ABC Day 07 - Bamboo to Deurali
Crossing the Tree Line
By now the foliage and terrain had changed from dense forest to sub-alpine boulder-fields. The treeline was also fairly evident as I looked across at the steep walls on the other side of the valley. It was perhaps a hundred metres or so higher than where I was, and was a stark delineation between the forest and the alpine shrubbery above. The trail continued to ascend, and crossed multiple waterfalls in the process. The strangely-shaped rosettes of Asiatic poppy plants
(Meconopsis sp.) were ubiquitous here, and consisted of only the layered basal leaves, but would in the coming few months sprout a flowering central stalk that can at times reach 2 metres high.
Eventually, blue rooves were seen in the distance as the trail made its final approach to Deurali (
elevation : 3200 m).
Deurali seen in the distance. Hover the cursor over the image to pile on the snow!
I reached Deurali just before 13:00. All the private rooms had been completely booked out, but reaching that early gave me first pick of the beds in the dorm of the Shangri-La Guesthouse. The people around Deurali did not seem too friendly and just curtly shook their head or waved me away when they found out that I was alone and was in search for a room. As such, I didn't feel too inclined to spend more time around these people than I had to and was very tempted to just leave my backpack and to head up to
Machapuchare Base Camp (
elevation : 3700 m) and
Annapurna Base Camp (
elevation : 4130 m) with just a daypack. I estimated that it would take me about 3 hours to get to ABC and another two to return to Deurali, which would mean that I would be able to return before sunset. It had however been raining in the afternoons over the last few days, so I decided to just stay put and to just go along with the original plan.
Gandharba Chuli (elevation : 6248 m)
I instead made my way out of the lodge to bask in the warm sunlight for a while, and to just admire the views and the sheer grandeur of the cliff faces that surrounded me. I was also left in awe of the powerful corrosive force of the river that raged below and marveled at how it had managed to carve out such a deep valley over time. Clouds loomed over and obscured mighty Machapuchare (
elevation : 6997 m), whilst Himalayan pikas
(Ochotona roylei) bounded around below and crows
(Corvus sp.) cawed as they circled around in the convection currents up above.
I have always found that there is something deeply spiritual about tranquil mountain views, and the hours that I spent just gazing out into the distance had left me incredibly content.
The crashing rapids of the Modi Khola
The dormitory bed cost
NPR180, and dhalbhat and hot lemon cost
NPR590 and
NPR90 respectively.
Suunto Movescount Stats
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