Gowa to Bhimthang

 

Sept 1

Today will be a full day of trekking.  The effort is expected to be significant and bring us to a small village called Bhimthang at roughly 12,000 ft.  The first full day of hard work is always interesting because the human nature of our teammates will begin to show itself.  Some people always want to be in the front and will jockey for position to get there.  Some people like to hike more slowly and tend to start or drift to the back.  The socialites will roam around striking up conversations with most everyone who will join in.  My style tends to be in the middle, keeping an eye forward and backward while hiking efficiently.

Within a few minutes, we experience the mud which will characterize our day.  It’s the end of the monsoon season and the weather is still quite humid and rainy.  The trail we’re on is the only way into the Manaslu district at this time so people and donkeys all use it every day.  Our route takes us up and through the rain forest and the boot sucking mud is epic.  Our efforts are multiplied by trying to keep to the edges of the trail and hopping from rock to rock.  One false move could land you in 6” of dark goopy mud laced with a generous helping of donkey poop.  Definitely not pleasant experience.

Adding to the difficulties is a steady light rain which brings the humidity up to 100%.  Now, we were warned about this and the local solution is actually to use umbrellas while hiking versus gor-tex rain jackets or ponchos.  We all got $6 big umbrellas in Gowa and had fun joking about actually using them while hiking in the woods.  Today, we’re experiencing that reality and the benefits of staying cooler and having air circulation over our sweaty bodies far outweigh the nuisance of holding an umbrella for 8 hours.  The incongruity of our team hiking in the woods with colorful umbrellas versus a mule team coming back downhill after delivering their burden further up the valley is quite strange. 

For most of the day, we’re hiking along a major river and following it higher and taking one tributary after another as we increase our elevation.  The clouds are low, our boots are caked with mud, and we carry our umbrellas in the light rain while travelling through some amazingly beautiful country. 

Not only did I recruit my wife Kriss and my climbing buddy Matt for this climb but also 3 couples who are our friends.  It’s been really special to reconnect with our good college buddies Kurt and Michelle over the past couple of years and now to share this experience with them.  Trekking in alpine regions of Nepal is something that was way off their radar but they’re settling into it and enjoying themselves. 

Thankfully, the last couple of miles of trail was drier with little mud.  We were done climbing through the rain forest and now entering a sub alpine zone with more evidence of glaciers here and there.  It’s cool, damp, and misty but we’ve been working hard all day and our bodies are warm with effort.  Kriss, Matt and a guide named Pasang walk out of the mist like beings from another world as we enter the edge of the small village called Bhimthang which will be our home for two nights. 

The overall distance for today was 9.68 miles and 4,544 ft of elevation gain.  That’s a big day and we are ready to drop our packs, change into warm, dry clothes and get something to eat.  The teahouse in Bhimtang is fairly new and quite comfortable with lots of individual rooms to house our team.