TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN: 820m
In the mountains, often, places look deceptively close.
What with the dense foliage, the mossy trees, the wet stones, we could have been in a scene out of The Lord of the Rings.
We had a little bit of everything today. Up and down. Clear heavens and overcast skies. Sweltering heat and torrents of rain.
We woke up today to a shadowy, cool morning. The blue sky was invisible, but soon, in half an hour, the sun shone over Annapurna South and Machhapuchre. It was such a beautiful beginning to the day.
At sharp 6:45am, we were served a breakfast of omelet, toast and butter and Tibetan bread. I looked at the big, energetic hotel woman bustling about and doing almost everything. She was in the kitchen. She was serving everyone. She was at our table asking if we needed anything. The tea that we returned saying it was too milky was back within two minutes, this time just as we liked it. She was giving orders to the kitchen staff in her booming voice. She was serving the porters and guides a hearty breakfast and placing laden plates of boiled eggs and breads in from of them. Fifteen minutes later she was in the courtyard sweeping. My god, the mountain people have some extraordinary energy.
We set off for the day at 7:30am. The climb up to Chhomrong was a tough start to an even tougher day. I don't think there was a single downwards step for an hour till we reached the beginning of Chhomrong near the top of the hill. It was beautiful, though. The sun was shining on the valley, the birds we cheerfully chirping and there was a cool breeze blowing.We say two lovely birds perched on a telephone wire - one of then was a bright turquoise blue.
We reached Chhomrong at 9:30am, or so I think. More like the "beginning" or Chhomrong. The village went on and on for ages! The hut that I'd seen at the top of the hill and sighed at turned out to be only the beginning of an arduous journey. After crossing 'the house at the top of the hill' we began our downwards descent. I developed a love-hate relationship with descent today. While it was a welcome change from the constant ascent, it meant that we were loosing the height we had previously gained and would have to make up for it later.
On the way, we came to another ACAP checkpoint. A couple of women came up to us. One painted a long red tika on our forehead with her finger, while the other gave us each a red wild flower. We learnt what it was World Tourism Day. Who knew?
We encountered out first group of Indian trekkers at Chhomrong from Bombay. Surprisingly, it felt good to know that our fellow Indians were also here. We asked them if there was snow at ABC (they were on their way down) to which they said "Yes, of course!". This came as a surprise because Tirtha had told us their wasn't going to be any snow at ABC. A pair of trekkers - a Japanese man and his porter - crossed us along the way. It was amusing, because the Japanese looked energetic and upbeat and the porter looked completely drained. In fact, the Japanese was carrying a pretty big bag too. The porter seemed so relieved that the trail was going down now!
At the bottom of the valley, we crossed a long bridge, and from the other side up, the madness started. The sun's heat was sweltering. My back started aching due to the heavy bag I was carrying. Well not so much of my back as the part behind my neck and between my shoulders. I had to stop wherever I could to regain my energy. On the way up there was a protruding rock that provided invitingly cool shade. I let the pressure off my back for a while as the rock provided a lovely crevice underneath which there was sort of a natural bench.
We saw Alexi somewhere along, about twenty minutes after crossing the bridge. He said "Hey! You guys are ahead of me today!" How did he seem so fresh in the heat? He always started later and caught up before lunchtime. I got so exhausted after a while that Dada had to carry my bag on top of his own huge rucksack. I felt much lighter, granted, but the pain near my shoulders didn't subside. Tirtha and Varun forged ahead while Dada accompanied me Mama slowly from behind. Our lunch destination was Upper Sinuwa. The meaning of "Upper" didn't strike me until I saw a cluster of houses and was like "Yes! Destination in sight!". Nope. That was Lower Sinuwa. So destination not in sight. In the mountains, often, places look deceptively close. What seems like a (mighty) stones through away takes hours to reach.
We reached Upper Sinuwa at 12:20pm and I didn't have one ounce of energy left in me. It did not help my ego that Mama reached with me. The sunny and sweaty trek up was enough to finish me. My shoulders were burning, even though Dada had carried my bag up for me. I let my feet air a bit. I don't think they liked being laced up 8 hours a day.
At 12:45pm, we got our (by now) routine Dal Bhat lunch. I didn't feel like eating at all. Dada said I was probably dehydrated. But diagnosing the problem wouldn't help me in my irritable state. I know I had to get in as much food as possible to sustain the physical exertion, so slowly, bite by bite, I ate the soupy dal and rice till I no longer could. It was unfortunate that I couldn't enjoy my meal to the fullest; it was quite delicious. The Dal had a wonderful garlic flavour. Well at least everyone else enjoyed the meal.
Dada washed some shirts at Upper Sinuwa and pinned it to our bags. The sun was so strong that they would quickly dry. Well, the mountains don't listen to you. You listen to the mountains. It began by a drizzle, but twenty minutes after staring from Sinuwa the skies opened up and the rain fell steadily with no seeming intention of stopping. We took brief shelter under dense foliage and hastily brought our ponchos out after a bit of confusion about what was in who's bag and where. And continued on our suddenly wet path. I thought the rain would pose a hindrance, what with the slipperiness amplified but it was a relief to walk in the continued overcast skies. The sun had worked hard enough in the former part of the day. We had to be a little careful because we were descending into the valley once again (and my glasses were fogging up), but thankfully the stones weren't slippery. What with the dense foliage, the mossy trees, the wet stones, we could have been in a scene out of The Lord of the Rings. Or the Forbidden Forest. Tirtha said we'd reach Bamboo at the bottom of the valet in two and a half hours, but we reached in an hour and forty five minutes. Not bad! My shoulder pain hadn't subsided, but the energy from lunch kept us going strong.
Tirtha said we couldn't stay in Bamboo as he'd booked us a place in Dobhan in anticipation of trekking traffic. Mama and I were a little downcast. Bamboo seemed so pretty, with creepers along the housing and wild flowers growing. Anyways as we began to leave Bamboo, Alexi strolled in, looking jolly as usual. He said he'd decided to set camp at Bamboo today and enjoy the rainy beauty. And there was beauty aplenty to enjoy. Bamboo was a quaint little village; there were misty mountains to be seen from above and right in from of you, lovely waterfalls appearing and disappearing through the mist.
Anyways, on we went. It got so beautiful suddenly. It wasn't raining anymore, and the misty beauty was so breathtaking. We crossed small rickety wooden bridges and gushing rivers; little bits of blue sky were peeping from behind the clouds; high up, waterfalls were visible... This is why you come to the mountains.
We reached Dobhan at 4:30pm, relatively early compared to our previous days ending. We took a refreshingly hot shower which cost ₹150. The boiling hot water was comforting after the long, long day.
My left knee, in which I'd developed some pain on the trail today and gave me increasing trouble, got some rest which was essential. I could hardly walk down the steps towards the end due to my left knee aching.
A steaming mug of tea at 5:30pm and my journal in hand, I had enough to keep me occupied. At 6:00pm, Tirtha came over and we began discussing the next few days. This had become a routine for the evening. Our plan is that we spend tomorrow night either at Deurali or Machhapuchre Base Camp (MBC) and the day after that at ABC. And then we'll see.
At 6:15pm we all the outside to see the wonderful sunset over Machhapuchre.
Dinner was excellent. Noodles, excellent fried rice and mouth-wateringly delicious Mars Roll, which was like a deep-fried, light and airy Tibetan Bread with chopped up and melting Mars bars inside. Deliciously warm is the cold weather.
It is 7:45pm now. Dada is telling Varun to write a journal as a frantically write away instead of doing Dada's work - writing down the expenditures. Varun says he is more satisfied expenses than experiences.
In the mountains, often, places look deceptively close.
What with the dense foliage, the mossy trees, the wet stones, we could have been in a scene out of The Lord of the Rings.
We had a little bit of everything today. Up and down. Clear heavens and overcast skies. Sweltering heat and torrents of rain.
We woke up today to a shadowy, cool morning. The blue sky was invisible, but soon, in half an hour, the sun shone over Annapurna South and Machhapuchre. It was such a beautiful beginning to the day.
At sharp 6:45am, we were served a breakfast of omelet, toast and butter and Tibetan bread. I looked at the big, energetic hotel woman bustling about and doing almost everything. She was in the kitchen. She was serving everyone. She was at our table asking if we needed anything. The tea that we returned saying it was too milky was back within two minutes, this time just as we liked it. She was giving orders to the kitchen staff in her booming voice. She was serving the porters and guides a hearty breakfast and placing laden plates of boiled eggs and breads in from of them. Fifteen minutes later she was in the courtyard sweeping. My god, the mountain people have some extraordinary energy.
We set off for the day at 7:30am. The climb up to Chhomrong was a tough start to an even tougher day. I don't think there was a single downwards step for an hour till we reached the beginning of Chhomrong near the top of the hill. It was beautiful, though. The sun was shining on the valley, the birds we cheerfully chirping and there was a cool breeze blowing.We say two lovely birds perched on a telephone wire - one of then was a bright turquoise blue.
We reached Chhomrong at 9:30am, or so I think. More like the "beginning" or Chhomrong. The village went on and on for ages! The hut that I'd seen at the top of the hill and sighed at turned out to be only the beginning of an arduous journey. After crossing 'the house at the top of the hill' we began our downwards descent. I developed a love-hate relationship with descent today. While it was a welcome change from the constant ascent, it meant that we were loosing the height we had previously gained and would have to make up for it later.
On the way, we came to another ACAP checkpoint. A couple of women came up to us. One painted a long red tika on our forehead with her finger, while the other gave us each a red wild flower. We learnt what it was World Tourism Day. Who knew?
We encountered out first group of Indian trekkers at Chhomrong from Bombay. Surprisingly, it felt good to know that our fellow Indians were also here. We asked them if there was snow at ABC (they were on their way down) to which they said "Yes, of course!". This came as a surprise because Tirtha had told us their wasn't going to be any snow at ABC. A pair of trekkers - a Japanese man and his porter - crossed us along the way. It was amusing, because the Japanese looked energetic and upbeat and the porter looked completely drained. In fact, the Japanese was carrying a pretty big bag too. The porter seemed so relieved that the trail was going down now!
At the bottom of the valley, we crossed a long bridge, and from the other side up, the madness started. The sun's heat was sweltering. My back started aching due to the heavy bag I was carrying. Well not so much of my back as the part behind my neck and between my shoulders. I had to stop wherever I could to regain my energy. On the way up there was a protruding rock that provided invitingly cool shade. I let the pressure off my back for a while as the rock provided a lovely crevice underneath which there was sort of a natural bench.
We saw Alexi somewhere along, about twenty minutes after crossing the bridge. He said "Hey! You guys are ahead of me today!" How did he seem so fresh in the heat? He always started later and caught up before lunchtime. I got so exhausted after a while that Dada had to carry my bag on top of his own huge rucksack. I felt much lighter, granted, but the pain near my shoulders didn't subside. Tirtha and Varun forged ahead while Dada accompanied me Mama slowly from behind. Our lunch destination was Upper Sinuwa. The meaning of "Upper" didn't strike me until I saw a cluster of houses and was like "Yes! Destination in sight!". Nope. That was Lower Sinuwa. So destination not in sight. In the mountains, often, places look deceptively close. What seems like a (mighty) stones through away takes hours to reach.
We reached Upper Sinuwa at 12:20pm and I didn't have one ounce of energy left in me. It did not help my ego that Mama reached with me. The sunny and sweaty trek up was enough to finish me. My shoulders were burning, even though Dada had carried my bag up for me. I let my feet air a bit. I don't think they liked being laced up 8 hours a day.
At 12:45pm, we got our (by now) routine Dal Bhat lunch. I didn't feel like eating at all. Dada said I was probably dehydrated. But diagnosing the problem wouldn't help me in my irritable state. I know I had to get in as much food as possible to sustain the physical exertion, so slowly, bite by bite, I ate the soupy dal and rice till I no longer could. It was unfortunate that I couldn't enjoy my meal to the fullest; it was quite delicious. The Dal had a wonderful garlic flavour. Well at least everyone else enjoyed the meal.
Dada washed some shirts at Upper Sinuwa and pinned it to our bags. The sun was so strong that they would quickly dry. Well, the mountains don't listen to you. You listen to the mountains. It began by a drizzle, but twenty minutes after staring from Sinuwa the skies opened up and the rain fell steadily with no seeming intention of stopping. We took brief shelter under dense foliage and hastily brought our ponchos out after a bit of confusion about what was in who's bag and where. And continued on our suddenly wet path. I thought the rain would pose a hindrance, what with the slipperiness amplified but it was a relief to walk in the continued overcast skies. The sun had worked hard enough in the former part of the day. We had to be a little careful because we were descending into the valley once again (and my glasses were fogging up), but thankfully the stones weren't slippery. What with the dense foliage, the mossy trees, the wet stones, we could have been in a scene out of The Lord of the Rings. Or the Forbidden Forest. Tirtha said we'd reach Bamboo at the bottom of the valet in two and a half hours, but we reached in an hour and forty five minutes. Not bad! My shoulder pain hadn't subsided, but the energy from lunch kept us going strong.
Tirtha said we couldn't stay in Bamboo as he'd booked us a place in Dobhan in anticipation of trekking traffic. Mama and I were a little downcast. Bamboo seemed so pretty, with creepers along the housing and wild flowers growing. Anyways as we began to leave Bamboo, Alexi strolled in, looking jolly as usual. He said he'd decided to set camp at Bamboo today and enjoy the rainy beauty. And there was beauty aplenty to enjoy. Bamboo was a quaint little village; there were misty mountains to be seen from above and right in from of you, lovely waterfalls appearing and disappearing through the mist.
Anyways, on we went. It got so beautiful suddenly. It wasn't raining anymore, and the misty beauty was so breathtaking. We crossed small rickety wooden bridges and gushing rivers; little bits of blue sky were peeping from behind the clouds; high up, waterfalls were visible... This is why you come to the mountains.
We reached Dobhan at 4:30pm, relatively early compared to our previous days ending. We took a refreshingly hot shower which cost ₹150. The boiling hot water was comforting after the long, long day.
My left knee, in which I'd developed some pain on the trail today and gave me increasing trouble, got some rest which was essential. I could hardly walk down the steps towards the end due to my left knee aching.
A steaming mug of tea at 5:30pm and my journal in hand, I had enough to keep me occupied. At 6:00pm, Tirtha came over and we began discussing the next few days. This had become a routine for the evening. Our plan is that we spend tomorrow night either at Deurali or Machhapuchre Base Camp (MBC) and the day after that at ABC. And then we'll see.
At 6:15pm we all the outside to see the wonderful sunset over Machhapuchre.
Dinner was excellent. Noodles, excellent fried rice and mouth-wateringly delicious Mars Roll, which was like a deep-fried, light and airy Tibetan Bread with chopped up and melting Mars bars inside. Deliciously warm is the cold weather.
It is 7:45pm now. Dada is telling Varun to write a journal as a frantically write away instead of doing Dada's work - writing down the expenditures. Varun says he is more satisfied expenses than experiences.
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