The Kali Gandaki.......Road?

Sorry for the long delay in between posts! As of today, I am at 390$ raised towards my goal of 2000$. Click the above button to help donate!

This post is about a story I read on the BBC News website, yesterday. On BBC World News in my car, I sometimes hear the 'From Our Own Correspondent' piece. I read this story yesterday about the new roads being built in Nepal written by James McConnachie.

Click here to read 'New roads bring change and danger to Nepal'.
Click here to listen to 'New roads bring change and danger to Nepal'

The Kali Gandaki gorge runs through the second half of the Annapurna Circuit trek, and is widely considered the deepest gorge on the planet. On either side of you, you have Annapurna I and Dhaulagiri - the tenth and seventh highest peaks, respectively. When walking through the gorge, you are at approximately 8200ft. Meanwhile, the peaks on either side of you rise more than 18,000ft higher than that. One of the other issues with this gorge is a naturally created wind tunnel, of sorts. After about 11am, winds that blow North get bottlenecked in this gorge, which creates exceptionally high winds practically every day. I experienced this firsthand, and have certainly taken note to leave Ranipauwa earlier in the day than I did.

Well, I wrote James to share my experience. About an hour before reaching Jomsom, a couple I was walking with during that day and I were walking along this road, and came across a pretty startling sight. Nature had obviously been fighting back, as there was a weak point in the road, and it had collapsed. A crane that was being used for this construction was laying on its side in the dried up riverbed! So the danger was pretty obvious.





I received an email from James not long after, and he responded to this - I had emailed the above picture - as well as my comments on the stones that the bus drivers obviously had for constantly riding this route.

Dear Walt

Thanks so much for taking the time to write. I think that might have been the very crane repairing one stretch of the road when I was there in late September... Totally agree about the drivers. They hate it - have to get really revved up inside before they begin the drive.

Let me know how your October trip goes? You may know I write a guidebook to Nepal, the Rough Guide, so I'm always looking for updates and reports.

With thanks

James

If you guys are interested in checking James' stuff out, click here.

And again, please donate if you can!

Lastly, check out the facebook fan page!! Thank you, guys!

Facebook Fan page! Follow us!

Facebook Trek For A Cause fan page

Above is the new fan page for the fundraising efforts. So take a peek and "like" the page!

Video posts!

I will be using my Samsung Galaxy Tab to occasionally create videos for the blog. I will be using the Galaxy Tab while on the trip to create a sort of "video diary" of the trip, and create a movie of a lot of footage when I return. Above is the first video for the blog. Thank you, guys! Click the above button to donate!

Another cool travel blog!

I wanted to share another blog with you guys. When I took the bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara, I sat next to a gentleman who was with his family on what I assumed could have been a vacation like mine. I had no idea it was one that far surpassed mine! They had pulled their three kids out of school, and for a full year were traveling around the globe!

Check out the "Where is Bear, Raz, Magi, Digs, and Miranda" blog. There are a lot of great pictures, there, too!

Donation button added!

To help avoid confusion, I will be adding a "Click To Donate" button that leads directly to the WWF site on every post. This should make it easier for people to go directly to my Panda Page to help me reach my fundraising goal. When I am able to make a better donation button, I will add that on here, instead.

Also, spread the word! On the right on the screen, you will see an option to share this page via Facebook or Twitter, also! The more people that know, the better! Let's make this big!

A story that helped give me the idea to do this....

Along with my love of Nepal and the wildlife that inhabits the country - namely the snow leopard - there was another story that helped give me the idea about what I will undertake in October. There's a great story that I read that made me think to doing this. Read about New York Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey and his climb to Kilimanjaro. He raised money for Bombay Teen Challenge, a very worthy cause that helps women in India to improve their lives and get them off the streets where many become a part of the seedier aspect of human culture.

After reading a prior story in early January about his soon-to-be climb, I thought about trying to use my trip to help give back to the world in some way. It turned into my own goal to help the World Wildlife Fund. While I certainly don't have the stature to raise the kind of money Dickey raised (he raised over $110,000!!!!), I want to work hard to hit my goal, and then see how much further I can take it. I really hope that anyone reading this can give even a few dollars on my Panda Page.

As I said in my last post, even five is more than zero. I think we can all help improve the world if we all give just a little of ourselves. In great numbers, that small amount adds up, and can help to give people around the globe a chance. Not just people, but the animals that share this planet with us! Thank you guys so much for whatever you can give. Remember, share this page with your friends! Basically? Pay it forward!

Lastly, congratulations to Dickey for far surpassing his fundraising goal and for making it to the top of Kilimanjaro!

If you think one person can't change the world.....

Think again! Whenever you think that fighting for whatever you may believe in is futile, you have to remember that ONE is still far greater than ZERO. Never feel guilty about what little you may have been able to give. If you can give five dollars? Five is much greater than zero. As Lao Tzu once said:

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

The path to helping fix the world's ills starts with even the smallest of gifts. Find a group that hits home for you, and give what you can! It can be towards cancer research, Alzheimer's, or even supporting a local homeless shelter. If you view the entire trek as daunting, you'll be too scared to take that first single step. Once you actually start the walk, you'll be surprised how naturally it comes to you!