It’s a new morning. We finally got the rest we needed, and we’re ready for a long day of walking.
I was optimistic about reaching Ringmo Village, where Phoksundo Lake is located. But, let’s be honest, I was just being over-confident.
The original plan was to reach Jharana Hotel in Chunuwar or at least Samjhana Hotel (on the way to Saaijol). Both places are so well-known by the hotel names that even the locals refer to them that way.
We woke up, got ready, packed our things, and had a light breakfast. Some of the group even left behind unused stuff to lighten their load- not me, though. I needed most of my stuff, though later I did regret not leaving a few things behind.
Remember the ‘guide’ who was with us? He left early, only to be seen again when we reached the lake the next day.
Read the previous part here — The First Hike: Suligad to Kageni
The ladies also took off. But we the “dhi ktas” were still at the hotel, capturing some random videos and, of course, a group photo.
We didn’t lag too far behind, though. I took the lead and caught up with the ladies in minutes, surprising them. I kept moving and waited for the team at different stops.
Most of us were together when we paused to take our first official ‘trek break.’
Didi offered us apples, but we had no knife. Ram demonstrated his technique to split the apple in two. Prashosan followed in his footsteps but eventually dropped the apple :p.
Anup Sir arrived late, as he was busy capturing the trail, missing out this party too!
We marched forward, with the next stop being the first wooden bridge. Everyone was mesmerized and took tons of photos and videos-always an exciting part of any journey, especially at the beginning.
We took our time here, probably more than 30 minutes. Everyone was satisfied, but some were hungry, so it was time to hurry.
With random songs playing, we continued forward with the goal of reaching Chhepka for lunch.
We had a full lunch, with Anup Sir capturing our meal on time-lapse, and then we all took a proper rest. Some even managed a quick nap!
This was when we met Sandesh, who was on a solo trip. Anup and Sandesh hit it off immediately-they’d be trip buddies from then on.
As they moved ahead, the rest of us followed. Prashosan and I walked ahead when suddenly I was captivated by the river view.
Flowing slowly and steadily, it brought back memories of past days and everything that led me to this point. I stood there, reflecting on all I’d gone through. (khada hu aj bi wahi, I stood there, still.)
I told Prashosan to go ahead and passed on the message to the others. Once I felt ready, I caught up again.
After a bit of uphill, as we crossed another bridge, Nisha whispered, “Malai ali garo vairacha“; the post-lunch walk was making her feel sick.
Didi had already moved forward, as had Anup, Sandesh, and Prashosan.
Nisha wanted a cup of black tea so that she could feel better, and just when we crossed the bridge, there was one — a stroke of luck, truly, as you don’t often find tea stalls in the middle of nowhere.
The stall felt like it was just waiting for Nisha — universe sign, maybe. Silly, I know, but moments like these kept happening throughout our Phoksundo trek, making it quite memorable.
So there it was—another rest, not even half an hour after lunch. Pretty laid-back, right? We’d pay for it later.
After a nice group chat and once Nisha felt better, we continued.
We all were together at various points in the beginning. Ram and I dipped our heads in the river to feel completely refreshed, followed by Sahil.
We had to give our way to mules that seemed to be rushing, danced near the cave, and captured tons of pictures and videos along the way.
The aunty from the tea stall must have put Red Bull in Nisha‘s tea—she got wings!
We met Didi on the way, had a quick chat, and passed her. The guys were even further behind.
The issue was that we weren’t catching up to the three guys in front, nor did anyone seem to be behind us.
It was just the two of us, and we were hoping we hadn’t lost our way. Thankfully, no—we met a stream of people returning from Phoksundo.
That’s when my unknown extroverted side emerged as I chatted with most of the people we encountered.
Soon enough, we encountered a signboard with two directions. I thought it was a good moment to wait for the guys behind us since the front group was nowhere in sight.
After a few minutes, Didi arrived and said the rest of the guys were even way more behind.
By now, we had split into three groups:
1. Team A: Anup, Sandesh, and Prashosan (turns out they were each walking solo—so much for being a team!)
2. Team B: Bhishu, Nisha, and Didi (I don’t know what I’m doing here)
3. Team C: Samundra, Sahil, and Ram (the guys were too slow today)
We continued on the path that said “way to Phoksundo.” It turned out to be the correct route.
We reached Renchi and took another break. We were still a long way from Jharana Hotel.
Here, I filled my water bottle and chatted with a dai who had left with us from Raju Hotel the same morning. He guessed that the others had already reached Jharana Hotel.
We knew we were behind, but there wasn’t much we could do—no network signal, so no way to contact anyone. I thought about how important phones and networks are these days. You take it for granted until it’s gone.
The good thing about this trek for beginners is that the trail is pretty easy. Just the river by your side, a few uphill sections, and mostly a straight path.
For adventure lovers like me, I guess the trail becomes a bit monotonous. I was already catching an eye because there wasn’t much to see other than multiple wooden bridges and the Phoksundo River.
We went through the forest, and that’s about it.
We waited a long time in Renchi; now it’s getting dark. We thought Team A was definitely waiting for us somewhere.
So, leaving Team C further behind, we marched forward. We didn’t want to end up out at night, so we pushed a bit.
After about an hour, we were almost close to our destination. I celebrated with my hungry stomach with a chow chow along with Didi and Nisha when I saw that Samjhana Hotel was just a km away.
We finally reached Samjhana Hotel. We thought the guys had already booked the hotel for us.
The problem is I thought Samjhana and Jharana hotels were the same, so I went straight inside and inquired about rooms for eight of us (didn’t know Sandesh was staying with us too; we hadn’t really had a proper talk).
But I was wrong. Samjhana Hotel and Jharana Hotel were different. I got a call—it was from Anup Sir!
I told him where we were, and they were neither in Jharana Hotel nor in Samjhana Hotel. Woah!
So I was confused now. Are we supposed to wait here for Team A to return to us, and what if we march ahead while Team C remains unaware of everything? So I had to think.
Samjhana Hotel‘s aama was already excited about her eight guests, and here we were, without saying a proper bye, leaving the place.
The good thing is that there was network in this region, so I finally gave my mom a call. Surprisingly, even Samundra‘s mother had called me.
Samundra wasn’t with me, though, so now I was more tensed about what to say.
What am I supposed to do? Sanu (Samundra‘s nickname at home) wasn’t with me? I bravely called her and told her that he’s on his way; there’s no network.
Aunty was sweet, though; she was happy to know Sanu was fine (hopefully, because honestly, even I didn’t know where Team C was).
The ladies had another idea about Sanu. I told them I’m not Sanu, and it wasn’t any girl calling me. The call was for Samundra. Funny, though.
Okay, so Anup Sir says the hotel is just 10 minutes away. So, we had to go forward, and that was the best decision for sure.
Team C were all guys, so I knew they would find their way somehow, but at one point, I felt like these guys wouldn’t be reaching us and might rather stay somewhere in between.
Me and the ladies marched ahead and reached our unplanned destination, Shey Karnali Hotel, within exactly 9 minutes. Anup Sir was right indeed.
I was still wondering about Team C. I kept contacting Ram and Samundra.
Finally, they called back. Samundra was definitely hungry and grumpy; he was slurring all the way.
Ram was confused, “Kata ho, Bhishu Sir?” I replied, “Hami ta hotel pugisakem, Jharana Hotel” (at this point, I still didn’t know this was Shey Karnali). The guys had reached Samjhana Hotel and, just like us, were excited.
In fact, Samundra mistakenly called someone thinking it was me and also mistook another lady for Nisha. He was probably very happy to see the other gang and ready to devour three plates of dal bhat (lol).
I replied to Ram, “It’s just 5 minutes from there” (this is what he did to us in Mungling). Tit for tat, haha. But it was a joke; he didn’t believe me.
So, I honestly said it was ten minutes, and the guys arrived on time. Finally, the entire team is here.
Team C starts exaggerating about the apples they ate on the way. It sounded exciting, but deep down, they were more worried about reaching us.
The good thing is they picked up for us too and we got to taste delicious apples from Dolpa, which really boosted my mood.
Then, we freshened up and all lined up in the kitchen hall for some warm firewood.
Now, the guys started massaging their feet with oil. Me? There was no pain in my feet, but my shoulder was not at its best.
I couldn’t even move properly—the bag was too heavy with all those snacks and clothes. I’d decided already—I’m leaving some stuff behind tomorrow!
Now as we sat here, we met two soon-to-be lawyers who loved traveling.
Isn’t it great that no matter what profession you belong to, there’s always one thing that connects us? The ones I’ve met throughout this trip shared a love for travel.
We hit it off immediately. The guys had come all the way from Kathmandu to Dolpa on their motorcycle. Quite a ride!
The two buddies started sharing their Phoksundo story with us. I even exchanged Instagram IDs with one of them. The guys tried ‘tongba‘ while our team just watched them get tipsy.
Our dinner was ready. Only on this day, we had dal bhat twice; turns out the guys were really hungry. With Yak Sukuti, a new taste made the dinner even more delicious.
Also, there was bhang ko achar and just minimal vegetable items.
After a proper dinner, we came to sit again to take in the warmth.
Ram started sharing the videos and photos he took, calling a ‘raccoon‘ a ‘red panda‘. Nisha, Didi, and Ram had their own funny things going on, laughing at silly jokes. Other guys were amazed at why they were laughing so much.
The thing is, everyone had a different type of connection with one another. At the end of the day, we are all connected by one point, right?
We have different kinds of friendships; the image that someone has of me might be a whole lot different from another person’s perspective. That’s how the world goes, and I guess that’s what I’ve learned.
The only true thing is to learn about ourselves, and we’re doing this every single day. I was a different person yesterday, and I am a different person today. Tomorrow, I’m a stranger to myself, and that’s the exciting part about life, right?
As my thoughts linger here, there was another incident that night in Shey Karnali. The owner (husband) somewhat claimed not to give his property to his wife and rather said he’d bring another wife.
The talk was mostly with the soon-to-be lawyers, who were making them understand the legal consequences of such cases.
But the conversation shifted from one topic to another, and we began to feel for his wife. His family couldn’t speak much against him. However, our ladies (especially Didi) weren’t having it.
It turned out the husband was just kidding and wasn’t planning to do anything of the sort. Still, it was a serious matter that caught everyone’s attention for a few minutes.
It was a good discussion, but after all, it had been a tiring day. As we settled in for the night, we promised ourselves that we would rise early and hit the trail at dawn, eager to embrace the adventures that awaited us.
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