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Published: March 13th 2006
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Kali Gandaki
Me on the dry floodplain of the Kali Gandaki valley. Don't let them fool you. It is windy as hell. The menus in the Annapurna trail restaurants all seem to have been copied from Protocols of the Elder Trekkers of Annapurna guide, as they are all pretty much identical, save for the prices, which seem to vary in proportion to altitude and remoteness. They have standard Nepali fare like Dal Baht (lentils with rice), Tibetan specialties like Tibetan bread, breakfast food like pancakes, omlettes, porridge, and spaghetti, lasagne, pizza, Indian food, potatoes, fried rice, chow mein, and even a handful of Mexican options. Sounds like a pretty good variety, but, I assure you, after a week on the trail, there will be nothing you haven't tried. Most of them are even pretty plausible facsimilies of the real thing (except the Mexican), a bit surprising, as I expect most of the chefs have never left their region of the country, much less the country of Nepal.
The next five days of trekking were through the high arid region of Lower Mustang, which is basically the southern edge of the Tibetan plateau. It is in the rain shadow of Annapurna, and gets little precipitaion throughout the year. Vegetation from Jomsom Eastward to the high pass of Thorung La is just low scrubby
Yak Donald's
Yak Donalds and 7-11 in the tiny village of Kagbeni. No slurpees, but they did have toilet paper! bushes scattered amid dust and rocks. The cliff faces are melting very very slowly in the dry atmosphere. The path we walked follows the gorge cut by the ancient Kali Gandaki (black river) that flows from the forbidden region of Upper Mustang through Limestone cliffs that render the water a milky teal color. The river is so old, that it predates the 60 million year old Himalaya mountains!
On Saturday the 4th, we backtrekked all the way to Jomsom, then began walking along the mostly-dry bed of the Kali Gandaki Eastward towards the village of Kagbeni. This was a somewhat uninspired segment of the journey, as the terrain was rounded rocks big enough to turn your ankle on, so you had to keep your eyes down. Furthermore, the sun was intense, and a ferocious wind tore down the river valley blowing dust and sand against our backs and into our eyes. We were thrilled when we reached Eklai Bhatti for lunch at around 2, arriving at Kagbeni after another 45 minutes of walking. As we approached the village, we felt the first raindrops to fall in the region in five months! What luck. While I am happy for the
Kagbeni
The "old" section of Kagbeni in the distance, through some wire fence. Not sure I thought that was artistic, or couldn't get around it. humble farmers of the area, rain is really not what you want when you are trekking, as we were. We barricaded ourselves in for the night and Eddie huddled in his bag once again (he had a rough day hiking in his condition). He and Michelle were both in bad shape that night, and we were concerned that we would not be able to make the tough 1000m ascent to Muktinath that was scheduled for tomorrow.
Fortunately, after a rough night, Eddie woke up feeling much improved, and Michelle somewhat better. The climb to the important holy site of Muktinath was (surprise!) windy, dusty, dry and increasingly cold. We followed a steep diagonal path that switched back up slopes of dirt and rock. Each time, as we crested a ridge, another hill rose up beyond it. Finally, we reached a less steep section of a trail. After rounding a bend, we were presented with a dramatic view of the mountain ridge that separates the West half of the circuit (where we were) from the Eastern half, a ridge studded with several 6000 to 7000 meter peaks. The only way across for normal humans is by the Thorung La, proudly
Inkeeper
Me posing with the sweet inkeeper of the Nilgiri View Hotel in Kagbeni. billed as the highest pass in the world at 5416 m. Sadly for an altitude-o-phile like me, our route was to turn around before travesing this colossal obstacle, at whose apex, the air is less than 50% of sea level atmospheric pressure. We passed through several villages that we thought were Muktinath, only to discover several more hills that we had to drag ourselves up. It began to snow on us as we entered the proper settlement.
That night, we got our first taste of heating, Mustang style: they take a bucket full of burning coals and shove them under a dinner table draped with a thick hanging table cloth that holds in the heat. Surprisingly little smoke escapes, and it gets hot enough under there to make you want to withdraw your legs at times. Eddie melted his boot. Somehow, oddly, the table never caught fire. Unfortunately, they refused to build a fire under my bed, so I huddled under my sleeping bag and an extra blanket all night. The squatter bathroom was down a long, outdoor hallway, and the air was probably 25 degrees Fahrenheit, so, as you might imagine, you hold it in as long as
Dhauligiri
A stunning view of the distant 8167 m Dhaulagiri from the roof of our hotel in Muktinath. Note the summit plume - snow blowing off the top in the vicious wind. you can. The next day, we hung out in Muktinath. We visited a Buddhist Stupa and a Hindu temple. While we were there, some army general flew his helicopter to the site, annointed himself in the holy waters, and flew away. I sure am glad that my government doesn't waste its funds on personal religious goals like that. Er. Never mind.
After that, I went with our porter Bom to climb the Throung La pass, for the hell of it. I knew we wouldn't make it to the top, because we started at 11:00, but I wanted to see how far we could get. The total climb was 1600 m, from 3800 m to 5400 m. We climbed for about two hours, past grazing horses (no Yaks!) towards the frosty sentinel peaks guarding the pass. As the ground rolled past, the terraing began to look greener, and my feet grew heavier. As we approached the teahouse halfway up the pass, each step made me wonder where I would find the energy for the next one. I breathed as fast and hard as I could, but still found my muscles burning. The tea house was a godsend. We stopped there
Temple
Stunning mountains through the gateway to the Temple and Stupa above Muktinath. for some food and drink (my new favorite beverage, Seabuckthrone berry juice!). I was delighted to be told that we were at 4700 m, more than half way to the top. I'm not sure if it's true, but I'll take it. Feeling refreshed, I probably would have continued up a bit more, but Bom had clearly had enough, so I agreed to head down.
The fire under the table that night was once again a delight. We met an Australian couple who came to Nepal from Tibet, and had also spent time working in organic farms in Europe in exchange from room and board. Sounds pretty nice! I also learned that I can get in to Tibet if I want, but what I saw of the somewhat desolate landscape of Mustang makes me less enthusiastic.
The next day, we reversed our tracks again and walked down the 1000 meters all the way down to Jomsom. It was a pretty long day, being blasted in the face with the winds that sweep the Kali Gandaki valley (someone remind me to put up some wind generators!). From Jomsom, Eddie and Michelle were to fly back with guide Keiran to Pokhara,
Thorung La
Me, feeling exhilirated and exhaustulated, having climbed halfway up the Thorung La pass, just because it was there. then Kathmandu, while I would continue on with porter/guide Bom by foot to Pokhara over the next 4-5 days. We took warm showers and relaxed in the relative comfort of Om's Home Hotel, and said our tearful goodbyes in the morning.
My butt is getting numb from sitting in front of this computer for so long, so I shall save the next chapter for later. Until then,
I hope this finds you all well, and I miss you all (not just your XBox 360, I swear!) and keep the feedback coming!
Best,
Dan
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anonymous
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Sounds amazing. Joan