Hongon > Yangle Kharka

We started the morning with a series of emotions ranging from nervousness, joy, sadness, and excitement.

-Nervous, because we recently learned 2 groups ahead of us had to turn around up high because of too much snow. Not to mention 2 previous GHT hikers had to helicopter out when they couldn’t find their way through the jungle in previous years.

-Joy because we had a sweet farewell playing with the kids and receiving khada blessings from Nima Lama.

-Sadness because we had to say goodbye to Tony as he was venturing south to get a jeep.

-Excitement because the trail ahead was going to be a great adventure through one of the least travelled sections of the entire trail.

Pemba had wrangled two Hongon locals to porter some of the group’s load for us. They also had experience going over this next section which helped our navigation confidence. After news spread through the village about the other trekking groups turning around because of snow, these were the only porters willing to take on the mission.

Mingma Sherpa, a small middle aged man with a wiry build, was profusely friendly when we met him. He shook all of our hands repeatedly saying Namaste more than we could count. Norbu Sherpa, who appeared fit, strong, and around 20 years old, but looked like he just woke up 15 minutes before and took the job. He emerged from the bottom floor of the guest house with an old rice bag stuffed with a few belongings, then strapped it to the duffel bag , and we were off.

Day 1

As we followed the villages water supply line up over the hill, we lost view of Hongon. After a short section of road we dropped into the jungle on an overgrown path. Luckily we could see the pass up to Mulan Pokhari, providing us some direction. Right away it became clear that Mingma was an experienced bushman. He would take the lead and use his Khukuri (Nepali machete like knife) clearing limbs and bushes.

Norbu pulled out a bottle of chyang (rice beer) during our second break and we realized that was the only sustenance he had brought for the entire 5 days. Once we arrived to the kharka we also discovered they hadn’t brought any shelter. This was Norbu’s first time doing a porter job but Mingma had experience so the group assumed he knew better. Also, they he had both done this trail before. Our group was likely going to be short on food, as we had figured 4 days for this section, but now expected at least 5 due to snow, so we couldn’t scrounge much. They decided to hike back to Hongon that evening leaving around 5 and getting back by 9 with more food and a tarp. We took it as a good omen that we had not seen our German friend, Matisse, coming back down because of snow conditions so we planned to be on the trail by 7am.

Day 2

We didn’t encounter any real snow until a few hundred feet below Mulan Pokhari (Pokhari meaning lake). We were lucky that the snow was soft enough to kick good steps, but not too soft to where we had to post hole.

First we had to get around the lake safely, then it was another few thousand feet up to the pass. Nearly the entire day was spent on snow from the lake on. On the other side of the pass we quickly dropped several thousand feet glissading on the soft snow down what would have made some great ski runs. The snow line reached all the way down to the river and we found a kharka just downstream out of the snow.

Day 3

The morning was peaceful, with a beautiful view of the moon setting over the mountains. The peace was soon interrupted by a trail that turned into an obstacle course of Rhododendron and bamboo. Our snowshoes that we strapped to our packs were constantly getting caught in branches. The snow had just melted and slippery bamboo sticks covered the trail for most of the day. Mingma was in front and was slashing through what he could, but much of the time it was quicker just to push through.

This section was the same area that 2 other GHT hikers had previously been so lost they had to call for a helicopter. We trusted Mingma and Norbu when they lead us way up the valley away from where we were told a bridge might be. It was 2 hours of extra hiking but they said the bridge had been washed out and the only way across was at the head of the valley.

We reached the source of the river in a beautiful big valley with a delicate clear icy blue stream and a giant waterfall. This clearing is where the helicopter picked up the previous lost trekkers. The trail continued to require some crawling and climbing, but the cut marks on trees kept us on a general path only losing the trail for a few moments. We expected the trail back down the valley to be very difficult and hard to follow and couldn’t quite fathom how others had been so lost before.

We crossed a slippery log across a raging stream and started our climb towards cave camp in a light drizzle. Our porters feared the camp we were looking for would be buried in snow. As the trail turned into a snow filled gully that was clearly an avalanche path we had to start thinking about alternative camping options.

Tom was drawn to an overhang on the cliff which ended up being cave camp. It was protected by rockfall and had some flat snowy spots so Tanner and ourselves pitched our tents there. The porters and Matt spotted a large boulder out of the snow and few hundred feet up. It had a decent overhang so Matt, Mike and the two porters decided to stay under it together.

Day 4

An 8 am start had been decided so the snow had a little time to soften. When we hiked up to the boulder we learned a few things. First, was that Norbu’s name was in fact Nupu and he hadn’t corrected us for all 3 days before! Second, was Mike and Matt had dubbed their new spot the hell kharka due to their inadequate and tight sleeping quarters. We hiked up steep snow for over 3,000 ft to a ridge. As we neared the ridge we entered the clouds and it was nearly a white out. The trail appeared on the other side without any snow briefly giving us hope, but soon after we were back in all snow. Due to lack of visibility the porters stopped and said they no longer knew the way. Tom pulled out the GPS and found a track. The goal was to stay near the trail, but also to avoid steep topo lines because we didn’t have any proper snow gear, and the porters were in their gold rubber boots.

Kicking steps and switchbacking up the slope it turned steeper than anything we had encountered yet. As snow started to fall and thunder started getting closer we began to worry. There was nowhere good to pitch a quick camp, and we weren’t very excited about back tracking. The map showed us being very close to the pass, but it lead to a final very steep snow slope below a rock face. We pushed over it and emerged between khadas and prayer flags. Everyone thankfully made it safely through and after quick deliberation we decided to head down the now visible trail.

We felt very lucky the storm hadn’t strengthened and seemed to move on. We went up and down over a few more small saddles with decent weather. Kalo Pokhari finally came into view. A snow and ice covered lake in a gorgeous cirque surrounded by craggy peaks. As soon as we got near the lake the snow began to fall heavy and wet. Due to weather and unknowns about water at the next kharka we decided to set up camp. The porters said they would find a cave.

Day 5

We awoke to clearer skies, shaking snow off the tent and trying to dry out some gear. At this point we had been wearing wet boots and socks for 4 days straight. They were frozen solid so once they were on we wanted to keep moving to keep our toes warm. Our struggle felt like nothing compared to the porters. They had failed to find a decent cave and turned down the offer to bunk up with the other guys in their tents. They eventually decided to lay a tarp over some Rhododendrons and somehow they survived the night in the snow, amazing us with their ability to start a fire in such conditions. The amount of resiliency and toughness in these guys is incredible.

We climbed 1,000 or so feet up to the next ridge spotting a few Danfe, Himalayan Pheasant with beautiful peacock like feathers, along the way. Once we reached the ridge we were discouraged by what we saw. The trail was a few hundred feet below, but the only way down was through a series of steep couloirs either filled with snow or rock. We assessed other options, but once the porters arrived they made it clear the only way was down the first snowy couloir.

Tom went down first to make sure conditions were soft enough and to make sure we could traverse back over to the trail at the bottom. During his descent he broke through a soft spot of snow falling awkwardly and losing his Nalgene bottle but otherwise unscathed. The slope was nearly 50 degrees and was a definite no fall zone. We were all wishing for our crampons and ice axes at this point. Everyone safely descended and we found our way across the valley to the next ridge. We got the feeling this trail was not going to be done with us though, around every corner it seemed to get harder.

After reaching our high point we actually found some section of uncovered trail. After a few steep steps we were out of the snow. Finally reaching a nice kharka and the first structure we had seen in days we. From here the porters said it would be 4 or 5 hours to Yangle Kharka which would get us there just before dark so we pushed on. We descended quickly through a luscious PNW like forest to the river that flows out of Makalu’s glaciers. Then we worked our way upstream to Yangle Kharka.

The trail was not done with us yet though. We hiked parallel to a 4 foot wide trekking trail across the river while the trail under our feet was literally starting to crumble. We began encountering landslides dropping straight into the raging river. Eventually we were jumping across steep loose water runnels and grabbing on to vegetation to stop from sliding down. Mingma was doing his best to make it safe, but his over zealous desire to help led him to grabbing Mike’s hand and launching him into the landslide bank. Mike coined the nickname for him, “Mr. Muscles.”With bloody knees and knuckles, Mike caught up to us. Mingma stated “one more danger section.” Luckily he was right, and once we passed it we met up with the main Makalu trekking route.

When we finally arrived to Yangle Kharka we were stunned by the number of people. There were 8 tents, including a mess tent lined up in front of the guest house with a large group of Brit’s coming back from Makalu Base Camp. Then another group of 6 Czech’s who were planning to do the same passes we were heading towards. Thankfully Gombu Sherpa, who has been helping with resupply movements, was there to greet us. It was nice to see his smiling face and to have him help us navigate the busy scene and get us a room and tea.