Natural Gas
Our route in pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/albumMap?uname=MSLambert&aid=5415672042498190257#map (Isn't Android amazing?)
Tatopani
In a superhuman feat, we walked downhill to the lowest point on our trek, Tatopani. As we descended from Ghoropani, we hit "the road", which was constructed about 3 years ago and gives access to Jomsom from Beni, which is just a jeep or bus transfer away from Pohkara, a decent-sized city. This road meant that the rest of our hike would be on a wide trail, but also introduced us to crazy Tata buses and Mahindra jeeps. All of the downhill hiking was tough on our knees and feet, so we enjoyed our Dal Baht andthe hot springs all that much more.
Jomsom-Beni Road
Kalopani
Whereas Ghoripani and Tatopani mean warm and hot water, Kalopani means dark, murky waters. So naturally, we decided to make it to Jomsom in two days, rather than the traditional three by stopping in Kalopani. This meant that we would do 1400m of elevation in one day, which, if you aren't familiar with the metric system of mountaineering, is crazy.
For this task, we needed energy. Luckily, there was amazing Dal Baht in Ghasa, which is where we stopped for lunch. We ended up eating in a courtyard with a bunch of drunk men playing musical instruments to celebrate a wedding.
Sounding the Good News of Wedding and Delicious Dal Baht
We pressed on through the afternoon and into a new ecosystem, which I will unscientifically dub Coniferous Mountain Forest. Several sketchy shortcuts and bridges later, we emerged onto a sort of glacier-carved valley where we would spend most of the rest of our trek. The views also became a lot more interesting.
That's a Big Mountain in the background
We also noticed that all of the houses turned into stone, which is very plentiful in this valley that is covered in fist-sized rocks. We enjoyed being the only guests in our Kalopani tea house, and the apple pie was amazing.
Jomsom
As part of our quest to reach the mecca (an actual mecca for Hindus, actually) that is Muktinath, we had another long hike, which had very little elevation gain and followed the widest path in the world, which was kindly built by a glacier. The valley floods in the rainy season, but we were able to walk through it with ease, crossing the meandering river every once in a while. A very environmentally friendly bus followed our EXTREME path by fording the river.
Notice the the bus says "Save the Environment" on the top
We arrived in Jomsom to find a city that is just an airport with one runway and a bunch of shops.
Muktinath
In order to complete our pilgrimmage, we needed to hike another 20 km and about 1100m up to the town of Muktinath, which is nestled up against the back side of the Annapurna Range and just after "the highest pass in the world" if you are hiking the Annapurna Circuit. We started early, but had to backtrack a mile or two after finding that the river had flooded the normal trail. As we made our way up the steep mountainside, Nathan decided to take up DC's mantle and hike much too fast in the uphill direction.
Nathan Powering Up the Mountain
All of this hiking wore out our guide, Matt's boots (delamination between midsole and outsole), and Matt, in that order. Nathan managed to get the gps on his iPhone working, so we soon realized how far we were from Muktinath's HACE-inducing 3700m elevation, but we in fact made it in one piece. After chilling on the roof of the hotel, Nathan convinced us to check out the temple, which features water and fire. There were 108 water spouts which people alternatively drink from and streak through.
Water Spouts with Beast Faces
Also, there was a natural gas flame which naturally occured at this location and had been enshrined in a temple that discouraged pictures, so we can't show you how cool it was, but we can tell you that it was amazing. Here's another shot of the temple, with mountains and prayer flags in the background:
Pokhara
After spending the night playing chess and chatting with some Annapurna Circuit trekkers from Australia and the Bay Area, we took a jeep back to Jomsom and chilled out until our early morning flight the next day. The jeep ride was a unique experience and was not photochronicled, but we did take some cool pictures during the flight. Those cool pictures are on Nathan's camera, so theses will have to suffice:
Boarding the Death-Turboprop
We sat on the left side of the plane. It was the right decision.
Safely deplaning, back in 3rd world civilization
For those worried relatives and friends out there, the weather in Pokhara and Jomsom is very bad much of the time, so we were lucky that our flight happened in relative safety. The rest of our travels will take us slowly back to the US, passing through Kathmandu, Bankok, and Tokyo.
