March 9 2020
So we left off with me taking Grover off to assess my decision making. One thing for sure is Grover needs to go on a diet , but there is nothing I can do about that at this time. Typically on a hard trek you would leave the heavy stuff behind and go minimal. This was rated moderate so I am carrying laptop, heavy book, back up bars for the big Trek, extra batteries….. A lot of extra stuff.
When I think of moderate I think of Blue trail, not black diamond. Maybe it starts out black diamond and turns into a blue trail. An hour in and these stairs are kicking my ass. As I am taking a break, 3 nepalese men come walking up and start chatting with me in pretty good broken English. They become my cheer leaders for the rest of the stairs, another hour. The distraction was helpful and got me out of my head.
Today is a holiday they tell me. Holi day. I didn’t get it at first, Holi is a goddess and today is the day to celebrate her. So they wish me a happy Holi day. Long version short it is a hindu festival day to celebrate the victory of good over evil, the return of spring after winter. A day of spreading happiness and love.
And how do they celebrate? By covering each other and passers by with colored pigment. Water guns and balloons are a big part of the celebration. The kids get really into it.
We reach the top of the steps at a food stand and like any good Nepali boy/man they try to pursued me to sit and eat with them. I decline and thank them but have to push on. The thing about Nepalese men is they will make every effort for you to stay in their company as long as possible but respect a No and graciously part with a Namaste and well wishes that feel genuine.
Standing in the middle of a terraced rice field I can barely see over each terrace never mind see the top so I just start trudging until I am dropped onto a road that snakes up to the top of this ridge with Nepalese farms and homes scattered about. I start up the hill and admire the farms terraced into the mountain side. Goats, cows, chickens, water buffalo, dogs, and fields of rice, Bok Choy, Barley, and corn cover the exposed land.
A moped now and again passes with a few people on board wishing me Happy Holi day!! I am 3 hours in to a 6 hour trek but to my calculations I have only covered 2 of the 6 hours. I am already so tired but my spirits have been lifted walking through this village being welcomed with a namaste by those near and far who look up to notice me. At one point I take off my pack and sit on one of these terrace steps and take it all in.
I get back to climbing the village disappears and I am surrounded by a high mountain jungle with tall trees and large ferns. After a while the scenery gets to be more of the same and I get back into my head again. My shoulders and hips are killing me, why did I have to carry so much weight, I hope I am still going in the right direction, I am not even half way, and I am hungry.
Hungry did you say? Well, here is a food stand in the middle of nowhere on the next bend in the road serving Dahl Bat. The woman speaks no English but points to a trickle of water coming out of a rock face behind her and hands me a small bar of soap. Hands washed I come back and she has served me up a plate of rice beans and some green collards meant to be eaten with hands.
Though I am left handed I remember the etiquette to eat with your right hand. My first official Dhal Bat eaten by hand, there is a scooping technique to pick up those little rice pieces I may have gotten down by the end. She anticipates my reaction and I can’t help but to have a big smile on my face because it is sooo good. This makes her happy and she piles more of everything on.
$1.25 spent, hands washed again, and a new sense of freedom I start off. Not long after this a trail appears that runs along a river, I look on my map and decide to take this route. What a beautiful hike, and a slow incline. Mopeds of Teenagers pass me now and again yelling, “Happy Holi day” with big smiles and colorful faces.
After the reprieve of a gentle incline and walking along the river I pop out on the road that looks like more of the same from before. UP UP UP and it says I still have 2 hours. Lets just cut this short and explain my mental push to get me through the next 2 1/2 hours. The self coaching, reprimanding, and praying and begging. Wondering why I was doing this. 6 hours? More like 8.
Going off the beaten path, seeing the real Nepal is why I was doing this. The people on mopeds yelling out greetings as they pass by, the kids who came out to cover my face in pink and yellow pigment,,,,,,,, and the VIEW! The trees cleared and just like the stupa there were the mountain peaks. I could smell them. The sun was low so they were starting their afternoon glow. The clouds were intermingled but the peaks were overpowering. I felt like I was on top of the world.
Looking across the valley I think I see the guesthouse I had looked up. I can make it. Food. Hot shower. I find a little more steam. As I get closer to Chisopani I recognize the devastation from the earthquake. Guesthouses are rubble, another has only the front face standing, and yet another is falling off its foundation. And in the middle of this is the only guesthouse. Sunrise guesthouse.
I am greeted by the owner who is nice enough but I recognize very quickly that this is going to be very basic. A twin bed with a thin mattress in an unheated cement block room. But, the views out my two windows are priceless. The entire range lies out in front of me and the full moon is rising.
Yes, I wanted a hot shower. A warm chair to sit in and reflect upon my day while admiring the scenery. A yummy cup of ginger lemon honey tea. Instead Buddha (the owner) and I talked about the effect the earthquake has had on him and his family. How he is the happiest man he knows as he waves his arm along the view of these most majestic peaks in the world. He pats his heart and says “and family”. And there it is, the beautiful ugly, sums it up for today.
