TREKKING WITH TERESA
TREK REPORT – February/March season 06
Hullo there fellow trekkers,
Wow!
Did we have the best trekking season or what? Five
adventurous types took on the trek to Muktinath in the
Anapurna range near Pokhara this February. Six people made
up the multi-national team that did the Everest Trek,
ranging in age from 25 to 75. Nobody was disappointed and I
rather think some people had the trip of a lifetime.
Kathmandu in mid-February. The weather was still cool at
night as the Trekkers shopped for gear and checked out the
sights. In Pokhara we tested our legs on a short day-walk to
the Peace Stupa, across the lake by boat. Everyone handled
it just fine so we packed our kit into our rucksacks,
undertook the pre-trek briefing and introduced the porters.
They’ve all been with us for years now and they know how we
operate – one porter per person.
A short bus ride through winding mountain roads brought us
to Nyapul. A dump! We walked straight through this ‘crummy
but interesting’ road head village and were off into the
hills. The spring wheat was just greening the terraced hills
and farm folk called out ‘Namaste’ as we passed. Not a hard
day but it was our first day on trek so we arrived in
Tirkedungha pretty tired. The lodge is the old, traditional
style and the food was good. An Ayurvedic masseur appeared.
Yes please! One of our group, Euthy from Ivanhoe, reckons a
‘chaneller’ she met on the plane told her this would happen
so she was gob smacked when the masseur appeared at her
door, just as foretold.
3,000 old stone stairs make the trail up to Banthanti. Helen
from Gardenvale did it the easiest. Her decision to work
with a personal trainer prior to the trek really paid off.
We arrived at our lodge mid-afternoon after a long sunny,
boots-off, lunch in Ulleri. Happy to have the fire lit that
night. Next day was still uphill but gentler now and through
shady rhododendron forest. This is ‘hobbit country’ with
little streams and pools in the forest making lovely rest
stops. We arrived in Gorepani to a cool, cloudy evening so
none of the customers suspected the stunning views awaiting
them in the morning (even from the bedroom windows). As
usual at this lodge, we cranked up the music after dinner
and got into the local style of dancing. A lot of young,
groovy types watched with their mouths open while ‘mature’
Australians showed them how to have a good time. Those who
climbed Pun Hill next morning will never forget that view. I
left Helen there to sit and meditate in this gorgeous spot.
A late start for day four; leisurely brekky then downhill
for a couple of hours. Easy walking and we were in our
lodge, the Serendipity, by early afternoon. Lucille from
Alice Springs had formed a great friendship with her porter
Bijay and left us for dead on the trail. Solar hot showers –
lovely! Day five was downhill almost all the way. We saw
large families of Lo Mantang people returning from wintering
lower down. Distinctively Tibetan-looking people, theycarry
everything for their winter trip on their horses. We all
took advantage of the hot springs at Tatopani to soak his or
her tired muscles. The food is good here too so we spent two
nights to catch up with ourselves a bit. Good to relax with
a beer in the dining hall, especially with James from the
Gold Coast telling some of his vast array of jokes. As a
retired airline pilot James has heard them all. Great to lie
in till nine with a cup of tea and then NOT pack up.
Day six was the toughest because it was a long one. There
were a couple of stiff uphill trails into the pine forest
and we stopped at the Eagle Nest Lodge, Ghasa, after
crossing our longest, highest suspension bridge (don’t
worry, its brand new). Despite an early start we didn’t get
in till five o’clock. This is the first lodge to have a ‘hot
table’ in the dining room – very popular.
Kalopani seemed an easy trek after the previous day.
Sweeties Lodge is renowned for its good food and Sweetie
herself is a character. Some of the customers popped into
Laxmi’s Kalopani Lodge to use the satellite phone. $3 per
minute but worth it if you felt a bit homesick. The dawn
‘reveal’ of Daulaghiri was breathtaking and we were all up
early to see it.
The walk from Kalopani to Tukche is my favourite day. The
weather was clear so we had great views of Daulaghiri till
well after lunch at Larjung. The best thing about this day
is coming out of the woods and farming country into the
broad flat expanse of the Kali Gandaki valley. Euthy, Siu
Ying and Helen were soon miles behind searching for fossils
in the riverbed. These saligrams (prehistoric snails) get
washed into the riverbed each monsoon season. Our lodge that
night was in Tukche, an old salt-trading village, which has
quaint architecture. Next morning we looked at the Gompa and
the distillery, where purchases were made.
The trail is dead easy now and the morning’s trek to Marpha
flew by. One customer felt unwell so we put her on a
motorbike taxi. Our accommodation in bustling Jomsom was a
bit of a ‘fawlty towers’ kind of experience so I’ve arranged
a different lodge for the next trek.
On the flat walk to Kagbeni there is plenty of time to sit
on a rock with your water bottle and share some munchies
while you contemplate the unique beauty of the place.
Kagbeni is a crumbling medieval ruin. As usual, the New Asia
lodge gave us a warm welcome and our porters played and sang
us up onto the dance floor in the evening.
This was the day to ride up to Muktinath, but some, like Helen, had no experience at all. Most were pleasantly surprised that the horses had comfy saddles and just plodded along. It was a pleasure to look at the changing scenery without making much of an effort. The final destination on this trek is not really spectacular. The little gompa where you can see a flickering blue flame and hear an underground stream was rather touching in its simplicity. The floorboards were worn smooth by thousands of pilgrims through the centuries. Of course, the view’s not bad either. The walk back was long but easy and the fading light just made the whole thing look even more beautiful.
Our last day of trekking was a great big blue-sky day. I
bought a rare old Tibetan blanket at Eklai Bhatti. We dug
around in a couple of curio shops in Jomsom but didn’t find
any treasures – this time. With poor weather and snow
flurries the night before our flight it was a relief when
the planes started coming in around 7 am. The dawn clouds
cleared and we flew between freshly snowed on peaks.
Daulaghiri has never looked better.
There were a few really keen shoppers on this trek (they
know who they are) so we toured Lakeside and Maindrapul
looking for bargains. Most of us bought clothes. Lucille
from Alice bought very beautiful necklaces. T-shirts with
‘I’ve done the Anapurna Trek’ embroidered on them were a
popular item.
The Everest Trekkers were a real mixture. Three Kiwis, two
Aussies and a Canadian who lives in Singapore. The Kiwis
flew in early for a look around and hit the streets with our
guide Dorje. I think its fair to say they hadn’t seen
anything like this in Masterton. Soon Helen arrived from
Australia and Ray flew in from India where he’d been looking
at aid projects for his Church. Lou (or Alu as the porters
called her) arrived at the last minute and we quickly buzzed
around Thamel picking up trekking gear. Our flight to Lukla
was exceptionally clear but the drop in temperature took us
by surprise. Everyone bought a knitted hat within the first
half hour. The walk to Phakding was not long but it was the
first day at altitude so we were tired when we arrived. Nice
wood stove in the dining room, simple rooms with great
views. Day two on this trek was a bit too easy but it slows
us down in order to acclimatize. Tantalizing glimpses of
snowy peaks in the moonlight.
Day three was a steep climb up to Namche Bazaar. This is
never easy but we just plodded along and took breaks every
few minutes. Some, like Helen from Apollo Bay and Jeff from
New Zealand actually raced each other. Ugh!! Ray, at 75, had
no trouble and set a steady pace. Namche was a revelation
but within minutes of our arrival it started to snow. It
snowed all night and the vision in the morning was
marvelous. Blue sky, bright sunshine and a blanket of white
over everything. Even the Yaks had snow on them. The air was
crystalline and the group’s first proper view of Everest was
as clear as I’ve ever seen it. This was our acclimatization
day so we took the chance to check out Namche.
Our next day was just a few hours round the corner to
Kangzuma. The Lodge of Ang Tashi and Lagpa is a treat. The
fact that Lagpa has summited Everest twice (and several
other mountains as well) made him a hit with the Kiwis.
The hill up to Thangboche is possibly even harder than the
one up to Namche. Slow–and-steady was the order of the day.
The fresh snow had made the entire Khumbu Valley dazzling
and the view from our lunch stop at Thangboche was unmatched
on any previous trek here.
Next day was a long hike up to Dingboche and most of us were
really feeling the altitude by the time we arrived at 4350m.
A long evening round the fire, a good nights sleep and most
of us were fine in the morning. We had an extra night here
in order to acclimatize for the ‘big push’ up to Kala Pattar.
Several of our group had already decided that this was high
enough for them so we split into ‘topsters’ and ‘downsters’
for the following few days. Young Jeff or ‘young dude’
decided to accompany his Dad down. In the end only Jeff
senior ‘Jefferino’ and Helen Murnane pushed on. Its only two
more days but they are tough days and not for everyone.
The ‘downsters’ flew downhill to Phunki Tenga. The hill,
which took three hours to get up, was descended in 45
minutes. There was no power at the lodge so we had to
cozy-up in the old dining room and take candles to bed.
This next day was special. It was Roger ‘Raj’ ‘s birthday.
We had a long lunch at Ang Tashi and Lagpa’s lodge where an
unfortunate British chap had to be choppered out. Everyone
helped as best they could and Ray said a little prayer for
the poor mans safety. In the afternoon we visited the Ed
Hilary school at Kumjung where a brilliant painting caught
Roger’s eye. His son bought it for his birthday, the artist
(art teacher) brought it to his birthday party along with a
drawing he had done that afternoon; a birthday cake appeared
and guests dropped in. It was a birthday to remember.
Bright and clear this morning. We took a trail through Kunde
where we stopped to see the Hilary Clinic. The doctor was
busy with a long queue of local and international patients
so we didn’t get to chat. We visited the Gompa where we saw
the ‘yeti skull’. A bit gruesome really. Far more
interesting were the offering bowls on the alter made of
human skulls. We took a trail I had not been on before which
afforded us a great view of Everest, again, and tracked
across the top of the Shyangboche airstrip. Descending
through lovely pine forest we spent the night at Thamo. Most
people don’t visit this village, except maybe for lunch. It
is an interesting old place with a large nunnery or ani
gompa. Alu and I visited it in the afternoon and watched
them make exquisite little butter sculptures for a puja next
day. Early in the morning Alu sat in on the ceremony, as a
guest of honour, and then got a chance to plant potatoes on
her way back to Namche Bazaar. I think it was her ‘magic
day’ of the trek.
Back in Namche there was hooting and hollering when we found
Helen and Jeff, the two ‘topsters’ and their porters Kancha
and Dorje. Despite Helen’s split lip (the cold wind) they
were in very, very high spirits. They had made it and met
Peter Hilary on their way down.
Namche Bazaar mean Saturday Market so, being Saturday, we
spent time checking out the market before we set off back to
Phakding. The return trip was easy. Relaxed and happy we
stopped to look at everything we had missed on the way up.
Farming, building, planting, gardens, kitchens, livestock.
We nearly lost a couple of boys at a village dance on the
way. The return to Lukla went off without a hitch. It’s a
stiff uphill climb for the last hour so we were all relieved
to make it to the top. Our lodge here has a great menu and
bar so the evening rocked along nicely. Even Helen got up on
the dance floor – and NOBODY hates dancing as much as Helen.
There was some serious shopping done in Kathmandu over the
next couple of days. Lou had a giant antique Tibetan cabinet
shipped back to Singapore I believe. The rest were a bit
more restrained. Lots of clothes were given away to the
porters to make room for new purchases in the luggage.
Again, t-shirts with ‘I trekked Everest’ embroidered around
a map of the area were a hot item.
The Anapurna Trek is $1850 but the Everest Trek has had to
be increased to $1950 as the flights to Lukla have
increased. These are all-inclusive prices. You need spending
money for personal items, trekking gear you might want to
buy or rent in Nepal, and alcohol if you like it. I’ll cover
everything else. I am sending these notes out to all of you
who have expressed an interest in Trekking with Teresa in
the past. Dates for the next trek have been set. October 7
is the departure date for the Everest Trek. It returns
around 25th October. The Anapurna Trek heads out on 28
October and will return on 19th November. Of course I will
be personally escorting both treks. I have half a dozen firm
bookings for each trek and places are limited so do get in
touch if this sounds like something you might enjoy.
Cheers!
Namaste!
Teresa (didi)
Phone: 061 03 9315 9617 or email teresadidi@slowtrekking.com or vonschwichtenberg@gmail.com