Tough Family

This family stayed in the same tent with me the last night of my 5 day trek. They were planning on doing the entire 150 km hike with their 1 year old and 4 year old! They were planning on doing it in 7 days. It was amazing the different people I met on the trail, there were dozens in their 60s and even some in their 70s doing the hike. I left the wife and kids at home for the hike so I really admire them being able to do it together.

Snow Rocks

I came across these rock piles along the roadside early in the morning covered in snow from the night before.

Change of Scenery

The weather at 4600m can change dramatically and quickly. One night I went to bed after hiking in the warm sun all day, the next day I woke up to find a light blanket of snow covering the ground. Made for a nice change of scenery the last day of my hike.

Colorful Flags

There is just something about colorful Tibetan Prayer flags that make me happy. It is always a joy reaching the top of a mountain and see the flags in the wind, flapping prayers for those who have made the same trek I am on.

Looming Clouds

I had been hiking for days and the weather had been great but on the afternoon of the fourth day clouds started to form over the mountains. This photo was taken just as the clouds were rolling in.

Almost There

The beauty of the landscape was was lost on me at the time when I took this photo. I had been slowly hiking uphill all day and had reached 4600 meters. The last two tents stores were out of food so I was hungry and did not feel like I had enough calories to make it to the tents at the peak in the distance. Also, I didn't know if they would have any food even if I made it. However, huffing and puffing from the altitude, I made it to the tents and was revived by vegetable filled steamed buns. There were the best steamed buns I had ever eaten!

River Crossing

Always nice to find a bridge like this to cross the river. While hiking Anme Machen, there were a couple of rivers that didn't have bridges so I needed to wade the cold glacier water which wasn’t the nicest part of the hike for sure.

Top of the World

This past September I went on a 150 km hike in Qinghai province, China around Amne Machen. The altitude on the hike ranged between 3500m and 4600m, this photo was taken at the 4600m point. It was a long day of hiking and I did not expect the altitude to bother me as much as I did. I did not realize how much a difference 500m could make however I was fine at 4000m but once I got to around 4500m I got short of breath and had a pretty bad headache. However, it was worth it for this view. Thanks to Adventures in Tibet (http://www.adventuresintibet.com/) for all the advice on how to approach the trek, it really helped.

High Altitude Milky Way

At 4000 meters altitude on the Tibetan plateau the milky way is so clear it feels like you can reach out and touch it. This was taken on my recent 150 km trek around Anme Machen in Qinghai province, China. It took me 5 days to walk the 150 km and well worth the blisters. Amazing experience and photos. Would you walk 150 km to see and capture this type of scene?

Sacred Milky Way

I stayed one night at a sacred Buddhist prayer site on the West side of Anme Machen, at over 4000m altitude the milky way was clearer than I have ever seen it.

Lit Mountain Side

This is a night shot at prayer site along the trail around Anme Machen. I slept here for the night before heading to the highest peak on the trek the next day.

Old Stupas

I found these old Stupas along side a temple in a small town on the trail around Anme Machen.

Prayer Wheels

Tibetan prayer wheels beside a temple along the hike around Anme Machen.

Frozen Prayer Flags

The sky is clear but it was a cold morning when I took this photo. All the prayer flags were covered in frost and frozen. The cloth crunched as I walked through thousands of prayer flags at the peak of the mountain.

Tibetan Flag Sunrise

The sun peaking over the mountain, lighting Tibetan prayer flags on the mountain top.

The Glacier

This is the glacier at the top of Anme Machen mountain. Locals told me it had been receding rapidly over the past couple of years. They did not blame it on global warming but on the dust from the freeway construction not far from the glacier. They probably were not far off because dust was everywhere.

Morning Temple

I do not convert a lot of my photos to black and white but this one seemed to work better this way, the color made it look to busy. What do you think?

Morning Fire

On my Amne Machen hike the nights were cold at 4500m so it was nice the tents and shacks were setup with stoves and fires. Here is one warming up on a cold morning near the mountain top.

Amne Machen Temple

This was the first temple I saw on my hike and was the most impressive building in the area. It was empty when I entered so I took a look around and paid my respects before continuing my trek account the sacred Buddhist mountains of Amne Machen which are in the background.

First Cold Sunrise

The first day of my hike in Qinghai I was treated with an amazing sunrise. The ground was frozen from the cold night but did not stay that way for long after the sun peaked over the mountains

Sunrise Hills

The days first rays of sunlight make every contour and hill on this mountain stand out.