Date: Thursday, June 21, 2012
Location: Chame
Elevation: 2670m
Wednesday - yesterday - already feels like eons ago. I already had the start of blisters on my toes and moleskine'd them before yesterday's breakfast. The plan was to wake up at 5 or 5:30 but because of the rain we slept in past 6am. I opened our window and was wowed by the fog swiftly moving up the mountains. We set off around 7am but had to turn back after 15 minutes when I realized I had left all of our water bottles on the breakfast table. It took about 45 minutes to catch up with Rob and Mike but we weren't even trying to overtake them - we just walked fast. It was nice to have two other people to talk to.
The terrain was moist and jungle-like, with ferns and streams to cross over galore. Good thing my boots are waterproof so I can walk across the streams (which flow right over the trail or, sometimes, flow the length of the trail) relatively easily. Every time we crested a mountain or rounded a corner we were greeted with even more astonishing sights than the last.
P and I lunched at a teahouse and were amazed at how long it took to get our frybread, momos, and curry - an hour and fifteen minutes! After lunch was a grueling uphill climb that made me reconsider doing the rest of the trek. It was only day 2 and there was at least a week more of ascending ahead of us. Good thing I'm trekking with a Peter because we balance each other out: he motivates me and I set a slower, more manageable pace.
The afternoon was spent with Mike. We discovered after some time that Rob had taken the correct trail while we stayed on the road. I hated it - the road - because medium-sized rocks littered the entire route and I didn't have very sure footing. I'm channeling my inner mountain goat. The road was a gradual (sometimes steep) uphill that was relentless. I was burning. And I was sunburned. We found a few waterfalls and creeks from which we refilled our water bottles and purified it with my handy SteriPen. That thing is priceless. The clouds kept coming and going, which gave us tantalizing glances at mountain tops that seemed too gargantuan to exist - and they were only 5,000-ers. We'll be at that altitude in a few days.
The road ended abruptly at one point and we had to scramble over a slick, sheer, 45˚ angle rock face for about 100m. It was scary because on my right was a long drop to the river below. At the end of scrambling, the trail was so steep that I needed to hold onto a rope to climb down the cliff. Good times.
It started to rain and we picked up the pace to find the first guesthouse we could. Rob still had not caught up to us and we were unsure if he would. Mike, P, and I got a room together and Rob showed up 20 minutes later, to our surprise. It was a long long day - 8 1/2 hours of hiking - and we were exhausted. Dinner was served after sundown so we ate right inside the family's home (awkward) where they had one light bulb. I wrote yesterday's journal entry and fell asleep at 9pm. Staying up that late was difficult to do, especially since it gets dark around 7 because the mountains block the sun setting.
Oh, Peter thinks the highlight of yesterday was a donkey farting on me. He laughed. We rated the fart a 9, scaling it to appropriate donkey-ness. I didn't find it too amusing.
This morning we woke up at 5am to the sunrise and a dog barking manically. Instead of eating at the teahouse (which, btw, cost NPR50 per person [about USD$0.75]) we hiked for 45 minutes to the next town and found a lodge there for food. The idea was to shorten the length of time between meals by having breakfast later but it took so long to get food that it wasn't worth it. Tomorrow we'll just order from the teahouse and pack while they're getting things ready.
Today was another uphill day - we gained 820 meters. It was on a trail for most of the time so I didn't feel as worn out from a rocky road. There were a few mountainsides so steep that we climbed stairs to switchbacks for an hour. At times I was huffing and puffing but that was easily remedied by rest and a slower pace. Peter still climbs easily over the mountains. Just before lunch we happened upon what looked like the end of our trail - a waterfall and rapids had swept over the path. I think we were supposed to have taken off our shoes and crossed but we stupidly decided to climb the boulders up the left side of the rapids. I had difficulty with short(er) legs and a heavy backpack and fell into thorns. I'm okay with climbing but just have more difficulty finding a path that is suitable for my body size (as opposed to P's giantness).
Lunch was on a cliff plateau in the middle of fields that overlooked some of the best scenery so far (again, it just keeps getting better). We sat on benches on a lawn until it got too cold. What?! Too cold? Yes, our elevation is almost in the clouds now. After lunch it started to rain so we put on rain jackets - kinda a bad idea because it just makes me sweat more and retains the moisture. I don't know if there's a perfect solution. Before we knew it, we were in Chame, our final destination. It was about 4pm when we arrived, which felt good to have some daylight before dinner. I napped, paid for a hot shower, almost freaked out when the shampoo and soap went missing (Peter had it), did some yoga, tried to do handstands, ate, and listened to a little music while writing this. The hike went by so much faster today that I feel really good about myself. Good, but exhausted. P.S. we ran into the guys again.
Favorite parts so far: suspension bridges, dozens of waterfalls, Himalayan drinking water, wisps of clouds around the mountains.
Location: Chame
Elevation: 2670m
Wednesday - yesterday - already feels like eons ago. I already had the start of blisters on my toes and moleskine'd them before yesterday's breakfast. The plan was to wake up at 5 or 5:30 but because of the rain we slept in past 6am. I opened our window and was wowed by the fog swiftly moving up the mountains. We set off around 7am but had to turn back after 15 minutes when I realized I had left all of our water bottles on the breakfast table. It took about 45 minutes to catch up with Rob and Mike but we weren't even trying to overtake them - we just walked fast. It was nice to have two other people to talk to.
It started to rain and we picked up the pace to find the first guesthouse we could. Rob still had not caught up to us and we were unsure if he would. Mike, P, and I got a room together and Rob showed up 20 minutes later, to our surprise. It was a long long day - 8 1/2 hours of hiking - and we were exhausted. Dinner was served after sundown so we ate right inside the family's home (awkward) where they had one light bulb. I wrote yesterday's journal entry and fell asleep at 9pm. Staying up that late was difficult to do, especially since it gets dark around 7 because the mountains block the sun setting.
Oh, Peter thinks the highlight of yesterday was a donkey farting on me. He laughed. We rated the fart a 9, scaling it to appropriate donkey-ness. I didn't find it too amusing.
This morning we woke up at 5am to the sunrise and a dog barking manically. Instead of eating at the teahouse (which, btw, cost NPR50 per person [about USD$0.75]) we hiked for 45 minutes to the next town and found a lodge there for food. The idea was to shorten the length of time between meals by having breakfast later but it took so long to get food that it wasn't worth it. Tomorrow we'll just order from the teahouse and pack while they're getting things ready.
Today was another uphill day - we gained 820 meters. It was on a trail for most of the time so I didn't feel as worn out from a rocky road. There were a few mountainsides so steep that we climbed stairs to switchbacks for an hour. At times I was huffing and puffing but that was easily remedied by rest and a slower pace. Peter still climbs easily over the mountains. Just before lunch we happened upon what looked like the end of our trail - a waterfall and rapids had swept over the path. I think we were supposed to have taken off our shoes and crossed but we stupidly decided to climb the boulders up the left side of the rapids. I had difficulty with short(er) legs and a heavy backpack and fell into thorns. I'm okay with climbing but just have more difficulty finding a path that is suitable for my body size (as opposed to P's giantness).
Favorite parts so far: suspension bridges, dozens of waterfalls, Himalayan drinking water, wisps of clouds around the mountains.
Past journal entries:
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