I awoke my first morning in Besi Shahar with the snow peaks far in the horizon, this was where I was headed. After some good stretches and a filling breakfast, I donned my pack to begin my 200 mile walk.
My first 10km were flat, easy and all along a road. The jungle scenery was nice, but jumping to the side every 2 minutes from a roaring horn was unpleasant. The trail was much nicer when it became a foot path.
It climbed steadily up rice terraces, passed goats standing in the path eating weeds, and porters carrying goods with a strap around their foreheads. It was a hot, humid day, but sweaty wet is much nicer than rainy wet. The views were clear except a small amount of hazy mist that enhanced the scenery.
This flat honeymoon was not to last though, after Ngadi, the trail headed straight up a big hill to Bahundanda, rising 420m in only a few kilometers. By the top, the heat and climb had floored me. I considered stopping for the day; the view from on top of the hill was breathtaking, though it might have been the intense hiking. Ghermu was only 5km away, mostly downhill, so I continued on.
Right before the village, I joined three Slovakian men who seemed nice enough to join. We all got dorms together at the hotel, directly across from a gorge with a 350ft waterfall. I was tired from my eight hours of walking and my shoulders hurt. My legs, surprisingly, were fine.
I enjoyed a hearty meal of dal bhat, then sat outside with my eyes closed, listening to the only sound I could hear, water falling over the edge of cliff. This was going to be a great month.
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