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Porters
When we went over the pass, we had 17 porters. But when we started from BesiSahar, there were about 23. As our food was eaten, and our loads shrank, we sent back more porters.
Some of the porters carried tents, others carried the trekkers' duffels, others carried food, and others carried miscellaneous camping equipment. They would pack up and start out of camp about 7 AM, just as we were starting to eat breakfast. (They would go down the road a mile or two, then cook their breakfast.) We would pass them, many times a day, and they would pass us back. These guys were all nice people. Peter introduced us to them, and we tried to remember their names. Some spoke a minimum of English, some spoke more. We got to know some of them pretty well. These were NICE guys. If WE spoke Nepali better, we would have gotten to know them and like them even better.
Here's another way to look at it: I work hard to earn the money to pay these guys. THEY work hard for me. I ENJOY working hard, to pay them. THEY seem to enjoy working hard for us. That's the kind of deal that's agreeable to me - everybody's happy, working hard. Would I pay them to hike up a hill with my duffel, if I would not work hard to go up the same hill?
Here's another way to look at it. These guys weigh 120 lb - and they carry 80 pounds up the hill. I weigh 200 lb - and carry 15 lb, or 215 lb. total. I carry more than they do! But I have a lot more muscles. It's just they are in much better TRAINING than I have ever been....
Note - these porters really do a great job of carrying. Some carried 75 or 85 lb. - others carried over 100 lb. I tried picking up some of these guys. The smallest of them, at 100 lb., were easy to lift, but the bigger guys at 140 lb had GREAT heavy strong LEGS.
I tried carrying a porter's load. I picked up a load, with two duffels and more, about 80 lb. This uses nothing more than a tump- line - a strap over the porter's forehead. I wobbled a little, but I got the pack on, and I stood up, and I carried it a few yards up the trail, and then 100 yards DOWN the trail, which was a nice idea, as we were going downhill that day. The weight did not bother me, as I can easily carry that much. The wobbly-ness was a concern. I have seen some porters with a waist-strap, to help steady the load, and I think that is a good idea. The lack of shoulder straps does not really bother me.
If I had to carry that 80 pound porter's load up 8 miles and a couple thousand feet in a day, I am sure I could do it. But it's a good thing I do not have to carry such a load DOWN that much, because I don't think my knees are good for that. Yes, there are a number of porters as old as I am. But they have been training better than I have...
We saw some of the professional porters carrying heavy loads on the trail. Some were carrying 160 lb. of pipes... others, 140 lb. of a wooden beam, or 120 lb. of Coca-cola bottles. That's kind of a tough job. I saw a group of 5 guys, carrying what looked like 500 lb of continuous steel cable, packaged as 5 100-pound coils, all linked together, destined for some high bridge or power cable. They moved along so fast I barely got my camera out! A great team.
When we hire a porter off the street, Peter and Jai (the Sirdar) make the arrangements to hire them for a certain duration. On the way up to our bus, from our hotel in Kathmandu, we hired a couple more porters, right off the street - to come on the bus with us for 80 miles, and then carry our stuff, for a week. Kind of a free-lance porter! Porters like these get paid a little over $3 a day, plus some tips.
When we got to our trail-head, we hired a couple MORE. These guys just went up the trail with us for a week, and then when the loads were lightened, they got paid off, and then they went back down. BUT most of Peter's porters are long-term employees. They carry for him on 'most every trek, for YEARS. They get extra benefits - some profit sharing - if they serve on 5 or 10 treks.
Singing and Dancing...
When the treks go to Mustang (pronounced Moostang), some trekking outfits bring horses or mules to carry their stuff. Peter does not. He says, "Horses don't sing and dance". Peter's Porters, and the Kitchen Boys and Sherpas, too, like to Sing and Dance. They sing all kinds of folk songs, and play on the drums, and dance. And they drag us trekkers to join in the dances. Peter has photocopied the words of some of the songs. Surely I should have learned them by now!
Kitchen Boys
Our Kitchen Boys we saw many times per day. Their job was to get up at 4 AM and light the big kerosine stoves, and start preparing breakfast. After it was ready, they would come around at 6:00 SHARP, and serve us tea and cookies. Then at 6:40
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Thorong La Scene
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we would be all out of our tents, and they would serve us juice, and then breakfast, and then try to sell us on seconds. And then toast and jam, and tea and coffee. As soon as breakfast was done, they would wash all the dishes, and pack up the food and dishes, and hike briskly up the trail ahead of us. They carried LARGE packs, but maybe only 55 lb. By 10:40 AM they would have selected a good place for lunch, and start cooking lunch. When we came along at 11 AM and heard the roar of the kerosine stove, we knew we could sit down and take a break, to wait for lunch.
After lunch, the wash-dishes-and-pack-up routine was repeated, and they chased after us again, hiked ahead, and started planning supper. Fortunately, we often got to camp by 3 PM, so they did not have to panic and rush to make supper, too quickly.
Supper was usually served about 6 PM sharp, with soup, main course, and dessert, with tea. After supper, more dishwashing. Does the life of a Kitchen boy sound easy? No.
But these guys were so CHEERFUL about how they served the food, that we ALWAYS had good things to think about them. They all spoke pretty good English, a little. Peter and they were trying to teach us some Nepali. "Ali ali" means "just a little". "Adi" means "half" - such as a half cup of soup. These guys were so genuine and sincere about wanting us to eat, just as we were quite hungry. "More soup, Bob?" "More rice?" "More chicken?" It was so much fun working with them, because they really seemed to enjoy serving all this food, and selling their products. We always had a lot of fun at meals. (See also at Goat McNuggets).
SHERPAS
The sherpas, Ram, Mailla, Kalu, & Tertiman, were the people we interfaced with the most, because they hiked with us every day, and talked with us. We taught them a few new English words or phrases, and they taught us a few Nepali phrases. We asked them about the things we saw along the way - they explained what we were looking at.
One sherpa's job was to lead, at the head of the group, and mark the trail with an arrow if we came to a fork in the trail. One hiked at the end of the group, sort of as a SWEEP. He carried the first-aid kit, so if there was ever a problem, he would soon show up. At least one hiked around the middle of the group, randomly. The sherpas also took down and packed the tents in the morning - a nice thing to appreciate in the morning, when the tents were cold. They put up the tents in the afternoon when we got to camp. Even if it was raining, or snowing.
They kept track of all the things along the trail. They helped in case of any trouble, or potential trouble. And boy, they were nice people. Interesting guys. If you ever have a chance to hike with Peter, I'm sure you'll find it fun to interact with the sherpas. They were fun to talk to in camp, and they were always available for help or advice.
Nancy was talking with Ram Rai, one of the Sherpas. "What is this?" - "What is that?" - Then she asked, "What is that tree?" Ram replied, "that is a cow eating tree." Of course, this was a tree that was growing, for the purpose, for a cow to be eating - but the first couple times I thought about this, I kept seeing the image of the tree eating a cow... I still giggle about this. Language can be a great game. There is much room for us all to learn to communicate with the Nepalis. Peter has lived in Nepal for 20 years, and I bet he'll admit he has a few things to learn, about their language.
Employee Relations....
Of course, in any trek, every trek employee's job is to be nice to the guys who are paying the bill. Be agreeable. Peter's guys did a good job, and were almost always agreeable. Hey, is it easy to do that if your feet are cold because you have to bring in a tray of food when it is 9 degrees? I don't think it is easy. I don't think it would be easy for me. But these guys are dedicated - and I think they are good sports. When I am hiking with a bunch of tough little guys, who are nice, it is easier for ME to try to be nice, and be a good sport at all times. Even if I am momentarily disappointed, or the trail is not easy, or the weather is crappy, I have to be agreeable and cheerful, too. And just about everybody on our trek worked hard at being cheerful, agreeable, and a good sport. It's contagious.
Sirdar
The guy who is in charge of the whole expedition, our Sirdar, was Jai Rai. Jai has visited the USA, and speaks good English. He always did his job so well, that it SEEMED that we did not quite need him - everything went well without needing him. But that's how it seems on a well-organized trip, where the leadership has made almost everything run smoothly. It's just an illusion that we did not need such a great leader.
Jai's voice was distinctive; I didn't have to turn around when I heard his voice, to know who it was. Often he talked faster than anybody else - in English or in Nepali. If one wants to contrast the aspects of a guy who never got more than a 3rd-grade formal education, with a person who has learned how to get things done, never raising his voice, in 2 languages, Jai is a great example. If any sherpa wants to be an expert at everything, Jai is a great example.
Head Cook:
Don't forget Buddi. (Pronounced BOOdi) Never forget him! - see above at FOOD.
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