There’s a group of hawks constantly cruising the Baglung valley, and from my vantage point on the top floor of my hotel I can always find one. For the last couple weeks I have tried fruitlessly to snap a good shot but either the light isn’t right or the picture’s out of focus.

Today, a lone hawk was circling overhead while I was doing my laundry on the hotel porch.It was probably 50 meters away and turning so the sunlight hit perfectly for a good shot. But I knew it was pointless. As soon as I ran inside to get my camera, the hawk would be gone, like so many times before. I continued to do the wash.

After about 10 minutes, I saw the hawk’s shadow run past my feet. I looked up quickly and he was closer than before. So I dropped the shirt I was washing and dashed for the camera. As I left the room, I ripped the camera from its case, turned it on and scanned the sky for my prey.

Of course, the hawk was gone. He got me again.

With my camera ready to go, I figured I’d do a little searching before giving up. I looked around, but didn’t see him on my side of the building. So I walked around to the north side of the wrap around fourth floor porch.

As I turned the corner and looked up at the sky, I stopped short and my jaw dropped.

I had been waiting for this moment for the last two weeks. Every day I would go outside looking for them but to no avail. And today, thanks to my photographic futility in capturing the many hawks of Baglung, I saw something that I had been waiting weeks to see: the Himalayas.

It had been a daily ritual. Every morning I would wake up and check if the clouds had cleared where I knew they were supposed to be. After lunch and returning from work, I would always search the horizon before entering my room.

I’m not sure how long they were visible before I saw them, but about 15
minutes after I took this picture, they were covered in clouds again.

My first glimpse of the Himalayas is the Dhaulagiri peak (8167 m). Notice my friend the hawk enjoying the view as well.