Our next few days of trekking involved all stone steps.  It’s not that I thought this was going to be an easy haul, but I seem to have invented in my head a more leisurely trot through dirt trails.  We were actually ascending and descending mountains from village to village, so I should have expected very steep climbs and drops. 

I’m not sure if it’s a blessing or a curse that the trails are covered in steps.  It’s probably easier to climb up them instead of the dirt trails which turn into unsteady, muddy ground after the evening rain.  Descending down them, however, before the sun has had a chance to dry them can be terrifying.  Our group is six people, and when I’m watching five people in front of me clamber down steep and wet stones, all I can think about is dominoes: one bad move and I’ll wipe out everyone on this trail!

But we don’t even have so much as a face plant in our group, which is truthfully both anti-climactic and awe-inspiring.  More awe-inspiring, though, are the views.  How could you ever tire of looking at this:

 

I couldn’t.

This trek has been a lot more fun because of the group that we have.  Obviously, Karen and I are incredibly fun, but we were lucky to be paired for a few days with a very nice couple from the UK as well as lovely guides and porters.  After three days, Gus and Jules from the UK took a different turn as we were departing Landruk village: they were heading to Annapurna Basecamp, while Karen and I were on a bit shorter trip.  We were sad to see them go, not just because they were fun to drink Everest Beer with at the end of the day, but because it is always fun to hear about other people’s trips and travels.  I’m looking forward to seeing their pictures on Facebook, primarily so that I can steal them for myself.

With just a couple of days left on our trek, we were starting to feel pretty good about our progress.  And then every so often, a porter would run by in flip-flops and jeans (it was usually around 35 degrees Celsius) carrying a 100 kilo table and enough food for 15 people, and our egos would get put solidly back into place.