The Long Walk

The next morning, I arose to the most unbelievable view.   The sun had just cleared the mountains in the east and was casting its first light upon the Himalayas.  In the distant valley below, you could hear the roosters waking their owners to the new day.  I sat on our patio and watched as the world at my feet begin to stir and, eventually, a few hours later, Olga arose to join the living.   We had breakfast on the terrace in front of the main house and were treated to farm-fresh egg omelets with just-picked vegetables complimented by homemade bread, jams and yak cheese.   Just what you need to begin a day of trekking though Nepal!

Today we were planning on hiking to the town of Panauti. By car, Panauti is about an hour drive, but we were taking the shortcut over the mountain, so by Surendra’s estimates it should take us only about 4 hours to walk there.  Having lived in Oregon and having hiked almost every weekend we could while we lived there, we had all the right gear! We had the right footwear, the right daypack, even a hiker’s first aid kit and compass.  Lessons learned from being lost in the Oregon forests while snowshoeing.  Surendra drew us a small map on how to get there that consisted of a squiggly line to a stupa, another squiggly line through the word “forest” that said had “no left” highlighted and finally a straight line from the forest to Panauti that said “flat.”  What could possible go wrong while hiking through the Nepalese backcountry with that kind of first class orienteering?  …. And we were off!

The first part was pretty easy.  The track was wide and the footing was solid.  It was an old cow trail that took us through the untouched Nepal.  We passed through people’s farms and within spitting distance of their doorways (don’t ask how I know that).  Most did not blink or even notice us.  What a difference from Kathmandu, and Delhi for that matter, where white skin always equals a business opportunity.  Families sifted their wheat or tended to their goats, but never thought of us as anything other than travelers.  This theme continued for the entire trip.  It was very disarming and reassuring.

As we began the Long Walk

Looking back at the farm

Tiered farmland and mountains

The valley and mountains looking east

If you can stand on it, they will farm it

Wheat

A long way down

Our destination was somewhere over there.....

We passed by spectacular views of the mountains and valley below. We walk next to tiered plantings of wheat and rice and through vegetable gardens full of cabbage and peas.  We trekked passed families doing what they do everyday and children curious to see the stranger with light eyes.  It was the kind of trek, I imagine, is very common in Nepal, but it felt very unique to us

Curious Children

Local residence and barn

We eventually found the stupa which sat in a small clearing peering out at the mountains beyond.   Beyond the stupa, there was a massive pine forest as outlined on the map, but there were several paths leading into the forest and, to be honest, we hadn’t a clue which was the right one.  After some consternation, we took the first path, as it seemed the most accessible.  15 minutes going vertically up on this goat trail and we realized that maybe going up was not the right direction.  We turned back and asked a farmer in the vicinity of the stupa for directions.  He pointed to another path, grinned and disappeared.  We set out into the forest for a second time.   

The Stupa
Note the brick drying in the lower left corner
- the houses are made from these mud bricks

Trekking through the forest was a little more difficult than the first segment.  The path was much more narrow and not all that well used.  This certainly was not the well-maintained, groomed trails of Oregon.  This was the path people used to get to the next town on the rare occasion they went to the next town.  What made it more difficult was that the trail was a constant downward grade.   This, of course, is better than an upward grade, but too much of anything is not good.  About an hour into the forest, we felt like there may be no clear way out.  The path just kept snaking through the trees up a little, then down a lot.  Every now and again, you would catch a great view of the valley below, but it never seemed to be getting any closer.  Finally, we popped out of the trees onto an open path that looked like it was the start of a roadwork that never quite got the funding.  Never the less, we were out of the forest, albeit the cool, shady forest, and directly into the completely unfiltered noon sun.

The forest and the never-nearing valley

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep"

"And miles to go before I sleep"

Finally we reached the valley floor

The uncompleted road led us down through a farming village that I assumed had seen more prosperous days.  Some of the houses were quite old with intricate woodwork like we saw at Dwarika’s Hotel, but all the houses looked like our little cottage, except these had livestock living on the first floor and no glass in the windows, only the shutters.  This was typically what we saw on the entire journey down the mountain, but this setting seemed more urban, so they looked more weathered and worn. 

We started down the road – which was flat as indicated on the hand-drawn map.  What was not indicated was exactly how much further we had to go.  The road ahead went up a grade and disappeared beyond it, so there was no telling.  We pushed on into the back half of hour number three.

Happily and Joyfully marching on!

The road wound across the valley and traversed several large farms.  The valley, itself, was relatively flat, but these fields still tiered with the natural contour of the valley floor.  Where western farmers would have plowed flat the earth, the Nepalese used the ebb and flow of the valley to push the water through the crops.  I am no farmer, but it looked pretty efficient.  What was really striking was the amount of farmland.  It was on the valley floor, up the sides of the mountains and across the summits.  If it could be farmed they farmed it.  And by “they”, I mean the women. 

The village we passed through
The forest on the mountain is from whence we came

More road traveled

Tiered valley floor

More farmland

The other striking feature we saw throughout the entire day was that the women did all the work while the men sat in the doorways shading themselves and smoking.  Not bad work if you can get it.  The result was that the young Nepalese girls are striking with their Indo-Asian looks, but the older women looked worn, tired and stooped over. 

Woman Farmer

We continued walking though the valley and by this time, we were tired and hungry which means we were both a little grumpy and ready to end this adventure. To the side of the road, structures started to appear more frequently, but the curvature of the road provided no clue to how much further we had to go.   Finally, we crested a bluff and spayed out before us, albeit several kilometers in the distance, was Panauti greeting us with her golden temples. With a renewed sense of purpose, we marched toward the pagodas for another hour or so and finally reached the ancient city.

Panauti

Almost there

Panauti was founded in the 1200s and is one of the oldest cities in Nepal.  It is adorned with many temples including one dating back to the 1294 in which young couples hang pots in the upper floors of the pagoda for a happy and prosperous family.  The town feels old and some of the buildings look like they have been there since the beginning of time.  Unfortunately, we were so tired that we more or less blew through the town en route to the rendezvous point with the driver who would drive us back up the mountain.   It was, to say the least, a long walk!

The ancient Temples of Panauti

More Temples

Where one would hang a pot for prosperity 

The not so modern streets of Panauti

The local laundry-mat

When we returned to our temporary home in the clouds, the place was abuzz.  Several new people had checked in and we were no longer alone.  Still, the compound felt peaceful and quiet and since I could no longer feel my legs, I was happy to sit in my piece of paradise and watch the world go by. 

Dinner that night was slightly more lively with the addition of a Frenchman who spoke no English, his translator and two American girls in their early 20s trying desperately to sound consequential.  The meal was fantastic, the conversation good and it all ended too soon.  We said our good-byes and parted for bed.  We had an early departure in the morning and needed our sleep.

6:00am came quickly and was most unwelcomed in our hut.  I got up and darted outside to see the landscape before the sun crested the mountains.  The Himalayas, being roughly 4000 meters higher than the surrounding mountains, caught the sun before it actually rose and took on a pink hue.  Finally the sun winked over the mountains in the east and filled the sky with light and warmth.

The last day arrives

We took our breakfast in front of the main building and watched the sun continue break through the morning fog that blanketed the valley beneath us. The breakfast was similar to the day before complete with all the organic, natural vegetables, but this time, it was complemented with an incredible sunrise bouncing off the Himalayas.  Not a bad way to have your coffee.   

We departed soon after and as we re-entered the crushing reality of modern society, we began to regret our decision to come down off our mountaintop.