Part I - The adventure begins

We are back after three weeks trekking in the Himalaya mountains, a culturally rich journey through amazingly beautiful and remote areas. We will be making multiple blog postings as much happened in three weeks and it would make for a very long blog if we did it all at once. Anyway, here is part I for your reading pleasure. Enjoy! (Left - a glimpse of the Himlayas from our camp on Day 1).

Kathmandu
Saturday October 31st - Sunday, November 1st

(Christine) We arrived in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal on Halloween, and I was not at all surprised to see absolutely no sign of Halloween. Primarily a Hindu and Buddhist nation, there were no posters advertising in the windows, no ghoulish costumes, no children asking us for sweets. I did not miss Halloween however, as I was incredibly excited to be in Nepal to go trekking in the Himalayas, a dream I’ve had for over 10 years. (Left - Hindu women heading to the river).

We were greeted at the airport by Mick, our trip guide. Mick is the organizer of the entire trip and this would make his 96th trek in the Himalayas in the past 20 years. His company, Wilderness Trekking, was recommended to me by my grade 10 math teacher and after speaking to Mick on the phone, I was sold. His company ensures fair pay and treatment for the Sherpas and Nepalese staff and a portion of the proceeds from the trip goes to a local orphanage in Nepal. Mick also stresses the experience of the journey, rather than the destination, which is a mantra I believe in as well.

We were to spend 2 nights in Kathmandu, before striking out for the Himlayas. The night of our arrival we enjoyed a traditional Nepalese dinner in and old house where the ceiling was so low Hovan had to nearly crawl up the stairs. (I think only North America was built for people of Hovan’s height!). We sat cross legged on the floor and enjoyed Dal (lentils), various curries and Rakshi, a local spirit which admittedly, I did not care for too much. The local people love it however, and drink it regularly.

Sunday morning we spent touring two sacred areas, a Hindu area called Pashupati and a Buddhist area called Buddahanath. At the Hindu area of Pashupati we were fortunate to arrive on a day of ceremony. Beautifully dressed women and men were congregated down by the river and were throwing flower petals and offerings into the river. Also, by the river the cremation of the deceased was taking place. This is a traditional occurrence where they cremate bodies down by the river and then put the remains into the river. The bodies are covered with sticks and grass and you cannot see the bodies, except we could see someone’s feet sticking out from one end. Nearby, families mourned for the loss of their loved ones. (Left - Hindu women making offereings into the river. Right - A body being prepared for cremation down by the river).

Buddahanath was a gorgeous Buddhist temple covered with prayer flags flapping in the wind. It is hard to do justice to the beauty of the prayer flags with a photo, as I think a lot of the beauty comes from the movement of the flags and that is hard to capture. Never having visited a Buddhist temple before, it was interesting to learn that in Buddhist areas one should always go on the left (clockwise) of a temple and turn the prayer wheels clockwise as a sign of good intention. We were also fortunate to see students painting the Buddhist mantra in extremely fine detail. (Left - the Buddhist temple in Kathmandu. Right - a beautifully detailed painting of the Buddhist mantra).

The afternoon was spent shopping for all the gear we needed to have in order to be warm and comfortable on the trek. For under $250 we were able to purchase 2 trekking poles, 2 duffel bags, one fleece jacket, one pair of long johns, one pair of fleece pants, 2 pairs of socks, batteries, 2 wonderfully thick down jackets, 2 pairs of waterproof pan, 2 pairs of gaitors and 2 waterproof overmitts. We also rented Mount Everest quality sleeping bags for under a dollar a day each. The gear we got isn’t the most high quality, but it should last the journey!

Dinner was enjoyed at the famous “Rum Doodle” restaurant, famous because anyone who has climbed Everest is able to eat there for free. There is a wall which holds signatures of those who have climbed Everest and we managed to find Sir Edmund Hillary’s signature, the first person to summit Mount Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norway. (Left - the signature of Sir Edumund Hillary).

Unfortunately Hovan has come down with a case of “Delhi Belly”. I have given him cipro, an antibiotic which should help eliminate whatever is growing in his intestines. We have a 6 hour bus ride tomorrow to start of our trek. I am extremely excited to go on this journey into the Himlayas!

There are 10 “clients” in total, plus Mick our guide. Not in any particular order, we have
Sharon, recently retired, and actually a friend of my Mom’s. She brought us home cooked brownies from my Mom (awesome, thanks Mom!). Robyn, Sharon’s daughter, recently graduated from U-Vic and works as a civilian for the Department of National Defence. Ian is sponsored by Robinson’s. Ian is very knowledgeable about camping equipment, he actually sold me my crampons for this trip back in Victoria. Gerry, retired from the government, was a Deputy Minister for 15 years. Kevin – Kevin is Gerry’s son and as it turns out, we actually have played ultimate Frisbee against Kevin a few years back. Glen is Gerry’s brother and a senior executive with the government heading up a project for one of the most pressing issues in BC. Mary is Glen’s wife, Kevin’s aunt and works for Sierra Systems, whom I did a co-op term from back in university. It turns out we know many of the same people at Sierra Systems. Jarrett has the coolest profession of us all, Jarrett flies fighter jets for the Canadian airforce, although would like to move into search and rescue helicopter flying. And of course, the coolest people by far on the trek, Hovan & Christine.

Kathmandu to Bhulebhule
Monday, November 2nd
Camp Elevation: 850m

(Hovan) Today we left early in the morning to kick off our trekking adventure. Due to Maoist insurgents threatening to blockade the road, we started at 5:00 am instead of 7:00 am. We all piled aboard a bus and made our way through Kathmandu, picking up porters and Sherpas as we went. The bus ride took more than 6 hours over incredibly rough roads which did little to appease my very unsettled stomach. Along the way, Christine also started to suffer “The Belly”. Admittedly the drive was spectacular and the bus driver was amazing on the dangerous roads. However, Christine and I were not feeling well enough to appreciate it. We drove through streams, on logging roads we wouldn’t take a Hummer (let alone a bus), passing huge trucks on single lane roads and playing chicken with other vehicles. (Right - View from the place we ate breakfast).

When we arrived at our launch points, the tents were already set up and hot juice and cookies were waiting. We had a quick debrief with Mick, and then had a nap and tried to soothe our upset stomachs. The dinner that Raj (the head cook) prepared was amazing, but we had little appetite. (Left - the first suspension bridge we had to cross to get into camp).

A short word on all the staff involved in our trek. Mick’s senior team is made up of himself, the head cook Raj and the Cirdar whose name is Devi. Raj has 7 cook boys with him who carry pots, pans and food and assist in the making of meals. Devi is responsible for the porters, Sherpas and horse masters and is the overall logistics coordinator. We have 4 Shepars (Chasang, Dawa, Umbang & Lagan) and their roles are to be our guides, keep us safe and take care of us. There are 12 porters, carrying up to 30-40 kg each. We have 2 “Horse Masters” who bring along 16 donkeys that carry more than 60 kg each. All in all we are quite the traveling group and it adds up to amazing food, incredible service and the most luxurious trekking we are likely to ever experience.

Day 1 – Bhulebhule to Ghermu
Tuesday, November 3rd
Hiking Time: 7 hours
Camp Elevation: 1150m

(Christine) Tea was brought to our tents this morning at 6 am by the Shepas. Boy, what a treat! Unfortunately I was feeling too ill to enjoy the tea, but I still appreciated the gesture. Shortly after the tea came two bowls of hot water for washing. Little did I know at the time that tea and hot water would continue each morning throughout the trek!

I tried my best to eat as much breakfast as I could as I knew I’d need energy for the 7 hour trek that lay ahead of us. Fortunately Hovan was on the mend and so it was now his turn to take care of me.

Thankfully the terrain for most of the day was easy walking through gentle undulating terrain. We followed a river up a valley for the day and walked through many villages that were filled with tea houses and workers from the surrounding rice fields. The rice fields were beautiful in themselves and were tiered high up the mountain sides. As we walked we were passed by school children who would often smile and say “Nameste!” (Hello) to us as we passed them by. It was a hot day and at times got up to around 35 degrees celcius, not exactly what I expected in the Himlayas in November. (Left - the lush tropical valley we walked up).

For those of you who are familiar with the Annapurna circuit, this is the beginning of the Annapurna circuit. We will not be staying on the Annapurna circuit for the entire trek and will be going “off the beaten track” to visit some of the more remote areas of the Himalayas.

At lunch after eating as much as I could (not much) of another delicious looking meal, I laid down for a snooze near a Gompa (a small Buddhist Temple). While dozing away, little did I know that four Nepalese boys had crept up silently and were very quietly watching me doze. I’m sure they were curious about my light coloured hair and skin.

We arrived at our camp near 4 o’clock, which actually turned out to be a tea house since the rice fields had not yet been cut and we could not camp on uncut rice fields. The rooms were very basic, two beds and a light bulb, which is all you really need. I did see a rather large spider skitter across the floor, but didn’t tell Hovan as I know how much he dislikes them. (Right - rice fields).

The donkeys arrived shortly after we did and I must admit I am very impressed by these animals. These sturdy mountain beasts walk over steep terrain, down loose rock and across suspension bridges which hang high above the rushing river. They have no problems with the height or exposure and trod along, often faster than we walk with their 60 kg load. They are well cared for by the horse keeper Krishna, who is tall, always wears a toque (even in 30 degree weather) and sports a great smile.

The porters are equally impressive with their 30 kg loads. Most are shorter and smaller than I am, yet they carry an impressive weight on their backs that I don’t think I could carry for more than a mile. Their loads are strapped around their foreheads and they use the strength of their necks to help carry the load. Many of them choose to wear flip flops to walk in (they are provided with proper footwear) and they walk faster than I do with their loads. They are sturdy and extremely strong. Their work is done once they arrive in camp and we can hear them in the evenings laughing and singing, often huddled around a cooking fire for warmth. (Left - Hovan and the Sherpa Chasang).

All in all, we number over 35 people and 16 donkeys. We are quite the trekking expedition, fully self sufficient and carrying enough food to support us all for 18 days.

View Nepal Part I Photo Gallery