Change of Plans #2

After a short stint on the Langtang section of the GHT route we returned back to Kathmandu. It was necessary that the team leave the trail. No need to get into the nitty gritty on here. The two of us still had a desire to continue hiking and knew that in order to do so safely it would be best to head back to Kathmandu. So 5 of us plus 2 porters crammed in to a Bolero camper jeep.

We jeeped down from Kyansin in one long day. Bouncing our way through the mud and beautiful country side. We passed kids herding their family goats and water buffalo while winding our way through terraced fields that covered entire mountain sides.

After 3 1/2 hours we emerged on the road we had come in on. Soon after the downpour of the monsoon hit. The roads began to flood and the rivers turned red. When the rain got too we heavy we pulled off at a little cafe so the driver could eat.

Once it eased we finished the final drive to Kathmandu. Squished in the front next to the driver, the two of us were gripped as he passed every vehicle on the road. We have become more accustomed to the chaos of the roads in Nepal, but still can’t help but feel our hearts skip when we pass large trucks and buses around a corner.

Once back safe in Kathmandu we discussed plans. The group decided not to get permits for the peak in the far west so we started devising a plan to hike the upper Dolpo section of the GHT. There’s a few reasons as to why we want to hike this section out of all the others. One, is that it is west of the Annapurna range which is the start of the rain shadow. This greatly reduces precipitation during monsoon season, although not completely. The other reason being that it is another more seldom traveled region with high passes and beautiful lakes. One that we had all been dreaming about since the beginning.

The plan is to fly from Kathmandu to Jomsom then hit the trail in Kagbeni. We will be on the trail around 30 to 35 days hiking west towards Simikot. Once we reach Simikot we will fly back to Kathmandu hopefully in time to catch our flights home. You will be able to keep following us with a GPS link, it will just be under a different link name.

We intend to continue retro posting when we can. There are a lot of fun Kathmandu adventures we are excited to share! The city that initially seemed so wild and rough has started to feel like home. Our new friends here have done so much to share this beautiful country with us and we can’t thank them enough.