Thursday: a visit to Dot in Ecclesall where William and george's eggs are very popular. Out of stock. But the Old Smithy restaurant was excellent as ever.
Thirteen SWOG walkers set off on Wednesday evening from The Carrs in Wilmslow for a 9km stroll around the environs of Styal, Morley and Lindow Moss. We soon crossed the River Bollin - not exactly in spate - at Twinnies Bridge, pictured above.
The two hour walk, with minimal ascent, was devised by Pam and Paul, who ensured that everyone remained jolly enough to enjoy the extra distance compared with their 6km prediction!
There's not much more to say, except that it was a very pleasant, warm evening, and a delight to be out with the friendly crowd. You can tap on an image to access a slideshow, or skim through the captioned pictures below.
Monday 15 November
Kagbeni to Marpha
Itinerary: DAY 15 Marpha (2,667m) From here we head south
through a wide, wind swept valley, on the left bank of the Kali Gandaki River
via Eklebhatti (2,758m) to Jomsom (2,713m) in full view of Nilgiri. Jomsom is
the administrative centre of Mustang District and has an airstrip. The people
along the valley here are known as Thakalis and until the Chinese invasion of
[Diarist: Martin]
Up at 6 am - tea then
washing water. Nice to be warm and to have room to stand up, and a flushing
toilet.
Rice with nuts and raisins for breakfast, followed by omelettes and 'jam bread'.
Away by about 7:30
to try to get to Jomson before the wind starts.
Eklibhatti (meaning 'the single tea shop') is reached after half an hour. There are at least four teashops passed every day nowadays. The path took us beside the Kali Gandaki river bed, undulating beside the barren estuary like flatness of the river bed. We pass a long, well tensioned, suspension bridge.
Sparrows twitter in the villages. Crows and ravens scavenge by the river. There are horsemen, ponies, goats, sheep, yaks and cows on the trail. Also lots of French people.
Our skins are still chapped from the dry air encountered at altitude. There are mani walls and chortens on the route. We take care to pass them to the left (or the Gods may be offended - not to mention the locals) but other tourists do not all comply.
There are views up
and down the valley on another cloudless day. By 9:15 we are in sunshine and in
sight of Jomsom, which is overlooked by the Jomsom Hill Resort - we gather this
is not an entirely successful venture, as people who land at 2700 metres in Jomsom
do not always want to walk up a hill to their hotel.
We find a coffee shop where Andrew reminisces about its qualities. However, today there is nobody there who can make coffee, so we move on. Another place is found for lemon tea all round - we sit in a courtyard watching passing horses (even a Dalmatian one) and admiring views of Nilgiri and Dhauligiri high above us.
We then walked for 15
minutes down to the other Jomsom -
Then lunch in the
newly completed and very luxurious Moonlight Hotel, where some Chinese looking
people took over the toilet for their showering. The highlight of lunch was fresh
croissants, which went well with chick peas, curried potatoes, coleslaw salad,
and green beans.
As we left at 1:30, a large group arrived. We knew the walk to Marpha would be windy and dusty, so we dressed like bandits to brave the blowing dust for the hour's walk. There are tractors (one brand new), motorcycles and bicycles here, as well as horsemen and trains of ponies laden with goods (mainly food produce).
We continue on into the strong wind, past a distillery, and we can see the end of our journey through the rain shadow - pine trees in the distance. So by Marpha we are slowly emerging from the barren area of the last few days. On the outskirts of town people are selling baubles from a blanket laid out in the dust. We find our tents in a small courtyard at virtually the first hotel (Hotel Trans Himalayan) on the outskirts of the village. Hosta set off yesterday lunchtime to bag a site and seems to have done ok, as we are fairly sheltered from the wind here. We arrived at 2:30 and hot water for washing has just been supplied (4 pm).
There will soon be a call for afternoon tea.
Statistics:
Start: 2800 metres
Ascent: 100 metres
Descent: -190
metres
Finish: 2710 metres
Time: 7 hours
Stops: 3.5 hours
Walking time: 3.5
hours
After tea, a stroll
into the pleasant
Then back for another
good meal - leg of goat, pasta bows with pepper and veg, aubergine fritters,
tuna/veg spring rolls, carrot and cauliflower, mutton and veg soup to start, peaches
to conclude. Then an exciting game of Uno which Mark won decisively. To bed in
our cramped courtyard, porters sleeping nearby, around 8:45 pm.
Saturday afternoon found us in gloriously sunny Marple, where Sue and I sought out The Wharf, where a New Horizons barge was waiting for our group of University contemporaries, many of whom were celebrating 50 years since graduating from one or other of the current Manchester University's former components. Back in those days we were members of the Tech Domski Hiking and Hosteling Club (TDHHC), comprising an amalgam of students from UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology)(mostly male) and Domski (Elizabeth Gaskell Domestic Science College), as well as the City of Manchester College of Higher Education (mostly female).
Most of my old university friends arise from membership of this club, and it was great to be able to get together with some of them this weekend. Thanks go to Linda, Elaine and Ceris for organising everything.
We wandered up past the locks of the Peak Forest Canal.
Sunday 14 November
Muktinath to Kagbeni
Itinerary: DAY 14 Kagbeni
(2,804m) We descend
towards the
[Diarist: Sue]
Back to 6 am wake
up call - it seemed particularly dark this morning. A frosty but clear morning
again. The usual porridge then puris and omelette in a chilly mess tent. Feet
were cold by the time we set off.
Young boys training
to be monks were getting up as we arrived, and the place was lively as they
brushed their teeth in the main courtyard.
Continuing, the trail
descended by irrigation channels and stone walls into the open and brown valley.
By the time we stopped at the 'Romeo and
Locals sold apples, and the ubiquitous scarves. The trail was busy with trekkers going both up and down. It is possible to fly to Jomosom and walk up to Muktinath, although tough due to the altitude. Some were ascending on ponies. Further down, it was possible to see right back to the pass, which didn't really look far away!
Kagbeni, our
destination, came into view suddenly, at the lip of a steep descent. Autumn
colours on the trees stood out, and the river in the Kali Gandaki valley could
now be seen.
A quick descent,
and Kagbeni (2804 metres) is reached. A lack of campsites means that
unexpectedly we're staying in the purple painted '
Lunch was sardine,
coleslaw and sliced potatoes with cheese, and a chocolate layer pancake, after
which washing water was provided. The wind was braved to go on a foray of Kagbeni
- highlights were the 'Yak Donald' restaurant and 'Delimustang (cf Deli
A young boy grabbed
our hands and turned a somersault between us - at least it wasn't the usual
demand for 'school pen'. At the end of the village is a checkpost beyond which
lies the restricted area of Mustang. To enter, there is a fee of $700 for 11
days and you must be in an organised group with a liaison officer. Andrew did
this to attend Sanjeev's wedding in Lo Mantang in 2000.
The first floor dining room benefited from sun flooding through the windows (and no wind), so was ideal for writing postcards. This was only interrupted by the Tihar or Diwali singing below, followed by a request for donations for the school. Rather like carol singing from place to place but with a group of maybe 20 or more.
Tea was served at 4 pm, then we headed to the 'Red House Restaurant' for pre dinner beers. Their top floor room was fairly warm and looked out onto the monastery roof.
Dinner, back at 'Paradise' was chicken soup, then goat meatballs, rice, mashed potato, tuna momos, and apple salad, together with Lindy's rum. A nice apple and cinnamon pie for pudding. A long game of 'Hearts' took us to a 9:30 bedtime.
Statistics:
Start: 3800 metres
Ascent: 5 metres
Descent: -1005
metres
Finish: 2800 metres
Time: 4 hours (7:45
to 11:45)
Stops: 1.25 hours
Walking time: 2.75
hours
