The Sherpas broke camp and we headed off again. Today I still felt weak but the dizziness was starting to fade. By the following day the dizziness was gone and the weakness was also starting to fade. I was adapting to the high altitude.
That afternoon white clouds started moving rapidly across the sky. Within an hour the clouds turned a dark gray. The Sherpas stopped and led us into a shallow canyon in the side of the mountain to our right. They pitched our tents but didn’t start a fire.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Trent spoke with the Sherpas and came over to me and Ed.
“There is a storm moving in,” he said. “We have to hunker down here until it passes.”
“How long will that be?” Ed asked.
“Hard to tell,” Trent replied. “Tomorrow, maybe the day after.”
He handed each of us a cloth wrapped around some bread and jerky.
“This is going to be it until the storm is over,” he said. “Make it last.” The wind started picking up. “Into the tents, gents,” Trent yelled.
Just then the wind hit us full force. I found it difficult to stand up. We crawled into our tents and wrapped up in everything we had. The rain started pelting our tents and the temperature dropped precipitously. The rain froze and turned to snow. It was still around two in the afternoon, but it was as dark as night. The wind howled constantly and the tent shook harder than I did. I was cold and shivering. Eventually I was so exhausted that I fell asleep.
When I woke up the wind was still howling. My feet felt numb. I quickly took my boots off and rubbed my feet, trying to warm them. I held them in my hands and wrapped my blanket around them. Gradually the feeling came back into my feet. I put my boots back on and wrapped them in the blanket again. I ate some of the bread and jerky and washed it down with some water from my canteen. I sat there for what seemed like hours, trying to stay warm. I fell asleep again.
I woke up suddenly. I could still hear the wind blowing, but the tent wasn’t shaking any more. I thought the storm was finally breaking, so I tried to open the front of the tent to see what was going on. That’s when I discovered the tent was buried in the snow. It didn’t seem so cold now. The snow was insulating the tent from the bitter cold wind. I ate some more of the bread and jerky and drank a little more water. The sides of the tent were pressing in somewhat, reducing the interior space. I sat there listening to the wind for the next several hours and again fell asleep.
I woke up groggy and disoriented with a headache. I figured it must be a lack of oxygen. I pushed on the side of the tent. The snow fell back and the top of the tent started to shake again. I ate the rest of the bread and jerky and finished the water in my canteen. My head was still pounding as I fell back asleep.
I dreamed of Tia and the robot’s head again. In each dream I could see Tia smiling at me. I reached out to her and touched her cheek. Then a shadow appeared behind her. She seemed alarmed, looking around. In each dream she grabbed the robot’s head and ran to the left. This time the shadow became clearer. It was large and masculine, wearing a military type hat. I got a glimpse of two gold stars on the shoulder of the shadow. Now I became alarmed, as well. I knew who the shadow was and the danger it represented to all of us and to the robot’s head. I had to do something to protect us. I just wasn’t sure what I could do. The dream was so disturbing that it woke me up.
I heard voices but I couldn’t understand what they were saying. The tent shook and the voices got louder. I sat up and looked around. There was light coming in through the canvas of the tent. A smiling Sherpa opened the front flap of the tent and motioned me out. As I crawled out into the sunshine the rest of the Sherpas cheered. Ed was already out and standing in the snow, and they were digging Trent out of his tent. As he appeared, another round of cheers came from the Sherpas.
It took several more hours to dig all of the equipment out of the snow and get everything cleaned off. The Sherpas had built a fire about a hundred feet away where the wind had cleared the snow. We gradually warmed ourselves around the fire while the Sherpas cooked breakfast. It felt good to eat warm food again. In another hour, everything was packed and we headed up the valley.
Two days later we crossed into Tibet. An hour’s walk inside the border, we encountered a Chinese border patrol. Ten soldiers came rushing at us with rifles, bayonets fixed. The Sherpas quickly set their load down, dropped to their knees and looked at the ground.
“Remain calm,” Trent called out. “This is normal.”
A Chinese officer on horseback appeared from over the hill. Two of the soldiers kept their rifles pointed at us as the rest began patting us down and searching our clothing and back packs. They collected an old knife Ed was carrying, the currency Trent carried, and my iPhone, placing all of the items on the ground in front of the mounted officer. He swung his leg over the neck of the horse and dropped to the ground. He picked up Ed’s knife and examined it, then looked at Ed. He tossed the knife back down on the ground and looked at the small pile of currency. The soldiers had divided the currency into two piles, one for the Rupees from India and the other pile for the Yuan, the Chinese currency Trent had obtained from a bank before we reached Chitkul.
The officer picked up my iPhone and examined it. He then slipped it into his coat pocket. Trent looked over at me. He must have noticed the panicked expression on my face. Trent raised his arms into the air and slowly approached the officer, speaking what I assumed was Mandarin. Trent presented the permit to the officer who took it and studied the document. Trent then pointed over at me and continued talking to the officer, who pulled the iPhone out of his coat pocket. The officer started to laugh and pointed to me. Trent laughed as well. Trent pointed down at the pile of Chinese currency on the ground and then at the iPhone. The officer smiled and handed the iPhone to Trent. Trent picked up the Chinese currency and handed some of it to the officer. Trent bowed and backed away. The Chinese officer looked each of us over carefully and then spoke to his soldiers who relaxed and quietly left. Trent walked over to me.
“So what was that all about?” I asked.
“He was going to give your iPhone to his girlfriend back in Beijing. He said you were stupid for bringing it out here, as there are no cell phone towers and no internet service.”
“He knew what it was for?” I asked.
“Oh yes. I told him this was an older model and his girlfriend would much prefer a newer model. I offered to give him the money to buy a new one for her.”
“Thank you,” I replied.
Trent handed the iPhone back to me. “GPS?” he asked.
I looked around feeling embarrassed, and then looked back at Trent.
“You keeping a log?” he asked directly.
I grimaced at the betrayal this might represent to Trent.
“Probably for the best,” Trent said quietly as he looked around. “The guardian is getting old. This may be his last trip to the cave. To my knowledge he has no one to replace him.”
I felt relieved that Trent actually thought keeping a record of how to get to the cave might be a good idea. The Sherpas had picked everything up and were heading out. As we joined them Trent said softly, “Speak to no one of this, and don’t let them see it again.”
The following afternoon we reached the monastery. The walls were constructed from smooth gray stones surrounded by prayer wheels and brightly colored streamers undulating in the wind. As we approached the entrance, the massive wooden doors opened and we were greeted by several Buddhist monks in saffron robes. Trent bowed and spoke to them briefly. They bowed in return and welcomed us inside.
An old, frail looking Buddhist priest wearing wire rimmed glasses emerged from the back of the monastery and approached us. He studied Trent for a moment and then smiled and embraced him. They spoke for a while. Trent pointed to me and Ed as the old priest looked us over. Trent introduced us, and identified the old priest as the guardian. He motioned for us to enter the building behind him. As we entered, the large room seemed dark, but our eyes quickly adjusted to the lower light level. Flickering lamps were placed strategically around the room. Along the outer walls stood wooden statues of Buddha in various poses, and at the far end was a massive carved wooden mandala.