Hit the Ground Running

I arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal on the morning of Sunday, Sept 12 after 18 hours of airplanes and 14 memorable hours in the Delhi airport. Needless to say, I wasn't feeling 100% when I got here. Fortunately, a ride from the airport to Thamel had been arranged for me, thanks to Equator Expeditions. My plan was to spend 3 or 4 days in the city getting "acclimated", caught up on rest, and used to the 9 1/2 hour time difference from Atlanta. Well, that was the plan before an offer was made I couldn't refuse.

I stopped by the Equator office Sunday evening and was told that a 3 day trip on the Trisuli River would be leaving in the morning and that I could tag along as a kayak safety. I met up with the other guides Monday morning around 6:00 and we headed west out of the city on one of Nepal's "major highways". The road was kind of like the Blue Ridge Parkway without as many guardrails and much longer drops from the side. We got to the put in after a couple hours of driving, met the group of rafters(19 Brits), and were on the water after lunch. The scenery was incredible and the water...that's a whole different story.

So, the monsoon usually ends in Nepal at the end of August. Well, its still going on and the Trisuli was a good reminder of this. We had to wait for the water level to come down the 2nd day from the rain that fell Monday night. The water looked like coffee and didn't smell quite as pleasant. Despite the look and smell, it was big. Having done all of my kayaking in the Southeastern US, big water boating is a totally new thing for me. I didn't think it would be much different...I was wrong. It's a blast, but it can be pretty challenging trying to negotiate the enormous eddy lines and whirlpools that form with these high volumes of water moving down a riverbed. The Trisuli is followed by that highway for the entire length we paddled and the trip was supported by a company bus, which made things a little easier. Fortunately, most of the rivers here are not roadside and almost none that I know of are damn released.

My justification for going on the trip in my condition was that if I was going to have jet lag, I might as well do it on the river. After all, that is why I came all the way to the other side of the world. Not only was the Trisuli a great introduction to Nepal's whitewater, but hanging with the Equator boys was an awesome way to experience the culture. One of the highlights of the trip was climbing a hillside to meet the bus and scout a big rapid from the roof as the driver drove us up and down the highway. Can't wait to get on some different rivers and see more of this incredible part of the world...