Continuing on from Bamboo we retrace the trail we took days before coming from Chomrong. This is the dreaded section of endless steps, nearly equally bad in either direction as there isn’t much difference in elevation between Chomrong and Bamboo.
However, the trail is anything but flat. In this direction, towards Chomrong, the trail first climbs steeply along stone steps or irregular rocks with occasional sections of a gentler incline.
At the top you can see Chomrong straight across the valley. The trail then plunges down more endless stairs to the Chomrong river below.
The real interest of the day is the new bridge over the river. The bridge we had crossed over just a couple of days before is missing several planks and is now blocked with newly cut branches. About 50-75 feet above, workers are busy digging out the supports for the new and much larger bridge.
To cross the river we follow the detour downstream about 500 meters to the freshly built temporary bridge. The simple wooden structure is finished with dirt over grass, still green and looking freshly cut. Compared to the power of the water flowing below us the temporary bridge feels like a rowboat in the ocean.
Once across the river the detour trail heads up an alternate route through rice fields before meeting up with the main trail, a stone staircase that climbs to Chomrong.
We reach the Excellent View Guesthouse just before noon and decide to stop for an early lunch. I’m still not over my cough/cold and am in bad need of rest and a hot meal – A chicken sandwich with chips and tomato soup, the best soup of the circuit.
The final leg of the day is another steep decent to Jhinudanda. The sun is at the wrong angle for good photos of the dramatic valley views and terraced fields.
The Evergreen Hotel feels like we’re almost back to civilization. The box like rooms are actually warm from the afternoon sun, painted sunny colors and have carpeting instead of the worn linoleum of other places.
The dining room is equally cheerily painted and serves a broader range of dishes including chicken and tuna options. The girls play spoons with some of the other guides and porters, still playing as fast as they can and cracking up at the end of every hand.
November 5, 2012
For links to all the posts related to the trek see the Annapurna Base Camp page.
For links to all the posts in this series see the Nepal page.
Nepal sounds amazing! Looks like a great time, thanks for sharing.
That looks like a heck of a lot of stairs! You must have thighs of steel by now!
Hi Hali, The stairs are what kills! Definitely you want to train so you don’t have knee problems.