DAILY PHOTO: David Scott Trail, Meghalaya

 

 

 

Taken on April 17, 2017 on the David Scott Trail

 

This was the view were we came off the trail near Lad-Mawphlang

 

I’m back after three weeks traveling about the Indian Northeast, i.e. the states of Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur. And I’ve got a pile of pics.

The David Scott Trail is a hiking trail that was built as a carriage trail from Burma into India at the behest of the British colonial leader whose name it bears. Since it was made for traffic by animal-drawn carriages, it makes for easy hiking. It’s a scenic trail. It should be noted that (like most trails in India) it isn’t well-marked, however, the fact that it is wider than most trails and has old paving stones along much of the route makes it fairly easy to avoid getting lost.

We hiked only the section from Mawphlang to Lad-Maphlang. It’s an easy day hike.

POEM: Deep in the Forest

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deep in the forest

spots of light

spatter in a spray

a disco ball pattern

tilting too slowly

to be seen

by humans

but a blur

to the trees

humans are to trees

as hummingbirds

are to humans

flitting too fast

to recognize

living too briefly

to seem useful

POEM: Kashmiri Haiku

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mountain torn in twain

a ridge rended like a child’s

paper crafts project


the shikara slips

through inky predawn waters

a bare bulb aim point


burbling waters

ubiquitous, mountain soul

resonate to it


a glacier-fed lake

mirror clear until fog forms

filling the valley


foal copies its mom

grazing on neat pasture land

it’s never rushed



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DAILY PHOTO: Himalayan Lizard

 

Taken in July of 2016 on the trail between Naranag and Sonamarg

Taken in July of 2016 on the trail between Naranag and Sonamarg

 

This isn’t the wildlife I expected to see on our Kashmiri Great Lakes Trek, but I’ll take what I can get.

DAILY PHOTO: Double Rainbow on Pangong Tso

Taken in August of 2016 at Pangong Tso, Ladakh

Taken in August of 2016 at Pangong Tso, Ladakh

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POEM: The Certain Man

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I met a man

along the road

who thought he knew

which way to go.


Certain was he;

he knew the path.

He had a map.

He’d done the math.


“Your map won’t help

you now, I fear.

Past the map’s edge

the world turns queer.”


“I’ll find my way,

be sure of that,”

the man dismissed

with words he spat.


When I returned,

an hour ago,

I passed a car-

cass in the snow.


No doubt, twas he,

the certain man–

hit a blizzard

in burning sands.

DAILY PHOTO: A Spray of Yellow Flowers in Kashmir

Taken in Kashmir in August of 2016

Taken in Kashmir in August of 2016

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DAILY PHOTO: The Red Cliffs of Varkala

Taken on April 2, 2016 at Varkala

Taken on April 2, 2016 at Varkala

DAILY PHOTO: One Mountain, Two Lightings

Taken in July of 2015 at Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP)

Taken in July of 2015 at Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP)

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DAILY PHOTO: A Himalayan Columbine

Taken in Great Himalayan National Park in June of 2015

Taken in Great Himalayan National Park in June of 2015