Day 1 of Mardi Himal Hike

Above:  In my sleeping gear of thermal polypropylene top, longjohns and socks, plus a pair of shorts for dinner.

Setting off for our hike

Our breakfast of banana pancake and banana and coffee came to USD2 per person, according to the menu.  But it was included in the room price of USD8 which meant that our private room beds was effectively USD2 per person too!

We had packed for the hike in a minimalist way and when our guide Sital turned up at 0800, he estimated that my bag was 5kg plus 2kg of water, and similar for Boo.  That’s not too bad considering the empty pack was about 1kg and there was about 1kg of snacks, meaning that my clothes and medicine kit etc was about 3kg.

Together with Suzan, we took a 40 min drive in a taxi from Pokhara (820m) to Kande (1770m) to begin our hike.  Along the way, we could see beautiful snow-capped mountains which I don’t recall seeing on my previous visit even when paragliding.

Kande to Pitam Deurali

We started at 0855 by walking from Kande.  The easy walk quickly turned relentlessly uphill with steps.  It wasn’t a good start but it never is, for me.  I tend to find the first half hour of any hiking day most challenging.

Boo threw up after an hour, perhaps due drinking water and panting kinda at the same time.  Sital quickly kicked into action and asked him a series of questions.  How do you feel?  What did you have to drink last night (eg. alcohol)?  What did you have to eat (eg. tummy bug)?

[Edit:  Boo was fine for the rest of the hike, not far behind me most of the time and sometimes ahead.  It was just a bad start and he reached our end point successfully!]

Around 1020, we reached the Australian Camp (2060m) where we rested briefly.  And at 1055, we arrived at Pothana (2044m) where we took our lunch break.

We continued around 1210 after lunch, walking uphill again but this time it wasn’t stepped but through some tree-rooted areas.

Arriving at 1305 at Pitam Deurali (2140m) the weather was grey and misty.  We went a little further by about 5 mins to Mardi Station Resort and Sital decided to call it a day.  It had been a short day of over 4h hiking including our lunch break but Sital’s reasoning was that:

• The next possible nightstop was nearly 2h away and it may not be pleasant in case of rain,
• The current weather condition doesn’t make the upcoming viewpoint worthwhile.
• This was our scheduled stop even though we were OK for time and were coping with the hike now.

If the weather had cooperated, we could have progressed further and have less to do tomorrow.

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Staying at Pitam Deurali

We were surprised that our room at the Mardi Station Resort came with private bathroom and free power for charging our phones.  We had understood that these would be uncommon.

We had a wash around 1600 before it got too cold.  Hot water is payable though and at this place, it came in a bucket for us to dilute.  It’s a traditional bucket and scoop wash.

I got dressed in my sleeping gear afterwards, made up of a thermal polypropylene top, longjohns and socks.  I wore a pair of sports shorts over the longjohns and spent the remainder of the day and evening in the dining hall where it was heated with a stove.

The menu here, we learnt later, was identical to most along the hike.  It had been prepared by a committee but the same item may be different at each place due to different cooks.

Back in the room after dinner around 2000, the thick padded blankets provided enough warmth for the night.

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Fake hiking gear

I asked Sital what he thought about fake cold weather gear, eg. down or puffer jackets.  He swears by them.  There are various grades for different temperatures but he reckons they’re as good as the expensive branded stuff.  My super-experienced hiking friend Beatrice concurs with this.

However, Sital doesn’t buy fake hiking shoes though.  They’re fine for occasional hikers but for someone who makes a living on the mountains.