Tea House Trekking: Makalu

Posted on April 25, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.”

Though the first few days of our trek passed through small villages, by day four we were walking through uninhibited land. There are tea houses setup along the way as there are for almost all treks in Nepal, though the Makalu ones are a bit different as they are geared towards climbers, not just trekkers (just because almost everyone who comes through is a climber, not many trekkers chose this area as it is more remote and strenuous). Tea house trekking is a huge thing in Nepal, notably the treks of Everest Bade Camp and the Annapurna Circuit which are now completely covered in guest houses and restaurants. Since this one is much less popular there is just one tea house every six or seven hours walking where you can get rice and dal for dinner, and pancakes (just cooked flour and water) for breakfast. There are also bunk beds set up, as well as flat ground for tents.

This Is Why We Do It: Makalu

Posted on April 23, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“Going to the mountains is going home.”

Climbing and trekking in the mountains is more often than not miserable. It’s either too cold or too hot, it seems to rain all the time, and there is nothing to eat but rice so you are constantly hungry, especially for foods from back home. Even the simple act of peeing can suddenly be difficult.

So why do we, the crazy mountain lovers of the world, do it? We do it for the peace and quiet of living outdoors. We do it to leave behind the noise and stress of everyday city life, and to reconnect with nature. And we do it for moments such as these, beautiful snowy sunrises halfway up the mountain.

Living in the Snow: Makalu

Posted on April 21, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“Very few care for this laborious kind of pursuit, which is in no means lucrative. It is not everyone who can take pleasure in climbing hills which reach the clouds.”

Starting out from what is considered the last settlement, the last town in which people live besides the sporadic tea houses set up for climbers, Kevin and I felt great. Though our muscles were a bit sore, Kevin had fixed his back problem by creating a bamboo frame for his backpack, while the fuzzy slippers I had been hiking in had given my painful blisters time to harden into calluses. We steadily gained over a thousand meters of elevation without hardly realizing it, that is, before we came to the snow. Though we only had five hundred or so meters left to gain for the day, we were slowed down immensely by the fact that we were walking up an extremely steep hillside completely covered in snow. I found myself more often than not using my hands and knees to push myself up through the most difficult sections, and joked that for every two steps up, I was sliding at least one down. Eventually though we spotted a decently sized cabin type structure through the clouds and snow and knew we had arrives.

People On the Trail: Makalu

Posted on April 18, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist. That is all.”

We met many interesting people on the trail, climbers with more porters and guides than we could count, locals ferrying loads of clothes and soups into remote villages, and packs of donkeys being whipped along by boys no older than ten.

Through The Sherpa Villages: Makalu

Posted on April 17, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“I never saw a discontented tree.”

We started out the day following a few porters, kids no older than me who were on their first expedition. We quickly realized that locals and donkeys alike used the trails expensively in order to bring supplies to villages without road access as well as to the base camp of Makalu. As we followed the rocky but well defined trail for the next two days we realized that there were quite a few houses scattered along the way. These were Sherpa villages, the infamous guides and porters who escort nearly every western expedition in the Himalayas.

From Boots to Fuzzy Slippers: Makalu

Posted on April 16, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“Forget all the reasons why it won’t work and believe the one reason why it will.”

We started out on our trek completely unsure of what we would encounter. Though I had tried to do some research online, the only information out there is from expensive tour companies who want to provide you with porters, cooks, and guides while charging thousands (for a trek we will do for less than a hundred). We had heard that the first few days passed through small villages, Sherpa villages, where we could occasionally buy food, but that for most of the trek, we were passing through high altitude uninhabited ground. There was suppose to be a small tea house every six or seven hours walking where we could get a meal we were pretty sure that the last few days had absolutely nothing. Plus, food up there was bound to be outrageously expensive as it had to be carried in. To prepare for this we packed a fair amount of food, enough to last us for lunch everyday and at least five breakfasts and dinners (as well as twenty packets of biscuits and a few other snacks). Our packs ended up being stuffed to the brim, and unfortunately, very heavy.

Dear Giardiasis

Posted on April 14, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“How to Overthrow the System: brew your own beer; kick in your TV; kill your own beef; build your own cabin and piss off the front porch whenever you bloody well feel like it.”

Dear Giardiasis,

You dreadful Protozoa you, I had really hoped to avoid encountering you first hand, but I guess you had other plans. I have heard you cause traveler diarrhea for many, and have affected over 30 percent of the world at some point or another. You nasty microscopic inconvenience you, you are even the most common water-borne illness in the USA. I had always hoped you would just remain a distant statistic in my mind, but I guess, my time to dance with you has come at last.

Khadbari

Posted on April 12, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“Belief? What do I believe in? I believe in sun. In rock. In the dogma of the sun and the doctrine of the rock. I believe in blood, fire, woman, rivers, eagles, storm, drums, flutes, banjos, and broom-tailed horses…”

After arriving in Khadbari, the small town we are starting our trek from, I was finally able to breath a sigh of relief. The air was clean, the water unpolluted, and best of all, people actually smile here! Something I have realized again and again throughout this adventure is that people who live in the mountains (or even foothills) seem to lead much happier lives. Maybe it is because they are closer to nature, or maybe it is because their lives are harder and therefor, they are more grateful, but whatever it is, it is always a relief to get out of the flats and back into a world of laughing and friendly people.

My Lovely Hank

Posted on April 9, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness—and call it love.”

“Lizzy, you had better be taking care of Hank up there,” I said looking up at the roof during our extremely bumpy bus ride.

“Shirine, the bikes can’t hear you,” Kevin scolded me teasingly.

With an exaggerated sad face I turned to him and said quite seriously, “Kevin, those bikes can understand us, please don’t hurt their feelings.”

“No, no,” he emended, “I meant they can’t hear you over the noise of the road.”

Oh The Things You See: 5,900km

Posted on April 8, 2014 by The Wandering Nomads

“The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day, to have a new and different sun.”

Though I have not enjoyed the humid, hot, and mosquito ridden terai (lowlands) of Nepal, is does make for some interesting cycling as you constantly find yourself cycling amongst goats, bulls, and even chickens packed on motorcycles.

The Wandering Nomads

Two bikes, one life, and the whole world to see

Category Archives: Nepal

Tea House Trekking: Makalu

This Is Why We Do It: Makalu

Living in the Snow: Makalu

People On the Trail: Makalu

Through The Sherpa Villages: Makalu

From Boots to Fuzzy Slippers: Makalu

Dear Giardiasis

Khadbari

My Lovely Hank

Oh The Things You See: 5,900km