Impermanence and Dolma La-Tibet

A long grueling day as we pushed on for ten hours with Dolma-la Pass at 18,600ft elevation as our destination. We have caught up with the main mass of pilgrims. A procession of horses with their elderly riders and many others slowly struggle upwards. On the way we pass another spot of offering, Shiva-tsal. This site is a place of death and renewal. Buddhist believe that one should leave a personal item as a gesture of acknowledgment that the earthly processions of this life are unimportant and that we will not dread the moment of death, that it is a given, we all reach that moment and it  is not to be feared. I leave my small stocking cap on the pile of clothing, an act to purge all bad Karma. We continue and arrive at the prayer flag covered summit. I take a silk scarf I had carried from Kathmandu and tie it to a string of flags. One of our support staff ties a new strand of colored flags to the pile that massively moves with the breeze, a cloth being that breathes with each gust of wind. I spend an hour sitting in the sun and beauty of the surroundings before walking the rocky train down the other side of the pass. It will be hours before we finally reach our next camp near a small stream. Exhausted we spend another night.