Epilogue
“A true pilgrimage lifts the traveler out of his everyday self into a realm beyond ego. When it returns his self back to him, all of life has become a single, endless pilgrimage.”
Kerry Moran, The Sacred Mountain of Tibet
In the time since I have returned to the USA, I have not been through a single day in which I did not think about some aspect of this journey. At a superficial level I have reentered life in America, buying my food at Safeway and writing computer software for a living, but the way in which I perceive the world around me has changed. Sometimes, when I listen to friends complain about a meal in a restaurant that is not cooked “just so” or get worried about a credit card bill that they forgot to pay, I just smile to myself as these matters seem meaningless in the larger scheme of things. There was a certain clarity of life and purpose during my travels in Tibet that often seems to be difficult to find in the normal hectic life of the USA.
Meanwhile when I pass Native Americans seated on the sidewalk outside a Montana bar listening to Indian chants and songs on a boom box, I say a prayer for my Tibetan friends and hope that a kinder fate awaits them.
Ray Kreisel
Missoula, Montana – 1996
Please feel free to contact me about any comments, corrections or questions.
Please contact me via
emaiclass="underline" raykreisel@yahoo.com
webpage: http://www.kreisels.com/ray
Equipment List
The following is a list of all of the items that I carried during the journey, exclusive of food.
one person tent – Sierra Designs Divine Light Tent with stuff sack
sleeping bag – Feathered Friends Snow Bunting GorTex with compression stuff sack
sleeping mat – Thermarest with stuff sack
Teva sandals
hiking shoes – Nike Lava Dome Jr.
riding gloves – with long fingers and covered back to protect my hands from the sun
socks (2 pair)
long pants (1 pair)
long sleeve cycling shirt -lightweight
cycling shorts (1 pair)
expedition weight long underwear zip turtleneck shirt
medium weight long underwear bottoms
pile jacket – 300 weight Polorguard
GorTex jacket – Marmot Alpinist jacket
rain pants – REI GorTex cycling pants
pile hat – with earflaps
baseball hat – to protect my face from the sun
bandanna
cotton surgical mask – to reduce the amount of road dust that I would inhale every day, commonly used in Tibet to help fight off bronchitis
stuff sack – 1 for clothes, 1 for food
winter gloves – GorTex ski type gloves
balaclava – light weight
small towel
metal spoon
cooking stove – MSR XKG II stove with stove cleaning kit and nylon bag (I acquired this item halfway through the trip from the American Jay)
fuel bottle – filled with kerosene fuel
cook pot – large metal Chinese mug with lid, 1 liter size
water bottles – 2 liter Nagel plastic bottles, 1 with nylon carrying bag
plastic soda bottle – 1.5 liter size (only on second half of trip)
bicycle water bottles – 2 large size water bottles
water filter – Katadyn water filter with old toothbrush to clean water filter
flashlight – Maglight with extra light bulb and two AA batteries
mini Bic lighter
candles – (2) used for starting cook fires
thermometer
compass
small hand mirror – 2 inches across
comb
toilet paper
soap
Chapstick with sunblock
sunblock cream – SPF 25
multi-vitamins
sunglasses – glacier glasses
notebook
writing pen (2)
Chinese/English Dictionary-Phrase book
zip lock bags (4) – heavy duty freezer bags
local postcards with Chinese stamps already affixed
reading book – Annie Dillard, “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek”
short-wave radio – with two AA batteries
mini tripod for camera – 3 inches long
camera – Olympus Stylus Zoom, 35-70 mm zoom with extra battery
film – 8 rolls
fishing hooks (3)
fishing line – 60 feet [30 meters]
two extra AA batteries
passport
credit card
US dollars $300
AMEX Travelers checks US$2000
airplane ticket
money belt
photocopy of airplane ticket
photocopy of passport and traveler check numbers (5) – one copy in each of my different packs
maps – ONC maps for Yunnan, Tibet and Pakistan, Chinese Government map of Xizang Province (Tibet), map of China,
notes from collected research – 2 pages
elastic hair tie (3)
heavy sewing thread
sewing needle (3)
folding scissors
aluminum foil
safety pins (3)
adhesive tape
drug usage information sheet
Diamox – drug for high altitude
Imodium – drug for diarrhea
Trimethoprim-sulfa D.S. (Septra) – weaker antibiotic
Ciprofloxicin (Cipro) – stronger antibiotic
antibiotic cream – 4 small packs
bandages (6)
alcohol swab (3)
tinidazole 4 grams – drug for giardia two doses
sterile pad (3)
mole skin
iodine swab (2)
bike computer – Avocet cyclometer with altimeter
bicycle tire pump – mini Zefal Mt. Bike pump
extra bicycle tire – acquired in Lhasa
small piece of inner tube tire rubber
bicycle tube patch kit (2)
extra spokes for back wheel and front wheel
hacksaw blade – 3 inch piece for cutting bolts and other pieces of metal
climbing webbing – 2 pieces 10 feet [3 meters] long to tie all of the items on the rear rack of the bike
bicycle brakes – extra set for front and back
ball bearings – for headset and pedals
lubricant – TriFlow and motor oil
metal wire – 20 feet [7 meters]
metal U clamps for front and back racks in case the frame mounts broke
freewheel removable tool
rag
grease
Loctite – for gluing nuts and bolts in place
allen keys – 4 sizes
pipe clamps (4)
extra derailer cable and extra brake cable
bolts for front and back rack (6)
chain links (5)
spare bicycle tube (2)
crank arm extractor tool – small inset washer type
washers (10)
cool tool – multi-purpose bicycle tool, crescent wrench, chain tool, spoke wrench etc.
duct tape
strapping tape
large Mountain Smith bag for tools
canvas pedal covers – these homemade covers helped keep my feet dry and warm
SOG tool – multi-purpose tool, pliers, knife, metal file, can-opener etc.
front panniers – mid size from Overland Expeditions
rear panniers – trans-am’s from Madden
fanny pack – Mountain Smith Lumbar pack
lower rider front bicycle rack
rear bicycle rack – Blackburn Expedition Rear Rack
mountain bike – Fisher Hookookoo, steel frame bike in case I needed to have parts welded on the spot
Ray Kreisel
