Sunday 29th October
I had a beautiful night’s sleep, my best one yet. There was a light covering of frost and it was quite chilly outside. After breakfast there was time for a nice hot shower.
It was about 10 a.m. when I left Khumjung. Just past the large chorten at the end of the village is a junction, where there are two trails to Mong. Being an adventurous soul I decided to take the little used route up the hair-raising steep stone staircase.
The trail climbs along the side of the Khumbui Yul Lha and crosses a rocky prominence to the crest of a ridge. This brings you to Mong, where there is a stupa, some lodges and a fantastic view. It took two hours to reach Mong. I was tired and in need of a drink. As I sat out in the sun supping tea, Paulo, Paul and John came into view. I called out to them and they joined me. Before long the rest of the gang arrived. We relaxed and took snapshots. As the climb up had been rather strenuous we decided to have lunch. Lunch, vegetables with rice, wasn’t all that wonderful. A couple of hours were spent lying in the sun. Time was getting on so we got our rucksacks and set off for Dole.
From Mong there is a descent straight down the Dudh Kosi. On the left there are rocky outcrops that hang above your head. It was rather steep but there were great views over to Phortse and of the spectacular river gorge below. We passed through Phortse Tenga and then the forest up yet another long steep hill to Dole. Paulo, Paul and John got there before me. We were exhausted. All the beds were taken at the Himalayan Lodge and the Yeti Inn. The only other alternative was a small shack, the teahouse with no name! Nine of us poured inside and dumped our rucksacks. It was dark and cramped with a low ceiling. This meant some of us had to watch our heads but at least we had a bed for the night.
The name Dole means ‘many stones’ and is a pleasant yersa with three lodges, two side by side and the other across the khola that divides the fields. There are some fields here for the yak to graze in.
After a quick wash I took a short stroll up the ridge to admire the night sky as it closed in. Paulo was there. We both laughed when we discovered that we have the same birthday, the 5th November. What a good excuse for a party!
Back at the teahouse I had to force down milky tea with sugar – urrgh! As the woman had little in the way of food we all took an unanimous vote to have dal bhat for dinner. While eating my meal, I complimented the cook in Nepali, “Ekdum meeto”. This translates as, “It tastes good”. Paulo was impressed that I could speak the lingo even if it was only one phrase! We must have been quite a sight as we all huddled together in the dim light by the fire. The young boy seemed delighted at our presence. He was in an ebullient mood and treated us to some dancing. Martin brought the house down when he played his harmonica.
We learnt that some guy had left his gear at the Himalayan Lodge the previous night, and had gone for a walk without telling anyone where he was going. Nobody has seen him for over 24 hours and some people have spent the day looking for him. There isn’t much chance of him surviving with the nights being extremely cold. We all agreed that it was really irresponsible of him to go off like that.