Jiri to Lukla, Nepal – Page 2 – Karen's Damn Long Walk

Day 3 White Castle to Pandy.

June 14, 2024Karen Griffiths

I started the day in a positive mood; positive that I did not want to back track at all.

So off we went following the marked path until we lost it. Using one of my apps we found it again but came to a sign telling us there was a diversion which meant I was grumpy with myself again. I had seen that on the website the day before but was too tired to study it.

We followed that trail and ended up back at the gate to the bloody castle again. F##k me days!! There, right in front of us was a notice with details of the diversion.

A bridge was out of action. We contemplated just taking the official route and risking a river crossing. We hadn’t seen any water courses here that looked uncrossable and we were both Te Araroa veterans who had crossed many proper rivers in New Zealand.

But best keep to the rules so off we went again, me cursing and swearing. The day was a shit show already.

Pandy was the next village on the trail so we decided that it would be a good idea to stop there and give me a short day and time to rest up. I am sure Kay was hoping for a major chsnge in my attitude

We arrived to find that the bnbs and pubs were full and jyst to add insult to injry I had a message saying I had used my months data already, a polar blast had arrived and I couln’t get the phone app working to top up.

We were given the number for Mary who would take us in for the night so I rang her. She sounded very old and doddery but she said she would be there to pick us up in 1o minutes that ended up about 30 minutes. I made Kay sit in the front with her as I did not feel like being polite.

Mary is 87 years old and tells us thst she has a new car and had taken a while to work out how to use the key and start the car. She has little sticky labels on the dash saying petrol, speed, lights, indicators. The console is also marker with go, reverse, hand brake etc. This is her first automatic car so she has a lot to learn.

The drive along the very narrow winding lanes to her house was a bit hairy, to say the least. Having lived her whole life in only two houses she gave us a running history of every cottage we passed, pointing out things, hands off the steering wheel and seemingly taken no notice of the road as she sped along. She talked at 100 miles an hour so we knew all about her 87 years of life by the time we reached her cottage.

I sat in the back laughing away and lost my bad mood completely.

Mary had a birthday recently and has all of her 57 birthday cards on display. We were given a running commentary of who they were from and how she knew them. The Post Office would need extra staff in May to cope with it all.

Having worked on the manual Telephone Exchange for 37 years she knew everyones business including Priness Anne’s conversation with a local landowner. Kay, being a bit a royalist, was able to name the man, which really impressed Mary.

We had tea from a pot, 3 pieces of velvet cake, a shower (do not flood it like some naughty man did 10 years ago), and Mary made sure we knew how to pull the curtaims so that they faded evenly, then it was time for a tour of her expansive gardens.

Mary still looks after them herself having made them from scratch 27 years ago, so we were introduced to nearly each plant separately. Thank goodness Kay knows about plants!

Conservatory where she says good morning to England

Mary prepared a salad dinner for us which was appreciated after a few days of instant noodles, porridge and cheese and crackers.

Then we went on another hair raising drive out to the Llanthony Priory. That was a place for monks to learn their stuff way back from the 12th Century until Henry 8th closed it down. Now it is another set of ruins with accomodation, a pub and a church. Mary knew every rock and person in the little pub.

Mary points out the Black Mountains , tomorrows walk

Mary Mary

We were then dropoed at the Skirrid Inn, the oldest pub in Wales. It also served as the court and the unlucky ones were hung under the stair case.

Everyone in there knew Mary or was related to her. We had a fun couple of drinks before ringing Mary to pick us up at 9pm.

That is a very late night fof hikers but wr still had to have supper and more cake before bed. We were exhausted from all of Mary’s constant chatter.

We couldn’t understand half of what they said.

Day 2 Saturday 8 June

June 11, 2024June 11, 2024Karen Griffiths

We started the day determined not to miss any signs and managed to keep to that resolve except for a minor miss in the town of Monmouth and later a major one that cost us an hour of extra walking through long grass on a farm. Grr!

We could see where we needed to get to but we couldn’t take the short straight line route because of the thick prickly fences. In New Zealand one can just climb a wire fence. Not here! I was getting grumpy.

My body was not happy with me for taking it on another damn long walk. Some jet lag combined with sore thighs from the climbing yesterday , a sore shoulder and back, made for an unpleasant day for me.

We walked mainly through wooded areas that enthusiasic locals were trying to regenerate. Again that meant lots of wild nasty stff trying to scratch or sting us.

Being Saturday we met up with quite a few clean, fast people with little day packs who were just out for a nice stroll. Many with their dogs. They pissed me off!

Some were doing longer sections of Offa’s Dyke but from pub to pub with their gear being transported for them. They pissed me off as well. Gosh I was a grumpy bitch.

We were the odd ones. I imagine the talk at the pubs would have gone a bit like this.

“Did you see those two old ladies from New Zealand who were walking the FULL Offa’s Dyke?”

“Yes and they were carrying tents and a weeks food.”

“The bigger lady looked shattered. They were slightly mad, I think”

We stopped for coffee and a pastry in Marnmouth, a quaint town with narrow cobbled streets, a big church which provided a pew to sit and have a rest on. I downloaded another app that was suggested by some walkers we had met earlier. Maybe that would help with the route finding and my mood.

Our lunch stop was at a church out in the middle of nowhere. The vicars husband was there doing some maintenance work so we were told all about the history of the church, going back to 500AD. That meant a decent break in the sun drinking coffee provided by the church.

It was too early in the day for us to camp but he told us that they welcomed walkers to camp or sleep in the church. That was good news as one of my plans was to camp in graveyards. No crowds, usually toilets and taps to fill our water bottles. Being able to sleep inside a church was even better.

The afternoon was mostly through farms, lush green crops, funmy looking self shedding sheep and mole holes.

The shedule I had copied was not made for an unfit Granny with her house on her back, so we again, didn’t make target.

I ranted and raved a bit, well a lot, saying I wanted to go home and hike with a decent app and signage

Then ee came across the ruins of an old castle and decided to camp there the night. There was some mowed lawn and picnic tables so we were pleased. The house by the gate looked like a caretakers house and we didn’t want to have some grumpy lady come and send us on our way. So we got out of sight behind the moat wall and cooked our dinner before putting up our tents.

My theory was thaeat if we were found asleep we would be left alone.

A few tourists wandered around but left us alone. I had to crawl out and growl at a Woodpecker for tap, tap, tapping while I was trying to get to sleep. But I woke next morning in a better mood.

Kay catching her liner before it blew too far down into the moat

Leaving the group to go to Lukla

May 16, 2023May 16, 2023Karen Griffiths

I was feeling a bit of FOMO, (Fear of Missing Out) as I left the group after pur morning tea break. They were continuing on to walk the Three Passes and up to Everest Base Camp. I had had enough of coughing all night and just needed to get back to a lower altitude to sort it. I wondered how many of the others could keep going given the state if health of some of them, but time will tell.

I walked straight up another Nepalese hill with Dhawa, our second guide. One of our porters was carrying my gear as well as some of young Jo’s gear that he decided he didn’t need, or want to carry. This will be stored in Lukla until they return.

We came across some road makers. They are real craftsmen .

It was a nice climb ending in Lukla. This is the place Ed Hillary and Tenzing Norgate, who were the first people to summit Mt Everest, built an airport. Ed had decided that the walk that I had just completed from Jiri as it was too far for him and his mountaineering mates, so he bought some land from local people and proceeded to make an airport. The story goes that he filled the locals up with alcohol and had them do stomping dances to pack it down.

Arriving in Lukla

I had a day and a half in Lukla, spending it people watching. In the morning, there was a constant stream of trekkers, and their porters heading up to Everest Base Camp or other routes, looking all fresh and clean. In the afternoons, there was a continuous trail of very tired, sunburned people returning.

I visited an early morning market. I didn’t buy and chickens or meat.

Markets

Some have trekked, but others are here to climb peaks. These usually gave a lot more equipment including ropes and tents etc. These porters usually only carry about 30-40kg but “freight porters” can carry up to 100kg. These ones carry all kinds of things needed up here, like building materials, food and beer. Most of this stuff arrives in Lukla by plane, helicopter or donkey, but then goes up higher by porter.

I chatted with a few trekkers whose stories made me a bit sad that I had not carried on. I visited the hospital and started taking cough medicine, which was beginning to reduce my coughing.

Two days of Nepali Flat. 7 & 8 May Nunthala and Kari Khola

May 14, 2023May 15, 2023Karen Griffiths

I had been awake most of the night again coughing. I tried to make a comfortable sitting position as I coughed like a dying sheep when I lay down. I am very pleased that Kathy just falls asleep and snores all night without being disturbed by me. She doesn’t even wear earplugs.

Kathy and I always get a room to share, usually with an ensuite. This sounds fancy but can be a squat toilet with a bucket or hose for washing our bums. We usually have to pay an extra 300 rupees ($3NZD) for a hot shower. Kathy and I have used the toilet hose for a very quick, cold shower. The boys usually get their own rooms with a bathroom down the hall.

Another 2 succumbing to the sickness with it effecting their chests so everyone is coughing and sniffing. We are a sorry bunch! . Jo is better after anti biotics even though he has continued to drink beer! Grant struggled daily and into the evenings , losing his appetite too.

We had two really nice, relatively easy days sidling across some good farmland. A bit of a steep up for lunch, passing a big piece of road construction. The days were fine and perfect for walking.

We came to the end of the road construction and waited, watching the digger before being to be able to pass. There is not much health and safety going on here. Then we were onto a very busy walking track again.

The guys were very excited to see some deer

Don’t hang around Kathy

The end of the road

Donkey train

Now everything has to be transported by donkey. I had been missing the donkeys as I had fond memories of them from my last visit to Nepal. However after walking into Khari Khola I realised I had forgotten the awful smell of donkey poo. The blokes thought I was a bit soft but I didn’t feel so bad when I saw Pemba was wearing a mask and looking as disgusted as me.

3 May -A New Group and Another Damn Long Drive

May 7, 2023May 14, 2023Karen Griffiths

I met up with “The Kiwis” at the Hotel Shanker. This hotel was about $50 a night and is one of the top hotels in Kathmandu. Originally a palace it was very flash, even had a swimming pool. There were 2 weddings there over the 2 days and a couple of engagement parties. It’s definitely the place to be seen.

But these kind of things don’t impress me too much. The room I shared with Kathy cost me about $50, compared to the Flying Yak for $15 a night. There was very little difference.

We had a couple of days together, getting to know each other. The Kiwis had some shopping to do as all gear was very cheap. There was a stock of toilet paper and hand sanitiser to buy as these things get much more expensive the further up we go. We also needed to get trekking permits so that was another beep, beep taxi ride.

The five men are all good kiwi blokes: hunters, tampers and generally good kiwi blokes. Brendon is also a doctor, but the others have all worked in the farming sector or outdoor work. Kathy, a retired nurse, was originally for England but traveled her way to NZ in the 1970- 1980s when visited Nepal in the hippy days. Grant, Brendon, and Roger are in their 60’s and have all been to Nepal previously. Roy was at high school with me and this is his first visit to Nepal. The baby of the group is Joe (35ish) aka “The Ruahine Hunter” https://youtu.be/O0qxOBSYe-Q

Joe was very excited to be here and reminded me of how I was when I first arrived 17 years ago. Joe was off out to find the night life on his first two nights here while the others were all heading to bed trying to get over the 24 hours of flying. I remembered my first night here last time. I was sharing a room with Evy, a young Israeli guy. We had gone to bed but couldn’t sleep because of the music coming from the bar next door, so we got up and joined the crowd for a few Everest Beers and toddled back to our room later in the night. Now I am one of those going to bed early and falling asleep with my book.

Pemba is to be our Guide. Grant has used him on a couple of previous trips and he comes from the region we will visit. We will also have along Dawa as assistant guide as seven is quite a group to look after. Having two experienced guides means there will be someone to take out anyone who needs to leave the main trek at any time. Dawa has been part of some Everest Summit teams. We will also have 3 porters to carry the gear for 6 of us. Strong, young hunter, Joe, plans to carry all his own gear. I don’t think he understands the effects of altitude as cannot be explained and must be experienced. We will see how he goes.

Drive Kathmandu to Jiri

On the 3rd of May we piled into a mini van for the drive to Jiri. It is 184 km but took about 8 hours. This was 5 star luxury compared to the ride from Jomsom to Pokhara. I am glad that I went on one of the worst bus trips in the world early in this trip so from then on all trips will be much better. Always best to compare with the worst case scenario rather than the best. We had nice seats, no flat tyres, air conditioning , the power to pass other vehicles reasonably safely and only one person was vomiting throughout the journey. (The doctor: poor man!)

The pee stops on the side of the road were much better than at the squat toilets at the roadside cafes, despite the rubbish.

We unpacked and had a wander around the town before meeting for dinner. Our three young porters had just arrived from Lukla after finishing their previous job. They took 3 days to walk here and it will take 7 days to do the same journey with us. They will carry 15kg gear each for two of us, and their own gear. A total of up to 40 kgs and they are only little guys. Amazing strength and for only $15 a day each. I must admit that I have brought along more stuff than I would normally if I had to carry it, but still, my bag is the lightest by far.

Category: Jiri to Lukla, Nepal

Day 3 White Castle to Pandy.

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Day 2 Saturday 8 June

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Leaving the group to go to Lukla

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Two days of Nepali Flat. 7 & 8 May Nunthala and Kari Khola

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3 May -A New Group and Another Damn Long Drive

Drive Kathmandu to Jiri

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Drive Kathmandu to Jiri

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