September 28th, 2014
Secondary trekking route to Jomsom via Lupra following the blue line towards Ekle Bhatti.
The promise of 1000m descending, deserted singletrack and more stunning views.
That'll do nicely.
Jharkot below.
Not a bad climb at all, mostly rideable in fact which is a pleasant surprise at this altitude
Oh, if you insist!
Ok, no pics for little while as I got off the correct route for a time following the path in the image below across the hillside, which incidently is as bad as (if not worse than) it looks . I discovered a dead end created by a landslides so I had to back track during which I crashed on the descent giving myself the biggest scare of the trip. Could've been nasty. I was off route, with no one expecting me in Jomsom, it was dreadful terrain to walk through let alone ride/crawl out of injured. My bad. This put me two hours behind schedule setting me on the last 10km into Jomsom after midday, this is when the gale force winds start howling up the river valley bringing temperatures of over 30degC.
I was physically destroyed by the time I reached Jomsom. Chatting to a couple of Japanese lads (Makoto and Ake - I wish I got their photos) on the way out of Jomsom on brand new Surly's I can only imagine what I must have looked like to them. Shit covered bike, sweat stained clothing covered in dust and blood. They were full of beans, all bright eyed and bushy tailed. But they also had a gale force tail wind at their back as they were heading for Muktinath.
It is amazing the restorative properties of a hot shower, Gorkha beer, popcorn and a good book. The body is broken but what a journey, I love this country.
Ok, so I probably shouldn't have taken it home with me but it is only the size of my thumbnail and there were zillions of them just laying around. A trophy from an unforgettable day.
This was the last riding day proper.
29th September, I flew to Pokhara and chilled for a couple of days.
Highlights, Rolling through Old Pokhara then visiting the Tibetan refugee camp of Tashi Palkhel and listening to the monks chant.
1st October, a 7 hour bus journey to Kathmandu.
2nd October, fly home.
Beautiful people, beautiful country. I love this place!
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