27 FEB 99

Hello from Pokhara. Fiona and I had a change of plans, so now I have one day of Internet access before I head back into the hills.

Two weeks ago, I picked Fiona up from the Kathmandu airport and we spent a day seeing the sights. After our Trekking Permits were ready we took the bus to Pokhara. When we got here the most amazing thing happened. At the bus station we were met by a man holding a sign with my name on it. The guy at the hotel in Kathmandu had called his friend in Pokhara and told him to come get us. I was well impressed.

The bus station in Pokhara was interesting for another reason as well. Outside the station were many touts holding signs for their hotels. Inside the station all of the touts wore blue trousers and white shirts. They were also very polite and once you were claimed by one of them, the others left you alone. It was a very nice first impression of the town.

We went to the Hotel Geo and after I removed the dead roach from the ceiling, Fiona gave the room her approval and we stayed there. We were eager to hit the trail, so we only spent one night in this lakeside town.

On the morning of the 17th of February we hopped on the bus and spent a few hours driving through the hills. We went as far as Nayapul and then started walking. It was a pretty hot day and there was quite a bit of uphill walking. I think some of my fitness from my previous trek remains and I felt quite good. Fiona, on the other hand, while being in good enough shape to trek, was burdened by a very poorly designed backpack. She did not seem to enjoy the day much.

That first night of the trek we stopped in Hille, at about 5,000 feet. I carried Fiona's bag up to our room and in the ten seconds that it was on my back my neck started to hurt. I don't know how she survived the entire day with that thing on her back. We asked the people at the hotel to find a porter for us for the next day.

In the morning, Kala showed up. He was a nice older man who did not speak English. I soon learned to call him bajay. Bajay means grandfather and it is what all of the Nepalese called him on the trail. I enjoyed having him along on our walk and I tried to learn a few basic words each day to broaden our conversations.

Bajay carried the pack on his back for about an hour the next day. Then he decided that it was too painful and switched to the local way of carrying goods. He put a rope around the pack and looped it around his head. Thusly encumbered, we had a hard time keeping up with him.

From Hille, we climbed the 3318 steps to Ulleri and then spent the night in Ghorepani at about 7500 feet. The next morning we started walking at 5:30 so that we could be on top of Poon Hill for sunrise. We got most of the way to the top and took a few pictures of the rising sun on the mountains. The early start and the altitude took a lot out of us, so we just went back down to Ghorepani and had our first rest day. We did such exciting things as washing our socks and registering at the police check post.

From the heights of Ghorepani, we descended to the Kali Gandaki River. We spent the day walking through the Rhododendron forest. Last October a large landslide blocked the river and flooded the town of Tatopani. The water has now receded, but the trail has not been fixed. Within sight of the town, we were forced to climb a very high ridge, and immediately descend the other side. They say the new, river level trail will be blasted through in about three weeks, but we could not wait.

Tatopani, as you can tell from the name, has hot springs. We went and soaked in the hot water for a while. Some children through instant noodles into the water and they cooked pretty quickly. That evening I had a fairly thorough Nepali lesson from some of the men working at the hotel.

The next morning we continued north. Across the river there was a very large landslide and the air was quite dusty. In the middle of the afternoon we entered the Mustang District of Nepal and hurried to Ghasa. For a while it looked like rain, but we were lucky this day. Ghasa was the first place we stayed that had burning coals under the table to keep us warm.

After lunch the next day we entered the upper Kali Gandaki River Valley. For the next several days we walked along a very wide dry riverbed. The trail barely gained altitude for several days, but it was a little difficult walking on the rounded river stones.

At one point we were at the bottom of the world's deepest valley. Mt. Dhaulagiri was on our left and Mt. Annapurna I was on our right. Both mountains tower to well over 26,500 feet and we were walking three and half miles below them at about 8,000 feet. I really enjoyed the several days spent walking along the river valley and looking up at some of the tallest mountains in the world.

After a long day of walking, we arrived in Tukuche (8500 feet above sea level). In the past Tukuche was a trading town and there are still several large warehouses there. It is very windy in Tukuche and all the lodges are built around courtyards to make them a little more pleasant. They also had a nice glass room on the roof that was very warm.

From Tukuche, we made it to Jomsom for lunch. Jomsom is the administrative capital of the region and an army base. Then we walked another few hours and made it to Kagbeni for the evening. They have a very nice fort there, but it started to rain, so I headed back to the lodge. Up until this point we had had very clear mornings with nice views and some clouds in the afternoon.

From Kagbeni, you can continue north if you have a $700 permit, a large trekking staff, and a policeman. Fiona and I had the ten-dollar permit, a trekking staff of one and no police escort, so we were not allowed to continue into the recently opened area of the North Mustang Region.

We left the gently sloping, but incredibly awe-inspiring, valley and headed up to the ridge. We made it to Jharkot for lunch and stopped for the day. Jharkot is at about 11,600 feet and we needed a day to acclimatize. At about one o'clock it started to snow. This was the first time I had ever seen a chicken running around in the snow.

After a short stroll, we spent the afternoon looking out the window and watching the brown countryside turn white. The most amazing part of the experience was the local farmers. They were not about to let a few inches of snow delay their plowing and planting. They had the cows yoked up and were dragging the plow through the white fields and planting seeds. The cows wore bells and the people were singing and it was a really incredible scene.

The next morning was relatively clear, so we continued up to Muktinath. Bajay was looking a little worse for wear. He had had a bit of a headache the night before and was a bit cold. We sent him home and he hurried down the hill. After we paid him the very generous $6 per day, he called us sahib (big boss) and got down on his hands and knees and touched our feet. We were slightly embarrassed by this display.

After lunch we went up to the temple complex. At 12,500 feet, Muktinath is holy to both Hindus and Buddhists. We looked at the temples and the 108 waterspouts. There was no one around to show us into the Jwala Mai Temple, where a jet of natural gas burns.

That afternoon was again taken up by avoiding the snow. We had planned to take the next day as a rest day and just go strolling into the local mountains. Unfortunately, the snow covered all the trails and it did not seem like such a good idea to wander around on the slippery slopes with no idea where the paths were. Instead we descended to Jomsom. I took as much of the weight from Fiona's pack as I could and we started down. I think the pack still bothered her a bit.

Every morning a very strong wind rushes up the Kali Gandaki valley on its way from the Plains of India to the heights of Tibet. On the walk up this wind literally pushed us up the valley. On the way down it was a bit of a struggle. We put on our Gore-Tex and pushed through the strong wind. In Jomsom we found a very nice room with an attached bathroom. At nearly nine dollars it was quite extravagant, but it was time to splash out. The room even had a TV and a remote control. The TV did not work, but still, just the idea. In the high season the room price is $30 per night. Normally, we paid a little over one dollar per night for a double room with a bathroom down the hall or across the courtyard.

This morning we caught a flight from Jomsom back to Pokhara. I sat right behind the pilots and had a great view of the mountains through the cockpit. We had planned to walk back and then go to Annapurna Base Camp, but we figured out that we did not have quite enough time to do this. So, we flew out and will start our walk to ABC tomorrow. We have a new porter, who is much younger and even speaks a bit of English. Tomorrow, the three of us will start our walk and we will finish by the 12th of March.

I now understand why the Jomsom Trek is the most popular in Nepal. It is called the Apple Pie Trek and sure enough, apple pie was available nearly every night. Except for the first few days, the trail is pretty flat and the highest point reached is only 12,500 feet (very low for Nepal). There is an airport near the end, the lodges are well regulated and the food is very good. Walking through the valley was one of the most amazing things I have ever done.

Today has been spent on laundry and Internet, but I am eager to get back into the mountains.