Forest Camp

Day 5 - Pothana (1980m)-Forest Camp (2560m)

Torrential rain and thunder and lightning overnight cleared to a misty cloudy day with still no mountains to be seen, but beautiful goblin forest all day.

We were up kindof early. I'm still shaking down the morning routine but getting there - need to move a few more things like aquatabs into my day pack and I'll be there. Yummy dal and beans with tibetan bread and boiled egg (that I gave away).

Hiking steadily upwards, much easier than the Poon Hill ascent and misty conditions made for nice walking conditions, not too cool and not too warm. Cruisy pace that I'm finding quite easy. Parka on and off. Feels like the Tararuas with the mud and the goblin forest.

Visited a little shrine that (we're told!) looked out over an awesome mountain vista. Lunch was at rhododendron tea house,  at a main crossroads between Pothana & Deurali, Lwong, Ghalel and Forest Camp. The tea house shelter was being hand built by a couple of locals - making planks by hand with a big 2-person saw and manufacturing mortise joints with adzes and chisels. Angela chatted with two young men who were also having tea, one a civil engineer and the other a Computer Science masters student. They were very interested in NZ jobs and study opportunities.

Lunch was a bit over-long for some reason and we were all itching to leave. It was a shortish (90 min), reasonably flat stroll to Forest Camp where we stayed for the night. Alas we got rained on for the last 30 min so were a bit soggy on arrival.

Angela and I got an en suite room! Maybe even Sally would have been happy. Paid 200 rupees for the wifi and was able to time it for a chat with Toby. Nice hot potbelly stove gave me a chance to wash t-shirt and socks. Luxury. Soup and pasta for dinner with bonus raksi from the locals. A game of five hundred kicked off, the first card game of many I reckon.

Some place names and what they mean

Bidal Danda - Cloudy Hill (and yes, it was).
Nangge Danda - Naked Hill (or range - this part of the track is above the treeline)
Deurali - Pass (that's why there are lots of places called Deurali).

I bet this cloud layer will lift soon. (Spoilers: it doesn't.)

Eyeing off the water buffalo. Water buffalo eyeing off us.

Flagstones going up... and up.

 

Follow the white and blue blazes

Rhododendron teahouse (under construction)

Could be somewhere near Jumbo Hut?