Story:
Update 15 May 2010
Did the run again, this time with Moire. Started with a breakfast rather than empty-bellied and took water along. That made quite a difference.
Moire showed me her way up the Champadevi ridge from white house hill and that route skirting the small valley a bit further to the West than my route is both nicer and has no dogs. Didn't take my GPS but the route is nearly the same as what is shown on the track here.
We also took a bit of time at Dakshinkali which was "surreal mayhem" in Moire's words. One of the better sights in the valley for sure! And the contrast between Buddhist Pharping and Hindu Dakshinkali is as striking as between Pashupatinath and Bodnath: two different universes separated by about 10 minutes of trail.
All photographs are Moire's.
8 May 2010
Great itinerary but it wasn't my day so I struggled. The run connects two earlier runs and combines two long climbs. The first bit was from home, via Dhobighat to the river, Kirtipur, white house hill and up the Champadevi ridge. The vicious dogs again got on my nerves so next time I'll have to try another village trail after white house hill. That means missing out on the Newar Buddhist priest (very tantric dress code these guys have) who is building himself a monastery above the village that I crossed but never mind. On top of the ridge I turned right and up to the top of Champadevi with its little shrine (and a family enjoying a picnic). By then I was knackered. A bit further picked up a small trail going down a ridge that I gathered would bring me to Pharping/Dakshinkali. Nice but not always easy path, the highlight of which was somewhere two third down, still in the middle of nowhere, a really big flat grassy space with maybe 60-80 young monks (from small kids to young adults) playing soccer - ever saw that movie about soccer crazy kid monks in Dharamshala? I tried to stay on the ridge as long as I could and avoid the road in the valley to the West . That was worthwhile because the end of the ridge is a forest of prayer flags, all the way down to Pharping where the road is lined with one Monastery after the other. Had my first drink stop there (big mistake not to take any water) after 2:45hrs. Then through the village, avoiding the main road to the gate of Dakshinkali and from there on a long spur down to a suspension bridge very close to the ridge that leads to Tika Bhairav. Went through Danuwar village (very nice!) up the ridge and about mid way hit the trail that I knew from an earlier ascent. But I was walking all the way, no running left. In that sorry state it is especially humbling to share the trail with kids carrying loads, and adults carrying really heavy loads, for them an chore they perform every day, often after hard work in the fields, and on a diet that isn't very sustaining. And there I am not even able to just get my body up the hill with any semblance of graciousness. Anyway, made it to the top, then down to Tika Bhairav village, which now, on this post bandha day is a highway for trucks transporting stones from the big quarry just before the village. Aother drink and then took the same irrigation channel trail as before, first through the gorge, then after crossing a suspension bridge above the valley to Champi village, a bit of dirt road, again the irrigation channel and before that trail hits the main road took a trail down into the fields above the Bagmati, hoping to find my way on trails to Pharsidol. With a bit of help from the locals and an occasional false trail I did, emerging on the dirt road from Pharsidol to Bungamati just before the big brick kiln area. Can highly recommend it, great running, the valley as it used to be much closer to town 20 years ago. Run/walked to Bungamati, took a bus to the Nakhu ring road crossing and walked home, absolutely spent. The average speed of less than 6k/hr (lots of walking and two longer breaks) for a 35k trip that has fair bit of positive altitude (1730m) but nothing excessive says it all. It seems I need a bit more regular running.
Update 6 November 2010
Did a shorter version of this run with Richard, Peter and Kimmo (once we hit the Bagmati, we followed it a bit North, crossed it by the next suspension bridge and took the straight brick kiln route to Bungamati). New: the ridge stone trail to Champadevi is finished!
Update 6 June 2010
For Moire's story of this run:
Did the run again, this time with Moire. Started with a breakfast rather than empty-bellied and took water along. That made quite a difference.
Moire showed me her way up the Champadevi ridge from white house hill and that route skirting the small valley a bit further to the West than my route is both nicer and has no dogs. Didn't take my GPS but the route is nearly the same as what is shown on the track here.
We also took a bit of time at Dakshinkali which was "surreal mayhem" in Moire's words. One of the better sights in the valley for sure! And the contrast between Buddhist Pharping and Hindu Dakshinkali is as striking as between Pashupatinath and Bodnath: two different universes separated by about 10 minutes of trail.
All photographs are Moire's.
8 May 2010
Great itinerary but it wasn't my day so I struggled. The run connects two earlier runs and combines two long climbs. The first bit was from home, via Dhobighat to the river, Kirtipur, white house hill and up the Champadevi ridge. The vicious dogs again got on my nerves so next time I'll have to try another village trail after white house hill. That means missing out on the Newar Buddhist priest (very tantric dress code these guys have) who is building himself a monastery above the village that I crossed but never mind. On top of the ridge I turned right and up to the top of Champadevi with its little shrine (and a family enjoying a picnic). By then I was knackered. A bit further picked up a small trail going down a ridge that I gathered would bring me to Pharping/Dakshinkali. Nice but not always easy path, the highlight of which was somewhere two third down, still in the middle of nowhere, a really big flat grassy space with maybe 60-80 young monks (from small kids to young adults) playing soccer - ever saw that movie about soccer crazy kid monks in Dharamshala? I tried to stay on the ridge as long as I could and avoid the road in the valley to the West . That was worthwhile because the end of the ridge is a forest of prayer flags, all the way down to Pharping where the road is lined with one Monastery after the other. Had my first drink stop there (big mistake not to take any water) after 2:45hrs. Then through the village, avoiding the main road to the gate of Dakshinkali and from there on a long spur down to a suspension bridge very close to the ridge that leads to Tika Bhairav. Went through Danuwar village (very nice!) up the ridge and about mid way hit the trail that I knew from an earlier ascent. But I was walking all the way, no running left. In that sorry state it is especially humbling to share the trail with kids carrying loads, and adults carrying really heavy loads, for them an chore they perform every day, often after hard work in the fields, and on a diet that isn't very sustaining. And there I am not even able to just get my body up the hill with any semblance of graciousness. Anyway, made it to the top, then down to Tika Bhairav village, which now, on this post bandha day is a highway for trucks transporting stones from the big quarry just before the village. Aother drink and then took the same irrigation channel trail as before, first through the gorge, then after crossing a suspension bridge above the valley to Champi village, a bit of dirt road, again the irrigation channel and before that trail hits the main road took a trail down into the fields above the Bagmati, hoping to find my way on trails to Pharsidol. With a bit of help from the locals and an occasional false trail I did, emerging on the dirt road from Pharsidol to Bungamati just before the big brick kiln area. Can highly recommend it, great running, the valley as it used to be much closer to town 20 years ago. Run/walked to Bungamati, took a bus to the Nakhu ring road crossing and walked home, absolutely spent. The average speed of less than 6k/hr (lots of walking and two longer breaks) for a 35k trip that has fair bit of positive altitude (1730m) but nothing excessive says it all. It seems I need a bit more regular running.
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