Part II - Fires, donkeys & goats

This is post number 2 of a series of posts about Nepal. The first post can be found here or can be reached by selecting the link on the right hand side. Enjoy!

Day 2 – Ghermu to Tal
Wednesday, November 4th
Hiking Time: 6 hours
Elevation: 1700m

(Hovan) The morning started out quite nice, with a comfortable 4 hour walk. As we hiked on, the day kept getting hotter and hotter as the sun beat down, eventually reaching 35 degrees Celsius by lunch time. After enjoying a delicious but brief lunch a forest fire forced us to hustle on quickly. From where we were eating lunch we could hear and see the fire crackling and smoking away directly on the other side of the river. As we left lunch, unfortunately the fire was directly behind us with the wind blowing towards us. In the end we spent the entire afternoon racing from a fire up a mountain side and through a valley under unrelenting sun. By the end of the day I had consumed at least 5 litres of water and Christine at least 2 litres. Thankfully Christine is feeling a lot better today and both of us seemed to have gotten rid of whatever bug we picked up in India. (Left - the forest fire burning close to us)

After an intense day traveling through lush jungles, across narrow cliff faces, along valleys we wound up in a nice plain surrounded by huge mountains, a safe distance from the forest fire we left behind. Our campsite turned out to be a Gompa’s property. We had beautiful cascading waterfalls and a quaint little town to keep us company. (Left - our campsite at the base of some beautiful waterfalls).

We spent the evening playing with some local children and tossing a Frisbee with some of the Sherpa’s and porters. Despite their terrible Frisbee skills, we joked about creating the first national Nepalese Ultimate team. These Nepalese could easily run circles around us. In the end, it was a relaxing end to a fast paced day.

Day 3 – Tal to Danaque
Thursday, November 5th
Hiking Time: 4.5 hours
Elevation: 2200m

(Christine) Today the terrain began to change from jungles and rice fields to more of an alpine feel. Pine trees began to appear and great rock cliffs began to line the valley. We have been following the river now for three days and while the river isn’t changing, the air temperature is getting cooler, especially in the evenings. (Left - Hiking up the valley where rock cliffs began to appear).

After three days we are starting to get used to the toilets in this part of the world. They are all squatty potties (as we call them), which, if you’ve never seen one, is basically a hole in the ground you squat over. Touted as more hygienic, it can be quite difficult at times to squat as our western legs are certainly not trained to squat in that position for more than a minute, nor is there anything to hold onto while squatting. Often the ground is sloped, muddy or wet and so it makes it a challenge to stay in the same position. One doesn’t want to spend long in there as of course it smells. Also, there is no running water, so to flush you take water from a nearby bucket and dump it down the hole. A light in the toilet is a luxury, so at night we make sure to take our head lamp to avoid falling in or stepping in the wrong place. Toilet paper is not supposed to go down as many people use the waste as fertilizer for their garden. Nevertheless, we are getting used to the toilets, but do miss the western style – sit down, relax and read the paper. (Left - Some of the toilets in the village we stopped in).

The walk today held some particularly narrow bits of trail where it was just wide enough for one person to walk very carefully next to a ledge that dropped probably 100 feet down a sheer cliff onto the rocks of the rushing waters below. I was about 10 feet behind Mary, Glen and the Sherpa Dawa on one such narrow bit when a donkey came trotting merrily from the other direction straight towards Mary, Glen and Dawa. The donkey had no baggage or pack and had a look of “I’m free!” on its face (if such a thing is possible). Now on this trail there is absolutely no room for a donkey to pass a human, but this particular donkey seemed oblivious to this fact as it increased its speed. I saw Mary and Glen hug the cliff face, obviously incredibly concerned as to what was going to happen when this donkey reached them. Then I started thinking, what in the heck am I going to do once this crazy donkey gets to me? Thankfully at this point, our beloved Sherpa Dawa seemed to be the only one who really knew what to do and started yelling at the donkey and throwing rocks at it. This may seem cruel, but it was the best thing by far as that seemed to deter the donkey mere feet before reaching Glen, Mary & Dawa and he turned around and went the other direction. Thank goodness for Dawa and his quick thinking. (Left - Pack donkey)

We ate lunch at a site that was dedicated to a friend of the Sherpas who was lost in a landslide. Unfortunately the site needed some repairs so Mick and the Sherpas spent some time mixing cement and fixing the site as a tribute to their lost friend. They placed some beautiful flower on the tribute once they were done. (Right - Mick placing flowers on the monument of the fallen Sherpa).

We were also fortunate enough to see the inside of the local Gompa, which the Lama opened for us. The inside is brightly decorated with paintings of Buddha, figures of Buddha and hold books. We have been passing many Buddhist monuments called chortens and gateways up here and it obvious we are trekking through a Buddhist region. Prayer flags are abundant and span bridges, rock face and decorate the local Gompas and Chortens. (Left - Paintings inside the Buddhist Gompa).

We made it to camp with plenty of time to relax for the afternoon before enjoying yet another delicious meal by Raj.

Day 4 – Danaque to Koto
Friday, November 6th
Hiking Time: 4 hours
Elevation: 2600m

(Hovan) We have started to settle into a hiking rhythm, and today have continued the trend. Despite our guide leader urging us to hike at our own personal pace, most of the group is social and sticks to what is dubbed the “Himalayan Caterpillar”. The Sherpas love it because we stick fairly close together and are easy to keep an eye on. Two or three of the group members do hike on their own, but Christine found it a bit lonely when she hiked for a couple hours by herself today. (Left - View of the mountains from our hike).

The days hike was only 4 hours, but we enjoyed some good elevation gain. The scenery was beautiful and constantly changing. As we hiked into higher elevation the forest started to change to almost purely pine, making us feel a little more at home.

At one point, several of the group passed a large herd of goats, who managed to scramble around us and keep a maximum distance despite the narrow trail width. After crossing a long bridge, we took a rest to watch all sorts of livestock passing in both directions. Donkeys and goats were abundant in the crossing and provided some entertainment in their uncertainty on the bridge. Kevin, one of our fellow trekkers, went to hug a donkey coming off the bridge (the donkey we named “Chocolate” because he carried the hot chocolate powder which we eat vast quantities of), which caused the donkey to panic, turn around and create a traffic jam with all the other donkeys coming across the bridge. The most entertaining part was when a Nepalese tried to herd two cows over the bridge when they really didn’t want to go. One cow made a leap I never thought possible and almost cleared the bridge fencing. It had one foot stuck in the fence and the rest of the body hanging over the other side with two feet on the ground. With a mighty heave it pulled the rear hoof free and almost tumbled down the bank to the river. After this daring bridge escape and near death moment, the cow did what you would expect, stop and munch on some grass. (Left - Goats crossing a narrow bridge).

As we arrived in our village early in the afternoon, everyone decided to do some laundry and a little personal washing. The kitchen staff kept up a constant stream of hot water and we all managed to wash our clothes, which only led to wet laundry the next day. Unfortunately we all failed to recognize that large mountains lead to a short afternoon of sunshine. (Right - Socks drying in the cool mountain air).

A pleasant dinner and some dicing games closed out the day and once again we all went to bed early. We are leaving the Annapurna circuit tomorrow to head up into the remote valleys of Nar & Phoo, places that are not visited often by foreigners.

View more photos of Part II