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 West Vancouver Historical Society September 2003 FEATURE PRESENTATION REPORT Anne Vernon A TREK THROUGH NEPAL Our speaker at the Annual General Meeting in May was Lynne Bogardus, a well-known West Vancouver photographer who specialises in camera studies of nature, especially flowers. She spoke to the meeting about her recent trip to Nepal and of the places and people she met on the journey which she and her husband made through that country. Nepal is a beautiful state on the Indian continent. When one hears of Nepal, of course, it is natural which has for centuries fascinated many different to think of Mount Everest - especially in this year when people, especially westerners. From the earliest days of so many celebrations were taking place to honour the travellers and explorers, through the years of the "Raj" and right up to the present day, Nepal has attracted all types and conditions of "tourists". The good climate, the wonderful scenery, with its wealth of flora and fauna, not to mention the attractive, friendly people, make the country a "must" on most of the travel bro- chures issued for that part of the world. Therefore, it is no surprise that photographer Lynne Bogardus was drawn to the idea of a trip there, where she and her husband would cover many of the trails in search of adventure and of new photographic opportunities. One fact about visiting Nepal is that it lies at a very high altitude, most of the country being at an elevation of 9,000 -13,000 km. This means that the oxygen supply in the air is very thin. The two wanted to walk and climb the trails so they had to go into hard physical training in preparation for the difficulties to come. PHOTO: Lynne Bogardus Lynne on Trek They would need strong hearts and good legs to be able to achieve all they desired, so into training they went. Walking, trotting, exercising and watching the diet became the norm for them both and it all paid off, so that when they did begin their trek they were in excellent physical condition. Lynne had taken many slides on their travels and showed a great number of them to her audience, who were quite entranced by the beauties exposed to their view. The children, especially, were delightful to see. fiftieth anniversary of the first ascent made by Sir Edmund Hillary and his strong Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norga. However, the Bogardus pair were not in the vicinity of that challenging mountain and, in fact, did not even catch a glimpse of it during their trek. Lynne spoke movingly of the charms of the village people they encountered on their voyaging. Life is tough in that part of the world, but the people seemed happy and were always smiling. It was inter- esting to see how they grew their foods in such steep, hilly country. Everywhere they went they saw terraced gardens, with people industriously hoeing, weeding and watering the growing plants. It was obvious that Lynne and her husband enjoyed every minute of their trip, though it must have been tough going clambering up the hillsides at such high altitudes. Although this was a different subject from most of our usual meetings where the speakers cover local history, Lynne drew a large and appreciative audience. It was good to see you all. Do come again and share our meetings during the coming season. Our speakers are not yet all booked but we are certain you will enjoy hearing from them. Did you know that it is impossible to whistle at an elevation of 11,000ft? We owe this piece of information to Ian Macdonald, who also provided the material for this article. Many thanks Ian for this, and also for the help you have given over the years. Don't worry, although he has retired from the board ofW'VHS, Ian will still be working his magic behind the scenes! You will hear from him again from time to time! + + + + + + + + + YOUR LETTERS From Olive Meglaughlin of North Vancouver Olive spotted her sister, Gwen Davidson, in the Hollybum School Grade 7 photograph and has sent several copies of the Newsletter to Gwen's sons and grandsons and also to "many" old friends. She adds:- "Did you know that it was my Dad who brought the May Day Parade and Queens to West Van? We came to West Van in June 1927." Thank you, Olive. It is good to hear from you. Please see the insert page for photographs and also part of a lovely story about the "Bread Lady" which Larry & Barbara Hughes .sent to us. Hope to print the rest of it in the next issue.