A Brief Note From Upper Mustang, Nepal

My friend Mich Coker and I have just spent the past five days in the internet-free world of the Upper Mustang Valley, ranging from Jomsom in the south to the Tibetan border north of Lo-Manthang. We've seen so many great birds and mammals, traveling by jeep on some days and hiking a total of about 45 miles in rugged terrain, almost entirely over 3800 m elevation, and even reaching 4600 m. I'll attach two photos to this iPhone post: Blanford's Snowfinch from the Tibetan Plateau and a typical scenery shot from the high desert through which we trekked.

We have two more days of trekking on the N edge of the über-popular Annapurna Circuit based in Muktinath (hence the Internet connection).