Delightful Dubai

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How to Teahouse Trek in Langtang, Nepal

Imagine backpacking without having to carry the weight of a tent or food, along with the simple pleasures of a mattress every night and the possibility of a hot shower every day. Add in a heaping dose of the greatest mountains on this planet and now you see why teahouse trekking in Nepal is such a hit.

“Teahouse trekking” could be called guesthouse trekking, you hike your way through an established network of cheap and easy hiker-friendly accommodations. You can count on ample teahouse facilities (guest houses, homestays and food options) in three distinct areas of Nepal: Annapurna, Everest Base Camp, Langtang. Some other areas, like Mustang, are close to having the complete package, but the risk of bad timing or a full-house means that almost all groups pack back-up tents/food just in case.

We picked Langtang for a few reasons. It’s the closest to Kathmandu, and we didn’t want to waste too much of our ten days on transportation. It’s also relatively untrampled. While the other areas see 50,000-60,000 hikers per year, Langtang sees only a tenth that many. Plus, Ann had just finished the full Annapurna circuit, she wanted to see a new part of the Himalayan range. The end of October was the perfect time of year to go. Excellent weather, afternoon clouds but no real rain. My yearly dose of fall wrapped into one week, pretty nice respite from Hyderabad. Many hikers, but not too many, most nights we were the only people in our guest house.

From Kathmandu, it’s an 8-hour bone-jarring bus ride to Syabrubesi. You catch the relatively unorganized bus at Machha Pokhari, just off the “ring road,” and within four minutes you’re climbing up the forested mountainside. The trip is uncomfortable, but dirt-cheap, less than $5 for a ticket. After lunch, and a few harrowing mountain passes, get out at Dunche to buy your $20 hiking permit if you haven’t done that in Kathmandu. (Lesson Learning: Failure to do so, will result in a lost day of disheartening backtracking.) Some trails depart from Dunche, or stay on the extra hour until Syabrubesi, a peaceful little one-road town. Soon, the new Chinese-funded road will make the voyage quite a bit less adventurous. Settled into any one of the many guest houses before beginning the hiking push in the morning. We liked the friendly Potala Guest House.

Before we hit the trail, a word on guides. I’d recommend hiring a guide and porter, either in Kathmandu or in Syabrubesi. We didn’t, as Ann felt like a pro after finishing a three-week trek and I figured a guidebook and a bit of Hindi were good enough to get the job done. A guide would have saved us a few hassles along the way and a porter would have made the hike a little more fun on the body. Plus, it’s a great way to better see and support the human side of these amazing mountains. As for a book, we hiked with Lonely Planet’s Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya. Great maps and insight. I bought a 1:120,000 Langtang National Park hiking map published by NepaMaps in Syabrubesi for under $10.

Day One: Syabrubesi (1500m) to Lama Hotel (2480m)

Due to a permit snafu, we had to take a triangular two-day detour through Thulo Barkhu, Dhunce, Brabel and Thulo Syaphru, but there’s no reason not to take the straightest route from Syabrubesi to Lama Hotel. The trail follows the main river up the valley, and you’ll start getting great alpine views in no-time-flat. Hot Springs and Bamboo are both great lunch spots. Lama Hotel itself isn’t anything to write home about, but you’ll be tired after a long day of fantastic hiking, especially the final push, the long climb up to the highest point of the day, Upper Rimche.

Day Two: Lama Hotel (2480m) to Langtang (3430m)

Half-way through the second full day of hiking, the valley opens up from the forested V-shape of a river valley to the awesome alpine tundra of a class U-shaped glacial valley. By the time you reach the small village of Langtang, it’s the Nepal you were expecting: yaks nibbling grasses and grains under the shadows of the world’s greatest peaks. Their milk makes for the world’s cutest little cheese factory just a short walk from any of the dozen or so guesthouses. The Pilgrime Guesthouse was the newest, nicest facility we stayed in all week.

Day Three: Langtang (3430m) to Kyanjin Gompa (3860m)

Altitude starts to play a factor at and above Langtang. Even with a reasonable acclimation schedule, it seemed that 10-20% of trekkers struggled above Langtang, even if the porters were still cruising past in jeans and flip-flops. We met quite a few parties of 4-5 people where one of the hikers decided to stay back at Langtang while everyone else pushed on to Kyanjiin Gompa. The third day’s hike itself isn’t as tough as the previous two days, and the glaciers and boulderfields make for great distraction. The cheese factory in Kyanhin Gompa isn’t quite as flavorful, but the cluster of guesthouses has a chipper feel of international celebration to it. The Mountain View guesthouse was more than adequate.

Day Four: Day Hike to Kyanjin Re (4600m)

Get an early start on the crawl up to one of the most spectacular places I’ve stood on this planet. We huffed and puffed up the “gully path to the right,” and returned via the more direct route. After a two hour climb, amazing 360 degree views, high above the little village far below. An epic capstone to an incredible hike into the heart of the Himalaya. Do consider spending a second or third night in Kyanjin Gompa and making an even braver day trip to the top of Tsergo Ri (4984m) or up the valley to Langshisha Kharka (4100m).

Days Five and Six: Descent to Syabrubesi

Two days is a reasonable time to schedule for your descent, although some folks tried to do it in one fell swoop. We were pretty beat on our longest downhill day, Langtang to Bamboo, or about two-thirds of the total descent. Whichever way you do it, the final beer in Syabrubesi tastes perfect! On your return, inquire about booking a ticket on one of the buses waiting on the main road for an early morning departure, although expect the locals to try and bamboozle you into paying more for a seat in a private jeep (about $60 for two people). After the hike, though, you’re likely to think the upgrade is worthwhile.

How to Houseboat the Backwaters of Kerala

You could argue all day long about how there's nothing "authentic" about houseboats and "God's Own Country," Kerala, but that hardly matters. It's a great way to savor an amazing piece of the Indian experience. Imagine floating carefreely through a system of backwater canals mapping out an infinite number of paths through beautiful rice paddy countryside. Yup, that's exactly how JDB and I spent our friendship honeymoon.

As beautiful as the scenery is, though, the chance to peek into village life along the canals is even more fascinating. 75% of the passage is lined with houses, you're free to observe traditional living with a smile and a wave. Every house has a small boat and a small ghat of steps down to water level, it's the center of life of the community. People bath in the river. People brush their teeth in the river. People wash their pots in the river. People herd their ducks in the river. People ride the watertaxis and water-school buses. It's beautiful to watch. (Although in truth you do need to bring a book if you go for more than one night.)

Getting There:

Rent a car from the Kochi airport or Kochi city center. Expect to pay about 1200-1500 rupees for the 1.5 hour ride.

Getting a Houseboat:

One possibility is booking a houseboat online, there are a variety of websites offering a wide range of boats/trips. Another option is to arrange a houseboat through your Kochi hotel. We turned down 5500 boat offered by hotel because we wanted to see the options and we thought it would be easy to do in the low season.

We hired a car to take us to Alleppey, and the driver offered a connection on the ride. We ended up on his friend's boat, 6500 rupees for a well-equipped one-bedroom AC houseboat. Tougher than expected to bargain at the site, because the boats were not at a centralized location due to upcoming snake boat races. Price includes staff of three, all meals, bottled water, etc. Expect to pay 100 rupees per bottle of piss beer unless you plan ahead and bring your own.

Bring bug spray and suntan lotion. Paths along the river are muddy, bring sturdy sandals that can get dirty. Bring books, paper and pen. In fact, bring extra pens, as kids like them.

Highlights:

Delicious Keralan food, prepared fresh three times a day, plus snacks. Jen enjoyed the veg entrees, I liked the fish.

Hiking along the riverbank after docking for the evening, a 30 minute stroll north of St. Thomas church. Making friends with precocious children, who were in the market for one pen.

Stopping for a lunch break in provincial Champakulam, giving ourselves a VIP tour of the local hospital, St. Josephs Mission Hospital.

Postcards from picturesque post offices.

Finishing a book about Custer.

Hikes Around Hyderabad: Bhongir Fort

"Trek" three with the Great Hyderabad Adventure Club: An evening hike to the top of Bhongir Fort. And the first where two colleagues tagged along, Matt and Gloria were eager to both get out for a hike and meet some BEP-friends.


Fifty kilometers east of Hyderabad, one of many giant monoliths on this part of the Deccan Plateau. A giant rock, more than 500 feet tall, jutting abruptly out of dusty plains. Perched high atop the rock, a 14th century fort/palace and the long staircase snaking its way to the top. (We only half-used the convenience.)


Admission: 60 rupees. Bring your own water. Begin descent not long after sunset. Beware of troops of monkeys.

Lovely Laknavaram

I joined an adventure club, as I’m want to do.

One of my first memories of Madison, a pair of Hoofers outing. In Heves, in the absence of an adventure club, I formed my own. (Sadly, the Green Club never adventured, as the kids didn’t have sleeping bags.) And here on the Deccan Plateau? The Great Hyderabad Adventure Club.

I felt out the club in January with a trip to the deer park with the smiling orphans. A little heavy on the software engineers – as any group of more than a handful of people in this city must necessarily be – but full of friendly, interesting young professionals.


Until I get some experience under my belt, the idea of adventuring off the beaten path (at least with the ability to return to work on time come Monday morning) is a bit daunting. The train system a bit intimidating, buses even more so. So I figured the club’s a great way to hit the ground running.

First trip? Laknavaram.

On a map it’s not the far, maybe 200 km, just a little bit past Warangal, the nearest “big city” outside of Hyderabad, the epicenter of the Telangana agitations. The road between here and there is “under construction.” Sometimes a two-lane divided highway for a kilometer or two, then a one-lane dirt detour around an irrigation pipe or whatnot.

It’s slow going. But the most noticeable thing about Indian roads is the stunning variety of speeds on each an every road. Fastest: huge trucks barreling over/around/through any obstacles. 2nd place: huge buses, much the same, except they occasional slow – not stop – to let passengers hop on or off. 3rd. Personal cars. 4th. Motorcycles. 5th. Mopeds. 6th. Autorickshaws. 7th. Bicycles. 8th. Stray dogs. 9th. Pedestrians. Last place? Cows. The totality means lots of passing, lots of swerving, lots of jerky braking and accelerating.

The moment we left Hyderabad, the countryside was pure ride paddy and cotton fields, speckled with huge monoliths every once in a while on the horizon. Beautiful, amazing countryside, dotted with villages and locals hard at work in the fields. Five hours later, our private mini bus reached our destination and the 15 of us hopped out. A 12th-century reservoir that’s on the cusp of being a “tourist attraction.” That means the government has built a suspension bridge to an island and locals come picnic here.

It should come as no surprise when I interrupt the story here for a slight jeremiad: India is dirty. It’s a combination of things, of course, but here’s a beautiful spot that’s been blatantly trashed. A whole island covered in shit. Not just a little. A lot. Litter everywhere. Disgusting. Broken glass shards everywhere. Dangerous. Of course there’s no government or private entity that can maintain trash facilities way out in the boonies, an I’m not suggesting it would be the right investment in a rural area where there are massive public health, safety and education needs. More disappointing, I suppose, is the attitude of each and every visitor who comes to a nice little spot in the woods...and feels little to no remorse about adding a popsicle wrapper, a paper plate, a water bottle and a right shoe to the mess. (my new friends, thankfully, were largely exceptions to the rule.)

But once you gloss over the details, the spot was a nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle of Hyderabad. I wouldn’t go so far as to call the water inviting, but we dove in regardless. Most of us, strangely enough, in life jackets. It’s a bit strange coming from Wisconsin, but the majority of the software engineers couldn’t swim. So in the shallows I taught rhythmic breathing. And floating... Also taught on the trip? How to drive an automatic car. How to hold a paddle. How to steer a boat. Things I learned on the other hand? How to cook darn good curry over a fire. How to amuse a troop of monkeys with leftover rice.

We didn’t have the spot to ourselves, though, a slew of locals on picnics came and went both Saturday and Sunday. They don’t see many farengi – foreigners – out in these parts; I created a bit of a stir. Of course I bring most of it upon myself, charming school children on weekend picnics with a few sentences in Telugu, then having to pry myself out of 20 handshakes five minutes later. I tried teaching one school’s worth of kids the merits of picking glass shards out of the rocks, but the lesson may or may not have taken root.

This is the end of the story. It was a nice two-day trip into authentic Andhra Pradesh. It’s just not a good tale, sorry. Hope the pictures suffice.

Old Rag Time

Day hike/scramble to the top of Old Rag, Shenandoah N.P., the mid-Atlantic's most well-known summit. Lots of people do it each spring/summer/fall weekend day. Get there early to beat the crowds, but it's popular for good reason! Beautiful views, easy-to-follow trails, neat rock terrain, fun scrambling, etc. A great way to spend a Columbus Day!

7.4 mile loop, -2,400' elevation gain, 5-6 hour hike

90 minutes Southwest of Washington, D.C.

K. Holtje, rookie adventuress
J. Jewett, under-estimator of amount of water required for hike

Learning not to bike to places that start with “Mount”

What better gift for my parents’ anniversary than treating them to the same wondrous adventure that they raised me on: biking to the top of high places.


After two days of DC touring, we hopped onto two rented bikes (~$45 each at the local bike rental joint) and my rusty, squeaky early-summer purchase. Biking to Mount Vernon’s a nice little 15 mile adventure south of the city, almost entirely on paved bike trail. We invited Josh, Amy and little Elena, and set off after the morning rain stopped.


An hour in, about halfway, Amy popped a tire. The mini-adventure of getting it fixed was a nice break on the legs. Moving my heavy, inefficient bike was proving more difficult than I’d anticipated. Josh and I celebrated the crest of the hill, right before Mount Vernon, with a short walk – all the better to enjoy the views.


Luckily, the tour of George Washington’s manor was well worth the trek. You can see, with a view like that, why the man was content to give up public life in DC and return to the country. I wouldn’t mind the same someday.

Three Ridges Aplenty

My "Hiking Virginia" book is dogearred with great Shenandoah and Blue Ridge hikes, but only one trail earns the title of Virginia’s newest wilderness area: Three Ridges and The Priest in the George Washington National Forest. Jon, Libby and I set out to hike the hills on a perfect Labor Day weekend. Libby and I escorted Jon half of the way to training in Georgia, then rode Amtrak back from Charlottesville on the flip side. Hip hip horray for three-day weekends well spent!

Two-night loop along Appalachian Trail and Mau-Har Trail
13.8 miles, ~4,000’ elevation gains

Southwest of Lovinston, VA, site of Bargey’s 2006 wedding!

ALPs alumni extravaganza:
L.R. Strait
J.D. Mungen
J.R. Jewett

Day 1

2.5 miles
1,000 ft elevation gain

VA56 trailhead north on AT to Harpers Creek shelter

Stead climb led to nice area with lots of campsites and tent pads, very small creek

Day 2

8.0 miles
2,000 ft elevation gain

Up and across ridgeline, down creek valley to Campbell Falls campsite. Long 3 mile, 2,000 foot gain to start the day. First great view at Chimney Rock. Unfortunately no view from peak of Three Ridges at 3,970’. While there are some campsites in the area, you’d have to haul all your water up the mountain. Hanging Rock (below) at 6.8 miles is as good as it gets.


Nice shelter, outhouse, campsites at Maupin Shelter, would make a decent resting spot instead of Campell Falls. Even smaller creek for water purposes.

Campbell Falls is rugged in and out in both directions. The area's neat, but there's not much room for tents. Two was a squeeze, there wouldn't be room for more than one hiking party...and no good back-up areas around. Swimming hole atop a 20 foot waterfall was a treat! Would be great in hot weather, a bit brisk in early September.

Day 3
3.3 miles to trailhead
1,000 ft elevation gain

Quick uphill, then gentle return to river, parking lot. :-)

DC Urban Adventure: Tubing the Potomac

I've been in the city too long. I hadn't left DC since I got here in February, excepting an overnight to West Virginia for a bit of the 'ole teambuilding. So i figured it was time to break out for back to back weekends. Last weekend it was a bluegrass weekend at BPV's in-laws horse ranch up the Shenandoah. This weekend? Tubing down the Potomac.

Harper's Ferry as quaint as it gets in these parts, an easy one-hour drive or Amtrak ride from DC. Rivers, hills and history converge at a picture confluence.

For $30, Butts Tubing will give you a tube (some with coasters!), haul you two miles upstream and pick you up when you've had your fill. Double meaning, of course, floating coolers are allowed. We were unable to confirm the rumor that the buses will take you back to the starting line as many times as you'd like...instead we squated on some exposed rocks and sunned ourselves for hours.

Note: It is important not to miss your exit. We did. After you pass under two bridges, the river will curve and you'll enter a boulder field. Take that opportunity to get to the right bank. Sooner rather than later. This is not bushwhacking country.

Broomball Oh-Ten

We Were Surprised When It Didn't Work...

Operation Red Gym