Travels in Nepal # 37 Stepping carefully
Mountain near Tengboche Nepal
On our way down from Tengboche the track drops rapidly to the river crossing below. While there is much less physical exertion than ascending, the descent is even more hazardous. I was aware all the way down of the need to walk extremely carefully. Any small slip or twist of the foot and one could incur a severe injury.
This part of the trek caused severe bruising to most of my toes. The pressure on the toe nails from the front of my boots as I descended the steep track caused severe bruising. This bruising did not disappear for several months after the trek. The nails took even longer to fully recover.
Despite the pain, discomfort and the need to tread carefully, the scenery more than made up for these inconveniences. Typical of the unbelievable scenery is the photo above. On my frequent rests along the way I would get out the camera. Or I would just stare. Mountains like that shownabove seem to be cut with a knife out of some gigantic cake made out of ice. Others were forlornly bare and stark rock. I could hardly comprehend the ruggedness, the steepness and the grandeur of these mighty mountains.
Related article:
- The trek down from Tengboche – extracts from my travel journal written during the trek in Nepal.