DAY 6: From Sete to Dakchu

Date: 29th March, 2014.

As we woke up around 7.30, we could hear the Kathmandu-Lukla rotary planes high up in the sky. These planes transport people from Kathmandu to the Solu-Khumbu area and vice versa. Before the airfield at Lukha was built (world's highest and most dangerous airport), the only access in Nepal to Everest and the Base Camp was via the track from Jiri, which Kavita and I are currently following. When Edmund Hilary and Norgay Tenzing conquered Everest in 1953, this is the path they took. We are basically following their footsteps as far as Base Camp. 

Since the airfield at Lukla has been built, most trekkers and climbers destined for Everest Base Camp fly directly from Kathmandu to Lukla bypassing Jiri and cutting their journey and trekking time in half. 

There is no proper road network providing access to the Solu-Khumbu region. Over the past few years, the road from Kathmandu to Jiri has been extended as far as Shivalaya and Bhandar, but it is still very rudimentary and quite dangerous. If trekking to the Everest region via Lukla, it is better to start from Jiri.

We were due to start our next leg from Sete at 09:00. The clothes I had washed late last night weren't fully dry so I put them out in the sun, whilst having breakfast. 

After a breakfast of porridge with honey (as usual) at 08:30, we left Sete at 09:18 and headed further up the mountain. My woolen trekking socks were still wet when we were leaving so I put them on the back of my day sack to dry off. 

We continued the ascent up the mountain for about 50 minutes and then stopped at a teahouse for some lemon tea. While we were there, John & Duncan (from Melbourne, Australia), two trekkers we had met earlier in Bhandar passed us by. We also introduced ourselves to Joel, a trekker from Finland who was on his way to EBC and had started from Jiri a couple of days ago.  

We continued for another 10 minutes to the village of Dakchu where Dorje suggested we spend the night. Our next major milestone was the village of Junbesi and Dorje said that the there was only one lodge in between Dakchu and Junbesi and it was not very good. There was also no guarantee that it was open. We could continue all the way to Junbesi, but it was 7 hours away and with Kavita's knee still recovering from the previous day, Dorje felt it would be prudent to stop at Dakchu and get some rest for the longer trek to Junbesi. 

We were quite surprised that today's trek had only been for an hour. We had just warmed up and were ready to go on for another few hours. But Dorje's rationale made sense, so we decided to spend the day at Dakchu and head off to Junbesi the next day via the Lamjura La Pass, which we could see at a distance from Dakchu. 

As much as I was disappointed with the short trek day, I was quite relieved to have some spare time to update our blog and upload some of our trek images on the internet to make them available online for the benefit of the people at home. The past fews days had been quite overwhelming. There so much happening, and everything was happening so fast with early starts, strenuous days, late finishes and short sleeps. At the end of each tiring trek day, we had to prepare for the next day. Drinking water needed to be prepared, batteries/devices needed to be charges, backups had to be done. By the time we had dinner and/or a shower, I barely had enough time to recall the events of the day and log all the details online in a constructive manner. There was so much to remember and note. Each village had a story to tell and each track between the villages had its own tale. We also had issues with slow Internet connectivity which made the task all the more onerous. There was no 3G data service. The Ncell network service only provided the EDGE data transfer protocol, which took me back to the dark days of dial-up Internet connections. During the day, I was physically challenged, in the evening, I was mentally tested. I was glad to have some time to catch up and absorb the day's experience at a slower pace. 

At Dakchu we stayed at the Maya Tamang Lodge. There were several wooden dorm rooms, but we were the only ones staying there. The toilet was a separate shed outside, behind the main building and there was no shower/washroom.  

It was a quaint little homestead run by a middle aged lady with two children. I didn't see her partner during the stay so I can only assume that he is a sherpa and is away guiding some other Trekkers/climbers. Most of the teahouses and lodges in the remote parts of Nepal are run by women, while their husbands serve as sherpa guides or porters to tourists. 

The two children, a boy, Purba (aged 5)  and the girl, Shanti (aged 7) were most helpful to their mother, helping her with tasks such as fanning the fire or fetching water for the kitchen. Their lives are so different from the children back home. They seemed happier and content with what little they had. Watching them play with each other and interact with us and the animals of the homestead, brought out the philosophical side in me and made me dwell on how adaptive life truly is. The sole purpose of life is to propagate itself through the ages, whatever the environment. Here were these children who were making the best of their environment and the resources available to them.

The electricity in the lodge was hydro-powered. There was only one power socket in the entire homestead, located in the communal area adjacent to the kitchen. Two extension leads were daisy-chained to provide more sockets. We had no access to electricity the previous night, so we took the opportunity to charge all our devices/batteries. 

Dorje said that as we go further into the mountains, electricity would be solar powered and may not always be reliable. 

At around 12:30, the lady of the household made us some lunch. Kavita had asked for some noodle soup and I wanted to try some Tibetan stew, which turned out to be quite filling and delicious.

As the day wore on, we sat outside in the veranda soaking up the sun. There was a chill in the shadows, so we kept on moving our chairs to keep in the sun. While I put together material for the blog, Kavita read a book on her iPad. Purba and Shanti were naturally intrigued by all the gadgets, peering over our shoulders to see what we were doing. So we introduced them to the wonders of the iPad and the iPhone. Perhaps by tainting them with technology we have ruined their lives forever !!

As evening wore on, the Cockerels and hens with little chicks returned to the homestead for their feed of cooked rice. There was a little coop where they would be roosting overnight. A bovine family of bull, cow and her calf also returned back to the homestead for the night. They had their own little cowshed at the rear of the homestead. There was also a black and white dog which constantly demanded more attention after I made the mistake of patting him on the head.  

We had dinner at 19:30. It was the best Dal Bhat we had tasted since we came to Nepal. The lady of the homestead had served it with some delicious homemade tomato and garlic chutney. She was, by far, the best cook we has encountered on the trek. 

I had finally updated the blog until day 5 of the expedition. But it took ages to upload the photos on the blog and publish the updates. By the time it had completed, it was around 22:15. Kavita was well asleep by then. I laid out my sleeping bag and tucked in at around 22:30, but had a difficult time getting to sleep. It was cold in the room and too hot inside the bag. I unzipped it part way down, tossing and turning in it trying to find the most comfortable position to fall asleep in. I must have found it at around midnight, because it felt like a long time before I finally lost consciousness and fell asleep. 

DAY 6: Trekking Technicals

Start Point: Sete (2,570m), 09:18

End Point: Dakchu (2,959m), 10:57

Distance 2.02km

Total Moving Time: 58m

Ascent: 417m (Total 3,309m)

Descent: 41m (Total 2,266m)

Trekking Tip:

While trekking, you will meets lots of people from different countries and walks of life who share a common interest with you to experience a new adventure. Don't be scared to say 'hello' and exchange experiences and views. You will surprised at how much useful information you may pick up simply by having a casual conversation with other trekkers & climbers. 

DAY 7: Journey to Junbesi

Date: 30th March, 2014.

The cockerel's 'cock-a-doodle-do' woke me up at 05:06. There was probably no need for me to have set the alarm for 06:00. I tried to fall asleep in vain, eventually giving up and initiating the morning routine. The hole-in-ground toilets were outside, so I had a great view of the morning hues of sunrise through the gaps in the wooden planks while I did my business. 

There was no washroom at the homestead and we had to use water from a large bucket in the verandah to brush our teeth and wash our face. 

We were packing our kit bags when I realised I had left my toothbrush and paste in the verandah. I tried to push open the sliding wooden door of our dorm room, but it only opened halfway. As I tried to squeeze through the open gap, I heard a tearing sound on the back. It suddenly dawned on me that I had just ripped a hole in my active jacket. There was a latch hook I hadn't noticed before and it had caught on the jacket. 

I felt like dying !! I am not one to get so easily attached to things, but this highly technical, windproof, water repellant lightweight, breathable jacket had seen me through a lot of diverse and difficult weather conditions over the last few months. It had kept me warm and dry through the winter climb of Ben Nevis and the Atlas Mountains winter challenge just four weeks ago. I felt like I had just betrayed it and caused it injury. My heart sank. Was it a bad omen ? 

Perhaps not. After all, I am not superstitious. But maybe it was a warning that I should be a bit more vigilant the rest of the day and look out for potential danger.  A moment of lapse concentration had caused this. Another lapse of concentration whilst trekking e.g  stepping on a loose rock, could have disastrous consequences.

Thankfully, the jacket can be fixed. The outer shell is made from pertex microlight, a leading edge material designed by Rab, a UK company specialising in high-end outdoor equipment. Rab provide a repair service for most of their specialised products. Hopefully when they return it back to me, the damage will be repaired seamlessly with perhaps only a tell-tale 'scar' as a memento of the expedition, not unlike the one for the Atlas Mountain Winter when I scratched my collector's Suunto Everest watch on a rock !! 

We had an early trekking start today as it was going to be a long stretch to Junbesi. After bidding farewell and gratitude to the family of the homestead, we set off at 07:25. We immediately went up at an ascent for about 30 minutes, rising up to the village of Goyam. The terrain was rocky with sand, strewn with fallen logs and dry shrubbery. 

The dog from the homestead at Dakchu had been following us and had now caught up with us. It accompanied us as we continued the ascent towards the pass of Lamjura La. 

After another 45 minutes of uphill trekking, we arrived at the desolate village of Kadhe, set in an open spaced plateau. From here we had a great view of the Numbur Himal range to the North and it's white tipped highest peak, tucked in behind the foreground hills. We spent some time resting here, admiring the spectacular views of the valleys and mountains around us. We could just about make out the roof tops of the villages we had passed on our way up. 

We continued on the ascent for another 45 minutes, after which the gradient eased off and flattened a little. We also started to see pockets of snow and ice along the path. 

Another 20 mins later, we stopped at a teahouse for a cup of lemon tea, before continuing up towards the pass of Lamjura La. The path was with strewn with rocks and mud. Very soon the chorten marking the final approach to the pass came into view. 

The pass is on the direct flight path for the helicopters flying between Lukla and Jiri, and as we continued towards the teahouse on the pass, a chopper suddenly came into view from the other side of the pass, banked sharply over it and continued on its way down the valley towards Jiri. 

We arrived at the teahouse on the pass at about 10:45. There were a lot of flies and other flying insects here, so we only stopped very briefly before crossing the cairn on the pass. It is customary to pick up a stone and add in to the cairn, so both Kavita and I obliged, before descending down to the other side. After stopping for 5 minutes at another teahouse (closed), we continued the descent for another hour over a rocky path that cut through a forest. 

I prefer descents to ascents. I tend to move rapidly downhill from rock to rock with agile footing and perfect balance. However, moving rapidly downhill increases the risk of tripping and causing injury. A couple of times I moved too fast and almost tripped. I heeded the warning of the rip in my jacket and decided to slow down, keeping vigilant for loose rocks. 

Kavita on the other hand, does not like descents as they put a strain on her knees, causing them to ache, particularly the left one. Today, however, her knees were fine, but her toes were hurting. She continued down the descent, silently. She had probably found that spot in her mind that enabled her to tolerate the pain and focus on the task at hand undeterred. 

About 90 minutes later, the gradient of the path flattened as we came out of the forest and continued parallel to the river, Taktor Khola,  on our right. From here on, the path undulated gently across the plain of the river, with the occasional short steep section. 

An hour later, the path veered around the shoulder of the towering massif to our left, revealing the fantastic view on the other side. There lay before our eyes the beautiful village of Junbesi, with a backdrop of two mountains and the snow covered Numbur Peak (6,959m) of the Shorong Himal range, with the moving clouds gently caressing it. It was the best view we have seen so far since we started the trek. It gave us a glimpse of the natural beauty we were about to witness in the next few days. 

We continued on the path that led down to Junbesi, re-energised with the small treat we had been given, arriving at our lodge at 14:26. Michi and Derrick had already spent the night at this lodge. We met Michi (from Japan) in Jiri when we spent the night in the same teahouse. We met Derrick (Singapore) at the teahouse in Sete. 

After a lunch of noodles, we spent the afternoon visiting the Buddhist temple in the village, with a beautiful chorten and dozens of small prayer wheels and one big one in the centre of the temple. It is customary to turn the prayer wheels one by one in a clockwise direction when visiting the temple.

There was no Ncell GSM or data network service in Junbesi, so we visited the local secondary school computer lab which provided Internet access at 5 NRP per minute. 

It seems that the entire village shared only one internet connection via  a radio repeater link to the next village some three hours away. This in turn had a repeater to the next village and so forth, Unfortunately, there was a router problem somewhere along the line, which meant there was no access currently available. 

It was Mother's Day back in the UK, but we had no way to call home. Fortunately, NTC (Nepal Telecom) had GSM coverage in the area so Dorje kindly let us use his phone to call our mothers and wish them a good day. 

We spent the rest of the day in the communal area of the lodge, talking to other Trekkers or reading our books whilst listening to music. We met two new trekkers, Kevin & Suzie, from Denver, Colorado. 

The lady of the lodge was suffering from a toothache and it was too painful for her talk. We felt sorry for her and gave her two tablets of paracetamol to ease her pain. Michi decided to order some local alcoholic brew called Channg, made from sweetcorn, and offered some to us. I simply cannot describe the taste, but he and Derrick spent all evening drinking it in the kitchen and seemed to have got drunk. 

There was electricity in our dorm room, so we charged up all our devices and batteries using the extension lead we purchased in Jiri. Best investment for 160 NPR (£1).

We retired to our dorm room for the night at around 20:30. Whilst Kavita watched some of her favourite TV series programs on her iPad, tucked up in her sleeping bag, I made a note of the events over the past two days. She must have fallen asleep around 22:00. I finally hit the sack at 23:50 and dropped off almost immediately. 

DAY 7: Trekking Technicals:

Start Point: Dakchu (2,959m), 07:25

End Point: Junbesi (2,687m), 14:26

Distance: 12.98km (Total 49.5km)

Moving Time: 4h 6m

Ascent: 861m (Total 4,170m)

Descent: 1.137m (Total 3,403m)

Trekking Tip:

Trekking will make you sweat profusely, even in the cold. Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration which could eventually lead to other issues such as mild diarrhoea. As a rule, I aim to drink half a litre of water for every hour of trekking, regardless of whether I am moving or not. 

Unfortunately, all that drinking will make you want to urinate frequently. In remote locations where proper toilets may not be available, you will have to urinate in open space while trekking. The locals living in the area often use the water from streams and rivers for sustenance so avoid urinating in or near them.  

DAY 8: Trail to Taksindu

Date: 31st March, 2014.

For the first time in Nepal, I managed to get 6h 15m of uninterrupted sleep. This is the amount of sleep my body requires to repair itself. The alarm was set for 07:00. But I naturally woke up 45 minutes sooner. 

During the trek, our morning routine is generally the same. Wake up, visit the toilet, pack away the sleeping bags to make space on the bed, change into our trekking clothes, clean our teeth/face from whatever source of water is available (outside pipe from river or bucket) and start repacking the kit bags. We then pack up our day sacks, and lastly put on our boots and have some breakfast while Kaji (our porter) ropes up our kit bags. 

This morning was no exception. After a breakfast of porridge with honey and a cup of coffee, we set off from Junbesi at 08:35.

Before we left we thanked the lady of the lodge for her great hospitality. She in turn thanked us for the tablets. Her toothache pain had eased, but she would had to see a dentist soon. There are no resident dentists in Junbesi. A 'flying' dentist visits Junbesi and the surrounding villages every few months. For the lady there were only two tough choices: either wait for the "flying' dentist to visit the village in 3 weeks time or take a 3 hour walk to the village he lives in.  I had a look at her teeth but couldn't find any tooth decay or any obvious reason for the ache. We gave her 4 more tablets, instructing her to take them when the pain becomes unbearable. 

After bidding our farewells to the other Trekkers at the lodge, we headed past the temple and school we had visited the previous day and crossed the Junbesi Khola river, continuing for another 35 minutes on an ascent as we climbed out of the river valley. 

The path became more gradual and flattened as we continued walking down the plain of the river, admiring the panoramic views that had now opened out before us. To our right, we could see in the distance, the high pass of Lamjura La that we had crossed the previous day. It looked so far and high. It was hard to believe that we had been there just a day ago. 

Along the way we passed school children as young as 13 heading the other way to the secondary school in Junbesi. It was 90 mins away !! 

Schools here are few and far between. Children from the surrounding villages have to walk long distances to get to school. There is an active international aid program to build schools in the remote parts of Nepal and encourage education. After he conquered Everest, Edmund Hilary himself set up a trust to further the development of the Nepalese people. 

The track continued along the lower slopes of the Pare Danda highlands on our left, following the contours of the range. Just under 2 hours after leaving Junbesi, we reached the village of Phurteng. As we continued to the upper teahouses of the village and followed the bend in the track, a beautiful panorama of the high and middles Himalayas came into view to the North. It was the first proper view of the Himalayas since we started the trek. Until now we only had glimpses of one or two on the snow-covered Himal peaks. From here we could see an array of them. We could see Everest, Lhotse (the 8000+ peaks) and several of the 6000+ peaks. The most prominent of all was the Kusum Khangkaru, standing tall at 6,637m. The view was truly remarkable and awe inspiring.

Behind us, to the south,  was Saleri, one of the main towns in the Solu-Khumbu region. It also has a small airstrip frequently used by helicopters transporting materials to the remote parts of the region. 

Dorje suggested that we spend more time at this viewpoint and stay for lunch at one of the teahouses overlooking the peaks. While lunch was freshly prepared, I studied my map and Kavita read the guide book to identify the peaks in the view. 

Lunch took a while. Not many tourists use the track from Jiri nowadays and the teahouses along the route are generally ill-prepared to serve cooked food instantly. It takes them time to light the fire and prepare the food from scratch. The teahouses are generally owned by families who also use it as their home. Most teahouses are 'extended' to provide lodgings (hence the term 'lodge') for travellers. If you want something to eat en route, you simply ask the teahouse owner if they are open for business and serve food. They give you a basic menu of items they offer and you make your selection. They take about an hour to prepare it, depending on your selection. Most teahouses have a indoor communal area where they serve the freshly cooked food. 

After having a lunch of noodle soup (Kavita had a well cooked potato paratha, served with a delicious relish), we left Phurtyang around 12:25 and continued down the track that led to the next village, Ringmu.

 An hour later, we started the descent down to the valley through which the river Dudhkund Khola runs. 30 minutes later, we cross the steel bridge across the bridge and take a well deserved 10 min rest on the other side before we continue on an exhausting ascent out of the valley to the village of Ringmu. 

Having passed the chorten that marks the village, we continue for another 10 minutes before stopping at a teahouse for some hot lemon drink. 

After a prolonged rest, we left the teahouse at 15:19 and continued on a steep ascent, arriving at the high pass of Taksindu La (approx. 3000m) at around 15:50. The village of Taksindu, our destination for today was another 15 minutes downhill from the pass.

Taksindu seemed very desolate with apparently only one operating teahouse, the Mountain View Lodge, and even that was closed. The landlady agreed to open it up for us so we could stay the night. 

The view after crossing the pass is normally spectacular, with a more close up view of the snow-covered peaks we had seen at the viewpoint in Phurtyang. But today there was a low lying mist in the valleys and across the landscape, limiting visibility. We later found out that it has rained in the area three days ago, The daytime sun evaporates the water from the land and vegetation, creating a water vapour mist that stays for days. 

The lodge was very simple. It is probably one of the most basic we have come across so far. The communal area and the kitchen were one. There was an earthen cooking hearth in the corner with a large wooden sink next to it. There were shelves wall to wall, stocked with packets of dry foods, cooking ingredients and drinks. The pipework for hot water was very ingenious. A metal waterpipe came in from the outside, ran through the hearth and ended with a tap over the wooden sink. When the fire is lit, it serves not only to warm the kitchen, but also to cook food and heat water.

I wanted to have a shower and wash my clothes, but Dorje suggested I wait till the next village as the lodge did not have a shower shed. I decided to just have a quick wash in the shed outside which also doubles up a toilet.  There was no lock on the toilet door. You just wedge a wooden log across the doors on the inside so it can't be open from the outside while you are using it. All doors of the lodge, except the kitchen were closed shut for the night in the same manner, including the dorm rooms. 

The landlady had a fall earlier in the day and sprained her forearm. She couldn't cook for us, but a nun from the local monastery was helping her. She seemed to be in pain and was worried that she had dislocated her elbow. I am no doctor but checked it and determined it as a muscular sprain. We also gave her some paracetamol to help her ease her pain. 

Dinner was Dal Bhat again and it was fascinating watching the nun cook it, placing various metals pots over burning wood and ambers to cook the rice and Dal. She used a rudimentary utensil with metal prongs attached to a wooden handle to stir the Dal, rotating the handle between the palm of her hands. 

Dinner was served around 19:30, after which we retired to our wooden dorm room on the first floor. After an hour of making notes of the day's events, I eventually dropped off at 21:00.

I woke up just before 01:00, desperate to use the toilet. It's always a chore to use the toilet at night when trekking in remote locations, especially if the toilet is outside.  You are warm and comfortable in your sleeping bag with only your undergarments (a sleeping bag is most effectively used in this manner), but it's cold outside. You switch on your headlamp, get out of your bag, put on some warm clothes, wear your socks and shoes and step outside into the cold. Having done your business, you do the reverse, and then take at least 15 minutes to fall asleep again. If you have to wake up too many times, it ruins your sleep and rest, leaving you very tired for the next day's trek. 

Whilst in Morocco during the winter climb of Toubkal, I had to wake up six times in one night to pass water. Since then I decided to stop all fluids at 17:00 if trekking the next day, so I wouldn't have to wake up in the middle of the night. Thankfully, I only had to wake up once in Taksindu.

DAY 8: Trekking Technicals:

Start Point: Junbesi (2,687m), 08:35

End Point: Taksindu (2,926m), 16:15

Distance: 14.1km (Total 63.6km)

Moving Time: 4h 5m

Ascent: 1,154m (Total 5,324m)

Descent: 972m (Total 4,375m)

Min Elevation: 2,585m

Max Elevation: 3,069m 

Trekking Tip:

During multi-day treks, it is essential to have a good night's sleep for the next day's trekking. Having to wake up frequently in the middle of the night to urinate, especially in the cold, can ruin your sleep leaving you tired and weary for the next day. If you have an over active bladder, control fluid intake a few hours before before going to sleep.