Thu April 4- My goodness... Maurits must have eaten something wrong again! Back on Cipro (antibiotics)... We did get sick rather easily in Nepal. On a bright note; LB was feeling better after we had to cut our Three Passes Trek short. And so the two 'weaklings' spent the day at the International Guest House (IGH) in Kathmandu.
Fri April 5- We did not want to give up on Nepal yet and after breakfast we went back to Babu at the AGH trekking office. When we left the Everest region we were thinking of going to the Annapurna mountains by ourselves. The Annapurnas are just as developed as Everest and since there are no difficult passes to cross we did not need (or want) a guide. However, in the past years Nepal has converted the Annapurna-hiking-trail into a dirt road. Since the road is more than half the circuit, we decided against Annapurna. We did not come to Nepal to share a dusty road with buses, trucks and jeeps. We had two good options left for which we needed a guide; we could go to Manaslu or to Kanchenjunga. We talked to Babu and would come back tomorrow to make a decision.
Sat April 6- We made the decision to go to Kanchenjunga! Manaslu is an easier walk, easier to get to and cheaper. But unless we extended the hike and added on Tsum Valley and/or Annapurna's Thorung La Pass, we would only have one 'alpine' event (1 pass). Kanchenjunga is cumbersome to get to, but we would get three alpine events (2 base camps and 1 pass). While we had the time, we thought it more exciting to go to Kanchenjunga. Since we both did not feel 100% fit yet, we set the departure date for this 25-day trek to April 9.
The rest of the day, like the other days in Kathmandu, we hung-out in the nice garden of the IGH. A good place to read a book or use the slow (very slow) internet. The hotel also had a rooftop-terrace, but with the thick smog there was not much of a view. The smog did make for nice sunsets though...
Sun April 7- Strike day! All road transportation has stopped. Nepal has had a turbulent political decade with the ousting of the king and a period of unrest during the maoist rebellion/uprising. In general the situation was calm in Nepal, but there were plenty of ongoing political arguments. The reason behind today's strike was the proposed date of new general elections. The elections were planned for the end of this year, but the maoist party wanted the elections earlier (we think July). The best thing about this 'strike day' was the quiet. Normally Kathmandu is very noisy with cars, buses, trucks and motorbikes beeping 24/7. Now it was almost tranquil. What a lovely change!
Mon April 8- Happy birthday Laura Beth! We celebrated LB's 32nd with coffee and chocolate cake at our favorite Kathmandu cafe. In the afternoon we went shopping at the pharmacy. We were almost out of Cipro (for the stomach issues) and needed to stock up for our next trek. In Nepal we needed no doctor's prescription for good medicine. While we were at it, we also got azithromycin, amoxicillin and metronidazole. All for under $5 !! Plus some multivitamins. Maybe they will help us stay healthy in Kanchenjunga...
Tue April 9- Kanchenjunga Day 1- Kathmandu (1400) to Birtamod (300)
At 8 our guide Guman and our porter Balaram picked us up from the IGH to start our Kanchenjunga trek. Kanchenjunga is the third tallest mountain (8586 m or 28169 ft) on the planet. It sits in northeastern Nepal, roughly on the borders of Nepal, India and China (Tibet). We would be trekking for +/- 25 days, including 4 travel days, and visit Kanchenjunga North and South Base Camps. Our porter Balaram had been to Kanchenjunga two times before and he would be our 'pathfinder.' It was our guide Guman's first time to this area. Today we flew from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur in southeastern Nepal. The Kathmandu domestic terminal was a lot less chaotic than when we left for Everest, it sort-of looked like an aiport terminal! Shortly after 10 am the Yeti Airlines Jetstream 41 took off for the one hour flight to Bhadrapur. As soon as we were above the clouds we had brilliant views of the Himalayas! Now that we had been to the Everest area we could point out the various peaks. We could also see Kanchenjunga; a massive block of rock and ice.
Once in Bhadrapur we took a ricksha from the airport to the bus-stop. A tight fit on the bike-carriage, but the bus stop was not too far. We also did not want to walk since we were now in the true tropics; hot, humid and hazy. Pfffffff..... The bus to Birtamod was packed! It was only a one hour bus ride, but the heat and discomfort made it feel longer. We, (especially Maurits' legs,) immediately decided that tomorrow we would take a private car to the trailhead in Taplejung. In Birtamod another ricksha brought us to our hotel at the bus-station. The hotel was a little sketchy, but we did have cable tv in our room! Watching Men In Black was a great way to kill the hot afternoon.
Wed April 10- Kanchenjunga Day 2- Birtamod (300) to Taplejung (1820)
Despite the big bug net over our bed we did not sleep so well. First of all it was hot, but second of all there were lots of mosquitos. We had not realized we would travel to the true tropics and we were afraid of malaria since there is malaria in Nepal below 1200 meters. Not so smart of us... Luckily we would be leaving malaria country today and at 7 we got in the Mahindra Bolero for the long drive north to Taplejung. The Bolero 'Jeep' had been modified and an extra bench was added so it could now seat +/- 12 Nepalis. Not even LB could fit her legs normally on the first backbench! Our driver drove, as expectedly, like a total maniac. But before flying around the next blind corner he blew his horn. So apparently it felt safe, to him. The oncoming car was of course (like us) blasting Bollywood-like-tunes and never heard any horn-blowing to begin with. The scenery was nice with many tea plantations, but unfortunately it was too hazy to see far in the distance. The road was paved all the way and in fine condition. We crossed three big passes and made it as high as 2500 meters and as low as 500. After 8 hours of scary near misses and unlimited hair-pins we were very happy to arrive - in one piece - in Taplejung. We had survived the first most dangerous half of the trek! Only the drive back to go... The hotel in Taplejung was more rudimentary; no tv, no shower, no mattress. But at 1800 meters it was a lot more comfortable!
Thu April 11- Kanchenjunga Day 3- Taplejung (1820) to Sinwa (980)
Last night's rain had cleared the haze (and smog) and we left cool Taplejung with nice views of the valley. Our first hiking day brought us back to the heat. We descended about 1000 meters down to Mitlung, a little village next to the Tamor Nadi River. It was a nice descent on an excellent trail. We must say that all along the lower parts of the Kanchenjunga trek the walking trails were wide, in good condition and made for easy walking. The area we walked through looked a lot more 'authentic' than Everest: farming instead of tourism seemed the main economic activity. We arrived in Mitlung at 10 and had an early lunch at the teahouse. We had originally planned to stay the night in Mitlung, but since it was only noon we walked two more sweaty hours to Sinwa. We were now in the valley and followed the Tamor Nadi upstream. In the medium sized village of Sinwa we checked in at a teahouse. For us it would have been hard to figure out that we could sleep and eat at the pharmacy, but Guman and Balaram did. The teahouse was hopping! Two young couples with two small children ran the place and they loved to play loud music; Britney Spears was their favorite. We had a wash at the hose behind the house (their tap) and enjoyed the village scenery. Among other things we saw a goat being butchered and we had fun sitting underneath the porch during the afternoon downpour.
A little word about the food we ate during our trek. For breakfast we had a bit of variation; hard boiled eggs, tibetan bread (fried dough that tastes like a desert), porridge, pancake, noodle-soup or cookies. For lunch and dinner we had dal baht, dal baht or dal baht (rice, soup and curry). Actually, about 5 times we had chow mein (fried noodles). The dal baht did have some variety. The dal (soup) could be either lentil, vegetable, or bean. For the 'curry' we had mostly potatoes, but also cabbage, cauliflower and a green-leaf-spinach-like vegetable. Luckily the baht (rice) was always the same- amazingly well cooked rice which (like all the food) was cooked on an open-flamed stove. Details aside, this diet did have an effect on our digestive system.
To minimize the chances of getting sick we only chose cooked and too-hot-to-touch foods. Dal baht is well cooked and served with spoons from the pot directly onto our plate. Therefore, we only had to deal with unclean dishes and cooks 'polishing' our spoon with their unwashed hands. Unlike the locals, including our guide and porter, we preferred a spoon over eating with our hands.
The gaps between the meals were filled with snickers and granola bars from Kathmandu and along the trail we bought excellent Nepali biscuits (oreo like, chocolate and coconut cookies). As a very nice surprise, most evenings our guide Guman gave us a bounty bar (mounds bar) for desert. Mithu! Delicious / lekker in Nepali.
Fri April 12- Kanchenjunga Day 4- Sinwa (980) to Lelep (1750)
We slept great underneath the bug-net that the owners had thoughtfully provided. We were happy to leave mozzy-country behind us as we set off on this clear day. We walked further up the valley and had lunch in Chirwa, a beautiful small village that looked a little like a scene from a Robin Hood movie. We continued on and crossed one of the many long swing-bridges. We were leisurely taking pictures when our guide yelled "Hurry!!" We sprinted across the bridge and up a hill to a police point. Within seconds "KABOOOOM !!! (times 20). The local engineers were building a road and blasting the rock wall high above the bridge we had just crossed. Maybe not the safest situation... We walked through Taplethok where we entered the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA). The KCA is managed by the local communities and is comparable to a National Park Service. Around 4 we arrived in Lelep, a nice town, where we once more had a wash at the tap. We shared our teahouse with 6 Russians who had been to Kanchenjunga North Base Camp and were on their way back. Apparently it was Yuri Gagarin Day and the Russians celebrated loudly with vodka. This meant that the teahouse was full and the guides and porters, including ours, had to sleep outside on the covered porch.
While we waited for dinner a young porter arrived at our teahouse. He had carried 59 kilograms (130 pounds) of supplies from Chirwa. For this 4 hour walk he received 1180 rupees (20 per kg) which equals about 11 euros. An excellent day's wage in Nepal, but what a weight!
Sat April 13- Kanchenjunga Day 5- Lelep (1750) to Amjilosa (2490)
Our daily routine was more or less as follows.We got up 5:30, had breakfast at 6 and would be on the trail by 7. It usually took some time before we got breakfast and, unlike Everest, the cook would never start cooking before we were present. Since breakfast was never that filling we had lunch around 11. Dinner was a bit of mix; somewhere between 6 and 8 we would have our dal baht.
We started our day in fine weather and had nice views of the lush farm fields of Lelep with the mountains in the background. The potatoes, corn, cabbage and wheat were growing well! As we left Lelep, we crossed the Tamor River and turned into the Ghunsa River valley. We would follow the Ghunsa River all the way till North Base Camp. At this lower elevation the V-shaped valleys are carved by the river and have steep walls (at higher elevations the valleys are shaped by the glacier and have a wide U-shape). We zig-zagged across the Ghunsa River on a mix of sturdy and rickety bridges. The trail was at times high above the river and would then lead us all the way down to the river again. Around noon we crossed the Ghunsa for the last time and climbed up to the village of Amjilosa. We checked in at yet another fine teahouse situated high above the valley. We had a nice, albeit hazy, view and in the distance we could see the first snowy peaks. After lunch Maurits had a look at his hiking-boot. O NO !!! It had a hole on the bottom! With superglue and duct-tape we patched it as well as possible. The big question was of course; "will it hold for two weeks?"
Sun April 14- Kanchenjunga Day 6- Amjilosa (2490) to Gyabla (2730)
A short and easy day today. We walked further up the valley through rhododendron, bamboo and oak trees. Unfortunately we did not see a rare Red Panda. The trail was fine, but just like yesterday inefficient. We went up and down many times; from close to the river to high above the river. After 2 hours we came to a little teashop and we had lunch (yes, dal baht) at 10. After lunch we walked for another two hours to Gyabla where we spent the night. We were now at the same elevation as Lukla, the start of our Everest trek. We had left the high temperatures behind us and were happy to sit around the open-fire-stove to stay warm.
Mon April 15- Kanchenjunga Day 7- Gyabla (2730) to Ghunsa (3410)
We had a 'smoking' night! We will come back to the "open-fire-inside-the-house" concept, but we did not sleep so well in our smoke filled room. We left Gybla and walked on an easy trail next to the river and passed through a beautiful blooming rhododendron forest. What a colorful sight! We were just in time to see the higher elevation rhododendrons bloom. The day had started clear, but after lunch in Phole it started to rain. It had actually not rained since day 3. We waited in the teahouse for the worst to pass and set off in the drizzle for the last stretch to Ghunsa. Ghunsa was the biggest village we passed on our trek and our teahouse even had a name; yak-hotel. We were now well and truly in the mountains. On this cold and cloudy afternoon we both thought back of the nice warmth just two days ago!
... To Be Continued ...
Blogsy is not the ideal app...