Trekking in Nepal Mar 6-27

Trekking in Nepal is like nothing else in the world. It is a mix of incredible vistas, awe-inspiring geology and a rich variety of cultural interactions. It is not a wilderness experience and so one constantly meets other people on the trails, particularly in Kali Gandaki Valley, which is an ancient trading and pilgrimage route. The trails a busy with fellow trekkers, Nepalis going back to their village for a wedding or festival, villagers going to and from their fields, pilgrims heading to Muktinath (some wearing only a loincloth and carrying a rice bowl), porters and mule trails ferrying supplies up to remote villages.

The villages, with narrow stone walkways are captivating and provide a window into traditional Nepali life. As in places where houses are primitive, the Nepali villagers live much of their life out in public. At the local water source women wash clothes, dishes and particularly, their hair. On their front steps and doorways, people spin wool, weave carpets, play a Nepali version of Chrokinole, mend fishing nets, make baskets and boil raksi (the local wine) while chatting and sharing tea with neighbours. We met children running up and down the stone steps, heading to and from school in their matching uniforms, always polite and always smiling. And what beautiful faces and smiles! It is said that visitors to Nepal come first for the mountains and return for the people! The Nepalese are warm, helpful, caring, generous people. We witnessed acts of kindness and generosity by those that we met and as well, by our guide and porter for our trek. During a rainstorm a family invited us into their kitchen to drink tea, warm our toes and dry our clothes over hot coals. For Kate’s birthday, our guide, Raj Kumar, ordered a special cake and carried it in a box eight hours the next day so that she would be sure to have a special treat on her birthday. Our porter Vishnu, after having carried seventy pounds of our luggage, could often be found at the end of a day’s trek helping lodge owners by using his command of English to show rooms to potential guests or by helping to serve dinner.

We were a bit worried if we could handle such a long trek staying in the primitive lodges. Steve had warned us about 3 weeks sleeping in smelly dormitories without a shower and eating nothing but rice and dhal. Fortunately the lodges have much improved since his last visit with most having electricity, many having hot water and all serving a varied menu. Some of the better places made apple pie and served sizzling steaks! One place we stayed for $1 a night even had glass windows and amazing views of the mountains.
Another high point of the trek was meeting all the other adventurous people and hearing their stories as we sat around the supper tables in the lodges. We learned to play Skaad from some Germans and Kathleen taught a group of young American and Canadian volunteers to play Euchre. We met so many interesting people including an Australian couple finishing up a three year trip around the world, a Japanese man who was working his way around the world by working on organic farms through the organization WOOF, including 6 months in Nelson, B.C. He said that working your way around the world was a great way to get to know the local population and to see the world on a budget. A sixty-year old Dutch mother trekking and mountain biking with her daughter and their guide was the Nepali orphan they had sponsored 15 years earlier. And, most impressing, an American couple trekking with their 7 year old, 4 year old and yes, 1 year old!

How does one sum up our trek in Nepal? Fantastic!
First, it’s a great way to spend a holiday together as a family and in many ways the best part of the trek was the time spent together. Whether two by two, or on wider paths all together, or even from time silently lost in your own thoughts, trekking is a wonderful way to just be together. We had lots of time to discuss the sights we were seeing and to figure out how suspension bridges are made, why the bamboo grows in the valley, how the tiny electricity generators and flour mills work by water power, and so on. The kids had lots of questions. Some of the questions we couldn’t answer, but with the help of Raje, Vishnu and the many Nepalese we met we all learned lots about the land and how it affects life in Nepal.
We also talked in great length about future plans, about school next year and what it will be like to be back home with family and friends (whom we miss) and about getting a family dog (we are getting closer to a consensus). Each day brought surprises, challenges and each of us were tested in new and different ways.

Trekking is also a great way to get into shape and is a complete break from the regular routine of work, meals, housework, shuttling kids, etc. In the mornings, once the bags are packed, you are free for the day with no worries other than deciding what to order for meals along the way (and as every lodge has the same menu, the choices are limited). The walking is exhilarating. Other than stopping for meals, tea breaks and sleeping, you are climbing up and down. It is like being on a Stairmaster for 6 hours a day, but that is where the similarity ends. In Nepal the climbing (gentle climbing up and down is referred to as “Nepali flat”) involves enjoying the spectacular scenery while you are huffing and puffing along. Everywhere you look is an impressive vista and around each bend is a new mountain panorama. As temperatures soared in the valley or dipped on alpine terrain, we passed orchards and orchids, rice paddies and high pasture, pine and bamboo forests (great for finding walking sticks), bougainvillea trees, snow and ice. Every day you feel better than the last and every night you hit the pillow by 9:00 pm, exhausted but happy.

The culmination of our trek was the Annapurna Sanctuary. Our original plan was to head straight up towards the Sanctuary at the beginning of the trip and, if we had time afterwards, to make a side-trip to the Kali Gandaki Valley (KGV). Reports of heavy snow in the Sanctuary led us to make a last minute route change and to start in the KGV. This ended up being a very good choice in more ways than one. Our thoughts of the snow melting did not materialize, but the 10 days we spent over in the KGV got us used to life on the trail, allowed us to get our trekking legs so we could hike up and down hills for 6 hrs and having climbed over 3000 m on two separate occasions, helped us acclimatized to altitude, so by the time we reached the Annnapurna Sanctuary, we were fit and mentally prepared for the tough days at altitude.
On day ten we crossed the pass at Gorepani and headed towards Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) not knowing if the pass into the Sanctuary was even open, due to the continued rain (and therefore snow in the Sanctuary). With ever increasing excitement and anticipation, each day we went up higher and into colder temperatures. At night we huddled around heated tables drying our gear before heading to sleep in our cold, candle lit room. Waking at day-break each morning and hiking all day meant it was no problem to fall asleep at night. We encountered our first deep snow at Deurali where we were able to rent gaiters. The next morning was the big day. We were up and on the trail by 7 am to get by the four possible avalanche plumes before the sun hit them. It was an icy two-hour walk to Machupuchare Base Camp (MBC) where we arrived just as the sun came over the mountaintops. A quick bite and we headed on to ABC. Amazing, breathtaking, awesome! We were alone on the trail, which snakes up along the ridge to get by another avalanche plume. Once by that, we breathed a big sigh of relief and relaxed so that we could enjoy the sights around us. The Sanctuary, so named because you are in a bowl surrounded by massive peaks of rock, snow and ice is also referred to as the Cathedral with spires. With no wind it was a quiet, mystical, magical place. We walked in brilliant sunshine, which was reflecting off the snow in every direction and we kept peeling the layers off as the temperature shot up to 22 degrees. We arrived exhausted, but exhilarated, at ABC at 1 pm, to be treated to one of the tastiest lunches of the previous two weeks. We wrung out our socks and tried to ready ourselves for the hike back to MBC. By 2 pm it had clouded over which was a blessing as it slowed the softening of the snow and made our trip back a delight. Instead of sinking up to our hips on every step, which we had heard reports of from other trekkers, we were able to slide back down in our wet (and I mean wet) trekking shoes (not boots!). It only took an hour for the return trip and even though our feet were wet, they were not cold. It was like skiing but very funny with face plants and mittens flying. We arrived back at MBC (by the avalanche plume safely once again) feeling like we were on top of the world (we almost were!). Around the dinner table that night with other successful trekkers we shared the communal feeling in the air of the success of having just been in one of the world’s truly special places, the Annnapurna Sanctuary. Despite the burnt noses, sore legs and avalanche scares it was mission accomplished.