by site editor Rick McCharles
I awoke early. Went out to get some photos at first light.
I went also to find a good and quiet boulder for a movement. I’d been constipated on this trek so far, my bowels clenched at the smell of every Nepali outhouse.
Jagat means “checkpoint” (or something like that) in Nepali. Everyone must have the correct permits. Nobody can sneak past unseen.
Actually, Brion and Betsy were missing one of their 3 required permits. Their trekking company had bungled.
Happily, they were able to pay an additional fee and buy it here.
In Nepal you should be careful to treat all water. I used tablets. New to me was the steriPEN.
Amazing.
Much improved from my last trip to the Himalaya are LED light bulbs.
I once carried a 100 watt bulb and replaced the one in my guesthouse cell for the night. No more need for that. The LEDs are quite bright.
We got a fairly early start, the valley still in shade. Days are short in November. Sunlight precious.
We stopped along the river to watch a brick maker.
Already loving this trek, it got even better as the BIG mountains came into view.
On the other hand, between 10am and 2pm is rush hour.
If you happen to get behind one of the big French expeditions, it can be slow going.
There are far more French hikers on Manaslu than any other nationality. They mostly tent.
For some reason they mostly eat at guesthouse restaurants rather than at their campsites. That helps the local economies.
Electricity is more available than on Everest or Annapurna. There’s plenty of solar. And a number of micro Hydro stations en route.
Tourism is to credit for that, I believe.
Not all the local people are happy with the increased number of funny looking foreigners walking past.
The young will have grown up with tourists.
No motor vehicle road will ever be blasted here.
My guide figures it will take 15-20yrs.
I love this kind of trekking.
We slept in Dyang 1800m. More snow was falling up high.
It’s starting to get cold at night.
see high resolution photos from this day on flickr
day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | day 8 | day 9 | day 10 | info
besthike.com 