A Trekker's Day

Oct. 11
Here is a basic idea of what one of our days might look like:
We get up at 6am (no alarm need, just routine, and an early bed time). Dress, reorganize and pack (gotta love living out of a backpack). Then its breakfast at 6:30am. – I should add here that they have come up with a pretty standard menu for all the guest houses along the circuit. You have to be creative to get much variety in your diet. It basically consists of hot beverages (Nescafé), eggs, breads, soup (Raman), rice, momos, dal baht, curry and a few other items. – After breakfast it is onto the trail, probably somewhere around 7:30am (None of us have watches, I love the life style where time is irrelevant). Our hikes are some where between 5 to 7 hours a day (it seems to fly by). Part way through the day we will stop for lunch at a tea house. We finish our hike for the day probably around 3pm, after arriving in one of the villages and then settling into our guest house. Sometimes we will walk through the town and explore a bit. Then its off to the showers, crossing our fingers for some warm water. Before dinner we have some down time to chat, read, or play cards. Oh yeah and if the sun is out when we finish our hike we will sometimes do a little laundry, although it takes ages to dry in the cool air. Then dinner and after more time for cards and social. My guess is we’re probably crawling into bed sometime around 8:30-9pm. So far every place we’ve stayed has electricity which turns on once it gets dark. However, it is not uncommon for the power to go out, ending our evening in a candle lit atmosphere.

Accounts of Nepal

Oct.4
I am happy to report smooth overall travels all the way to Kathmandu, with my bag arriving along with me and Ryan and Rob waiting there to greet me upon my arrival! We took a taxi back to the hotel through the crowded and horn happy streets (people, cars, bikes, motorcycles, rickshaws). It’s so great to be around friends after traveling alone. Today we took a bus ride from Kathmandu up to the starting point of our trek. The people are beautiful and I love the women’s dress. So far all the locals that we have met have been extremely friendly. Everyone is very happy to stop and strike up a conversation with you. Tomorrow we begin our first day of hiking…

Oct. 6
We have had beautiful days for hiking. The trail is fairly narrow and rocky, varying up and down in elevation. We are following along a river and have had many bridge crossings, which always adds a bit of excitement. Today was the waterfall trek. So many gorgeous waterfalls and each breath taking and unique in its own way. So far the weather has been hot and humid. I just pour sweat for the six or so hours that we’re hiking. We have also had two afternoons in a row of hard short rain showers. Also, today after we finished our hike and showered, we decided to do some laundry. In the process we gained a helper. A little girl who lived in the village showed me exactly how to wash my socks (apparently I have been doing it wrong all these years, hehe).

Oct. 7
Two very common sights along the trail have been the many donkey trains and many locals carrying very large and heavy objects. It is such an interesting way of life here. There is currently no road for vehicles up through the valley, however they are in the process of building one.

Oct. 8
There were horse races going on today when we got into town at the end of our hike. Today I saw a little Nepali girl with Down Syndrome, she was absolutely beautiful!

Oct. 9
Day five of trekking what a beautiful day, goodness I couldn’t be happier spending 12 hours a day out of doors. We are starting to see glimpses of snow capped mountains peaking over and between the hillsides.

Our guides and porters are so great. They are good natured and good humored. They also speak pretty good English. There are a couple of them who are all friends so we have been traveling and staying with a retired couple from CA and a group of three from Spain. They have also been great company along the way and during our down time in the evenings.

Tonight there was no moon and I can’t remember the last time I saw so many stars. And so many shooting stars in such a short amount of time. Breathtaking, just indescribable, the twinkling in the darkness.

Oct. 13
We made it to high camp (over 15,000 feet, a new record for me)! The past four nights at higher elevations have been our acclimatization days before we head over the pass. While we were in Manang we went to an informational meeting about AMS (Altitude Mountain Sickness), also HACE and HAPE. There is an American doctor there who runs a Himalaya Mountain Rescue practice. That day I heard one helicopter and saw one person riding down on a donkey with oxygen. Altitude is no small matter.

I am amazed at all the different terrain we have been through thus far on our trek. Starting off lower through the jungle with many waterfalls. Then up through the pine trees. Now, high above tree line with many rock fields and small bushes, and snow!

Tomorrow is our big day, Thorung La Pass (17,769 ft). We’ll be going up higher then I have ever been and yet all around me there will be many peaks still towering over me.

Oct. 14
Yipee! We made it over Thorung La Pass! That was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Really how many people can say, “I’ve climbed over one of the highest passes in the world!” So we woke at 4:15am. It was dark and lightly snowing. With our headlamps and many layers on we started up the slippery slope. I get the feeling this was not exactly the safest day of hiking. I am just glad that it was dark out so that I couldn’t really tell how steep or how far down the edge we were walking along was. It made me so excited watching the falling snow reflect against the light of my head lamp. And what an incredible sight seeing the single file line of head lamps strung out along the path. We were a little disappointed about being socked in with clouds (no beautiful mountain views from the top) but I thought it was a great adventure all the same. The way down the other side of the pass was very long and steep. Praise God that we all felt good and stayed safe over the pass.

I can’t believe I have been in Nepal for two weeks and that we still have over a week left of our trek. And I am also happy to report that I am not sick of walking yet. When I look at the map its amazing how much ground we have already covered. Ryan made an interesting point the other day, something along the lines of, its funny how a necessity can become recreation. The people who live up here have to walk from village to village and we decide it would be fun to do the same for sport. I hope they don’t take for granted what a beautiful country they live in.

Oct. 16
Today we hiked for four hours in the rain, not pouring but constant. Rain is very refreshing and I do enjoy it, however by the end of our hike I was a bit wet and thoroughly chilled. In one of the towns along the way a girl of about 8 or so walked up next to me with her umbrella and held it over our heads for about five minutes, jumping over big puddles and laughing together until we reached her destination and she said goodbye. You have to love good people with pure hearts.

Oct. 19
Yesterday, when we stopped for lunch along the way, the Dahl Baht was recommended, so we all decided to go for it Nepali style (this means eating with your hand). Dahl Baht is the typical Nepalese meal, consisting of rice, curry potatoes and vegetable, lentil soup, and spicy pickle. So using your right hand you mix all but the pickle together and forming a scoop with the tips of your fingers you bring a bite up to your mouth and use your thumb to push it in. First of all it was excellent Dahl Baht and the family who owned the guest house and prepared the meal was so great and friendly. I will admit I have some practice to do when it comes to eating like that with one hand.

One random sight along the trail, grandpa carrying grandma in a basket on his back.
Fresh apples through the orchards were so yummy.

Oct. 23
Its festival season right now so everyone is out and about in nice dress with red rice stuck to their foreheads for good luck. They also put up huge swings made out of bamboo in all of the villages during this time of year.

Kathmandu

Oct. 30
I have to say after weeks of great hiking in the Himalayas its tough to end your trip in the big, hectic city of Kathmandu. Don’t get me wrong there are plenty of things to do, see, smell, and taste in Kathmandu, but there’s just something about the peacefulness of being out in nature.

Sights of Kathmandu:
Themal is the main tourist area of the city with shops, restaurants, and guest houses galore.

The Monkey Temple: long lines of prayer wheels leading to the top and many strings of prayer flags. Lots of monkeys just hanging around. Many tables laid out, selling various trinkets and reminding me of the story of Jesus clearing the temple.

In a matter of about 60 seconds of standing out on the street you will most likely be approached with the offers to buy small elephant statues, tiger balm, and hash.

Rickshaws, taxis, motorbikes, cars, and bicycles all traveling down roads barely two car widths wide, packed with pedestrians, constantly honky their horns, just to let you know they’re there.

Beggars, everything from the crippled, mothers with little babies, to young kids who seemed to be completely on their own.

The opportunity to eat lots of Indian food!

Cheap lodging and food. 1USD = 62 RS. Room $2-10. Meal $2-10.

Striking up conversations with friendly locals and sharing traveling tales with other tourists.

…

Traveling home, a bit early

Now for the story behind my early departure from Kathmandu. So, I normally never reconfirm any of my flights before I fly, mostly because most major airlines don’t require it. However, rumor had it that Royal Nepal Airlines was fairly unreliable, so I went to their office in Kathmandu to confirm my departure flight for Oct. 31. I was then informed that they ‘weren’t actually going to be flying that day.’ Ok, great. Now what. With this new pertinent information, they simply tell me to just come back tomorrow. So I do, and what’s the first thing they try to tell me, ‘oh just come back tomorrow.’ I don’t think so! We are going to solve this problem. After an hour of getting no where and what is looking like no solutions, my head starts to ache with the mixed thoughts of when will I actually be able to get out of this country and planning my next trek if I get stuck here for a while. I then help the guy figure out that its possible for me to move my flights up a day or two, all of which still have open seats. I should know at this point not to push my luck, so of course my semi-productive day ends with the information that BA is closed for the day and I must come back for the third time tomorrow. Good gravy. The next day, as soon as I think we’re really making some progress, he tries to tell me something along the lines of, ‘ok you’re booked to leave tonight on Royal Nepal Airlines and I’ll try to book the British Airways flight for you, but you need to talk to someone when you get to New Delhi to make sure they are confirmed.’ “Ok,” I say to myself, “be flexible.” I have the opportunity to get out of Nepal, but I have no idea if I’m going to get stuck in Delhi. Well, let’s do it, what’s traveling without a little adventure.

New Delhi, I have found, is a bit of a stressful place to make an international transfer. Let’s just say it requires a lot of patience and trust. Basically you get off the plane and look for someone who might be ground crew working for that airline. Tell them you want to transfer and then they’ll stand you in this corner next to the customs lines. They then hand write down your name, passport number, transfer flight, and luggage tag numbers. We then walk back upstairs and are told to ‘sit and wait’ in the transit lounge (basically a large hallway about 150 yards long, 30 yards wide, and not nearly enough seats). My layover was 9 hours there. After about 6 hours someone finally addresses a group of us, “Anyone flying on British Airways?” A couple of us around her nod and then she asks for our passports and tickets and says she’ll be back soon. Two hours later, an hour before our flight takes off, I’m starting to get a little anxious with still no passport or confirmation that I’m actually going to get on this flight. 45 minutes before take off a lady returns, “British Airways? Follow me.” A couple of us follow her, identify our luggage, and are handed our passports and official boarding passes. Hurray, I’m really on my way home. Talk about an inefficient, very confusing and concerning process. Having been through a similar process there twice now, I suppose I have learned that it just seems to work out ok. Controlled chaos?

35 hours of traveling later, I am happy to be home safe and sound. It has been a little strange getting back into my normal routine, after a very simple life style this past month. It was so good to see all of my kids at work again, and it helped that they were just as excited to see me. I am already missing Rob and Ryan. They were great traveling companions. I had a really great trip trekking in Nepal! I absolutely loved being active out of doors in good company. It was very ideal and something I find great joy in.