Darjeeling - The 5-day, 80 km Trek

We had always wanted to do a Himalayan trek on the trip, and with the winter season approaching, it seemed like we had better hurry. So with a few days of planning, comparing inconsistent maps, and talking with people, we booked a few reservations at the trekker's huts, bought some peanut butter, crackers, and fruit, and rented two sleeping bags.



At 7 am we went down to the shared jeep area to negotiate a price with the drivers to take us to our starting city. Of course, when the drivers see the foreign faces, the price increases, but we found another couple who wanted to go to the same spot. With the power of four people, we found an okay rate and demanded that our seats were not overcrowded with four people in a three-person bench. The couple, Eddy and Zenya, were from New Zealand but have spent the part few years living in the UK and working in French ski resorts in the winter. We had a great time chatting in the car and ended up doing the whole hike together.



At our starting point, Maney Bangjang, we had to sign in with the armed guard, who gave us dirty looks when we said that we were not hiring a "guide." At one point this was required and for some people it is a total waste of money and privacy. At the start of the trail, the signs said "Welcome to Nepal" and showed the trail entirely within the Nepal border, even though our Indian maps showed it on the Indian side of the border...



Our trail was alongside "jeepable" road, complete with steep curves and a rocky base. We shared our trail with men and women in rubber boots of flip flops, who were carrying down baskets of cut trees, supported by their back and strapped to the top of their heads with their necks carrying some of the load.



We crossed a few cow pastures and gained a lot of elevation in the next 4 hours before reaching Tonglu, our first trekker's hut experience. It was very cold and we stayed warm by carrying the bed's blankets with us at all times and went to sleep immediately after dinner because there was no point in sitting around a getting cold. The remaining nights were similar but colder and we spent more and more time just wrapped under the covers to conserve heat!



Our next few days were filled with some tough hikes and cold weather with cloudy days and thankfully no rain while we were hiking. In Sandakphu, at 3600 meters, we were treated to a sunrise view of Everest and the Khangchendzonga range. Frost covered the ground and the Indian tourists (most of who had jeeped up there) thought that it was snow!



The food was not sufficient on the trip and every dinner of dahl (beans) and rice became runnier and runnier, with more water and less beans. We ate like pigs when we returned to civilization! In some trekker's huts, the windows had been broken and were only covered with plastic bags. Some of the later arrivals had to sleep on the floor because we had claimed the last of the beds and it was the only trekker's hut within miles.



Our evening was spent in the pleasant village of Gorkhey, where I found two cats to play with and a nice colder river to take a quick splash bath. The next morning I wasn't feeling too well and we let Eddy and Zenya go ahead. Then we got lost of a terrible muddy trail and wasted a good hour finding the right one. But it meant that we took some extra time for a frisbee throwing break and had a few nice snacks.



I think it was this last day, while snacking on the ground, that I picked up a new friend, Tom the Tick. I discovered Tom while showering in Rimbick, our last stop along the trail. He was alive and totally stuck to my back waistline. This was my first hot shower in days and I couldn't enjoy it because he was wriggling around from the warm water. Dean became my surgeon and tried to coax him off with a hot match head. But Tom decided to die instead and after pulling my skin out a good 4 inches, he finally let go. We took some good photos memorial photos of Tom and will post those soon.



All in all, it was a great hike because we entered an area of fresh air without honking horns and with the lovely views. And we were very glad that we had decided to bring those sleeping bags!