I recently returned from a 9-day trek to Langtang Valley and Gosaidkunda. Here’s the story:
In late Spring 2023, having somewhat disastrously completed my Land’s End to John O’Groats challenge, which left me with a number of injuries, I went through the ups and downs of thinking this endurance running malarkey just wasn’t for me anymore. Time somewhat healed that experience, and I went back to planning a million and one other challenges for the future!
I was then invited on something of an expedition by a good friend of mine Gwyn. Nepal! Well, I was hardly going to say no was I? At this point, totally broke, I agreed and decided to do what I always do and worry about the details (like how I’d pay for it!) later.
Later that year, I’d decided to enter a marathon (another disaster!) and follow this a couple of weeks later by running across the country, along the Hadrian’s Wall route (this actually wasn’t a disaster!). Seeing as I’d already gone from bottom to top, it seemed rude not to go across. I felt relatively strong at this time, a point I mention as LEJOG had left me pretty broken, with my already rubbish energy levels at an all time low. However, I spent most of November and December with a recurrent chest infect that just wouldn’t go away.
I had no running goals at this point, just the Nepal trip, followed by a return visit to Toubkal in the High Atlas a month later. So, I spoke my coach, Jon, and tentatively asked if I’d be dropping some of the running from my training “You know, because we’re all mountain focussed for first half of the year?” You probably guessed that I didn’t get the reply I hoped for, in part, because I’d also entered a 250km ultra in Wadi Rum Desert later in the year…
“No” he replied… “You’re a runner”. Nope, still not convinced on that. But anyway, start of the year and I was back with slightly renewed focus and enjoying the mix of run training, with an increased number of weight sessions, a few long mountain days/weekends where I would focus on uphill and pole technique, and using this as an opportunity to try out nutrition I was planning to use in Wadi Rum. I think mixing things up more was super helpful when it came to getting my mindset back on track.
After a wet winter that seemed to last forever (and still not convinced we’re totally out of it) May soon came around. These days, my brain struggles somewhat with organising things, but my experience of spending 21 days on the road living out of a bag was really helpful when it came to prioritising kit needed and keeping to the strict 14kg weight limits we had over in Nepal.
We arrived in Kathmandu at around 9:30am, to be greeted by high temperatures, zero air conditioning and very long queues to get through immigration. The effort we’d gone to, to organise visas prior to our arrival, now seemed a complete waste of time, as we were all funnelled to the same kiosks.
By the time we’d got through immigration, then found our way to the luggage carousels, our bags had been flung off to make room for the luggage which had now arrived on another flight. Chaos right there!
We were met by Surendra, our trek organiser and presented with garlands of freshly made marigolds, before being bussed to the hotel where we would stay overnight.
We had a stroll around the backstreets of Kathmandu, before heading to a restaurant where we tried out MoMos, which were akin to spring rolls.
Day 1
We were up just after 5am, eating breakfast by 6am and by 7am we were on the road. Very early alarm calls would become a regular occurrence over the next week. After the long journey, I had slept really well and actually felt quite fresh.
Our luggage was loaded onto the roof of a bus, which drove us out through Kathmandu, through the paddy fields, and up onto the narrow, twisty mountain roads. There was torrential rain. The last forecast I’d seen prior to leaving the UK was not great, and I hoped this wasn’t what it was going to be like the entire time.
There were numerous Police or Military checkpoints where we were stopped, and had our papers checked.
We arrived at Syabrubesi for lunch. Our bags were unloaded and after we’d all eaten, our porters began their journey carrying our bags.
We set of from the village, crossing the Langtang Kola river via a very wobbly suspension bridge, decorated with prayer flags. I think I might also have said a prayer as my ususal balance issues kicked in and I spotted a couple of popped rivets beneath my feet!
Once reaching the far side of the river, I struggled for about 15 minutes, as the ground beneath my feet continued to bounce whilst my poor brain tried to figure it out. It was the most bizarre feeling, and one which at that point I’d not experienced before in my post brain surgery state! It took all my energy to stay focussed on putting one foot in front of the other.
Eventually, normality returned and we continued to follow a rocky, woodland path which wound its way along the bottom of the valley, before starting to climb.
We took regular breaks over the next few hours. Temperatures reached 33C, considerably warmer than any of us had anticipated, and finally we reached a place called Bamboo, where we would stay overnight. It took us around 3 and a half hours to hike 5 and a half miles. We climbed 718m with some rather steep sections, reaching 2,005m.
We had arrived at about 3:30pm, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. Facilities were basic; there was an outside toilet and hot shower (which you had to pay for) and another toilet inside the accommodation block. When I say toilet, it was more hole in the ground.
Having been outside to wash and clean my teeth, I headed back to our room, where Neil announced, “I’m not sure if it was a rat or a mouse, but it’s tail was this long and it ran from under your bag.” I am quite certain given the size of the tail which he’d described, that it was most certainly not a mouse. I reluctantly inspected under our beds, but there was no sign of the intruder.
I got inside my sleeping bag, and zipped up. If the noise from the river flowing nearby wasn’t enough, overheating in my sleeping bag because I didn’t want any rats getting in with me kept me awake much of the night.
Day 2
I woke, feeling like I’d not slept very much at all. Thankfully, this is normal for me, so I am able to just crack on and do whatever it is I need to do, feeling like crap. We had breakfast, porridge (with water) and a big dollop of honey, which I hoped would give me a bit of a kick.
As our porters loaded up, we set off along the woodland path again. Now I love forests… but hiking through this the previous day it was almost starting to feel a little claustrophobic, and I really had no idea where we were. We just followed the guide.
We had however, spotted a few monkeys in the trees. They were somewhat elusive and clearly not keen to be photographed close up, but it was amazing to see them in their natural environment.
We wound our way up the valley, again following the river, crossing back and forth a couple of times on some rather dubious suspension bridges. The terrain eventually changed from woodland trails, to rockier paths and a more open landscape.
We spotted cattle (no yak yet though!) and mules roaming. I found I’d settled in my comfortable spot within the team, up front with the guide and a couple of others, and as the day went on I began to zone out a little, settling into a just about comfortable pace, following the feet in front of me and listening to the birdsong, which was very different to that of the UK.
We stopped at a tea room for lunch, before carrying on to our overnight stop. It had felt like a very long day, the last part of which was particularly challenging for me, as there were a lot of tight switchbacks on the trail, which made my head spin and nausea was never too far away.
We reached our overnight stop at Thangsyap, where we were able to hook up to the internet to check in at home. Again accommodation was basic. There was a toilet (or squatty potty as I call them) and a shower. But, given they were right next to each other, it was now considerably cooler than the previous night, and my balance was off, I decided to just have a quick wash at the outside tap and be done with it!
There was lighting in our room, but no power supply. We went through our routine of charging whatever we needed from the power packs, and then prepping kit for the next day ready for another early start.
One of the perks of being half deaf, was that I didn’t hear all the creatures scratching around on and under the floorboards, and in the roof space through the night.
That day we had hiked 8.2 miles, moving for around 6 hours 40 minutes and climbing 1,418m. We had now reached an altitude of 3,206m and as has happened on previous high altitude trips, my stomach was not particularly happy. This was the only issue I had during the night, but I was so tired, as soon as I was in the sleeping bag, I was away!
Day 3
Porridge again, washed down with black coffee. It’s not a far cry from what I have at home, and it works. I took a couple of Imodium in the night, which seemed to settle my stomach a little, so with fingers crossed and hoping for the best, we geared up and headed out.
The landscape had now opened into a wide rocky valley. Magnificent mountains towered above us in every direction, and the roar of the river faded away, as we continued to climb.
It was warm again, and I’d soon ditched my wind jacket. One of our guides, Yaka, had led the way on the previous days. He didn’t hang around, but I was grateful that I was a runner and had continued to train as such, so keeping up for me was not a problem. However, that morning, Yaka’s usual pace, despite not changing, seemed much harder. My friend Gwyn (an accomplished mountaineer and expedition medic) stopped ahead of me and said, “This is too fast… you’d think his pants are on fire!”
We stopped for a couple of minutes to allow the rest of the group to catch up. Gwyn made his feelings known on the pace, and Yaka swapped places with Deepak, who’d been our backmarker to that point. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a relief! As much as I love a challenge, I wanted to enjoy the experience!!
We continued winding our way up and along the valley. This is just one of the many areas which was destroyed following the 2015 Everest earthquake. Where we now walked, used to be the thriving village of Langtang. The village was totally wiped off the map in just a few terrifying seconds. Only one building remained. The village suffered an estimated 310 deaths, including 176 Langang residents, 80 foreign nationals and 10 army personnel. Over 100 bodies were never recovered. Over the following days we would hear stories from those who lived through the experience and how their lives were changed forever.
The landscape, as we passed through this area, was desolate. Memorials made from rocks and covered in brightly coloured prayer flags, were dotted around. We stopped at a recently built memorial, dedicated to the Gherkas who had lost their lives there.
Langtang village was eventually rebuilt to a degree, further up the valley. We passed through this new village, spotting our first Yak. They are usually only found above 3000m, as they cannot sweat. If they come below 3000m, they overheat and this causes kidney failure.
We continued out of Langtang village with massive 7000m snow covered peaks now visible ahead of us. We continued to climb; again it was a warm day but later on, the breeze picked up. We kept moving at a far more enjoyable, somewhat hypnotic pace.
We passed many Mani Walls; these are made from stone slabs, rocks and pebbles and inscribed with Tibetan Buddhist prayers. It is respectful to walk to the left of them.
Hot, sweaty, dusty, tired and now with that familiar headache, we arrived at the beautifully colourful site that is Kyanjin Gompa. I kind of reminded me of a box of Lego!
We had hiked 6.6 miles (again it had felt much further, particularly on little to no sleep!) in just under 6 and a half hours. We had climbed another 800m and were now at an altitude of 3,880m.
I didn’t let it be known publicly, but I felt utterly crap. I felt like my head was in a vice and the nausea was back. We made our way between these buildings to reach our hotel, “Super View” and were shown to our rooms. We had an en-suite with a sit down loo! Happy days… but the toilet didn’t flush in the way it was designed, we had to use a bucket of water. Something somewhere was leaking so the floor was permanently wet and the water was cold. I braved the shower. Briefly!
At this altitude it was much cooler, and we were now in the cloud base, as it blew threw the village into the evening.
We decided to spend the rest of the day acclimating to the higher altitude. You see, normally we’d go through the whole climb high, sleep low routine until we reached our destination, but because we were pushed for time, we went straight up. A number of us were starting to feel it. We sat in the dining room on the top floor. There were tables around the sides of the room and a log fire/stove in the centre. It was a lovely place and quite luxurious compared to some of what we’d experienced up to that point!
Deepak came around with his pulse oximeter, checking our oxygen levels. Mine was an impressive 97%, although it really didn’t feel as good as it looked on paper!
After dinner, we had our ‘briefing’ to discuss the next day. Given how some of the team were feeling at this point, along with the weather forecast, it was decided that we would head for the lower Kyanjin Ri peak of 4300m, rather than head up closer to 5000m.
Despite feeling garbage, there was a stab of disappointment…
Day 4
We were advised to sleep with the window open, to reduce the build up of CO2 in the room, which would add to symptoms of altitude sickness. And that we did… except that it must have blown shut and I woke up with the most horrific headache yet. Gwyn wasn’t feeling too great either.
Altitude sickness had officially hit. My O2 levels had dropped to around 74% overnight. My head hurt like hell and I felt very sick. Stomach issues had now settled by taking a couple of Imodium first thing every morning – it was also an attempt to dodge the experience of some rather grim tea room toilet facilities!
It was another early start and I forced my porridge and coffee down, along with painkillers. I was reluctant to start on the Diamox just yet, given that we just had the one day at this altitude before heading down the valley once more.
The group had split. Over half wanted to sample the local café, whilst the rest of us were going for the climb.
With our rucksacks ready to go, we headed up the trail which would take us to the summit. In less than half a mile we climbed 427m. With my head still throbbing, it was brutal. Deepak anticipated it would take us around 3 hours to summit.
It was a slow plod, and incredibly steep, almost scrambly in parts. The ground was very dry and dusty, which meant some sections were a bit like trying to walk on ball bearings! Despite this, we got up much faster than anticipated, in about an hour and a half.
We topped out onto a fairly narrow ridge, and waited a few minutes for the rest of the group to reach us, before heading up the final scramble to the summit. The views were amazing. You can’t quite describe what it feels like to be at 4,300m, and surrounded by 7,000m mountains. It was exhilarating, and I momentarily forgot about that awful headache and nausea!
The descent was somewhat slower, as we slipped around on scree. I went down more times than I could count and joked with our guide about how I just like to sit down and rest a lot… it’s far easier than trying to explain my underlying issues!
Once back in the village, we stopped for lunch. As forecast, the clouds rolled in along with heavy rain and the odd rumble of thunder. It had probably been the right decision to climb the lower peak!
That afternoon, in full waterproofs, a small group of us ventured up to a lake to pass a couple of hours before heading back to our accommodation to pack up ready to move out the following day.
Day 5
We had another early breakfast… porridge again. And coffee. Yep, palate fatigue was becoming an issue for me now. My headache was really bad again; O2 levels were at 82% – a slight improvement on yesterday.
Unlike the previous day, we had good weather. It was clear and sunny, but rather cool as we headed out from the village and retraced our steps down the valley, but we soon began to warm up.
We had a long day ahead of us. Once out of the open valley, we were back under tree cover, which again, after a few hours felt claustrophobic.
We hiked just over 12 miles in 7 and a half hours, with a couple of members of the team struggling with fatigue and injuries.
Eventually, we reached the village of Lama Hotel. I think if there was one point of this trip that would break you, it was this place.
During the last few miles, fatigue had been a bit of an issue for me, and whilst I’d felt quite confident on the rocky trail earlier in the day, by this point, I was aware I wasn’t lifting my feet as high as I needed, and there were a couple of small stumbles. This also wasn’t helped by my double vision, which again with fatigue got considerably worse. That said, I knew there was a 50% chance I’d me stepping where I intended!!
Our accommodation was basic, somewhat unhygienic, the food was grim (and yes, the same old choices of noodles with vegetables and egg). I’d made a conscious decision to avoid meat products, as in these remote places there was no electricity and I had doubts that meat would be refrigerated. This was a decision I was glad I’d stuck to, as I watched one of the cooks hacking at some ribs outside on the rocks, with a rather rusty looking machete. There was no lighting at all, and overnight a mouse had got into my rucksack and partly eaten its way through my cereal bars.
Day 6
The following morning, 2 of the team had decided they’d had enough (like I said, that place was enough to break you!). They thought they’d get a helicopter out of there. Unfortunately for them, there was no way a helicopter could get anywhere near, due to tree cover.
The group split. We set off for our next destination, the village of Thulo Syabru, whilst Deepak stayed behind, following slowly behind us with Simon, Julian and also Mike, who’d decided to head back to Kathmandu.
As the sun appeared above the mountains, the temperature rose to around 30 degrees. It was hot and humid.
We passed through Bamboo, where we spent our first night (with a rat under the bed) and continued along the trail, forking off a little further on.
We headed back up out of the forest (a little disappointed that we’d still not seen any red pandas) and into the farmed areas. There were lots of steps on the way up… I found it easy to just switch off, and think of something else around me.
I attribute this skill to the ‘mindful’ training runs which I often do. However, I think others found this a challenge. I think it’s at times like these when it would be easy to let your mind drift to all those negative things going on… the aching knees, wondering what’s going on back home… Meanwhile I had well and truly zoned out with the massive butterflies and cannabis plants growing randomly along the trail.
After almost 6 hours of trekking, we finally arrived at our hotel in the village. Thulo Syabru, at 3,619m, had been pretty much decimated by the 2015 earthquake, so all the buildings were new. This was by far the best place we had stayed in yet. We had hot chocolate, beers, and I had my first hot shower in days and a sit down toilet which flushed, rather than a ‘squatty potty’.
Day 7
That morning (after what was possibly the best sleep I’d had so far) we were woken at 5am by the most beautiful Buddhist chanting and the smell of incense wafting through the open window. There was a wonderfully spiritual sense of calm about that place.
We sat outside for breakfast (porridge again). I was starting to notice the effects of the distinct lack of protein in my diet and had now started topping up with Mountain Fuel’s Night Fuel and Morning Fuel, as a way to get some protein and amino acids into my muscles, which were by now starting to feel a little fatigued.
We loaded up with our rucksacks and headed off to our next destination.
It was going to be another hot day with a lot of vert. The scenery was very different to the Langtang Valley. We had a sharp uphill start, before the landscape opened up to more farmland. We stopped at a couple of tea houses along the way to top of water supplies, and have lunch. I was really struggling to eat by this point so had to force food down.
It was like going back in time, watching the locals harvesting corn using the crudest of farming equipment. One woman placed two sticks either side of the corn, trapping it. She dragged the sticks up the stems whilst another woman collected it in a wicker basket. Nearby a farmer was out ploughing his field with two oxen and a wooden plough.
After a long, hot, 6 hours and 1,387m of ascent, we arrived at Cholang Pati, 3,619m. It was much colder up there. I was shattered and as soon as we were allocated rooms, I unrolled my sleeping bag and fell asleep for a couple of hours.
Day 8
Another early start with porridge as my fuel of choice, topped up with Mountain Fuel.
Today, we were hiking up to Gosaikunda, the highest holy lake in Nepal at 4,385m, with just over 900m of ascent ahead of us.
We set off with clear skies and soon warmed up. There were incredible views of the Tibetan mountains which looked like they had been pained onto the sky.
As we reached around 4,000m, my headache came back, closely followed by nausea. I had a brief moment where I was just totally spent. I stopped and exclaimed, “That’s it. I’m done!” but a bit of a positivity talk from my team mate Dawn, got me going again. It was my own fault. I’d just gone too quick off the mark. We continued upwards and into the mist.
Along the way, we chatted with a Russian and a couple of Israelis. It made me think, how strange it is that in the middle of nowhere, 4,000m up a mountain, we all just get along with each other, like old friends with a shared goal, yet the reality is these countries are all at war.
As the altitude increased, so too did the headache and nausea. We reached the highest point of the route and I had big hopes to scramble up rock for a photo with The Beyond Recovery Project flag. Instead, I propped myself up against a metal handrail, trying desperately not to throw up.
The lake was beautiful though. It looked eerily calm, shrouded in mist. But I felt so sick, I don’t think I appreciated it as much as I would have liked to.
We had lunch, well at least I tried to, before starting our descent as the weather was beginning to turn. Within minutes, it began to hail. We stopped. Waterproofs on. We were getting good at this now and in no time we were on our way, stopping only for some passing mules.
The hail got heavier, and then it began to thunder. I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced anything quite so exhilarating as being in a storm at 4,000m. Up close and personal with Mother Nature at her finest. As we made our way down, we passed locals effortlessly making their way up, wearing disposable ponchos and sliders on their feet!
As the storm rolled in, our pace quickened. We made our way to a shelter we had passed. Not sure that was such a great idea, as it was pretty basic, of metal construction with a corrugated iron roof! At that point it was a case of go at whatever pace you want to get down quick, and so we ran… The rock was wet, slippery and covered in hailstones. I was closely followed by our young porter, Kumar. I knew he was on my tail as he had music playing from his phone! I got all the way to the tea house without stumbling once before tripping over a step! Typical.
We regrouped and made our way down to our accommodation.
That night we celebrated, and tried the local ‘moonshine’. This was soon given to our porters who enjoyed it, as we played western music and they showed us their Nepalese dance moves!
Day 9
Today we were heading down… 1,742 metres down to be exact. Goodbye knees.
The trail took us mostly through forest, passing through the occasional small village. The paths were rocky, and not too muddy, considering the amount of hail and rain which had fallen the previous day!
I was able to move well, with no issues to speak of. The headache and nausea which had ruined the last couple of days for me had now gone.
We were moving fast today, as we had arranged transport to meet us at the village of Dhunche.
We arrived there at around lunchtime and treated to lunch washed down with coke – a luxury, and there were bananas!
I didn’t realise just how much I would miss fresh fruit and vegetables.
While we were eating, our bags, which had been transported by the porters, were loaded onto the roof of our bus, before we began our long drive along some rather treacherous roads, through a landslide, back to Kathmandu.
Overall, it was an incredible experience with lots of positives:
My training (thanks to a great endurance coach who knows his stuff!) prepared me well.
Weighted ruck runs and hikes meant that carrying 10+kg everyday wasn’t an issue for me.
Kit worked well – My new gadget, a Grayl ultrapress water purifier worked and hadn’t killed me (always a positive)
I only had the one “I’ve really had enough now” moment.
Despite altitude sickness, I felt strong throughout, although would maybe consider taking expedition meals next time I do something like this, to make sure I’m getting enough of what I need.
I lost 2kg!
Negatives were, it was “that” time of the month. Not great, given the facilities, but good from a biohacking point of view, making this a good time for an endurance event.
Follow more of Sara’s adventures here – https://www.instagram.com/saracrosland/ and here brain tumour survivor group – https://www.instagram.com/thebeyondrecoveryproject/
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