Nepal Diary

The following is the diary kept on our Nepal Himalaya trek. This trip was a 4 week journey organized by Gary, Meryl and Pasang the Nepali-Australian who works with Gary at K2 in Brisbane. Gary and Meryl are long standing walking friends  of ours who live in Brisbane. We were accompanied by other friends of Gary, making the group up to 11.

Brisbane - Kathmandu 22 Sept.

 

Our flight left Brisbane at 00:25 on Sept 22nd. Largely uneventful, except I woke with a raging head-ache, which eventually subsided after getting some Panadol from a hostess. Had to kill about 4 hours in Bangkok, coffee and shopping followed by reading.

 

This trip was organized by Gary and Meryl and Pasang

 

The 3 hour flight to Kathmandu was uneventful and getting through customs slow but smooth. We were met outside by Pasang with 2 mini-buses and some porters who took us to the hotel De L'Annapurna in the heart of Kathmandu. Once booked in, we went en mass to a shopping area where we all got some bottled water. The beggars, lepers and street vendors took most of the shine off that for me. I hate saying no to them but you can't help them all and the government does not want you to because it only encourages more. Fair enough if they are going to look after them instead, which I doubt.

 

At night we went to a restaurant that had Nepalese food and dancers wearing clothes from each of the Nepalese ethnic regions in turn. It was an evening that we will remember forever.

 

Kathmandu (1317 m)

Sept 23^rd, Our wedding anniversary.

 

We spent the morning walking around Kathmandu, looking in shops. After lunch we ran around town trying to cash $1000 worth of traveler’s cheques to cover our food and accommodation for the trek. We had problems as some banks wouldn't do AUD$ and others had a limit of $200 per person. We finally managed to cash the remainder of our cheques at the hotel. For tea that evening we had very good Indian food at the hotel.

 

Kathmandu - Lukla (2840 m) – Phakding Ma (2610 m)

Sept 24

 

We arose at 3:45 AM to shower and then breakfast at 4:30. We were hoping to get away from the hotel at 5:15 but there was a snag with the porters. They were meant to come to the hotel but went straight to the airport without telling Pasang. The flight to Lukla took about 45 minutes with spectacular views all around only partially diminished by a light rain and cloud obscuring the high mountains. An amazing amount of the mountain side is farmed, terrace after terrace, with houses dotted throughout but very few roads. It seems that every one must walk where ever they go.

 

The runway at Lukla is the shortest I have ever seen. The pilots literally throw the plane down on the first bit of runway and slam on as much stop as they've got. The runway is on a small flat spot on the side of a valley. Watching the planes take off reveals an equally desperate event; they fling the planes off the end of the runway into the void, just lifting off as the last bit of tar slides by.

 

Our group consists of 10 trekkers, Pasang our leader, 2 sherpas and 5 porters. The sherpas walk with us front middle and back. The porters carry our duffle bags for us so we only carry day packs.

 

The walk from Lukla to Phakding Ma is very beautiful but light rain fell for most of the way so I didn't take any photos. In the wider parts of the valley there are lots of farms, growing vegetables and grains. Further up the farms were replaced by forest. At Phakding Ma there are tea rooms and lodging. We got a good room with a double and single bed. We arrived at about mid-day and had a lunch of spaghetti, probably not your traditional Nepalese fare!

 

The afternoon was spent reading, sleeping and drinking tea. The evening meal was rice, potato and carrot stew, dahl and spinach.

 

Pkakding Ma (2610 m) – Monjo (2840 m)

Sept 25

 

Today’s walk was absolutely beautiful. We had shear cliffs soaring hundreds of metres into the clouds, water falls coming back down. The walk was easy, but at 2800 metres breathing is definitely getting harder. The tea house at Monjo was very nice with stunning 360 degree views of the cliffs and snow covered peaks. We arrived at about 1 PM and had a restful afternoon reading and chatting.

 

Monjo (2840 m) - Namche Bazar (3440 m)

26 Sept

 

Absolutely stunning. More river canyons, high suspension bridges complete with Yaks crossing them, waterfalls with 600 m falls and Namche Bazar, a village perched on a mountain side. The weather was overcast with occasional light rain unfortunately obscuring the views of Everest we should have seen. We arrived at Namche Bazar about 1:30PM and have had occasional glimpses of some of the very high snow capped peaks around us when the clouds have lightened.

 

Namche Bazaar (3440 m)

Sept 27

 

Today was an altitude acclimatization day. Several of us, including me are suffering from mild altitude sickness manifested by a persistent head ache. There is a great sulfur drug called Diamox which finally put paid to my bad head. We did two walks, one before breakfast and one before a late lunch. The pre-breakfast walk was up a hill top just out of Namche Bazaar. This hill is a military establishment and also a museum???? We had to go through a check point and then a winding path through trenches and razor wire to get to it. The sky cleared as we walked up revealing the most amazing panorama of 8000 m peaks surrounding us, and gave us our first view of Mt. Everest. Pasang was very clever to get us up there early because after about an hour clouds rolled in covering the high mountains. The after breakfast walk was further up the river we'd followed yesterday to get to Namche Bazaar, about 500m above the river. The weather was partly cloudy and warm. This walk did not afford the views of the monster peaks, but did have 2 or 3 500m water falls plus sub-alpine and minor alpine scenery, reminiscent of BC in Canada.

 

After lunch we sent an email for my nephew Christopher’s wedding, bought some more trail snacks and had a shower. The clouds rolled in and rain started, underlining just how fortunate we were to have had the day we did.

 

Namche Bazaar (3440 m) - Phortse Tenga (3680 m)

Sept 28

 

We climbed out of Namche Bazaar to Khumjung in the rain, getting snatches of the view along the way. Lunch at Khumjung was garlic soup (yummm) and momos which are soft crescent shaped vegetable filled dim sums (also yum). The rain intensified for our descent into Phortse-Tenga. It was a long slippery descent, with lots of boulder steps which are always hard. For the evening meal we had chips (potatoes are plentiful here) followed by stir fried rice. Yep, that was yum too!

Phortse Tenga (3680 m) - Dole (4110 m)

Sept 29 (Briany boy's birthday)

 

Hard rain fell during the night, easing while we had breakfast and stopping about an hour into our walk. Today's walk was spectacular. Luckily there was cloud obscuring the high peaks or it would have been too good to bear and I'd have probably gotten a swelled head, being my birthday and all! We crossed about 4 water fall streams. At one place there was 2 water falls in a stretch of 50 m.

 

We had garlic soup and spaghetti chowmein-ish stuff for lunch. It was very tasty. After, we sat around in the dinning room chatting, reading and writing this.

 

The buildings are all made of hand shaped granite blocks about 25 x 50 cm. Some of them were so well shaped that I thought they were sawn with a diamond saw. I saw them being made and it was with a hammer and chisel. We heard that each stone mason can only make one a day, which makes the buildings very expensive I expect. The alternative is to have everything carried in on someone's back on the same track we've taken, very expensive too. We've seen people carrying incredible loads up to 90 kg, in baskets on their backs with a strap around their forehead taking most of the load. The interior of the buildings are finished in pine and plywood that would have arrived on someone's back.

 

After dinner a very nice birthday cake was brought in much to my embarrassment.

 

Dole  (4110 m) - Machherma (4410 m)

Sept 30

 

A very nice walk with brief glimpses of the high peaks, but sadly low cloud made these rare. Once again we got a nice but small room at Machherma.

 

At Machherma there is a porter altitude sickness clinic and refuge where they can sleep in peak season when there is no room at the inn. We went along to hear a talk on altitude sickness. Apparently the porters are responsible for buying their own room and board and as you get further from Lukla the prices rise because everything is carried in, so they start to sleep outside and not eat, just when conditions are most extreme. Every year porters die. We are buying rooms and food for our porters and Pasang looks after them well. He bought a bag full of drugs in Kathmandu to keep them well.

 

Lee and I had a stomach bug this morning (I suspect the icing on the birthday cake, probably made with un-boiled water), not too serious.

 

Machherma (4410 m ) - Gokya (4790 m)

Oct 1

 

Eureka! Clear skies! A full panoramic view of the Himalayas greeted us in the morning. The walk up to Gokya was stunning. A steep climb out of Machherma was rewarded with spectacular 360 degree views. From there we had 'Nepali flats' to Gokya Lakes, first, second and third. Nepali flats is Pasang’s term for what we would call a bloody hard up and down walk.

 

Headache again today, altitude or yesterdays stomach bug? Hopefully it will go overnight.

 

Gokyo Lake ( 4790 m) - Gokyo Ri (5338m)

Oct 2

 

We woke to a perfect day for our 590 m climb up Gokyo Ri and everyone was out front of the hotel by 5:30 champing the bit. We had a cup of tea and were off. We dropped 40m down to Gokyo Lake and then began our climb. At these altitudes the oxygen level is half of what is available at sea level and you really notice this on a steep climb. Some climbed fast but this increases your risk of cerebral oedema, so Lee, Gary, Meryl and I took it very easy, setting a pace we could maintain without running out of breath. The view from the top was stunning with all of the high peaks of the Himalayas lined up including Everest. We spent about an hour on top, taking pictures of the mountains, the group and individuals. The Sherpas sat on a rock and sang happy chanting songs. Everyone was happy to be there and happy that the entire group had achieved our goal and finished the hike from Lukla to Gokyo Ri. It was a very satisfying feeling and the realization of along held dream for Lee. The descent was slow also due to the steepness. Back at the hotel by mid day we had lunch and then the luxury of a snooze for the first time since the trek began as sleeping during the day impairs altitude acclimatization, but from here on it’s down, down, down.

 

Gokyo (4790 m) - Luza (4360 m)

Oct 3

 

A reverse of the walk we did two days ago but we went beyond Machherma to Luza. The weather was superb again but a sharp cold breeze came up reminding us we were in the Himalaya. The scenery was stunning (yes I'm running out of adjectives!). It was a perfect lab for glacial geomorphology with huge lateral, medial and terminal moraines and hummocky terrain were the glacier is retreating rapidly, similar to the kettle and knob landforms left by the continental glacier north of Saskatoon but on a smaller scale. The kettles are formed where there was more ice than debris and the knobs where there was more debris after the ice melted.

 

The Luza tea house is a bit more primitive than most we've stayed at but it is clean. Lee and I forked out 4 bucks each for a nice hot shower.

 

Because we are descending, some of the lads drank beer and the Sherpa's drank chang, a milky looking rice beer. Me, I'm enjoying not having a headache!

 

After dinner a very nice cake was brought out for Lee's birthday. The Sherpas and porters then sang and danced for about an hour, some of them could give Michael Jackson a run for his money!

 

Luza (4360 m) - Phortse (3810 m)

Oct 4

 

Yee haaaa, a 550 m drop sleep to sleep (we actually dropped 690m but gained 140 going up to Phortse from Phortse Tenga). The air is thicker and my headache is gone. Phortse is a small village of guest houses and dwellings, and has the largest collection of yaks we've seen so far including lots of babies.

 

The walk covered ground we were over a few days ago but this time with much less cloud and fog so we saw more. Up in the alpine areas above the tree line the autumn colours are now out making the area even more beautiful.

 

More stomach bug problems this morning, pretty convincing evidence against birthday cakes!

 

We must be getting back into civilization again because water is down to $3 per litre and there's a television in the dining room.

 

Phortse (3810 m) - Tengboche (3860 m)

Oct 5

 

We plunged down about 240 m to the river and then had a steep muddy climb up to the Tengboche Monastery. There was great excitement because there was a descent bakery.

 

From our room we had a view of the top of Mt. Everest. In the afternoon others went to the bakery and monastery. I went to bed with a cold but I’m told the others had a great time!

 

Tengboche (3860 m) - Khumjung (3780 m)

Oct 6

 

This was a pleasant but tough walk back down to another bridge on the river and up again to Khumjung. The weather was partly cloudy. There was a lot of people and yak traffic as this is the main route to Everest base camp and the tourist season is now in full swing. We stopped for lunch at a tea room called Tesing for 45 minutes then trekked on to Khumjung, which is a large village for this area, about the same size as Namche Bazaar. We had a nice snooze after we arrived.

 

 

Khumjung (3780 m) - Namche Bazaar (3440 m)

Oct 7

 

Only a short walk today but we stopped at the school built by Sir Edmund Hillary and also at the Japanese hotel. At the school we tour the art gallery and Mark bought a nice painting. I would have got one too but the one I liked wasn't dry yet. The Japanese hotel is situated high on a hill with stunted cedar trees reminiscent of a Japanese painting, plus large split boulders to complete the scene. It was not hard to see why they picked the site.

 

Our room has an ensuite with a shower. What luxury!

 

Namche Bazaar  (3440 m) - Phakding Ma (2610 m )

Oct 8

 

Lee now has the cold I had a few days ago and has a chesty cough from it. The walk was a long one for her.

 

We dropped 830 m today, and those who don't have the damn cold are really feeling their oats with all that oxygen around! We charged the first half of the walk and hit our proposed lunch stop at Monjo by 10:30. We had a cup of tea instead and headed on to Phakding Ma.

 

It was interesting to pass through this area again as last time there was so much fog and cloud that we only caught snatches of the beauty revealed today. Gone are the snow capped peaks, replaced by the high canyon walls, water falls and the rushing torrent of a river.

 

Phakding Ma (2610 m ) - Lukla (2840 m)

Oct 9

 

Our last walking day, we strolled along slowly, soaking up the last of the gorge and the Himalaya. The day was mostly sunny but I managed to get to Lukla without sun-burning. We had a good look at all the crops being grown. All too soon we were in Lukla.

 

We began our celebration with the Sherpas and porters about 4 PM and went into the early evening with more singing and dancing. I decided not to drink because Lukla's altitude had knocked me around when we first arrived. This proved to be a very good move as several of the others ended up a bit under the weather. Maybe this was an altitude effect or just lack of practice!

 

Lukla - Kathmandu

Oct 10

 

We woke to fog and rain, a disastrous combination when you want to fly out of lukla. We packed for a 6 AM bag pick up knowing that there was no way we'd get the early flight we'd planned. We were hoping against hope that we wouldn't share the fate of others in our hotel that had been unable to fly out the day before. Once you miss your booking, you go to the back of the queue.  As the morning passed the fog slowly lifted. At 9:30 a phone call was received and all hell broke loose. Off on foot 250m to the airport, checking bags and watching anxiously for the arrival of planes. Arrive they did and we got on the 4th to leave. The turn around time was amazing; planes were back in the air not more than 10 minutes after landing. The flight back was uneventful through the mountains and clouds, but I couldn't help but wonder as we flew through passes and down river valleys if the planes still going to Lukla followed the reverse route! When we arrived in Kathmandu we were told that Lukla was closed again due to fog, so we were very lucky indeed.

 

Kathmandu – Bangkok – Brisbane

Oct 11 – 16

 

During this time we were largely holed up in a hotel room, as Lee became very ill. I spent my time trying to keep her fever down with asprin, Panadol and wet cloths and finding food that she found palatable enough to eat. We were very relieved to get back to Australia.