Page 28 - 2010 AMA Spring

3 yak herders we were soon meandering our way through dense forest upwards towards our aim; the Goecha la Pass at 4940m. That first day's trek was for many in the group, the hardest. With an initial ascent of 1300m, daytime temperatures were high and of course everyone was very conscious of the lurking leech menace. It was at this stage that we were joined by two local stray dogs. From an initial "Don't touch them, they may have rabies!" attitude; in typical sentimental British fashion they were soon named and accepted into the expedition party. Indeed, rather unimaginatively, they were nicknamed "Goldie" and "Blackie". No prizes for guess-
ing their colouring! Later joined by "Shaggy" at our first overnight stop, it was LCpl Pam Pearce our resident dog whisperer who ensured that our plucky canine expedition members never went hungry.
The second day of the trek was easier. At this stage the daytime temperature was cooler and we could now relax a little knowing that the leeches were unable to live at our ever increasing altitude. Indeed, our increased isolation from the outside world was brought into strong perspective when a Dutch member of another group
26 ARMY MOUNTAINEER