22.10.09 (Noreturnday)

Jagat-Dharapani (2000 m.)

Too deep in the mountains; back-trekking home, any one? Only way out is forward……so we walk until we drop

We are deep in the mountains now. It is absurdity of the first degree to now think of giving up and back-trekking home! Keok and Weng were the first to say yah, so true lah!

Again we trekked along the trail winding in and out of steep slopes but generally along the Marsyangdi River. And again we came across parts that collapsed into the river and had to made detours. Otherwise this part of the journey was relatively easy.

Mule A to mule B, “You fool, don’t you kiss my behind!”

Groves of lushly green pine trees begin to appear along the higher slopes above 2000m. The river valley here had become narrower and down in the river basin there laid giant boulders of all shapes, fallen from surrounding cliffs and slopes. The obstructed Marsyangdi continued to roar, surging and tumbling over massive rocks one after another.

The Marsyangdi tumbles over rocks

“I will bring you down” the river says

Trekkers’ bags in a row

At around noon, we suddenly discovered that the river had stopped roaring. From far we saw it again then flowing quietly over a flat and broad basin in braided channels between what looked from far like fluffy snow, but were actually shoals of shingles and islands of white pebbles.

Snow or ice or shoals of shingles and white pebbles?

On both sides there remained those sky-scrapping dark rock-faces rising vertically to block out sunlight.

Flanked by towering cliffs

Boulders stacked by the river

As we approached Tal, we descended into the river basin and reached some tea-houses sitting on the right bank for lunch. Tal is built on a sandy bank. There are farms and isolated homes at the foot of slender waterfalls hanging like ribbons that touched down to form creeks flowing out to the river.

Ribbon-like falls at Tal

This settlement has the ambience of an old village which has been in existence for millenniums, unaffected by monsoon floods.

Weird structures on the other side of Tal

River stones are well washed with many eroded into oval round shapes; a lot of which have been taken out and stacked into stone walls stretching along our path.

Horses behind a wall of rocks

This river basin is probably on a glacial trough ending at a narrow gorge of extremely resistant bedrocks. In this trough there sat a lost giant glacier. The melting away of that glacier and probably, other subsequent glaciers, had left behind huge amounts of moraines filling up this glacial trough. Then over billions of years rivers and seasonal floods probably had deposited large amounts sediment and debris to build a plain surface as it is today. Now over this broad plain the Marsyangdi splits into multiple channels. Today even during the height of the annual monsoon floods when the water could rise to reach its banks, the settlement and the farm land around remain dry and safe.

After lunch we resumed our walk on rocks piled along the river and the sheer cliffs flanking it until we came to a hanging bridge.

Closer to the Abode of Snow

Misty heaven and solid earth

After crossing that bridge we were again on the familiar pavement of earth and stone slabs until we came into Dharaphani with Mt. Manusla and Mt Ngadi Chuli watching us from behind amidst some peaks and crests on top of early autumn foliage.

In Dharaphani with internet facilities many of us took the opportunity to email home. It didn’t bother me for I just didn’t want to hear anything from home or my office; I just want to be isolated and left alone in these mountains. After all I have always felt I belong to hills and forests ever since I was a kid. I was born in a rubber plantation and I worked as a rubber taper until my college days.

Just you and me feeling sleepy in the cold

Despite being told that hot water would be readily available we are again unable to find any for a much-needed bath after long hours of strenuous walk. We are smelly. Thus some of us are a little bit annoyed that our guides Sundra and Sherpa Roshan have not told us truthfully about the lack of hot water.

So far we have not run short of any supplies. Apparently the girls have many goodies hidden in their bags. At meal times they even offered hot and spicy anchovies and shredded dry meat to go with our bland food. Now and then they still pull out nuts and chocolate bars for energy. I am beginning to wonder what else they don’t have in their bags. I have brought with me no food but quite some USD instead.

It looks like we are all so well-prepared to cross the Thorung La at 5416 m. days later.

I have been told that Annapurna Circuit Trek in Nepal is recognized as a world heritage for the surrounding snow-covered mountains and the presence of village dwellings and tea-houses along the way. They are unique features that cannot be found in other countries. No wonder we have to pay so much just to keep walking!

So far none of us has dropped out. We are all on!