Erin's Travels: 10/24/08 - Day 3 - Chamje to Dharapani

Chamje Elevation: 4,691 ft

Dharapani Elevation: 6,102 ft

Daily Distance Walked: 6.8 miles

Total Distance Walked: 24.9 miles

Starting Time: 7:30AM

Ending Time: 3:00PM

Today's trek started off with a descent, but that soon changed into a really long climb. It felt invigorating once we finally reached the top. We stopped for tea with our Canadian friends in Tal. This was the first time we encountered Maoist symbols.

After tea, we continued to a village just before Karte for lunch. For our third day in a row, we had pumpkkin soup, chapati, and ginger tea, but for the first time, it wasn't quite enough food. Luckily, Dharapani was not too far away. Today was also the first day that my pack felt better. I'm sure some of it had to do with the fact that I was getting used to the weight and to carrying it, but I also figured out that if I put more weight on the left side, it would sit evenly on my shoulders. I'm not sure why purposefully not distributing the weight evenly makes did this, but I think it might have something to do witht he collar bone I broke a few years back.

I tripped on some rocks today and banged my knee pretty hard. I got a really nice goosse egg right on my left knee cap, and it was pretty painful at first. By the time we reached Dharapani, the pain had subsided when I walked, thank goodness.

There has been a drastic change in the scenery since yesterday. The mountains and river remain, but the rice terraces have disappeared as have the butterflies and dragonflies. We are now starting to see horses and mountain goats.

The technology available along the trek is surprising. There is electricity everywhere and a few people even have TVs and cell phones. At our lodge tonight, a wandering cow stopped to munch on a tree. A woman who works at the lodge swatted it away with a stick. Immediately following this encounter, her cell phone rang. The dichotomy is amazing.

A weird flower we encountered along the way. I've got no clue what it is.