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We tried to make our usual 7:30 am start from Manang today, but Lee was trying to buy an SD card from his camera from the chef in the hotel restaurant so we didn't leave until nearly 8:30. Lee only wanted to pay 1000 rupees instead of the 1300 rupees requested by the chef, so Lee bartered his special Korean massage to make up the difference. That guy is something else!
The weather was sunny with clouds slowly building for our hike. The Marsyangdi River split into two tributaries and we followed the east fork which was the Thorong Nadi. The hiking was fairly easy and I was feeling very good for the hike. The rest day had done its job, and my legs didn't feel so tight. The muscle at the back of my knee that I had pulled still hurt, but was getting better and didn't affect my hiking at all. The highlight of today's hike was some amazing folded rocks on the mountainside on the opposite side of the river. I really wished that I had brought a geologic map of the area with me. It would have added a lot to my understanding of the area
geology. Such amazing structures! We also saw a group of blue sheep at a distance.
Our destination for today was Yak Karka. We reached a couple of new hotels in Yak Karka around 12:15 and Kapil and I pushed another 10 minutes to another, older hotel thinking that the others were also planning on staying here. But apparently they decided to stay at one of the other hotels. They did appear to be a bit nicer, so it was probably a good choice. Our hotel does have a very nice view and a very warm yak-dung fire buring in the stove that I am currently warming myself by.
After lunch, Kapil and I hiked about 100 meters higher to do a little acclimatizing. I continue to acclimatize well. My resting pulse has dropped to 56 beats per minute which is pretty much my normal resting pulse at sea level. We spent about 1/2 hour at the higher elevation taking in the views of the Tarken Kohla drainage, discussing school and career plans, student loans, and watching vultures soar on the air currents. The winds and clouds continued to build during the day and by late afternoon, the skies
were pretty cloudy. We headed back down, then played some cards and soon enough it was time for dinner.
There were a large number of tents formed out of tarps surrounding our hotel. Apparently, many people come to the Yak Karka area to gather a small larvae-fungi called yarsa gomba. The larvae lives underground but then gets taken over by a brown, elongate fungus about 2 inches long. A small tan extension of the fungus extends above the ground. The dead larvae and fungus are ground and mixed with alcohol and are drunk for its aphrodisiac properties. A single yarsa gomba fetches between 100 and 400 rupees, about $1.25 and $5.00
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