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Soti Khola to Maccha Khola – Landslide Lane (2nd blog today)

Avalanche – Leonard Cohen. Can’t think of a landslide song.

The monsoon was back in the night. We met for breakfast at 7am, omelette in chapatis, and it looked bleak outside.

However there was a slight improvement as we packed and I held off the waterproofs. With a rain cover on the rucksack the rain was welcome on my head. It was a bit cooler too, but still no breeze. Almost immediately we hit landslides on the track. Big buggers.

There was a track across this river up there somewhere, but the mountainside gave up to gravity in the rain. Still, the mules were making a good fist of it across the fallen boulders.

A skinhead took off his rucksack and went down to the new river bed to have a look at a way across.

Then gave a gesture of defiance which was hollow due to him pooing himself at the thought of having to jump across a few water-covered rocks.

In the end the old git went barefoot and was helped across by Bhim and the mule train driver. And, having lost his dignity, he failed to regain it by wading across the next two deeper rivers in his boots. Which continued to squelch. Soft northern foot-wetter. There’s some big boulders come down here.

It was still raining further up the mountains, feeding the waterfalls.

The footbridges are really good. They’ve done a good job for their people.

They do tend to wobble a bit and it gets to you in the middle when you can see the rocks a considerable distance below.

But there are also some great views from these swingers.

We made it to Maccha Khola in 5 hours.

In time for lunch, potatoes, and to hang out my clothes to dry at the guest house. My room was ok. Private facilities, this is my toilet and shower combined. Looks a bit grimy but trekkers can’t be choosers.