Storytime – injuring myself in the Himalayas!

Hello,

 

Back at you with another storytime – this one is from my adventures in Nepal and is covering how accident prone I am.

We were trekking in the foothills of the Himalayas during monsoon season and the particular Annapurna trek we were on had thousands of steps. Stone steps for 4 days straight in the pouring rain, complete with landslides making the route back down unrecognisable – I can assure you this wasn’t the best few days of my life.

An added bonus was the leeches that dropped from trees and clamped onto your skin as well as the one experience with a very angry water buffalo bull. The views in the other seasons are meant to be amazing (I really want to go back) but during this season it was covered by a cloud.

 

During the whole 4 weeks we were there, it rained a few evenings and there was one huge overnight storm but otherwise the only rain came during these 4 days.

The first day was great, it started raining after a while when we reached the steps and we stayed in 2 different hotels in the village we had got to. The food was good, lots of carbs and despite being tired I was happy to be there. (Also note my waterproof was 7 years old and shockingly not waterproof anymore)

 

After breakfast we set off for the second day and maybe 20 minutes into walking up the waterfall steps I managed to miss one, twist my ankle and pull the tendons. I didn’t know the severity of it but was in a lot of pain. The two walking groups (of fast and slower) became everyone else and me. Along with some sherpa’s who stayed with me limping and a team leader…

 

At the lunch stop, we assessed the full damage and it was decided I would carry on the walk. A soft cast was attached around my foot and I limped with the help of some walking poles up the rest of that day. By the end of this day, we were at the closest village to the summit and I decided not to go up there the following sunrise.

This was a good decision as the cloud was so heavy nobody could see the views and most people wished they had stayed in bed. We then began the long limping descent. However downhill is so much harder on my knees and I struggled with my sprained foot. By that night the other side of it was in agony as I had been overcompensating for the injury.

 

That night was terrible as I had got ill as well and struggled to eat never mind take painkillers. All I wanted was to get down from the hill and the following day after lunch we got off Poon hill.

 

My ankle got better and two days later I was allowed to got white water rafting! This was an uncomfortable experience and not one I want to repeat but it was very typical of me and is still funny.

 

 

Until next time,

The Great Ambini