8 March 2012 Appipal (1140 m)-Paudi (520 m) 6 hrs

The day started with an excellent view on the Manaslu range: Manaslu (8163 m) at the left, and next to Manaslu Himal Chuli (7893 m) and Baudha Himal (6672 m). Far below us we saw the Chepe Khola (river). Beautiful!

It was another hot day! As this part of the trek is mostly below 1000 m, it is quite hot during most of the day in this season. But apart of that it was quite easy walking. And for a change we finished before 5 pm, how relaxed!

It is international women day today, this week is full of festivals . We met a group of women who had organized a picnic for old ladies staying in an ashram. They were very pleased to meet Apa Sherpa and the rest of us, and we all got a beautiful orange scarf as a blessing. They started to sing and dance, and of course Elizabeth and me had to join! Afterwards many Sherpa’s were giving me compliments about my dance, while I was afraid looking like a fool, dancing on my trekking boots .

During the walk, I was talking to Saurav, who is international climate champion of the British Council, about the experiences of people he interviewed along the way which could be related to climate change (could be, as this still has to be verified by scientific research). He already told me before about the effects people were noticing in the East of Nepal on their tea and cardamom production. Today he told me about potatoes: first of all some people have seen the production going down. Besides, most people store the potatoes under the ground during winter. Some people have been complaining that when they dig up the potatoes, many are damaged. Another interesting story is the access to water. Villages have access to water via water pipes, which are connected to a water source. Quite a few people have told him that they have to extend the pipes a couple of times already as the water source close to the village has dried up and they have to find another. Also some people talked about droughts in general, and more extreme weather. The storm we had going to Lukla was an example. Higher up in Namche Bazar it was so bad that many trees had fallen down, and some people said they had never experienced such a severe storm before. Quite interesting to hear this all, and definitely worth investigating further.

9 March 2012 Paudi (520 m)-Besisahar (810 m) 7 hrs

Today is the last day for most of the crew. A few of them stay up till Darchula, but most go back to Kathmandu tomorrow, as they have assignments in the Everest region. Some of them will be climbing Everest later this year. At least they are in shape you would say!

Some had quite an adventurous last day indeed! Elizabeth and me are usual the last in the group, and most of the times Kancha is close to us. At certain moment we saw an arrow going left, put by the first ones in the group. Right at that spot we met one of the women of the group we met yesterday and with whom I danced. She told that if we take that trail we have to cross the river (Dordi Khola) wading, and if we just follow the road it would be a bit longer, but we could cross by a suspension bridge. The river was not so high though, she said…. Even though it was nice and refreshing to cross the river the other day, a suspension bridge is a lot easier. So we neglected the arrow and continued straight. When we met the others later we learned we had made the right decision! The crossing was very difficult, they had been in the water till their waist, and some had damaged their mobile phones, as they had forgotten to take it out of their pockets. What a shame! And how happy I am with that lady!!

We walked quite a big distance today, about 24 km, so I was a bit tired after the walk. But it was a busy evening! First work on itinerary and blog, then diner and after that farewell party for the crew who is leaving and welcome party for the new crew. It was a nice chang party .

Manaslu and Ganesh Himal Section – Flickr Photos