Nepal (not Kathmandu), 1996-1998
In 1997, I went to Nepal with my friend Mike Engber (above Dharapani, looking at Dhaulagiri, GA_04), planning to walk from Beni over the Jalja La to Dhorpatan, and from there northwest to Jumla, more-or-less following the route described by Peter Matthiessen in The Snow Leopard, except that we planned to omit the loop into Dolpo. The walk as far as Dhorpatan was pleasant (fields, GA_07; porter at the Jalja La (3375m), GB_06), but at Dhorpatan we learned that the trails toward Jumla were impassable. We decided to walk west (boy, GC_08; Lower Shera village, GC_16; porter's legs, GF_07; child in Rukumkot, GG_06), following the river, and we thereby entered areas that are rarely visited, to say the least. In Musikot (children, GH_12), from which we turned south to look for a roadhead, the police chief told us that we were the fifth party of non-Nepalis that he'd seen in 17 months. From the roadhead at Karibot, we spent a few days on buses (doorway in Sitilpati, GI_18) and in Nepalgunj (lentil shop, GJ_04) before we were able to fly back to Kathmandu.
GA_04 GA_07 GB_06
GC_08 GC_16 GF_07 GG_06
GH_12 GI_18 GJ_04
I tried to walk a variation of the around-Manaslu trek in 1998, starting at Syabrubensi and walking east through Tibling to meet the Buri Gandaki south of Jagat. The weather was unfavorable (near Dhunche, HM_04 and HM_05; near Paldol Bhanjyang (3600m), HN_11; near Pangsung Bhanjyang (3700m), HN_19), and we never got further than Tibling (locals, HO_11; schoolroom, HO_18) before walking back out to Syabrubensi (kids, HQ_01 and HQ_05; old woman, HQ_10).
HM_04 HM_05 HN_11 HN_19
HO_11 HO_18 HQ_01 HQ_05
HQ_10
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Images on this page ©1996-1998 by Robert R. Fenichel
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