10/22/08 - Day 1 - Besi Sahar to Bahundanda

Besi Sahar Elevation: 2,493 ft

Bahundanda Elevation: 4,298 ft

Daily Distance Walked: 10.6 miles

Total Distance Walked: 10.6 miles

Starting Time: 8:00AM

Ending Time: 5:00PM

Heather, Laurence, and I started out together in the morning.  The fears among the three of us were all different.  Heather's concerns were with the descents and feeling unbalanced enough to fall, Laurence doesn't like bridge crossings, and I'm not a fan of water crossing on slippery rocks or exposed ledges where it is clear things have slid over the side.  The trek began with a steep descent down uneven stone steps and was immediately followed by a water or unstable bridge crossing, depending on which we individually preferred.  With the exception of the exposed ledge, the first 20 minutes of the trek hit all of our fears.  The picture below was our first waer crossing.  I opted for the bridge on the left, while Laurence and Heather took the rocks across.  In the end I think the rocks were probably the way to go since the bridge was maybe a 4x4 beam with a really low railing and bounced up and down the whole time I was walking across it.  At least the water wasn't that deep or the bridge all that high to pose any significant danger.

It didn't take long before we encountered another bridge, this one made out of bamboo.  This time, however, the water was deeper (about mid-calf) on the one side of the bridge and there was a five foot or so drop on the left.  Crossing the bridge was a bit more of a necessity this time and this bridge was even worse than the first.  Again, the railing was really low, much lower than anyone's center of gravity, especially is you are carrying a pack.  Laurence and I practically crawled across, using both feet and both hands to steady ourselves.  Heather started across, but decided that wading through the water seemed like a better option for her.  We were told after we had crossed that the sign at the beginning of the bridge (written in Nepali only) said something along the lines that the bridge shouldn't be used because it is dangerous.  There was a tea house not far from this bridge.  Given the terrain we had already encountered and what we knew (and didn't know) was coming, Heather decided that the trek wasn't going to be her idea of fun and that she was going to head back to Besi Sahar and then go onto Pokhara to do other activities and see other parts of the country.  At this point in the trek, we were following a road.  While it didn't do much for the scenery, it was handy for Heather so she didn't have to retrace her steps over the two water crossings and back up the stone steps since there jeeps going by every once in a while.

Laurence and I said goodbye to Heather and continued on trek.  We crossed many bridges, although they were in much better condition than the first two we encountered.  Most were suspension bridges like the one below (Swiss made, although this didn't provide any additional comfort to Laurence).

We encountered some unexpected wildlife along the way.

And started to catch our first glimpses of what lied ahead.

We encountered many porters along the way, some carrying bags for other trekkers, but most carrying supplies into villages that were not accessible by road.  The road we had been walking ended in Bhulbhule, about 3 hours into our walk.  we were happy to see it go.  Bhulbhule was also the site of the first Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) check points we would encounter along the way.  At these and the police check points we had to show our trekking permits and sign a registry.

Laurence and I stopped for lunch in Ngadi Bazar, where we ran into the Canadians from our bus ride.  We sat down with them, chatted, and had the most wonderful pumpkin soup for lunch.  It was so good that pumpkin soup became our staple for lunch until it disappeared from the menu at the high elevations.  We had considered stopping for the night here, but because it was still early and we were feeling good, we continued on.  The day's trek was hot, but was not that challenging until the last hour.  The majority of our elevation gain for the day was between Ngadi Bazar and Bahundanda.  I could tell I was running out of fuel by the time we reached Bahundanda.  I hadn't taken in any electrolytes all day and vowed to add Nuun to my water supply from then on out.