Day 10 - Going the scenic route

Thare Gompa to Tilicho Base Camp

Of course I do not hear the alarm at 5:30am, but I wake up before 6am anyway. When I turn West towards the mountains I immediately jump up. The ridge above Tilicho Lake is glowing in the warm sunrise light.
Of course I take pictures first, then start packing. There's nobody around and th candle inside the gompa is sill burning. I drop my note and money in the donation box and leave at 6:45am.

The first trail section is still in the shade, further ahead it's sunny and getting hot. The trail is skirting the slope following the Marsyangdi river up. Initially it goes up very slowly and I encounter many cows, all looking at me with mistrust. The first 2 hours go fast. Then, around 9:30 I reach the junction, the spot where the upper and lower trail split. Here I need to make a decision.

The upper trail clearly zigzags up the hill through the lpine landscape reaching the high ridge some 600 m higher from where you then descend on the other side to the Base Camp. The lower trail skirts the slope which is affected by landslides and erosion. There's a whole cluster of pinnacles and towers ahead, and I can see the trail traversing the scree slopes. The information board was saying that the upper trail though longer is safer.

I leave my pack at the junction and go a bit further on the lower trail. A black cow is watching me from above. Ahead the slope is just loose scree and the voodoos and pinnacles, clear signs of erosion. There's also a sign marking the beginning of the landslide area. The trail traverses the area, meanders among the pinnacles, it seems, and disappears around the ridge in the distance.

For some reasons I don't like section traversing scree and so I decide to take the upper scenic trail. After eating the rest of my biscuits and finishing my good water I turn around and follow the upper trail. It's a steady uphill and it's very hot already. No shade anywhere around. But the views make up for all the hardship. All day long so far I had ahead of me Khangsar and Tilicho peaks like a beautiful bait to follow.

From this higher vantage point I can now see as far as Manaslu peak in the distance through the haze behind me. I can also see the Annapurnas and, on the other side of the ridge to my right, even one of the Chulu peaks and some snowcovered ridges. The views are spectacular and I have them all to myself :-) Who cares that I can hardly keep going anymore.
I used to count 100 steps at a time then take a short break (a couple of breaths or more) and then continue. I can now only count till 50 and then I need to stop. My breathing becomes heavier and it's not clear to me whether it's from the altitude or the heat and load. I'd bet on the latter. The pack is very heavy. The few things I have left behind in Manang weigh probably only about 2-3kg. Just the camera gear weighs some 3 kgs I think. I carry a harddisk with me, spare batteries and such.

At some point I realize I need more water so I need to stop and filter the "bad" water I have taken on my way somewhere below. I though I could leave this for later when I reach the col but that was too optimistic. So I stop and start filtering into my small bottle, then I treat the water and get going for another 20 minutes before I can safely drink the water. It takes some discipline and patience. It is by now 10:45am and there's only a short distance left to cover to the col. The altimeter shows more than 4300m and I know the col is around 4500m. I'm thinking that there are maybe 200 steps more to go to the col.
However, it turns out there are more than 1000 steps till I reach the col. Every 50 steps I stop and breathe. Somewhere between steps 600 and 850 there's a section where I need to traverse a loose scree slope. It goes down all the way to the bottom of the valley, so it would be a very long slide down if I missed a step. The trail disappears on that section and continues after. I am happy to have my poles with me.

Then I reach the col with its superb views of the whole ridge and the glaciers and I can see a good section of the trail to Tilicho lake. I can also see the trail below descending a long scree slope and the Base Camp far down. I am on top of an approximately 300m scree slope at the bottom of which is the lodge. Just scree, nice and shiny. It might as well be snow.
I stop here, take out the camera and take some pictures. This is the best and closest view of the high ridges and the glaciers so far. Then I start my descent.

The descent is a lot of fun actually if you know the technique. Having the poles also helps so I jus have a great time.I'm once again grateful for my great boots. Of course I get some little rocks inside them but that's nothing I would complain about.

As I descent I can see the tiny red spot near the hut growing until, much lower, I realize it is Pipi sitting at the table outside and watching me.

I arrive at the lodge at 11:45 am meaning that it took me 5 hours to get here. I'm happy. Pipi smiles happy, too. The lodge guardian smiles at me and says that I'm a "strong woman". Pipi helps me take off my pack and sure enough I start jumping right away as usual :-) I'm a crazy woman.
I'm happy. The views are fantastic, it's sunny and I got here all by myself on the upper scenic trail.

As soon as I get a room I take off my boots and put on my sandals. Pipi is asking about the lake but I wave him away " Pipi, tomorrow. It's too much!" He's ok wih that but extremely bored from sitting and not doing anything.

There are no showers here and I'm extremely stinky by now so I go wash myself in the cold river. And it is very cold! But the boulder is hot and so after the ice-cold wash I can hea up in the sun again. I can also wash my T-shirt and stinky socks.

Later in the afternoon a Portuguese guy arrives at the lodge. His name is Jose, he's trekking without porter and guide doing more than a stage per day. He wants to do more in shorter time, checking as many things off his TODO list as possible. Jose has been trekking since March, first in India (Ladakh, Sikkim) and now in Nepal. It is not his first time in Nepal, the previous time he has volunteered for a month or so. He has a much better insight into the local culture.
Regardless how eager I am to see places I can't go so fast. For one thing there's always Pipi to argue with, but mainly because I want to take my time and enjoy everything.
We have a nice chat with Jose and I also enjoy my lunch. I was getting hungry after more than 24 hours without a proper meal, just biscuits, chocolate and water.
The wind is picking up and it's getting colder. Eventually it starts raining and I go to my room (cold and dim light) and get into my sleeping bag and read. If it's raining now I'm optimistic: it's going to be sunny tomorrow again!

Around 5:30pm Jose knocks at my door. His dinner is ready and everybody is in the kitchen around the fire. That sounds tempting.

I get dressed and go downstairs. Outside it's still drizzling. In the kitchen the whole staff and Pipi and Jose are sitting around the stove. The wood is crackling and it's warm smoky and very cozy in the very dim light. The staff consists of 6 young women and a man. Later I find out that the 6 women are here only for 3 days. When arrived I saw them working on fixing walls and floors and doing laundry. I learn that they are here for the fixing and cleaning only. The lodge has just reopened (closed in winter and during monsoon time) and always needs to be fixed and cleaned after a period when it was not inhabited. The man is cooking while 2 huge pots are on the stove. There's always hot or boiling water available. The women, very young (the youngest is 14 only) are chatting and giggling and laughing all the time. They are having a great time after the hard day of work. I sit and watch them and listen to them. Their faces are heated from the fire, red healthy cheeks.
he has his checklist to go thorugh apparently.
Listening to them I get the impression thay they're not just telling jokes but also stories or poems. Indeed, Pipi tells me they are saying lyrics from songs.
- So why don't you sing something? I dare say. Come on, I heard you singing this afternoon so beautifully when you were working.
A little encouragement helps but after a shy start the girls start singing traditional songs. It's only getting better and I am enchanted. It's beautiful and simple.

When I left home I thought that I would be missing music on my trip, since music was always present in my life before. Missing Mozart and Schubert and Piazzolla. Well, of course, I haven't heard that music in weeks now, nonetheless, music has been always present. I wake up and the birds are chiurping beautifully. Some porters are humming or singing, often you hear some traditional song from somewhere and I am singing, too, quite often. Thanks God nobody can hear me. It sounds awful, I know, but it's not meant for anybody and it's just an expression of happiness. Since there's nobody to bug and I can't always jump around :-)

After listening to the songs, eating my daalbhat and enjoying a butter tea I go to my room around 7 pm and read a little bit more. Outside the rain has just become heavier.
To be quite honest it looks to me more like a freezing rain or wet snow. Maybe I'm exagerating ...