October 21, 2014

Annapurna Circuit, Nepal

Day 02 (Bahundanda to Tal)

The trail in the early morning.
The trail in the early morning.
Terraced hills in the valley and tall mountains in the distance.
Terraced hills in the valley and tall mountains in the distance.
Closer view of the rice terraces.
Closer view of the rice terraces.
The trail passing through the rice terraces.
The trail passing through the rice terraces.
Stream passing by boulders and rocks near the trail.
Stream passing by boulders and rocks near the trail.
The Marsyangdi Nadi valley near Badalbisaunaa.
The Marsyangdi Nadi valley near Badalbisaunaa.
The trail outside of Badalbisaunaa.
The trail outside of Badalbisaunaa.
Stream and hillside by the trail.
Stream and hillside by the trail.
Garden and home in the valley.
Garden and home in the valley.
The Marsyangdi Nadi near Ghermu Phant.
The Marsyangdi Nadi near Ghermu Phant.
Golden-green rice.
Golden-green rice.
View near Syange.
View near Syange.
Walking through the town of Jagat.
Walking through the town of Jagat.
The Marsyangdi Nadi north of Jagat.
The Marsyangdi Nadi north of Jagat.
Waterfall near Sattale.
Waterfall near Sattale.
View of Tal in the distance, next to the Marsyangdi Nadi riverbed.
View of Tal in the distance, next to the Marsyangdi Nadi riverbed.

I got up today at 06:00, packed my bag, and started trekking. I walked through some more terraced rice paddies just out of Bahundanda and had fantastic views of the valley. I then walked past the part if the trail near Lili Bhir, which was on the side of a steep cliff (there were at least handrails on the edge). I then made it to Ghermu Phant and crossed a bridge over the Marsyangdi River to the village of Syange, at this point the trail followed a dirt road again and a number of jeeps and one motorcycle passed by me while I was walking on the road. Next, I passed through the dismal town of Jagat and then continued on to Chamje (at one point the trail left the road and entered in to green forests; it returned to the road at Chamje). Shortly after passing through the town, I crossed a suspension bridge, returning to the east side if the Marsyangdi River. I passed by a group of pack mules carrying loads of backpacks near Sattale and throughout much of the day I passed many Nepali porters carrying multiple backpacks and clothing; it doesn’t take much to figure out the individuals this gear belonged to; it is sad seeing it coming back down this way; also, I met many other hikers returning to Besisahar today, having to turn back since the trail was closed where the avalanches occurred; I am hoping that it will be open when I reach that section; certainly the locals would like to see it open as well since their livelihood depends on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Sattale I was exhausted and needed a break, so I sat down at a restaurant where two German girls were eating; I had a Red Bull, ginger and lemon tea, and Tibetan bread with honey (honey most likely harvested nearby on rock cliffs near the village of Mathillo Chipla; there can be found large bee hives that locals collect honey from, they call it “rock honey”). After that pleasant meal, I filled up my one liter bottle with water from a nearby fountain and used my Steripen to disinfect it, but I am concerned about residual water inside, near the top that the Steripen obviously never touched; hopefully I don’t get sick, but I did see a local man drink straight from the fountain, so I might be okay. I then continued on, passing by a section on my map called “Fields of Marijuana” (“Field of Dreams” is more like it!); sadly the fields look like they were long since harvested and based on graffiti found nearby, I gather it was planted in 2011; on that note, both yesterday and today, as I was passing by a lodge that had staff trying to entice me to spend money there, I was asked if I wanted some hashish as a last resort to get me to stay with them – I guess everyone’s doing it these days. Right after the field of weeds, I had a steep ascent on switchbacks and after an exhausting hike up, I reached the top of a ridge and a nice view if the valley, looking back in the direction I came from. Then, it was a short hike to the village of Tal, located right next to the river and a couple of waterfalls; this village also had several horses grazing nearby and a large sandy beach (if it wasn’t cool outside, I would’ve probably put my board shorts on and jumped in the water). I then settled on a place to stay for the rest if the day and coming night, where I relaxed, typed today’s journal entry, and filled up on water at a safe drinking station in town (apparently the locals disinfect the water here and make it safe for Western stomachs to consume). At 17:00, I ordered dinner and had chapati bread, vegetable fried rice, fried potatoes with cheese, lemongrass tea, and lemon ginger tea. During dinner, I talked with an American couple that was heading back, they were doing the combined Manaslu-Annapurna trek, but had to turn back at Manang and settle on finishing just the Manaslu trail. After that large dinner and lengthy conversation, I went to sleep, to the not to distant noise of festive dances that the townspeople were having in celebration of the Hindu holiday of Tihar (“Festival of Lights”), a five day festival that takes place each year on the fifteenth day of Kartika, which is celebrated with singing, dancing, candles, and lanterns.

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