We decide to take the morning bus to Lhatse, the last place along the Friendship Highway served by local public transportation. Our fortune changes at 10 p.m. During dinner, Karen spots the man who drove her from Nepal to Lhasa. We will leave at 5 a.m. the next day. The good-karma girls are on the move again.
Morning comes quickly.
We crowd into the back of the Land Cruiser we once snubbed. The moon, full and bright, shines cool light into our window. She symbolizes the power pulsing through us. The moon dives behind the foothills, purple and red in morning's first light. Everyone gasps for air as the vehicle mounts a 17,000-foot pass.