Trek With Judy and Her Family

We started out on Sunday morning with a 20-minute flight to Pokhara, situated on a beautiful lake in the foothills of the Himalayas. My friend and our guide for the trek, Bhola, had travelled overnight by bus (about 6-8 hours depending on many factors) and met us at the airport with a van ready to take us to the trailhead. Judy, a very independent traveller, was a bit concerned about having a guide along, but within hours we were all wondering what we would have done without him. He is a fabulous guide and also happens to be wonderful company.

The weather was perfect as we set out, and we had great views of a few peaks hanging over the valley trails. Our hike was mostly uphill the first day and we stayed fairly close together as a group. We spent the night in a village called Tikenhungga. We were all surprised by the number of trekkers on the trails and in the guesthouses, especially this late in the season. It would appear that tourism is really making a comeback here after this spring’s election brought an end to the Maoist threat in the mountains. The second day was the toughest and started with a three-hour climb up a hillside on stone steps. You may remember me whining about this same portion of the trek when I went to Mustang last summer. We had beautiful weather again, and the views got better the higher we climbed. Campbell (15) showed his true colours and was well out ahead of us for most of this day and the ones that would follow. Kelly (14) maintained a sprint-and-rest style of trekking and ultimately chose to stay back with her father, Dean, who moved a bit slower than the rest of us. Judy, Campbell and I enjoyed a juice box and the views down the valley while we waited for Kelly and Dean to arrive at the top of the stairs in the safe care of Bhola. We had a fairly long lunch an hour up the trail and continued our uphill climb through forests to the hilltop town of Ghorepani. It was a long day of about eight hours on the trail and we were all happy to get our boots off at the end of the day. Judy and Dean splurged on rooms (about $5 each) with ensuite bathrooms and Western toilets, much to Kelly’s delight. I stayed with my $1.50 single room with shared toilet across the hall, but I have to admit I snuck into Judy and Dean’s bathroom for a quick rinse under their shower head. The views from our rooms were phenomenal with Annupurna South right outside our windows and much of the Annapurna and Dhulagiri ranges visible from our beds. It was a clear night and a near-full moon providing a beautiful backdrop for our night’s sleep.

Judy, Campbell, Bhola and I set out at about 5:00 AM the next morning to climb Poon Hill to watch the sunrise. As with my first visit there in 2002, I was awestruck by the sun’s rays hitting the peaks before the sun itself appeared above the horizon. The light moved across the mountain range like the sparks on a fuse, until all the peaks were ablaze. It’s still one of my favourite views in the world and it was hard to pull myself away. We returned to Ghorepani for breakfast and to pick up the others. We climbed out of town and enjoyed similar views of the mountains from the ridge above Ghorepani. The rest of the day was spent hiking through the rhododendron forests on our way to Tadapani. We had several discussions regarding our final destination for the day and finally agreed that we’d see how we felt in Tadapani and decide there if we could push on to Ghandruk for the night.

Unfortunately, while Judy, Campbell, Kelly and I were enjoying the views from a picnic table in Tadapani and waiting for Dean and Bhola to catch up, they passed through the village without seeing us. Assuming that we had gone on to Ghandruk, they forged ahead. Worried when they didn’t show up, we went back down the trail looking for them behind us and came up empty. When we finally realised what had happened, it was too late for us to get to Ghandruk before dark so we bedded down in Tadapani. Meanwhile, Bhola and Dean arrived in Ghandruk and knocked on every door in town looking for us. Having no idea where we were, they spent a sleepless night worrying that we had taken a wrong turn and were sleeping huddled together somewhere on the mountainside. We woke up early in the morning in order to get moving as soon as it was light, and met Bhola about 10 minutes down the trail. He had left Ghandruk well before sunrise to come looking for us, as I had suspected he would. Despite our guilt over this added work load for him, we were all relieved that Dean had talked him out of coming to look for us the night before, especially as a thick fog had rolled in. After our reunion on the path, we continued as quickly as we could to Ghandruk, and based on the difficulty of the trail, were glad that we hadn’t made the attempt in the dark during the previous evening. We joined a very relieved Dean for a hot chocolate in Ghandruk and discussed our plans.

That day’s trek was a difficult one and we already had a couple of hours behind us. Judy and I both remember this stretch of trail more than any other in our trekking histories. She did it 25 years ago with her brother and I did it six years ago with Bhola. Ghandruk and Landruk sit across a gorge from each other, so close that you can practically reach out and touch the buildings in one from a patio chair in the other. However, to get from one to the other, you have to climb down to floor of the gorge, cross the river on a footbridge and then climb back up the other side. Dean firmly refused to do this, and ultimately the kids decided to forgo the experience with him. They walked the direct route out to civilisation directly from Ghandruk that day. Judy and I set out with Bhola and navigated the gorge on our own. We had lunch in Landruk and then settled into Tolka an hour or so down the trail. Without the others in tow, we made good time and arrived mid-afternoon. We were delighted to find a hot shower facility at our guest house. Clean and cozy in our down booties we sat in the sunshine, drank a couple of beers and engaged in hours of girl talk as the afternoon turned to evening. It was a wonderful day.

I was convinced that the final day would be downhill all the way, since we were closing the circle and the first two days had been entirely uphill. I was therefore rather dismayed to find we had a 400 meter climb an hour or so into the trek, but we managed it without killing ourselves (and likely without displaying any dignity whatsoever). We finished our trek in the early afternoon and Bhola found us a cab back to Pokhara where we joined the others. We spent the next 48 hours or so in Pokhara, just taking things easy and wandering around town. It’s much more quiet and scenic than Kathmandu and is a place that I could see myself living. I visited the Peace Pagoda on the hill overlooking the lake, which is something I’ve wanted to do for years. The views of the lake and mountains from up there were spectacular and the pagoda itself is a beautiful Buddhist monument.

On Saturday we flew back to Kathmandu and spent the afternoon at my place. Judy wanted to see my apartment and they all made use of my internet connection and laptop to get caught up with banking and emails and to burn some photos to DVDs.

I put them into a cab to the airport yesterday afternoon and suspect that they’re on their way from Bahrain to Jordan as I write this. I have to admit that I’m suffering a bit from the post-visit blues today, and haven’t helped the cause by staying home and accomplishing very little of anything. I’ll be sure to turn over a new leaf tomorrow and try to implement a new routine to keep me busy. I have some connections to make and of course I need to forge ahead with the job hunt. It’s getting cooler now and the days are noticeably shorter, although it’s still a lot more comfortable than home at this time of year. As long as the sun is shining, skirts and short sleeves are okay during the day but a jacket is a must in the evenings.

I should get photos posted shortly at www.flickr.com/photos/feelitturn.