Langtang-Tamang Heritage Trek

Day 1 - Kathmandu to Syabrubesi (Bus, 11 hours)
The drive to the trail head was dusty and incredibly cramped. We were two of the fortunate to receive seats (a sometimes perk for foreigners), though an extra row had been added and our knees were rammed against the seats in front. Every free inch of the aisle + the entire roof was jam-packed with villagers + their goods - items unavailable outside the capital, Kathmandu. The ride took 11 hours and was made more bearable by the pleasant demeanor of our fellow passengers and the scenic landscape of terraced hills + river valleys we passed through. Darin + I marvel at how good it feels to be back in the mountains, and in Nepal. At least for us, there's an awe-inspiring + humbling feeling that comes from being amidst massive, glaciated peaks and exotic, mountain people that's like nothing else on this earth.

Day 2 - Syabrubesi to Lama Hotel (1460M - 2410M, 7 hours)
It's ironic to me how memories of pain are never as strong as those of pleasure. It's been 19 months since our last visit to Nepal, and our last trek, and I've forgotten how difficult the first few days can be. Walking for hours - up and down, and up again. Always up. My pack weighs heavily on my back and I'm pouring sweat despite the cool air. But this is another thing I love about being back in the mountains too - pushing myself physically. "Teahouse" trekking, something uniquely Nepali, certainly tempers the discomfort. All that's required of me is to walk, and carry as much gear as I'm comfortable with. Meals, accommodations, showers + porters are all available along the way at minimal cost. What a treat to plop down at he end of a long day and have everything provided for me while I sit and write in my journal. (Photo: Darin walks through Langtang Village)

Day 4 - Langtang Village to Kyanjin Gompa (3330M - 3730M, 2-1/2 hours)
The village is quaint - stone homes festooned with prayer flags, yaks, old women with shrivelled faces spinning prayer wheels. We decided to spend the morning walking around the village and along the long mani-stone wall above town, savoring the views of the distant mountains. We ate a simple lunch of omelet + chapati before the short walk to Kyanjin Gompa. Normally a collection of tourist guesthouses, Kyanjin Gompa has become more of a yak-herders settlement in the off-season. We spent the remainder of the afternoon writing, drinking tea in the sun room + watching yaks while the cold wind blows outside. The light's getting good now + the clouds are clearing so it's time to bundle up and go enjoy the sunset. (Photo: Mani-wall above Langtang Village)

Day 6 - Kyanjin Gompa daytrip to Langshisha (3730M - 4160M, 4 hours up, 11 hr. day)
We spent the entire day hiking alongside the Langtang Khola (river). It was a relatively easy walk and we didn't see a single soul save for yaks, Tibetan horses and a herd of Tibetan tahr. The landscape above treeline starkly dramatic. The day was a bit more cloudy than the last three have been, but we're still feeling incredibly fortunate for the good weather during the beginning of the monsoon. It's been paying off to wake with the dawn and hit the trail early as the clouds start to move in by 10:00. Yesterday's hike to the viewpoint above town was equally spectacular and afforded a great 360 of the glaciers and valley. We spent most of that day too soaking it all in and not returning 'til sunset, exhausted + ravenous. We go to bed right after dinner to stay warm and Darin reads aloud for awhile before we fall fast asleep under the thick pile of blankets.(Photo: Hiking up the valley to Langshisha)

Day 8 - Kyanjin Gompa to Ghoratabela (3730M -2992M, 5 hours)
It's been non-stop for the past 7 days, so we started this morning off slow. We lingered over our typical bowl of muesli with hot yak milk (actually, it's "nak" for the females). Our stash of yak cheese is already gone, so we paid a visit to the village cheese factory to stock up. We learned that this small shop cranks out 6,500kg of cheese in a mere 6 months!Unfortunately, they're just beginning the seasonal process of collecting milk from the herders who have brought their yaks here for summer grazing in the high pastures, so the cheese won't be aged for another two months. Still, it was a learning experience. On another interesting note, our guesthouse proprietor also told us that he + his brother are moving some of their yaks back down because two babies were just killed by a snow leopard - Wow! We decided to escape the cold + clouds that have moved in and follow suit. Back down at Ghoratabela we were treated to a magnificent sunset on the top of Langtang II - a straight 11,000 vertical feet above us. Tonight I stare up at a sky full of more vibrant, visible stars than I've seen in a long, long time. It's pitch black around me, save for the dim candlelight barely visible through our window, so that I can not even see my hand before me. I stand and watch this twinkling show until the thought of snow leopards cows me into returning to the room. (Photo: Up close and personal at Langtang Glacier)

Day 9 - Ghoratabela to Thambuchet (2992M - 1460M, 7 hours + 1-1/2 hour bus)
The weather looks like it's taking a turn for the worse so we decide to stay North in the rain shadow, near the Tibetan border. It's an exhausting + quick hike down to catch the one daily bus to the last stop on the line - Thambuchet. The ride is a bone-rattling switchback straight up and then straight down the hill above Syabrubesi. We get our first inkling for what we're in for seeing people standing + watching our bus' labored progress. One man in particular stands wearing red leggings, bunched at the ankles; a handwoven + frayed red smock, belted at the waist with his trusty Gurkha knife tucked in the band; and a mop of unkempt hair above wild eyes. He has more character than anyone I've ever seen approximated in a film. He's of a minority group called the Tamang - descended from nomadic Tibetans. We are now beginning the Tamang Heritage Trail and if this is any indication it's bound to be interesting. (Photo: Gatlang Village photo shoot)

Day 10 - Thambuchet dayhike to Gatlang (1738M - 2238M, 2 hours up, 10 hr. day)
This is one of the most characterful (in every sense of the word) villages I've ever had the opportunity + pleasure to visit. The village is clean + has a rustic beauty - Homes are two-storey and made of wood + stone with a roof of large, wooden shingles weighed down by rocks. The second floor is reached by ladder and is where the family lives (typically multiple generations), while downstairs is open and used as a cow shed/wood storage area. The people are so colorful - men like I've described already and women in long skirts with embroidered wool aprons, pillbox hats + immense golden earrings that stretch their lobes to the point of breaking. The villagers proved to be as curious about us as we were about them and it wasn't long before we bridged the communication gap through pantomime and were gladly obliging their requests for photos. At one point while Darin was playing photographer, I sat near an old woman and listened/watched her bemoan her old age. She pointed at my hair and smiled, then pulled at her limp, gray hair - Blah! Then she stroked my cheek gently before roughly pinching her own wrinkled one - Blah! She squinted into my eyes admiringly and rubbed on her own as if to clear her vision. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, then she smiled at me and squeezed my hand. She didn't need to utter a word, the message was clear - Appreciate your youth because we all get old, and it sucks! We filled our memory cards there, and ran out of battery power too. And in the end, we simply ran out of time and had to hurry back to beat the dark. It was a very special day. (Photo: Woman winnowing grain. Check out her earrings!)

Day 12 - Thatopani to Thuman (2607M - 2338M, 4 hours)
We squeezed in a final dip (at 5:30AM) before breakfast and hitting the trail again. Yesterday's half-day soak in the steaming hot springs was the first rest period we've taken in 10 days. My legs feel like noodles and my back aches. The water feels glorious, so we sit and allow ourselves to be enveloped by the warmth + swirling steam. Villagers from nearby towns come and go and it's interesting to slyly watch their interactions. Women sit together smoking + scrubbing each others backs. Some gently bathe their babies. Young boys come to stare at bare breasts (we would have never seen this in India) and get a real-life sex-ed lesson. A few men come and go too. When we're sufficiently pruney and it's our turn to go it's with a bit of regret, but the weather's turned rainy so we keep moving on. Tonight we're in yet another traditional village, Thuman, staying in the home of a friendly Sherpa couple. Sunset brings with it a break in the clouds and we finally glimpse the incredibly imposing, jagged, snowy peaks of nearby Tibet as we sip a local wine called Rakshi. We dine on Dal Bhat (what else?!) on the wooden floor of their home. The wife cooks skillfully over an open fire right on the floor and the smoke seeps up through the gap at the eave. The fire serves as our only light. Everything is so simple and exists out of pure necessity. Our conversation is simple too and limited by the language barrier, but we smile and say Mmmm alot. We fall asleep to the sound of rain. (Photo above: Typical trail through terraced fields + old villages, Photo below: Darin at Langtang viewpoint with prayer flags)


Day 14 - Timure to Syabrubesi (1762M - 1460M, 5-1/2 hours + 3 hr. stop in Briddim)
We're back safe, exhausted, sweaty + stinky, but we did it. I guess you couldn't say it was a good trek if it was any other way. Now, as I sit on the back terrace of Potala Guesthouse (run by a feisty, old Tibetan woman) overlooking the Langtang Khola, I can see in an even broader sense how suitably we're ending this trip. The Vipassana course was the first phase, but spending some quality time in nature and time amongst these minority peoples reaffirms many of the lessons we've learned in compassion, humility, simplicity + gratitude. Life here is hard to be sure, but it's lived with a sense of joy that serves as a vivid reminder that we don't need so much to be happy. It's all a state of mind and acceptance on the good fortune we have just be alive and surrounded by family + friends. As we begin our transition to life back in the U.S. now, I pray these lessons have been ingrained enough to stick with me amidst the commercialism + consumerism that is all-pervasive there. I pray to care more about the things that really matter.

Check the "link" for more Langtang photos