There were two young German guys not far behind me. As we backtracked to the fork we saw a sign indicating which direction we were to go. Unfortunately it was lying on the ground. We tried to prop it up so other hikers would see it.
A little further along in the village of Bagarchap I passed this sign, which was still standing. It looks innocent enough.
What it doesn't tell you is that the hotel wasn't "shifted", at least not in the way they mean. The original hotel was "shifted" right off the side of the hill by a landslide in 1995 that destroyed 17 homes and killed several people. The owners chose to rebuild on a safer section of trail.
The trail got safer but steeper as it ascended through a dense deciduous forest which reminded me, oddly enough, of hiking in the Shenandoah Valley. The maple leaves were even starting to turn. It was early morning and the sun hadn't yet penetrated the forest, so it was dark and damp and cozy.
When people say they prefer hiking around Annapurna instead of Everest it's partly because in the Everest region you don't see sights like this.
One of the more demoralizing aspects of hiking is when you turn a corner and see the next landmark a short way off in the distance, like the village in the top right corner. It's only about a 10-minute walk away, or would be if there wasn't a gaping chasm in between. Instead you have to hike down and around the valley, cross the river, then climb back up the other side.
It was a fairly boring, uneventful day of hiking. I rolled into the village of Chame just as it started to rain, the only rain that fell during the entire hike, I'm happy to report. I found a room as quickly as possible and went down the common room. There, to my relief, I found people!
After spending four days on the trail almost completely alone it was nice to have someone to talk to for a change. I met an American couple, Paul and Jane, who I would see at various stops along the trail and even back in Pokhara.
I finally felt like I was on the trail.
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