Day 5 - Langtang to Bamboo

All Down, All Day
Distance - 10 miles
Time - 7 hrs
Elevation - from 11,236 to 6,397
Equivalent flights of stairs = 484

We decided to bite off a bigger chunk of downhill to shorten the following day's hike, which would be steeply uphill.  We descended almost 5,000 feet.  First things first, this was our morning view.  I stretched and took in the cool air as my breakfast chapati was cooking.

We sat inside the kitchen, next to the stove eating our breakfast.  I had a bowl of tsampa after my chapati.  It's the Tibetan version of cream of wheat but made with barley and sprinkled with muesli.  I became quite fond of this.

The lady owner and her young daughter had what they described as the "Mongolian face" - strong high cheekbones.  I asked my favorite question and they confirmed that yes, Jean looked Tibetan or Nepali.  This would explain why later, in Kathmandu, I walked unmolested by street vendors with her at my side.

The prospect of a downhill day cheered everyone up.  I imagined skipping down the stone steps, whistling and picking flowers.  

I noticed things I hadn't seen on the way up such as the method of piling stones onto the roof shingles to keep them from being torn off by the wind.

There were many stone masons along the trail smashing large boulders into pieces.  The ultimate product ended up in the walls of every tea house.  

In short order we were at the tree line.  It was a pleasurable stroll at this point - along a gentle trail.

Once we arrived at the dusty steps it became more treacherous.  I filmed a video of it where you can see me slide and almost knock Jean off her feet.

Everyone was having a relaxed day.

At the magical 10,000 foot mark we were beneath the trees again.

The surroundings change from dusty moonscape to shady, mossy forest.

For lunch I had a potato pancake.  I got the recipe for this, it's nice.

After lunch we were off again.  It was here at this waterfall after five hours of walking down that I noticed the few inches of muscle above my knee were burning in pain.

I began to miss going uphill and I'm not even joking.  You don't huff and puff on the descent but your knees and calves take a beating.

Even level ground felt only somewhat better.  We had to climb every now and again and it was a relief.

At six hours, I began to get weary.  This was turning into a slog.

The river was back to its old self, raging and loud.

This video captures the sound.

I recognized the bamboo - we were almost there, the small trekker's village named Bamboo.  We'd eaten our first lunch here on day 1.

Here I am, finally arrived, standing outside our tea house.  My legs were throbbing.  I wanted to scream "I am the king of Bamboo!!!" but I was too exhausted.