It was a cold morning, the coldest so far. It was the first day that I woke up with near-frozen nose and ears. Luckily I had wrapped myself up like a burrito so my face was the only part of me the cold could get to 😀 Thank God for my burrito wrap, more commonly known as my sleeping liner LOL I had snuggled myself so tightly into it and zipped it all the way right up to my forehead with just my face popping out to signal there’s actually a living human in there 😀 The ridiculous things we do to keep warm in the mountains haha But it was working so far so I didn’t care.
Despite the cold, I woke up pretty relieved that morning that the full body shower from the night before hadn’t gotten to me and there were no signs of a blocked nose or a sore throat. Looking back, getting cold was an everyday worry, it was the reason for the full-body scan as soon as I had my eyes open every morning. “Is the nose ok? The troat? Any signs of a looming headache?” – It was part of the daily routine.
We had a quick breakfast if you can even call my tea breakfast 😀 and headed off. We were tired. My whole face was puffed and I could feel my eyes swollen as if I hadn’t slept for days despite the solid 8-9 hours sleep we had that night. Maybe it was the physical exhaustion kicking in, or the altitude and increasing humidity, who knew but shortly after we started the hike I literally paused overwhelmed by a mix of worry, surprise and frustration and looked at Nouh (my trekking buddy I met in Besisahar) asking rhetorically “What the f** is going on??!” – We were exhausted, sweat dripping from our faces and legs starting to shake. We didn’t talk. We didn’t have the energy to engage in a conversation. We were scraping the barrel for some leftover energy to keep the limps moving forward and upward!!
My bag was starting to feel so unbelievably heavy. My sleeping bag attached to the backpack was annoyingly moving up and down with every step, making it even harder to forget I had somewhere between 12-15kg loaded on my back. My shoulders were starting to get sore and I could feel the skin where the straps were rubbing starting to hurt. It was getting physically tough and it was only the start of day 4.
Today we were headed to Chame and it was gonna be mostly uphill so I had to be strategic with the weight. I wanted to abandon something there and then but apart from my sleeping bag there genuinely was nothing else I could leave behind. “Water” – that was the only thing I could play around with a bit. Every morning I would start with two bottles of 1L and 0.75l and these things were heavy!! I was gonna take dehydration saches if I had to but that day I made the call to fill up only one of the bottles. It was either the fear of not finding any water on the trail or bursting out in tears from exhaustion I couldn’t quite figure where exactly it had come from so quickly into the trek.
The physical pain aside, we kept on walking. At Dharapani we picked up the cutest little puppy who would just not lose us from its sight. It was near running to catch up with us but it wasn’t giving up, evidently curious to give trekking a go 😀 As cute as it was though, it was making the walking even harder. It would come right into our feet without any sense of self-preservation. It was distracting us from the road which for a little bit was great but the constant worry we might actually step on top of it or Nouh poking it with his trekking pole was making the hike even harder than it already was. After about 30min we happily saw him going back to Dharapani with a local who luckily lurked him into going back with him. One fluffy live obstacle was down 😀
A couple of hours into the trek we met one of the German guys we started the trek with 4 days ago. Sadly, he was waiting on a jeep to go back down. He was struck by a stomach bug and a severe headache and couldn’t continue any further. He was hoping to go back to Besisahar and take a jeep to Chame in a few days when he felt better. Then it struck me, so vividly and so painfully as I genuinely felt for the guy. Not everyone CAN and DOES make it to Thorong La Pass and to the end of the trek. Sadly, sh*t really does happen and often times we can’t control the situation to give ourselves the highest chance to make it till the end. A few days later we found out the guy had to fly back to Germany as he was only getting worse.
I and Nouh kept looking at each other for a few minutes after we wished the guy Good luck and headed on. We knew this could be us in a few days but we didn’t want to say it aloud. We stayed silent and kept on moving effortfully one trekking boot after the other trying to simulate we were stronger than we felt in that very moment.
The trail eventually got us back on the main road. This time though it was worth it. Massive rock formations were hanging right above our heads bringing some thrill into the monotonous trek that morning. We were looking up and around trying to get a full-frame view of the landscape and we were getting happy again. We were starting to forget the efforts fully appreciative that if it wasn’t for those same efforts, we’d be far down and away from these shockingly beautiful views. Just round the corner from one of the gigantic rocks, the trail opened up to one of the most unexpected, fastest running, literally on the side of the road waterfalls we had seen thus far. It was so close to the path and so rapid that as soon as we got slightly near it to continue on our way, we got pretty soaking wet by it but we loved it 😀 We were needing the cold shower to freshen us up! Right after the waterfall, my body froze for a second. A whole jeep of armed local men got off right next to us.
– “Who the hell are these people” – I wanted to whisper to Nouh but I kept silent. Luckily it turned out to be the local army who passed us by with their huge guns without saying a single word. I shook off the sudden fear that got me startled and exchanged a couple of looks with Nouh before moving on as if nothing had just happened.
The trek was uphill the majority of the way until Tranchok. This gorgeous, colourful, busy village was our stop for lunch. People here were active, they were running around doing their daily jobs. Men were carrying construction materials up and down the streets, women were working in the gardens, making food or catering for their little kiddos. We were starving but more than anything, we just wanted to put down the backpacks and get out of the boots.
A lovely smiley guy from Gaunchan Annapurna guesthouse & restaurant waved at us as soon as he figured we were scouting out for food. He rushed to set up an umbrella for us to sit outside and his lovely wife hurried up to make us fried rice and some pasta. In the guesthouse reception, I took a good look at myself in the mirror, the first in a couple of days. And what a difference 😀 My face had gone red – “Was it from exhaustion or have I actually sunburnt” – I couldn’t tell. My eyebrows had gone wild, they’d scream “Urgent maintenance required” if they could. I was looking rough. My hair was all over the place, already starting to go lighter from the sun, my eyes were still swollen … it was getting obvious I was already a few days into the hike. I gave myself a hilarious smile as I took one final look at myself (mirrors were a RARE find) and I went to rejoin with Nouh who had already put on his favourite Spotify hits on whilst waiting for his pasta to get ready.
My usual routine during the food prep was a mix of journaling and yoga. I took off my boots, put my feet up and started documenting the morning we had just had.
We got proper stuffed with what were the biggest portions we were ever served and headed onto Chame for the final push. Luckily this section of the hike was easy, no stairs or constant uphill. We passed by large apple gardens, even saw walnut trees and I didn’t even know they grow walnuts in Nepal. Every day sure had little something to surprise us with.
Nepal turned out to be huge on apples. The region around Chame was the first introduction to the huge amount of products the locals make from apples. Just before we got to Chame, we saw a little stall to the side of the trail in the middle of nowhere. Two kids and their mum were selling apples and dried apples. The girls were enthusiastic, literally screaming with a full voice “Apples, apples” until we got to the stall to find out what these cute young entrepreneurs were selling.
When I saw it was all wrapped up in plastic, my heart plummeted. I had promised myself to bye as little packaged food as possible whilst in the mountain but how was I supposed to explain to two these desperate kids that I didn’t want apples because I was thinking about my waste. I bought one packet of dried apples, learnt how to say Bye in Nepalese “TaTa”, smiled widely to the kids and their mum who were already ecstatic by their sale and headed off to find a place to stay in Chame.
As soon as we entered Chame we could tell it was one of the more touristy spots on the trail with a lot of people taking a jeep to Chame and starting the trek from here. Tourist shops were lined up from both sides of the main street, yet we seemed to be the only foreigners walking about. Every other house in Chame was a guesthouse. We had our fun reading the “creative” names of the Four Seasons, Shangri-la and guesthouses with similarly enticing names 😀 ! Don’t be fooled though, Shangri-la in Nepal has no touchpoints with the Hong Kong luxury hotel brand, apart from the innocently stolen name of course 😀
The guesthouse of choice was Eagle Eye Hotel. It was tucked away and despite the host’s lack of enthusiasm when she saw us, she gave us the nicest room she had and we even had access to a bathroom with a sink! “Why is this important?” – It isn’t really but it was the first place where they had actually heard of sinks and even had one installed so we noted the upgrade as soon as we realised that night at least we didn’t have to brush our teeth over the drain on the floor, or yet even more disgustingly the hole that served as a toilet 😀 So yeah, we noticed the sink and that was a big thing!!
The evening, as expected, was low key but also everything we wanted. I read my book, did some yoga, had the usual Dal Bhat, experienced our first power cut and were tucked up in bed by 8-9 pm to read up some more (the mountain bedtime 😀 ).
Daily Costs
- Room – Free
- Boiled eggs – RS 250 (they’re getting more and more expensive 😀 )
- Veg egg friend rice – RS 380
- Dal Bhat – RS 550
- Dried apples from the kiddos – RS 100
Day 4 Tips/ Takeaways
- Carry a small lunch box with you to pack any leftover fried rice (the only portion that genuinely comes HUGE most times) or to bring food in case you decide to power through and not have a sit-down lunch.
- Stay focused! Don’t let your mind wander … there’re too many places you can trip over and injure yourself.
- Believe in your gear and that you can push through regardless of the exhaustion. Sure your bag can break and your boots can rip but you don’t think about that when you’re in the mountains.
- Enjoy it and stay present! Namaste 🙂
Day 4 Gallery
