Well it looks like I'm running low on job alternatives for the summer. Parks Canada is looking not so likely, and various other leads turned up nothing, so it sounds like CMH (Heli-Hiking backcountry lodges) are my best bet.

I've been devouring every piece of info I can on India. I'm scarfing down the various Lonely Planets, and in addition to the dozen relevant documentary (travel, culture, Tibet, Hinduism/Buddhism), there's like 30 more coming in to the library for me. I've pretty much stopped reading anything except India-related literature. Even I, the library fiend, couldn't have imagined the depths of resources they have access to. You can even get movies like Seven Years in Tibet. I'm definitely planning on leaving sometime in September and I want to stay as long as possible, likely between 3-6 months. I'm thinking of heading right off to go trekking way up north in the high mountains before the snows come, then coming back towards Dharamsala to do my volunteering. Or else, I'll start in Delhi, stay at some yoga ashrams (retreats) in the foothills of the Himalaya, then make my way North. I'm still trying to find accurate info on the climate in order to figure out a rough itinerary. Emphasis on rough. I'm really gonna let the hitchhiker side of me come out and just follow my instincts, but at the same time, I wouldn't mind having the names of the cheap hotels. I'm also trying to determine what I'm going to need to by. I may very well take a tent and sleeping bag, both of which I'd have to purchase, as well as a waterproof, but breathable outer shell jacket, and a big pack. I'm also really leaning towards getting an iPod. That way, I won't go crazy on the long bumpy bus rides. I'm gonna go super thrift, so basically I'll be staying at just about the cheapest places in town, taking the public buses, and the 3rd class trains. And for the treaks, I really don't think I'm gonna hire someone to carry my bags, but we'll see about that. An overnight trip in the Rockies probably doesn't qualify me to make that judgement. The whole thing is getting me really stoked. I could go on and on about how crazy I think it'll all be, but time will tell.

Yesterday, I went exploring with my mom. Haha. yeah. anyways, we were driving along and I scoped this spot, so she waited in teh car while I trekked for an hour into a narrow (10m wide) cleft in a cliff, that led about 100m into the mountain, steeply up to a waterfall that was about 40m high. Not much water coming down, but super cool, and the view was awesome. I totally got in touch with that side of me that I haven't gotten to bust out in many months. Could be a while before I get the pics up though.

BC Karate Provincials in Coquitlam are this weekend.....