Nepal (1981) Part 4

Sister carries younger brother outside tea shop

2 February 1981
Sagar Schoolyard

Today is Monday and we've now been on the trail for 8 days.  Both Ingrid and I are in fairly good condition, health and spirits.  We have no trouble now completing the day's hike and still feel fine in the evening.  I am still bothered slightly by a nagging sore throat and Ingrid's knees give her some trouble.  And I still have some small fears about the altitude and the cold as we progress.

Saturday afternoon we made a long traverse and gradual descent to Mali.  The walk was on a dirt trail along an undulating ridge top that reminded me of the hills near El Sobrante in the summer.

Nepali children at Mali

Burning fields near Mali.

As we descended, we passed one village where they were fertilizing the fields.  They gathered all of the left over weeds and dried crop stumps and dung into piles and set them afire.  The piles mostly smoldered -- with many burning the whole field was smoky and with the people busy gathering more piles and the sun low in the sky the whole operation reminded me of some autumnal rite.

Nancy Jo, Ingrid, and Woody on the way to Mali.

In Mali, we stayed on a broad flat field.  The late afternoon was windy and cold -- after sunset the wind died down and it became more pleasant.  Our dinner this night was the last with Kerin as cook and it was a lousy one: mashed potatoes, overboiled noodles, cauliflower and a cheesy sauce.  The next day, Kerin was replaced by Lhakpa Tenzing's usual cook, Ung Tharkey, who had been unable to meet us early on because the Lukla airport was snowed in.

Porters crossing the bridge to Kenja.

Sunday was a relatively easy hiking day.  We descended to the river from Mali, crossed a bridge at 5800 feet and bought biscuits from a small shop.  Here, we rejoined the main trail.  We climbed a few thousand feet before lunch.  At first, the way was steep, but it soon turned to a gradually climbing traverse.

Glenn visits with Nepali children at lunch stop.

Our lunch stop was at a tea shop that was most interesting.  The house was made of wood instead of the stone and mud we usually find.  In the yard was a picnic table and benches -- most pleasant!  There were several small kids about.  They had a 4-month old water buffalo and a nanny goat that had just that morning given birth to two kids.

In the afternoon, about half the group went to Thodung, a cheese factory at 10,150 feet elevation.  We instead headed directly for our stop at Bhandar (Changma).  First we ascended to an 8900 foot pass.  At the top was a tremendous set of mani walls and good views back to Timsang Lo and forward to Lumjore La.  There was a small hotel there, Hotel Mane, and inside were 6 or 8 people, apparently just back from a wedding, drunk on Rakshi and singing out of tune.

Stupas at Bhandar

Our descent was slow and pleasant to Bhandar.  We stopped at a monastery/gompa with two handsome stupas.  We also stopped at a woodcarver's shop.  Lhakpa Tenzing bought an attractive rakshi bottle for 40 rupees here.  At camp, we visited the porters' night spot.  Ten or so were upstairs in a dark building preparing their dinners.  For most, the fare was spicy greens boiled and a pasty dough made by mixing flour in boiling water.

In a kitchen in Shiulaya

Our dinner included fried chicken, tough as I imagine jackrabbit to be.

Today was a similar hiking day to yesterday.  We descended the bridge below Bhandar to the river, followed it to its confluence, crossed, then traversed upstream for about 90 minutes to a small town.  We washed clothes and lunched by the stream.  In town, Ingrid and I bought 500 g of hard candies (20 rupees) and saw three women grinding some yellowish grain (corn?).  While two women lifted and dropped the mortar with their feet, the third scooped up the flour into a woven basket and sifted it in a similar manner to gold panning.

After lunch, we ascended very steeply (but also rapidly, as we are getting much stronger) about 2700 feet.  We did the lion's share of the climb in about 1.5 hours.

Bill on the trail, Sagar in the background.

Our campsite is in the schoolyard of a village called Sagar.  This is the site of one of the schools that Sir Edmund Hillary built.  Also in town are a stupa and gompa with two big prayer wheels and some nice paintings.

When the clouds lift, there are excellent views of some of the peaks NNE of here.  I took some photos of them at sunset.  There was also a brush fire burning out of control on the hillside, covering a few acres, perhaps.

Before and during dinner, we played Scrabble.  We ate in one room of the school house (not Hillary's building -- it was locked).  The temperature at 8 PM was about 32 °F and, as is typically the case, there was neither wind nor clouds once the sun set.  The moon is very nearly new.