Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Nov 18-Running Out Of Adjectives

Morning O2 Sat-96%!

Slept pretty good! No middle of the night gasping for air! Up at about 6:00 (awake for a bit at 4:45 because John and Sean were talking-the walls are very thin). 

BB and Tukman preparing the bags. 

Breakfast of oat porridge with muesli, peanut butter and jelly chapati, and hot chocolate. 

This morning we started hiking about 8:40. Heather, Sean, and I started out nice and slow. 



View from the bridge. 

Just sitting on the trail, greeting us as we go by. Namaste puppy dog!

We arrived at this meadow. 

Sean, the photo bomber. Langtang 2 in the background. 


The hiking was not too steep. The views were spectacular!



The sun starting to peek over the mountains. 

We arrived at the first teahouse called Tibetan Hotel. We took a little break in the sunshine. It is quite cold in the shade, but quite warm in the sun!

Tibetan Hotel. 

A peek of the peak. 

We continued our stroll. It really was a stroll because there was just so much beauty to see! Then there were these yak/cow (not full yak, not full cow). 





Baby

Now, this one, we think is a yak (but maybe a water buffalo).

Soon we came to the teahouse/hotel where we had lunch. 

Our bags

The boss lady of the hotel

Two Nepali women with some yak jerky hanging behind. 

Lunch is served! Today I had fried rice. 

The mules from yesterday, heading back down!

After lunch we continued on to Langtang. Along the way we passed several more tea houses. But the best one was the Peaceful Bakery. Of course, I had to stop!





There’s Makaela!







My chocolate donut. 

Photo courtesy of Makaela. Notice I am wearing just a thin wool base layer. It is so warm in the sun. 

Donut with a view!

Moseying on, we were getting views of Langtang Village. 



That’s Langtang in the distance. 

Dung (probably yak) drying. It is used for fuel. 

Makaela crossing the stream. 

Looking back to the previous tea house. 

Always walk to the left of these rock temples. 

Makaela cresting the last hill before Langtang. 

Langtang Village. In 2015 there was a major earthquake centered in Langtang. The village was completely destroyed, except for one building. In the past 7 years the village has been rebuilt in a slightly different location. So, everything here is new.

The green building is our hotel/teahouse. 

This is the only structure to survive the earthquake. 

More village (definitely gonna checkout the Himalayan Bakery).

Where the vegetation is is where the village used to be. 

Looking back to the valley we came from. The clouds are rolling in, as it seems to do each night. By morning, it is clear blue skies. 

Makaela and I got lucky. Our room has its own bathroom and shower! And it was hot! I was also able to do some laundry. 

Japanese Shinto monks praying. This is a Stupa in memory of those who perished in the earthquake. More than 500 people died (about 250 were local villagers).

Mountain horse (outstanding in its field).

More clouds rolling in as the sun sets. 

We are going to take an “acclimation day” tomorrow here in Langtang. Some of the group are not feeling so great. I, on the other hand, feel great (knock on wood…seriously, I just knocked on the wooden table here in the teahouse). My O2 Sats at the end of today were 92%! We are at 11,200 ft. So far, I have not taken any altitude medicine. I’m going to see how I do tonight, sleeping. 

We have ordered our dinners (tonight I’m having a double cheese omelet and fried potatoes).

Today was a good day! None of it is easy, but it is all doable. I’m having a great time! 

















Nov 17-Trekking the Mule Highway

O2 Sats this morning: 95%
It was a wee bit colder this morning, but not too bad. We packed our bags before breakfast so the porters could load them up and get going. 


Today, for breakfast, I had Tsampa Porridge and Chapati with jam and honey. Of course, I had hot chocolate too. I told Bhola (he takes our food orders) that by the end he would just automatically order me hot chocolate!

I took a couple more photos before we headed out. 

Tiny shoes and a big river. 

The water source. It doesn’t come from the Langtang River, but we still treat it. 

Pretty soon we heard some bells. 

Mules heading up with various supplies. This is how everything gets to the tea houses and villages. 

See the gas canisters?

We started hiking about 8:45. 

See the mules?

Heading mostly up today. 

Suspension bridge. 

Jeff. 

Not long after the bridge, we passed the mules grazing just off the trail. Before long, we could hear them coming. 

Saw this one multiple times. 

We arrived at the Rimche teahouse, and spent about an hour hanging out. 

The sign said we had come 10km since yesterday morning. 

The view from Rimche. 

Heather chillin’

The rest of the group. 

Little peppers. 

From Rimche, we continued on to Lama Hotel. 

We thought we might stay here, but instead we just had lunch. 

The village. 

Surrounded by mountains. 

We had about another 1000 feet of elevation to get to Woodland Hotel. It was pretty much all climbing. 

Going up the gray rock trail. 

Pretty spectacular views! Getting closer to those snowy peaks. 

Napali Billboard! “Only 10 minutes from here”

We went by another teahouse called Riverside. It wasn’t too inviting. We were all glad we were going to Woodland. 



Makaela and my room. 

It’s pretty chilly here. We are all congregated in the tea house with a wood stove blasting. Everyone is progressively removing jackets and long sleeve layers. 

Earlier, before it was boiling hot. 

It was a good day today. I felt good, even though I am the slowest. My O2 sats at the end of today at 9100feet of elevation are 85% (but it feels higher).