Tag 10: MoGu's Jungle Book

09.07.2016

Good morning world and hello mountain panorama!...I think to myself before I get up. Actually, the weather is rather cloudy, and we are not yet high enough to enjoy the glorious peaks, a fact that I overlooked the previous evening due to the hazy weather. Nevertheless, the first thought of my day is still a good motivator to get up. For breakfast, I treat myself to the excellent and very nutritious ingredients of Banana Porridge, which I wash down with Masala Tea. I put too much sugar in both, which I justify to myself with the upcoming challenges of the day.

There's not much to say about this second day of hiking. First, we climb steeply up stairs and it gets incredibly hot. The humidity is alarmingly high, which makes our moods plummet. In addition, I would like to pay a respectful tribute to the builder of the endless stone steps and ask: 'Did you really have nothing else to do than carry thousands of stones to build thousands of steps in this dreariness?' On the one hand, I am pleased about the opportunity to walk up the seemingly endless ascents meant for donkeys, on the other hand, the heights of the steps are not adapted to European or Nepalese proportions - and donkeys probably don't enjoy them either. This leads to a relatively quick exhaustion of our muscles and the associated fatigue. Especially the two ladies have little time to catch their breath, which honestly is because I go ahead and usually have to wait a long time anyway. Therefore, when the group is complete, I am usually very motivated to continue. In the afternoon, the steps become fewer and we enter more humid, greener sections of the mountain. Not only do the trees themselves create a fantastic image, but also the completely greened sections of the forest (due to the humidity) delight our hiking hearts. In principle, it looks like a jungle and I expect monkeys, snakes or tigers at every corner with which I have to fight around the fire. Yes: I feel like in MoGu's Jungle Book. In my thoughts, I take on the role of King Louis and regularly try to keep my friends on their toes with teasing and funny songs. Gudi is clearly Bagheera, the sensible and rational part. In my opinion, Hetti embodies Baloo the bear, as she sometimes tries to be a little too comfortable and even looks for beetles under stones.[1] Our guide Hari may not necessarily behave like Mowgli, but if I imagine him in a loincloth, he looks exactly like him.

About 1200 meters of altitude later, we arrive slightly soaked and somewhat exhausted at a very cozy alpine hut in Ghorepani (2775). Well, I would describe it as such, in reality it is of course a Nepalese counterpart. In any case, there is a stove to dry our soaked clothes and nice rooms with clean beds and real blankets (not sheets, what a luxury). Here, too, the common people adapt their sleeping times to the barely existent power supply. Ken Follett's 'Winter of the World', which I pass the time with, will therefore have to wait a day.

[1] Certain aspects in this description do not always correspond 100% to the truth but were adjusted for better storytelling.