms and feet, despite the increasing reluctance of the lungs.

More of this day
The next day


this travelogue is part of the subside travelzine
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