There were several groups of trekkers in front of the teahouse when we took our daily photograph at 8:00am and a couple of the men laughed when they realized what we were doing and said it was a good idea. Taking a photo at the beginning of our day is helping me keep track of which photos were taken on what day. It also helps document which teahouse we stayed at the previous night.
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| Day 7 |
Manang was dirty and there were only a few people wandering aimlessly out on the windswept streets. It had the atmosphere of a place that had partied too hard the night before and was still hung-over and trying to shake away the cobwebs. The blindingly bright sunlight and the squinting, blinking eyes of a few passerby added to this feeling. Indeed, Manang is known for its drinking and partying and we had passed several trekkers who had booze stashed away in their packs that the porters were carrying for them. For some reason, the alcohol flows in Manang. This is an unwise indulgence, however, because the alcohol at such a high altitude is not at all healthy for the body.
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| Main street of Manang. |
We passed the now silent movie theater that had chalk-written advertisements displayed for its current showings: "Into the Wild," "Into Thin Air," "Seven Years in Tibet," and "Slumdog Millionaire" and then we headed into Old Manang. This section of the town is more residential, built close together, and feels cramped. Two people cannot walk abreast down the narrow passageways. It was difficult enough for us to walk single file in some sections, because snowdrifts had accumulated in some dark shadowy sections. Gray stone walls lined the paths and merged with washed-out stone and wood beam buildings. The overall feeling of this part of town was one of antiquity.
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| "Way to Thorong La" |
Signs led us through a winding course, out of the town, and up a steeply sloped hill that, once summited, provided sweeping views of Manang, the mountains, and an exceedingly blue-green, glacier-melt fed lake. This lake is a destination for trekkers staying in Manang for a few days of acclimation. Sam and I decided to not stay a second day in party-town to acclimate, since we took the Upper Pisang route and slept up in Ngawal. The guidebooks say that should be enough acclimation.
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| Manang |
At 10:15am, we arrived at Gunsang and discovered a large group of trekkers standing in the trail putting on packs and jackets in preparation to leave. There was also a line of packs sitting along a stone bench on one side of the trail – their owners presumably at the teahouse opposite the trail. I am always surprised to see these large groups: we don’t see them on the trail, so they must be walking along the road and only joining the trail when they need to rest or eat. I can’t imagine how that is a very satisfying trek of such a terrific and historic route, but to each their own, and it means I usually have the trail to myself (and Sam). Anyway, I waited my turn and used the three-stall outhouse toilet and Sam and I were on our way again. Gunsang isn’t much of a village, mostly just a couple of teahouses, so we were quickly away from the crowds.
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| How about that lunchtime view? |
We left at the same time a Nepali family was traveling through and we followed along behind them. There were three adults, a very tired looking black dog, and a donkey carrying packages and a small human rider. The chubby little sun-browned child even had a bit of rope that was occasionally used to harmlessly swat the sedate donkey on its flank as it was led along by one of the adult men. We had to wait for several minutes while the group maneuvered across a suspension bridge, the donkey not fitting easily with its load, and then we all took a break on the other side of the creek.
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| Yak Attack! |
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| Gunsang can be seen on the trail in the middle of the photo. |
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| Impressive hanging ice shelves. |
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| See my friend? |
When noon rolled around, we knew we were approaching Yak Kharka by the presence of yaks. They loafed about in groups or alone and seemed rather indolent and unfazed by our presence, though they eyed the overheated and exhausted black dog with mutual wariness.
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| Cooling in the river. |
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| Yaks on parade. |
At 12:15pm we selected a teahouse with a couple of picnic benches on a stone patio in the sun, but out of the wind. It offered views of the mountains and was right off the trail so we could people watch as well. I removed my shoes and socks and put on my comfy gel flip-flops that I usually only wear in the evenings and while I’m showering. My little toe is swollen, so I was hoping the fresh air and freedom from sock containment would ease the throbbing. We took our time eating dal bhat, while we discussed how we felt with the altitude, whether we thought we could go higher that day, and then, since we were the only customers, stretched out on each side of the bench to lie in the sun. I covered my face with my hat, because the light was intense, and napped while listening to the caw of some strange black birds swirling high overhead. An hour later, I sat up and realized my feet were burned! They were the only exposed part of my body that didn’t have sunscreen, and were very red. Poor feet. I gingerly put my socks and shoes back on, we reapplied sunscreen to our faces, necks, and hands, and, naptime being over, resumed our trek.
As it turned out, the family we had been following also resumed their journey from a rest-stop further ahead of us, so we followed them again, only a little behind than previously, so the dog was on its own for shade. It felt strange to be hiking under a blazing hot sun with a bitterly cold wind swirling about us. The two did not cancel each other out, but joined forces to make the trek rather unpleasant. Fortunately, the scenery more than made up for the inhospitable nature of the area and we even saw a herd of Bharal, or Himalayan Blue Sheep, up on the hillside to our right.
It was only a 45-minute hike to our stopping point for the day: it might seem odd that we are only trekking until 2:00pm, but at this altitude, we’re only supposed to travel a small amount each day so our bodies can better adjust to the elevation change. Ledar is actually separated into three chunks of buildings, with a short span of trail between each of them. I don’t know why they are spread out this way. Maybe, certain teahouse owners didn’t like each other, or maybe land slides wiped out sections of the original village. Whatever the reason, we hiked through the first chunk, and stopped at the teahouse in the middle chunk; the family we were following continued on to the third.
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| Look closely to see the three sections of Ledar. |
After our unpacking tasks were completed and we’d had a rest, Sam and I took a walk up past the third chunk, waving to the family as we passed them, and up to a high point where we could see more bharal on the hillside. There were a great many of them, but it was difficult to get a decent photo, because they were far away and moved quickly. We watched the sun set, prematurely, behind the mountains and it grew cold very fast. It was only about 4:00pm, but the mountains are so close and so steep here that the sun is obscured rather earlier than one would expect. We spent some time up on the trail, because I was trying to get my body used to the elevation gain, so sleeping back down the trail would possibly simulate the “climb high, sleep low” adage. I don’t think it was enough time, but it was the best I could do with the amount of energy I had.
The cold chased us back to our ground floor, no heating, no electricity, stone room where we sat in our sleeping bags, on our beds, and looked out the large window. We had a view of the trail and the stone two-stall outhouse. It was fun to watch the yaks slowly walk past our window, so close we could have reached out the window and touched them, with their swishing broom tails and grunting “mmm” noises. Someone in the room above us played a harmonica for an hour or so and all was peaceful. I was too cold to get out of my bag to go to dinner and I wasn’t hungry, but I forced myself to gnaw on a snicker bar. It was frozen.
Data
Starting elevation: 11,545ft
Ending elevation: 13,780ft
Distance: 7 miles
Weather: variable
