Holy shit that was a lot of up 12/4 Day 2
Whomever said this hike was moderately difficult I want to bitch slap them. Today was really hard.
Up at 5 due to a large thud in the ceiling. No matter, plenty of sleep. We had musli for breakfast w warm sweet milk and hard boiled eggs. Lots of food for our journey. We started before 8 again. The air was crisp and perfect for hiking. A little dog from the village w a bell on its collar followed us out of town. I was worried because he followed us fo a while, until we reached the next village no the dog faced the village dog. The small one following us tried to play w the other dog, then I heard a squeal. Hopefully it didn't end too poorly. We took the road for a bit and saw our first pair of foreigners and they had a porter. I knew it wouldn't be busy, but we are really the only ones in these villages. I saw the red and white marker taking us off the road, which went up. We grabbed some marsala tea about an hour in a the top of the hill in Jagat. Little did we know what we had ahead. Back down a bit and then up to Chamje.
After Chamje we crossed an Indiana Jones-like bridge. First I went to the middle, looking down only to where I'm stepping, not to the death that lays below. When Andy came to join me, he was walking w too much of a bounce in his step and I didn't care for that. We noticed some large dents in the bridge from previously fallen boulders. No worry, how unsafe can a bridge be in the mountains in a a third world country?
As we started up the hill, there was a lot of movement next to us. Andy saw a fucking cobra slithering away, about 2 inches in diameter. Well we knew they were here. I'm glad he's trailblazing. Next we came across a flock of goats as we started up the hill. There were probably over 100 old and babies. We tried to move to the side of the trail, they were coming down fast and there was a lot of them. Andy was rammed a couple times.
Walking up the mountain, we had a great view of the gnarly "road" on the other side, chiseled out of the side of the mountain. Probably as scary as the death road in Bolivia. Jeeps were honking in parts, not sure why, it's not like anyone was getting over or backing up. The scenery is amazing. There are odd palm trees on the ridge at the top of the mountain. We hike under large beautiful rhododendron trees and bamboo.
Next we walked up, a fucking lot. Once we thought we were at the top, we walked down and saw the huge mountain we had to walk up. It was nuts and we were tired. We have to be getting close right? We reached the top and hit the gateway into Tal at 1:30. We were so happy! The valley widened and there was a rushing river and a sandy beach glistening in the sun. We walked through town and Andy found us a lovely hotel on the edge of town called Paraside next to the waterfall. Wifi and comfy beds check!
We dropped out shit and went outside to enjoy the last of the sunshine. We laid down our sleeping mats in the grass for a little yoga. I was starving. All the menus are the same up here and they say they have everything. I really want pizza but I'm not sure I can trust them. We stuck w momo's, cheese and veg/potato, along w a real ginger tea and local beer that tasted like sour beer. The food was delish. I wanted more. It's only 3:30. We read our books and read about more fucking shootings back home. 5:30 rolls around and the dude offers us the menu. Andy declines. Really?! I need to eat! I'm going to need all the energy I can get for tomorrow. Is it time for bed yet? The sun is down, the wind is blowing, and it's cold! Can't wait for my sleeping bag!!
25k steps, 12+ miles, 2k feet net gain, lots of up and down.