A very wet beginning to the day as we crossed the river. This time there was no bridge and despite efforts by our crew to create stepping stones, in the end the strong current and wide river meant there was nothing for it, but to get wet!
We trekked down the river valley, often rock hopping, through some beautiful terrain. Autumn colours were everywhere, lots of bright oranges and reds as we descended through low ground covers, shrubby bushes and finally, trees.
The trail in this area was particularly rocky, but by this stage we were getting used to it. Some, less conservative, estimates were for 200 kilometres of rock hopping in the 350km trek!
The afternoon was a nice walk through pine forest and then climbing again in mist and a little rain. A truly beautiful area and great for photography. We also saw a couple of squirrels, which was exciting for us Australians. Our English and American companions couldn't work out what all the fuss was about until we informed them that we don't actually have squirrels in Australia!
Finally we climbed back above the tree line to our camp by the beautiful lake, Thampe Tsho (at 4330m). Unfortunately though, the campsite is set in very boggy conditions and that, along with a generous serving of yak dung, rubbish and old camp fires made for a damp and unpleasant camp. Still, the setting is gorgeous!
The second last day of trekking included the crossing of our last pass, the Thampe Tsho La (4655m) and then a steep descent along the Nikka Chhu through rhododendron and pine forest. The rain came and went and by the time we reached the 'Snowman Shop' it had set in. The shop is a tiny 3 room dwelling and we all crammed in, for some to consume their first beer in days!
Eventually the yak herders caught up and passed us and we headed down to camp by the river at Maurothang. Apparently this site is used by the nomadic yak herders as a meeting place, for trade and to socialise. It is also the point where we farewelled our yak herders and exchanged our own yaks for horses, as we were heading down to lower altitudes the next day and the yaks couldn't follow.
The final day of trekking (day 23) was the wettest day I've ever spent on the trail! It had rained quite a lot in the night and we began trekking in light rain. As the day passed it got heavier, until our waterproofs were as wet on the inside as out. We walked through mossy forest with lots of fungi and as we descended, increasing amounts of bamboo.
Lunch was an unpleasant experience; cold and wet and increasingly concerned by the marauding leeches! The day was a trial, by the end it was impossible to tell if you were walking along a trail or a river bed, it was so wet. Thankfully this was the last day and not our first. It would take days to dry out all our gear.
Eventually we reached the town of Sephu and our bus, the end of the trail. ...and the start of a 3 hour winding road to our hotel at Ongde. It seemed to take an eternity, but finally we were in our rooms to dry off, but only after our first shower in 23 days! After picking off the leeches and putting on some almost clean clothes we enjoyed a vegetarian meal (arghh!, a vegetarian restaurant!) before retiring to a real bed!
Probably not the way I would choose to spend my birthday (rain, leeches, rain, looong bus ride, rain and vegetarian food ...when all I wanted was a nice steak, after 23 days of Bhutanese trekking food), but the shower and bed almost made up for it!
This concludes my brief summary of our trip to Bhutan: 350 kilometres of trekking, 17000 metres of up, 17000 metres of down, amazing scenery, intriguing culture, friendly people and 7kg lighter.
You can see all the photos in my Bhutan gallery or you can see some highlights of Bhutan and the Snowman Trek in the highlights galleries. If you want to look at everything then just skip the highlights galleries.
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