Day 19... Last glimpses

 

Annapurna 

The world's 10th highest mountain and the first mountain over 8000m to be climbed, by a French team, led by Maurice Herzog in 1950. He wrote a book, entitled simply Annapurna.  I downloaded it today, having finished my other climbing book. I felt like it would only now be a fitting book to read, shamefully having not read it before, though I have read pretty much every other book about mountaineering.

But more of that later. 

I awoke, having slept pretty fitfully for some reason. My guest house was in the shadow of Dhaulagiri and once I had sorted my kit and ordered breakfast, I wondered outside to once again stare at the stark face of the mountain. Breakfast consisted of yet another apple pancake and as I sat there eating, I enquired of the hostess the possibility of getting a jeep from Tatopani to take me and my bike to Pokhara tomorrow.

Clearly there was a little communcation issue because within 10 minutes a small taxi car with a roof rack had pitched up. To Pokhara??

yes... 

but tomorrow from Tatopani. Today I am cycling to Tatopani.

why not today? 

Because I want to cycle one more day. 

So tomorrow? To Pokhara... from Tatopani.?

Yes. 

So I had found a ride that would take my bike although the roof rack looked a little flimsy. The driver seemed confident enough. 

When he told me the price, I did blink a few times, because it seemed like an awful lot. I talked him down in price a little but still had a slight feeling I was being ripped off.

Still then it was organised, and I didn't have to worry about it. So be it. 

We swapped numbers, he said he would confirm again tonight and off I set on my bike down the jeep track. Bumpy and cut up as hell. But today, I had set off early that the winds were very light. As I had giessed yesterday, all the planes from Jomsom took off in the morning and there was a succession of small jets thundering down the valley towards Pokhara. Rather them than me, though they would get a mighty fine view of the mountains... unless they crashed into them, which seemed a high possibility. 

My legs felt leaden, especially if they were asked to do anything other than downhill. Although I had been promised downhill all the way by a variety of helpful people, they also promised good roads all the way, neither of these promises totally bore out. 

There was initially a lovely stretch of blacktop which was fortunate because it rose and fell and there were a few climbs, which my legs wouldn't have made if it hadn't been a smooth surface. Dhaulagiri gradually slipped out of sight on my right and I whispered goodbye as the last glimpse of the peak disappeared.  

I was again following the river which had slowly meandered in several lines through a wide, mainly dry river bed. As thebroad wound down the valley, the river bed narrowed and the sides became steeper, until the river was a turbulent rush through a beautiful gorge (possibly the deepest in the world, though I cannot confirm this). 

I was cold... down jacket on... speeding round the corners of the smooth surface... It couldn't last... was never going to. 

The jeep track surface reappeared amd in some sections was possibly the worst I had encountered. Steep sided, with no barriers between me and the river far below, rocks and potholes to potentially trip me up and send me flying.. the road narrowing in places so that oncoming jeeps and buses squeezed past me. Occasionally my concentration was brought back sharply as my wheel skidded or jumped unexpectedly sideways. 

There were also some uphills which left my legs shrieking in agony and wasted at the top, needing 5 minutes to recover before pushing off again, fingers on the brakes and calves beginning to cramp with the effort of the downhills.

I came to a bit, where there seemed to be a shortcut over the dry part of the river bed... it seemed like a better idea than going all the way round... 

until I got to about halfway and looked at the river crossing.... 

I didn't want wet feet. 

I was still struggling with a cough and the chill in the air today coupled with wet feet was probably not the best idea. So I turned back around and went the longer way round.

At least it was mainly downhill. My body and my legs did not have much left to give and if there had been less downhill, I would have struggled a whole heap more. As it is the downhill was far more tricky than I had been led to believe with short sections of blacktop being the exception not the rule.

Going down, I admitted that the price I was paying for the taxi driver tomorrow would be well earned if the whole route was like this. I had also slight doubts about whether his small car could negotiate some of this track, so awful the condition of the road in places. We shall see, but it's going to be an interesting ride.

Throughout most of this section, the Annapurna range was in full view. Majestic and haughty in their demeanour. I felt a wave of priviledge to be able to see them and spend this time in their vicinity.

The road kept going down, sections that were hard going and required all the concentration I could muster... but I was going well. Speed was on my side today despite feeling heavy legged and slow.

I had come down a lot in altitude and it had become much warmer. I could once again smell pine in the air and then suddenly I realised the background noise had changed... the cicadas were back making their raspy continual song. I had gone from feeling the chamge of the season in the mountain environment to the slightly more balmy lower slopes. It was good to be warm again.

I stopped at a huge waterfall for a cup of tea. I only had 5 miles left out of the 23 today and I felt suddenly that I wanted a bit more time... I felt like I was saying goodbye to the mountains today and wanted to stretch it out for a little longer. The Annapurnas were still just visable, the tops covered in whisps of cloud. The Dhaulagiri range long gone behind me. 

I reasoned that my body couldn't do much more. It had been pushed to the limit and needed time to recover. It was sensible to make tgis the last cycling day. By reaching Tatopani, I felt that I had pretty much completed the descent from the circuit and was happy with what I had achieved. I was also running out of time and wanted to spend a few days at Chitwan National Park.

There was also that feeling that it was nearly time to go home. I love travelling, but I also love home and my pets and my family and friends. Skittles and Maverick would forget who I was if I didn't get home soon, as they have had an army of devoted people pandering to their every need. The snakes, lets face it, haven't noticed in the slightest!

Anyway back to the last 5 miles. 

It was all jeep track and I would have it no other way.... it was the hardest, most rutted, steep and technical section yet! So I swerved, and skidded and ran over boulders and through puddles and streams. Mud splashed all over me and my feet were now soaked. Now that it was warm and I was near my destination, it mattered less. I enjoyed that last 5 miles and at some point on that descent, the Annapurna range also slipped out of view, my last glimpse as I rounded a bend, the peaks slipping out of view and with them, a part of me.

I sighted a large town with some big hotels... Tatopani. I had made it! The end of my cycle journey (don't worry, the blogs will continue a little longer). I pulled up through the gates of a really posh hotel, leant my muddy bike up against a pillar and went in, my filthy self daring to step on their polished stone floor.

I was greeted with some amusement and some friendly smiles. I had mud mixed with blood on my legs (some stones hit me from the road as I descended), I was sunburnt and grimey... Nepal was ingrained literally in my skin.

They took my bike and locked it away and showed me up to a beautiful room with a balcony and a view of the 3 Niligri peaks.

A hot shower... OMG soooo good. 

Then relax

I opened my downloaded copy of Annapurna...

The first chapter was a description of Tukuche (where I stayed last night) as their base for the exploration and reconoitre of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna. Maurice Herzog described the gorge I had wound my way down, the river and even the infernal winds that blew down the valley. Many of his descriptions matched my own thoughts about the place and it sent a few shivers down my spine that I had trodden a few steps along the path of such a mountaineering legend.

When I thought about it more, many of the climbers I have read about, their lives and their untimely deaths, took place above where I sat. It was a humbling thought. How much has changed since those early expeditions... how little we actually get to explore these days. Then it took the expedition two weeks to reach Tukuche and then they had a further mini expedition to just find the start of the peaks they would. climb.

And so ends this part of my journey, my time in the mountains done for now. 

I have had my last glimpses and whispered my goodbyes.

Lets see what is in store next! 

LHS