With Views This Good, You Can’t Chhomrong

Today’s route: Chhomrong to Dovan

Starting elevation: 7,598ft
Finish elevation:  8,202ft
Ascent: 4.074ft, Descent: 3,254ft
Fitbit active zone minutes: 75 (seriously, FitBit, that’s it??)
(Mis)Quote of the day: “Are your back teats floating?” – Rachael (enquiring as to how desperate my need for a wee was)

Not gonna lie.  Today was tough.  My cold has well and truly kicked in and is kicking. my. ass.  I also had a pretty crappy night’s sleep because of dogs barking and cockerels crowing at 3am woke me up and I then struggled to get back to sleep.  On the bright side, it did mean I was up well in time to enjoy the incredible sunrise over Machapuchre (the local name for the Fishtail Mountain) and Annapurna South.  I always thought that photographers sounded a bit up their own arse when they’d talk about the Quality of the Light and How It Can Shift From Minute to Minute – but its actually true!  It was amazing to see how the shadows evolved in depth and color and how the top of Annapurna South burned brilliant gold.

We set off around 8am for the day’s hiking to Dovan.  Honestly, most of the day is a bit of a blur as I was pretty spacey and just focused on putting one foot in front of the other.  I was so out of it I forgot to strip my pillowcase cover off the bed – so I guess I’ll be using my silk sleeping bag liner as a pillowcase from now on in.  I guess I wasn’t the only one struggling today as Kerry later mentioned that she’d mistakenly used moisturizer as toothpaste this morning.  Apparently not to be recommended.

We first had a long descent down through the rest of Chhomrong, passing lots of picturesque rice and corn terraces, populated with lots of friendly locals who would say “Namaste” you as you went past.  We walked past the Chhomrong Khola (no, Loopy, not koala) and took some time to give the prayer wheels a spin Finally we got to the bottom of the valley and the river where we encountered our first suspension bridge.  Apparently Aqua is not a fan of heights so this bridge was a bit of a challenge for her – so she went first, along with Sandip providing somewhat underwhelming encouragement (“You are doing reasonably OK”).  But she crushed it and the rest of us soon followed safely to the other side.

Then it was time to “ascending, ascending” up the other side of the valley, passing through the villages of Upper and Lower Siwa through gorgeous rhododendron forests.  The trees are old and gnarly-looking, draped in moss, and festooned with brilliant red flowers.  I spent most of the time at the back of the group – partly because I kept stopping to take pictures, but mainly because I needed to take it super slow cos I was feeling so crappy with a killer headache for most of the day. It was probably for the best that I stayed at the back as I really didn’t want to get the rest of the ladies sick – I’m already a bit stressed that I might be getting my roomie, Alison, sick.  It was also pretty hot for most of our hike which didn’t help things.  Hiking with a sweaty crotch is the worst.  The trail itself isn’t actually all that bad – I’ve hiked far worse trails (looking at you, Isle Royale) and if I wasn’t feeling so weak and poopy, I probably would be bounding along like a boss.  Then again – altitude.  So maybe not.  All I know is that today the Iburamin had certainly got its work cut out for it – and I’m pretty sure I’ve probably overdosed on ibuprofen at this point.

After what seemed like an interminable amount of time, we finally reached our lunch destination of Bamboo where I had egg vegetable fried rice which was actually half decent.  I’ve had very little appetite this whole trip so far – and the food, as you’d expect, is very heavy on the carbs – think pasta, rice, potatoes.  Very little protein as we are not advised to eat meat on the trail (I’m already dreaming about a big fat burger when I get home).

Learning for today – Liquid IV hydration powders do not mix well.  Do not through a sachet of lemon and lime into your peach remnants and then expect it to taste good.  As a further lesson, do not then use said hydration liquid to wet your toothbrush and toothpaste.  It is not an acceptable flavor sensation. and lemon lime do not mix.  After lunch, we continued our way through the forest, ascending and descending, and crossed several rivers on a number of bridges of various rustic designs.  One exciting moment – we saw an alpha male Himalayan langur in the forest, just off to our left.  We couldn’t see him super well, but it is considered a holy animal, so we took that as a sign of good luck and that maybe, just maybe, our final destination of Dovan was within reach.

And suddenly – there is was!  I had made it alive and relatively unscathed!  My reward – a searingly hot shower where I could scrub all the muck and dust off and steam out my nasal passages.  It was amazing.  A transcendent washroom experience.  That’s one of the things I love about traveling – particularly camping and hiking – it really resets you to appreciate the small luxuries – like a hot shower after a hard day’s hike or a toilet that has a seat.   I did manage to drop my precious roll of TP onto the bathroom floor as I was sitting on the pot, after my shower, turning the outer third into mush, but I’m sure the tea house will sell me a roll for 300 rupees (everything here costs either 200 or 300 rupees).

Another win – potatoes and custard for dinner.

And that was it for today.  Tomorrow is another fairly challenging day – trekking from Dovan to Machupichure Base Camp. Getting closer to Annapurna Base Camp!