Nepal 2019 - Day 4 - Jumbesi to Kharikola Pt 2

 Jumbesi to Kharikola

Coming from the opposite direction were a group of young trekkers making a beeline for Salleri. They warned us about the ''zombie trains'' we would run into from Lukla. The picture they painted was of trains of tourists with their hands on the shoulders of the guides and followed by teams of porters carrying their wheeled suitcases! It was funny to imagine and told them that I will believe it when I would see it. In the back of my mind, my decision to trek from Jiri proved even more correct.
Post lunch, Jonah decided to stay back at Nunthala as he was expecting to meet some people from Lukla. There went the enjoyment of a trek buddy for the rest of the itinerary. It lasted for a grand time of half a day! I had to move on hoping to catch him on one of the rest days on the trail. We pretty much had identical itineraries.
The descent to Nunthala was long, arduous and was rekindling my knee pain. I reached Nunthala in a couple of hours and also came across some good lodges. I contemplated staying there for the night and rest my knee, however, there was still plenty of sun and this decision could have put me off my itinerary. The route from Lukla based on all testimonies so far pointed towards delays because of tourists,aka ''zombie trains''. Being on a tight budget and schedule, I couldn't afford to relax, at least not yet.


Speaking to a local, he suggested to carry on and informed that I might be able to make it before sundown. Next stop for me was Kharikola, the trail wasn't the most clearly defined and I had to reconfirm direction on more than a couple of occasions. The path went steep into the woodlands and very slippery boulders. This was the ''shittiest'' part of the journey, so far. It was literally tip-toeing in shit, breathing in shit and looking at shit. The mules didn't really allow you to take any other option but to follow them to Phulleri. It was almost sundown and Kharokola was still quite a distance away. I was quite used to situations like these so wasn't bothered like the first couple of days. It was a steep ascent through the ''shit highway'' in the dark for another hour before I reached Kharikola. It was worth the effort as the village felt cleaner, lodges were nice, the views were better as well. I got an excellent room for just 100NPR. 


Dal Bhat was the staple again and I indulged in luxury by adding two eggs.The lodge was pretty much packed and mostly large groups with porters. Kharikola is also an alternative for lukal for EBC trek. Met a Dutch lady who didn't seem all that impressed with EBC. ''Helicopters buzzing, garbage dump, what a stupid circus'' were here exact words. The lodge was quite big and had a huge yard as well. I decided to just lay down in the grass staring at the stars for the next couple of hours before crashing for the night.

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