Nepal-Chame to Lower Pisang (Day 91)

Chame (2670m) to Lower Pisang (3200m) 11:40 am to 4:30 pm (5 hours).

BY Anja: By we had the Western Union number from my dad for $350, so we were set. The only “problem” was that power didn’t turn on until 11 am, so I had to nap for an extra hour.   In spite of the lush candy supply that we picked up in Chame, I was feeling exhausted and not at all ready for our easy trek day.  My ankle was sore and my stomach had been bothering me for over a week now.  I was imagining a day sitting in hot springs sipping a beer while taking in the beautiful scenery.  Ken and I were both dreaming of rotisserie chicken on the trail.  I think the Nepali could make lots of money off a chicken BBQ stand! 

The hike was fairly easy-moderate, with about half of it on a road which was nice on my ankle.  There were gorgeous views of the annapurna mountains on our left and a giant snow capped slab on our right.  we imagined skiing down the top slab and switching to a mountain bike for the lower part.  It is nice that the trail follows a river, as it is always nice to see waterfalls from tributary canyons.  Since the road was so nice to hike, we decided to take an easy alternative hike from Lower Pisang to Humde to Kangsar rather than the more up/down trail through upper Pisang.  As a result, we set camp in Lower Pisang which seemed fairly empty relative to other towns where we’d stayed.  This is probably because most trekkers take the upper Pisang route.  Unfortunately the safe drinking water station was no longer available in this town, which cost us about an extra $10 in beverages at our hotel.  Cost in Rupees: 180 for bottled water, 400 pot of ginger tea, 100 for fill 2 water bottles with hot water.  He gave us a deal though for our room which appears to cost 600 rupees in October with attached bathroom but we paid 200.

Canyon views

The route to Tilicho Basecamp; it looks so easy, right?

Crazy trail!  See Anja in the yellow jacket on red pack cover!

More bridges.

The trail started to change to larger trees.  We loved the feel of the trail here because it felt like home.

Our room in Lower Pisang for 200 rupees per night ($3), pretty nice room with attached Asian toilet.  Food here was fairly reasonable and our bill for the room, dinner, and breakfast was about 1,800 rupees ($26).