Out of breath, we leaned our packs back onto a 'sitting wall', we twisted our faces in anguished anticipation and looked back down the trail towards the town. We let out a long sigh of relief as we came to the conclusion that no one was chasing us. The path continued skyward, and each step became the AA mantra 'one [step] day at a time'. Occasionally we lost the trail, and we began to discover that the 'trash led the way'. The trail was littered from the locals' snack wrappers. The path we followed wasn't made for the enjoyment of us trekkers, but rather as an effective route of travel from one town to another for the Nepalese. Unfortunately, they don't yet share the same 'green' ideals that we are starting to live by.
The rivers cascaded down from hilltops unseen forming breathtaking waterfalls, and muddy treacherous terrain. The fog swept along the hills' form creating a misty, surreal atmosphere blocking the view of our relief - the pass's top. The birds sang unheard, and flew unnoticed from tree to tree as we could only focus on the sound of our own heart beat, and the struggle of each footstep. Each breath became more and more labored as we climbed into thinner, cooler air. Drenched in our own sweat, our attention became more limited and the stunning world around us began to fade away. "I'm dying here." Justin managed to get out between strained breaths. "I have never done anything so physically difficult in my life," I said, nearly dropping to my knees. "How much further?" The response 'Not much further now,' was as repetitive as the seemingly endless trail. I needed a real time frame. After conquering one false peak after another, I couldn't psych myself out one more time. "About 10 more minutes to the top of the pass, another hour after that to Bhandar." He replied through a contorted face, twisted from a mixture of pain and disbelief in his own answer. I knew full well that 10 minutes meant 30, and 30 felt like an hour, and I was exhausted, depleted, and starving. I wasn't sure that I would make it, and looking at Justin's worn out condition . . . I wasn't sure that he would either. But there was nowhere to go but forward, and that meant upward. If we could just make it to top of the pass it meant food, a little rest, and that we most likely could make it down the hill to Bhandar.
Our victory at the top was less than enthusiastic as we plopped down into wooden chairs inside a guesthouse. The air was much cooler up here, and we pulled on our jackets as we waited for our noodles to be prepared. We debated on staying there for the night, as the daily 3:00 rain had just begun. The food revived our spirits slightly, and we reluctantly headed down the hill for another 'hour' of trekking. Downhill wasn't much easier as the rain had made the trails very slippery and muddy, but at least we didn't feel as though each breath might be our last. The tiny town of Bhandar came into view and we quickened our step as the dark of night began to fall. Justin had already received two nasty bites from leeches. Now, the rains created a feasting table and we were their main course. Justin lugged our bags up the rickety stairs of the guesthouse, threw them on the ground of our dwarfed room, and started stripping. "Leech check!" He exclaimed. And as he started to remove his pants a very fat leech fell off his bloodied calf onto the ground. Upon further inspection, three more leeches were discovered and taken care of with a lighter and a few choice words from their killer.
The next morning brought the sun and with it chills, fever, and frequent runs to the bathroom. Our -40 degree bags were no match against the cold running deep in our bones, and our calves felt as though someone had replaced our muscles with stone unbeknownst to us while we slept. My body ached furiously as I rolled over letting out a miserable groan. Justin's teeth chattered in acknowledgement. We slept in a few hours, but I was determined to get out of that guesthouse. We were convinced that the old woman who owned the place was a witch doctor, and not the kind we wanted to come up to our room and heal us, but rather the kind that would put a curse on you just to watch you squirm. Her voice rang throughout the home like a crackling ol' crow and it made you want to trade your ability to hear for eternal silence just to never have to hear such an awful sound again. "I hate her voice." Justin moaned through clenched teeth. "Let's pack and get out of here." I pleaded. Packing was slow and proved to be more difficult than we could have imagined, but we were set on leaving - to be anywhere but there. We couldn't sneak away as we would have hoped. The ol' bat tried to charge us double for everything, then yelled at us for trying to rip her off. "Just pay her another 100 rupees!" I threw up my hands up toward Justin, and cast an angry glare her way. "I just want away from here!"
Taking only a few steps from her lodge the clouds darkened and it began to pour. I looked up to the sky and my face reflected the dark clouds. "I don't have a good feeling about this." Justin's rare pessimism spoke up. I only walked on faster, and I couldn't distinguish if my face was more wet from the rain or my tears. To say I didn't feel well would have been a grotesque understatement, and to add to our misery I knew it wouldn't be long before we were squatting in the leech covered bushes. In the distance we could make out the form of a young girl standing in the door way of another guesthouse just outside of town. After some halfhearted haggling we decided that we would stay the night there. Once again Justin lugged our stuff to a room made up of three beds very similar to the ones we had been in before. But this room had two windows and, most importantly, no witch.
Who knew that being so safe and making sure that we had EVERYTHING that we could possibly need to survive alone in the mountains for days, would make us feel so sorry that we were so over-prepared?
"This is where we are suppose to be." Justin's words seemed confident and slightly relieved. I closed my eyes, grabbed my stomach, and asked, "Do we know where the bathroom is?"
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