Bhutan

November 2nd finds us flying into Paro, checking into the Namsay Resort hotel, and then heading to the trailhead to Taktsang, the Tiger's Nest Monastery. It's quite a hike from about 8,500 feet to about 10,200 feet. I didn't do the last down-and-up to get to the monastery itself, but I got quite a view. It was late in the day, and I was one of just a few of us who got back to the bus before dark.
Next day, November 3rd, is our first day of boating. I pick out a blue Jefe. It's the boat closest to what I'm paddling currently, the Remix 69. It's Liquidlogic, it's a creeker, and it's blue. What more could I want?
We head to the Paro Chhu. Not everyone is paddling: some are taking a cultural tour. It's a pretty straightforward run, pool-drop with a nice share of class 3 rapids. Land Heflin, Willy Kern, and Jed Weingarten are our river guides, the Tarkio Team. Chencho is our cultural guide. Toward the end, there's a class 4 'portage'. The only decent line is far left, requiring a tricky boof, with maybe 70 yards more rapids below. The guides run our boats through, but all the clients walk around. We enter a little gorge, into shade, and I'm chilled down by the time we see the three chortens marking the take-out at Chhuzom.
Next day is the start of our trek. We're up pretty early and head up to the National Museum trailhead, at about 8,000 feet. Many donkeys and drivers are waiting for us there. Up we go, relentlessly gaining elevation. The trail follows a dirt road for quite a ways, and then snakes off into piney woods. Eventually we're at the saddle at about 11,500 feet, with Jele Dzong up a ridge to the right and lots of prayer flags up the ridge to the left. We drop down a bit to our camp in a meadow below the dzong.
Next morning it's cold and frost is everywhere. We have a very nice visit at the dzong as we pass by. We are told there are 18 monks or novices living there at 11,700 feet. The trail is reminiscent of the north side of Mt. Hood - up and down, through pines and rhododendrons. Eventually we get to our camp at Jangchhu Lakh, a large soggy meadow we shared with a yak herder, at about 12,500 feet.
That night I had bad fever dreams, chills, and wake up feeling shot and with a noticeable fever. I take 500 mg of azithromicin and drag myself out of my sleeping bag to head straight down the mountain. Fortunately it was essentially all downhill. Land accompanies me, along with 3 Bhutanese and a donkey with a saddle. I never resort to riding, but by the time we approach Tsaluna, I am walking for about 15 minutes, and then resting for about 10. Bhufen picks me up and takes me to the hotel Dragon Roots in Thimpu. Willy is already there, afflicted with the same thing. The Xplore Bhutan folks check on us, bringing a doctor who diagnoses us both with respiratory infections, fortunately not the H1N1 flu that we were concerned about. I crash in the hotel for the entire next day.
November 8th I'm feeling somewhat better. We head out over the Dochu La for Punaka. The view at Dochu La is magnificent. The air is clear and we can see a whole range of snow-capped peaks of the Himalaya off to the north.
Our paddling destination this day is the Pho Chhu, doing a 5.3 mile class 2 run, with a marginally class 3 rapid near the end - beside the Punaka Dzong. The river itself is reminiscent of the Klickitat, both because it is milky from glacial run-off and because it is one big gravel bar after another. Many great cormorants are on the bars, and toward the end, we see on the cliffs the hives where the bees are on the outside.
Although the original plan was to stay at a safari-style camp on the Mo Chhu, we head to the Zangto Pelri hotel to accommodate those of us who are feeling poorly. Besides me, Willy is still dragging and Scott and Adrienne both have coughs, although they never seemed to go through the acute stage that Willy and I did. Still, we have our dinner at the camp, which is all set up.
Next day we head for the Mo Chhu, the other tributary that joins the Pho Chhu at the Punaka Dzong to form the Puna Tsang Chhu. I'd heard enough of Land's gradually escalating estimates of the difficulty of the rapids in the first part of the run to opt for the paddle raft in that section. Good thing I did. Bob and Dede started out to kayak, but Bob swam right away, losing his boat and paddle. Willy led Dede down and she did just fine. It was fun being back in a paddle raft - I think the last time I paddled one was on the Kennebec way back in 1992. A 16 foot raft with 4 thwarts, it was pretty heavy with 10 total passengers, and only 8 with paddles. Land is an expert paddle captain, taking us through several class 4 drops before we see our kayaks right below an S-turn. After a lengthy stop, we're off again. More challenging than the Pho Chhu, this section of the Mo Chhu had several solid and interesting class 3 rapids, plus it was just plain busier. One of the last drops features a pillow on a mid-stream boulder, with the water dumping off to the left. Although I'd given folks lots of room, I was surprised to find three boats, one upside down, in the middle of the line. This forced me into the nasty, boily eddy on the left - oh, well, it's always practice for big water.
We take out at the safari camp, and, after snacks and drinks, visit the Punaka Dzong. It is immense, well worth the visit. The shrine area had been recently re-done and was spectacular.
Next day it's back to the Pho Chhu. Part of our group is going to paddle raft the class 5 section above the class 2 kayak run. It looks like it's going to be a full raft, so I decide to wait at the kayak put-in. It'll give me a chance to do a little video of the group coming down through the last rapid. Plus, I'm getting so I need a little quiet time.
It's a little smaller kayak group today, and paddling is more relaxed. My run past the dzong is definitely cleaner today.
That evening we go to Y.T.'s hotel in Lobesa. Y.T. himself is there as host, and he is very cordial. Still dragging, I excuse myself right after dinner, but many stay and drink and take in the music, which I never even heard.
November 11th finds us heading back to the Mo Chhu, for pretty much a repeat of two days earlier. In the paddle raft, we run 'the portage'. It's changed from 2 years earlier - less of a ledge drop, just bouldery. Bob is kayaking this time, sandwiched in between Willy and Jed. There's just 6 of us in the raft today so it's a lot more maneuverable and consequently more fun.
There's a bony sneak at the log jam rapid, so we stay in our boats there. Then at the pillow rock, I make sure I have space, and hit my line right on. We take out at the second suspension bridge and head up over Dochu La to Thimpu and the Dragon Roots hotel.
Next day is our last day of boating, on the Wang Chhu, the stream that runs through Thimpu. After winding down a precarious road from the main highway, we're on the water pretty quickly. Willy tells Bob, Dede and I that we can find our own lines, although I seem to be the only one who really enjoys doing so. The stream is really busy, mostly class 2/2+, with a few interesting 3's from time to time. At one point, we see a big troop of monkeys. While cautious, they mainly just watch from the steep hillside. Soon after that, Willy explains to me how to identify the take-out. I take this as a go-ahead and simply head down on my own. It's quite a bit further than I expected, but eventually I see the three chortens at Chhuzom. It was relaxing to be paddling solo. Then it's back to the Namsay Resort in Paro. I crash after dinner and miss the dancing that was presented as entertainment. Judging from the pictures I've seen, it was a shame to miss this event.
Morning dawns with a low overcast, and we are wondering if our plane can land! Fortunately, patches of blue begin to show, and the plane is right on time. Glancing around the waiting room, I see that I am not the only one who is ready to get on to the next part of his life.