Adventures in 2012

As part of our kiteboarding lesson package with Kite Republic, St Kilda we had membership to the kite club. This permitted us to attend the kite club weekends that Kite Republic have throughout the year. This session was at Inverloch which is a town just under two hours drive south of Melbourne.

When things go wrong in kiteboarding it is important to know what to do. In our course we learnt how to self rescue. This might be needed when there is no wind or there is some form of equipment failure.

I was keen to learn how to kiteboard and so were my daughters. I purchased a package deal from Kite Republic in St Kilda, Victoria which comprised of five lessons with the objective that we could get to fly a kite and ride a board.

This was trek of great variety, starting with the Manaslu circuit. I venture from the fertile valley at Arughat Bazar, working up to the 5300m pass at Larke La before joining the Annapurna trek at Dharapani. Only for a short time though, as I then duck out to the special zone of Nar and Phu, a spectacular very dry and time forgotten world. That special world lasted only a few days and I then rejoin the Annapurna circuit trail. Not for long thoush when I again take a side trip. This time it's to the high elevated  Lake Tilicho with high mountains as a backdrop. Finally I clamber over Thorung la pass to fly out of Jomsom

I could not resist a paragliding flight in the Himalaya. I took the expensive Swiss owned company - the marketing worked - but as to whether they were better than anyone else who knows ?

The flight left at 9:30am instead of 8:30, but I was on it. What a relief. I am glad I did not take the overnight vehicular option. I am only a couple of days away from returning home to Australia. It has been a wonderful trekking holiday, far better than I imagined.

My flight was cancelled, I waited 6 hours in the vain hope that the plane would leave, but it wasn't to be. The wind was too strong and in the wrong direction. Kshitiz and Anish had already left so I'm on my own. Luckily I was warned about the frequent cancellations due to weather, so I had a day built in. It was possible to get a vehicle back but I elected to chance it on a flight tomorrow.

We had a massive day of walking, starting early to hike over the Thorong La Pass peaking at 5416 metres. Then a long descent to Muktinath where I bought a souvenir or two and had a nice lunch. As we could not secure a jeep, and being early in the day, we chose to walk to Jomsom.

It was a relatively short day hike to Thorong Phedi (4450m).  The scenery is spectacular, and there was quite a few people staying here, and at the preceding village acclimatizing and getting ready for the big ascent over Thorung La tomorrow.

Lake Tilicho is perched high above sea level at 4919m. It is a glorious complement to the Annapurna circuit.

The views just get better. We saw the rare blue sheep, walked across huge land slips and gaped in awe at the massive snow clad mountain backdrop.

Phase 3 of the trek - on the way to Lake Tilicho. We visit the Braga Gompa, a monastery over 500 years old, which is perched high over Bhraka village and has many fascinating artifacts. We met up with another traveller, Christoff who accompanies us for the rest of the trip.

We were up early to beat the wind, as we are crossing a high pass over 5000m to reenter the Annapurna circuit trek. The main features of this walk are grand open valleys with high mountain backdrops.

I thought the lead up to Phu was spectacular. This part of the trek continues to blow me away. We walked to the village of Nar, where the people were actively processing the season's grain harvest.

The walk from Meta to Phu (or Phoo) is a walk in another world. Manaslu and Annapurna are quite lush whereas this is a very barren one.

A grand entrance: a chasm is the beginning of our walk into the restricted area of the Nar-Phu valley.  I am looking forward to these next few days of visiting an area where few venture.

We joined the Annapurna circuit trek briefly to get to the next leg of the trip - Phu and Nar, which in the forbidden restricted area. It was a jolt to my peace as there were a lot more people, and also motorised vehicles. Nothing however, will take away the beauty of the highest mountains of the Himalaya.

I woke early so I had a look around and watched the sun shine its light on the mountains. This was my last day on the Manaslu circuit, and it was time to take on a new guide and say goodbye to Walter and Elena.

My first pass over 5000m. An early start, it was very cold and a very beautiful scene. We were exhilarated, or perhaps relieved when the apex, Larke La was crested at 5135m. As I went down, yak caravans laboured up. We stopped for pizza and an overnight stay with the creature comforts provided in Bimtang.

It was a big climb out of the valley, where we ascended from Samdo at 3870m to 4460m at Dharamsala. According to  altitude.org   " At  4460 m , the standard barometric pressure is  60  kPa ( 449  mmHg). This means that there is  59 % of the oxygen available at sea level."  

It was my birthday, a milestone event - I turn 50, and what a fitting place to do it, high up in the Himalaya at 3800m in Samdo. I felt special when I heard "Happy birthday Stuart". Rajesh gave me a white scarf ( aka khata ) as a gift, which sybolizes peace and purity. Elena gave me a buffalo horn bracelet and a card to remember her and Walter by.

I got up 3 times last night for a call of nature. This hydration thing is a bit over the top, but I guess it worked, as my headache subsided. We decided to go for an excursion to the rim of Birenda Tal (Lake).  On the way to it we got wonderful clear views of Manaslu, the namesake of this trek.

The village of Sama Gaon is nestled in a natural ampitheatre of snow clad mountains all round. My head is aching with a throbbing tightness over the scalp and neck, altitude was affecting me. It was bitterly cold up here, my expensive light weight quilt got a good workout last night. 

I still remember last night's pumpkin pie, I should have taken a photo. I hear that sometimes tourists come and stay a while, some being chefs will pass on their knowledge. The dal bhat; also was of high standard. with good pickle and variety of vegetables including a tomato it is funny how these little things that we take for granted are such a special treat when you are so high up and away from city 'civilisation'.

We had to leave early as this was to be a long, hard day of 10 hours. We all had egg and noodle soup and left at 7:30am. The day again featured deep river gorges. There were more caravans of pack animals, as this was the only way to supply villages further on in both the Manaslu and Tsum valley routes.

The real mountains were starting to peek out on the skyline. The water thunders down the very steep river valley of the Buri Gandaki. Gorges are carved deeply through the mountains and  bridges are mere spidery threads stretching across the walls. The water can be heard loudly thundering through. When the water is quiet, the crickets take over with their loud almost electronic buzzing sound.

We shortened our trip leg to Lapubesi because one of the party was suffering from the heat. The valley narrows and in places is very steep. There are hot water springs at Tatopani.

We were treated with sweeping views of the valley as we walked up it. It was adorned with many waterfalls and a beautiful green rural scene. This will be the theme of the trek until we get closer to Manaslu. Today we ascended from 550m in Arughat Bazar, 200m higher at 750m for Lapu Besi. We will continue to ascend steadily over the next few days to 5000m at the Larke La pass. There is plenty of time to acclimatize.

It was a long trip from Kathmandu to Arughat Bazar. We travelled by a fairly modern and comfortable 4wd. Arughat Bazar is a pretty village at the start of the Manaslu trek. It is situated on the fast flowing Buri Gandaki river.

Today was a day for sightseeing, not something I was keen to do as I'm itching to be away walking, but heck it sure beats sitting around for another day. In the interim Rajesh had to finalise the passes for Walter and his companion soon to arrive, Elena. Tomorrow we will be off on our adventure, yay !

I woke several times during the night with a headache, it is humid and pending rain. Rajesh left me to my own again today, I was anxious to get moving and thinking that perhaps I should have arranged some fill in action activities to while the time away.

I found out the noise last night was due to the Dashain festival in town. If I wasn't so tired from the journey, perhaps it would have been fun to join in the frivolity. Apparently tonight the festivities will continue, and preparations were being made all over. Unfortunately I was moving on to Boudhha, so I missed out. (Which was probably not a bad thing given I need to be in my best form for the trek ahead.)

On the day prior to my flight I checked and re-weighed everything, my bag weighs in at 10.8 kg, so I think the porter will be happy. On the way to the airport, I had great fears that I left my passport on the table at home. I could not find it in my pockets anywhere. Fortunately my anxiety was allayed, when I remembered I placed in the top pocket of my backpack.

Doing a trek of any kind involves planning and preparation well before the event in order for it to be a successful and enjoyable endeavour. There are a quite a few things to consider for example: fitness training, medical, logistics, route plan, insurance and equipment.

I had sore legs after doing the Tongariro Northern Circuit in 2 days instead of the recommended 3. This set of hills were a bit of a challenge. Stunning scenery, a very different landscape that is rightly placed on the UNESCO world heritage listing.