Humla Karnali the last leg

I woke early, eager to make a hard push to our resupply and our final 180 Kilometers of River. Getting the fire stoked and heating the water I saw Toby rise and dart for the woods. It seemed out of the ordinary but lintels and rice could have taken its toll. He returned a long while after, pale and broken. "Man down," he proclaimed. The others rose from their slumbers and we spent a long while stalling the days paddling hoping Toby's condition would improve.

We passed the time playing some rock Botchi on the beach. By noon it was obvious we would not be paddling that day. Tired and broken from the hardest week of kayaking we had experienced, no one complained about taking a layover day. We snacked on the few remaining snack bars and cooked a meager dinner with the remaining food we had rationed. By morning time we were out of food. We had to get down stream to a town.

The following morning we set off with a still very sick Toby. We made a stop in Manmua and pulled over to the delight of the entire village. There were a few shops to choose from but in like most of rural Nepal the selection is exactly the same.

The locals followed Isaac and Cooper as they marched into town with empty food bags. The locals crammed around the entrance of the shop and we even met the head of the Texas Long Horn fan club while resupplying.

Cooper Lambla AKA "the cookie monster" hones in on the coconut cookies.

The Karnali makes a large eastern swing at the start of the lower. We paddled on until the sun was long behind the mountains finding a peaceful beach to spread out on. Toby began a course of antibiotics but was still a long way from well. With the volume of the river still increasing and the rapids easing we were still able to cover 30 kilometers in a short 5 hours of paddling.

The second day of the lower Karnali we reached the class IV gorge bombing our way through the rapids. At one stage I was in the front and feeling confident drifted towards a large horizon line. To late to retreat to the safety of an eddy, I was terrified to be staring straight into the meat of a large hole. I slowed dramatically hoping to find a break in the hole. Searching for an escape route I spied a small braking surge, and charged left. It was to late for anyone else to vary their line and we all crashed through with big eyes. The gorge eased and we bombed through the scenic red gorge finding a nice beach to camp at the end of the gorge. Only 100k's to the take out.

After a peaceful sleep for all but Toby we pushed off hoping to make it close to the take out.

Drifting thorough the lower stretches we knew we were finished and were simply savoring the peacefulness of the Nepal country side before dropping into the smog of the Terahi Plains. Will cruises through the flats.

Large cliff faces and rolling hills surrounded the Karnali Valley adding to the welcomed calm of the lower.

We paddled 70 Kilometer finishing our last full day in the dark. Cooper strong and young was the last victim of the dreaded Asianinc Stomach Plague and was slow to rise on the last day.

We put on around 10 AM enjoying the scenic last gorge. We finally reached the take out at the large suspension bridge in Chisapani at around 2pm. It had been nearly two weeks and two thousand meters of gradient. We emerged tired and stoked with the accomplishment of being granted safe passage down such a remote stretch of river. Nearly four hundred kilometers resulted in countless hole beatings, numerous hard long portages, four follow throughs, zero swims, and three bouts of gastrointestinal distress. We were welcomed by most locals. Had numerous kids hurl rocks and logs at us. For nearly two weeks we fought to battle our way closer to the take out. As the end finally emerged beyond the final bend in the river we wished for another two weeks of repose in the beautiful waters of the Humla Karnali. It was an adventure unlike anything else any of us had ever experienced.

Team Renegade at the take out in Chisapani.

Like all good things in life they have to end and we jumped back atop the roof a bus headed towards the east and the reality of the modern world. We had spent 9 weeks traversing a large expanse of the Greater Himalayan range. We experienced hundreds of miles of classic whitewater. We drove, flew, hiked, bounced our way in four wheel drive jeeps and tractors up countless rivers. We were embraced by the friendly locals and showered with the vibrant cultures and customs. We had experienced an epic adventure unsurpassable in so many ways and it was all over. In what seemed like an instance we parted ways to begin the next phase of life. We left already dreaming of the next adventure, eager for our time in the normal day to day life to grant us a way back to the rivers of Asia.

Humla day 7-9

Day 6 ended at a beautiful beach camp spot with a large rock to chill on. We had passed numerous small villages and were drawing close to our resupply.

Each morning hand made chapatis were prepared over the standard double burner 3 rock fire and packed into a dry bag for our lunch. The first week we had tuna and cheese. The second week our lunch rations were reduced to peanut butter, 2 chapatis and a snickers bar. We were getting hungry.

Cooper Lambla charging thorough the numerous rapids of the lower Humla Karnali

(photo Will Stublefield)

Day 7 saw us passing through the last of the major canyons of the Humla Karnali. In fact the river upon exiting the last big canyon eased quite considerably. Large rapids still kept you on your toes and the occasional scout was required but all in all we had cracked the upper reaches of the Humla and were now covering large distances each day. Regardless we were still a long way from the take out and nearly out of food. It was crucial that we reached the put in for the lower in order to resupply for the remaining 113 miles of river down to Chisapani.

Isaac Thomson working his way down the meat of a large rapid day 7

Large holes were a constant fear but generally the lower stretches provide big green lines if you knew where to look. Toby MacDermott finds the easy way down a long rapid.

Cooper Lambla showing the boys how its done in the typical Cooper style

It had been a solid week and we were finally only a few K's from our planned resupply spirits were high and we were hoping to finish the 180 kilometers of the main Karnali in 3 days.

Humla Karnali day 4-6

We started day IV weary of dropping into the second large canyon on the Humla Karnali. We had traveled very little distance in the grand scheme of things. In fact it wasn't until day three that we covered more than 20 kilometers in a day. We had paddled 70 k's in total and still had a remaining 315 kilometers to the take out. We were about to descend in what some who have previously paddled the river, described as the hardest section of the Humla. We set off cautious, but hopeful of covering some solid ground. We still had aspirations of reaching our resupply in three days.
The first few rapids we clung to the bank avoiding the full force of the Humla. The river had grown in volume, again doubling it's flow from the day before. Day four and the volume already was huge. It was obvious the largest monsoon season in 70 years had left the Humla Karnali river full and raging even late into the season.

The canyon walls were towering high overhead protecting an oasis of exotic flora and flona. Palm trees and Cacti coexisted in the arid pristine canyon. Toby charging through one of the many long pushy wave trains. Look closer and you can see him. (photo Will Stubblefield)

Will Charging through a large pour over.

After completing the canyon we were exhausted from the physically demanding white water and portages of the first four days. We opted to cut our paddling short in order to rest for a hard push on day 5. We found a small beach under a large overhanging cliff face and unpacked in time to have a quick bath in the freezing cold water before the sun set.

Up and adam, we packed our boats and powered through a mostly scenic and uneventful three hours of paddling. It was a much needed mental rest. The Humla was joined by several large tributaries and we knew the steep and powerful third gorge loomed further down stream.

Will tucking into a crashing hole.

As the day pushed on we hoped to get close to the town of Thirpu a known rough and rowdy town of thieves. It was thanksgiving and we were searching for a secluded beach to prepare a feast with our fast dwindling rations. We struggled to find a suitable place to camp and blew past a few small villages.

At one stage Toby got out to scout a rapid and a young man was shouting in my ear for a rupee. Toby was trying to explain the rapid to me while sitting in my kayak. The young man gave up on me and quickly moved on to Toby. Tired and frustrated I got half of a signal of where to go before Toby retreated to the repose of his kayak. We tried to follow him but quickly lost site all having questionable lines. Regardless, we trudged on reaching a large horizon line close to dark.

In the hopes of keeping things moving along, we walked this rapid mainly out of fear. Cooper opted to run the rapid and lined up the crashing seam trying to break through the massive hole.

He was quickly swallowed for a few scary seconds but submerged upright.

Isaac gets a hand from a local man portaging.

Late in the day we finally spotted a beach amongst a large boulder pile. We pulled our boats up to the beach realizing we had stopped just above a huge horizon line. Finally a peaceful place to stretch out and enjoy a thanksgiving feast. We still had some potatoes and planned on making some chicken stock flavored soy balls, mashed potatoes and gravy.

As soon as we set our kayaks down an began to change into dry clothes the hill sided was littered with children running to see what we were up to. Quickly, some 30 children, young adults, and a few older fellows gathered. We needed to get a fire going and get dry but we were scared we had reached Thirpu and if we unpacked our gear would slowly walk away. Cooper stepped up as head of PR and led the mob away from us singing playing games and even leading a crowd in the "Hokie Pokie". He headed up the hill side to their village as we began to set up camp with only a few remaining spectators. He returned with bags of food and had found a school teacher who Cooper had explained thanksgiving to. Learning of our "festival" he insisted on giving us a large pumpkin and some more potatoes and fresh coriander. We cooked and ate for 4 hours straight serving up a 4 course meal. We finally crawled into our sleeping bags at 11 PM exhausted and stuffed.

The locals assembled in the morning before school to watch us cook breakfast.

Will firing through the top hole of the first rapid of the day.

The run out was just as tasty as the entrance creating a massive powerful rapid to start the day

Finally the rapid began to relent.

We continued our way down entering another long section of steep and massive rapids with ominous looking holes and exploding waves. We were in constant fear of being swallowed and beaten in the powerful current of the Humla.

Toby fighting to keep his boat straight above a large hole after being swallowed by a lateral.

When ever you thought you were alone on a remote river far from civilization, you would look up to find someone leading their water buffalo to the river for a drink, or workers collecting rice. Often times you felt like their worlds' stopped for as long as it took us to pass by. In this case traffic on the bridge stopped with what seemed like half the village watching us float by. We continued on again late into the day stopping in the final long hard 3rd gorge of the upper stretches of the Humla. Will found a flat area on a terrace high above the river and we again feasted late into the night. We were close to our resupply now only another 80 kilometers and we couldn't eat enough in an attempt to replenish the massive amounts of energy we were burning. Day 6 ended with thoughts of finishing off the last class V stretch of river as it eventually would ease in gradient and continue to increase in flow making a friendlier bouncier class IV float down the remaining 200 kilometers.

Humla Karnali Day 1-3

After getting to Nepal we quickly settled into a remembrance of western influence. In the main tourist hubs of Nepal you can find steak sizzlers, snickers bars and soda. It's like being around the comforts of home with the claustrophobia of Asia. To be honest we all preferred the authenticity of India. Though raw and savage at times at least it didn't posses the ills of the western world and the over consumption and waste of most tourist. We toured the classics of Nepal, and the rivers finally began to show retreat from the over abundance of water from the biggest monsoon season in 70 years. It was time to head back towards the western boarder of India and have a crack at the Humla Karnali.

We caught a bus to the town of Nepal Gange. The smoggy border town is the gateway from west to east. The trade route from western and southern India converge in Nepal Gange or simply "The Gange" as we call it. Nestled in the low flat lands of Nepal, it is not a pleasant place. Our goal was to arrive after a 16 hour bus ride secure a flight an fly the following day to the Humla Karnali river.


Per usual, things did not progress as quickly as we had hoped. Cooper and I scoured the various booking agents and airline offices searching for a cargo flight headed to Simikot. Located high in the northern reaches of western Nepal close to the Tibetan border, Simikiot is the provincial capital of the Humla Region. We passed the time fine tuning our packing, securing the last of our food supplies, and preparing ourselves for the longest and most committing river any of us had ever paddled.

With tickets purchased and a clear weather forecast we loaded our boats into a truck and took them to the airport the afternoon before we flew for a weigh in. We were allowed 20 kilos each and every Kilo over would cost us two dollars. We were looking at 50-60 kilos a person and were thankful of the allowance of one camera bag each fully loaded with 14 kilos of food to save money.

Mission time was upon us the boys loading up.

Awaking at 4:30 AM we hopped in a shared auto rickshaw stoked to be leaving the smog of "the Gange". We weighed in the last of our baggage and boarded our very own German made Dornier Fairchild 212 turbo prop twin engine airplane. They loaded 3 of the kayaks and 4 of us then filled the rest of the plane with bags of rice. Finally once Will was on board they filled in the empty spaces with the last of our kayaks.

Will scouts the Humla Karnali from 3000 feet above.

See that little dirt patch in the middle of the frame that is the Simikot Airport

Once on the ground we rearranged our gear and boats and shoulder them heading towards the steep 1000 meter vertical descent to the Humla River. Getting an early flight and reaching Simikot by 7 am we were hoping to cover some solid ground on our first day. In order to save our backs and knees we opted to employ some local help to carry our heavy kayaks in the 100 to 110 pound range.

After some tough negotiations we found a fit team eager to aid us in our mission.

Clear glacial water near the put in (photo Will Stubbelfield)

We set off around 11 AM stoked to be at the river so early. We were optimistic of reaching our goal of Manma our planned resupply stop in 6 days. On the water we paddled several kilometers of read and run pushy class III. A tributary quickly doubled the flow and we were soon dealing with around 800 Cubic feet per second of water flowing through the valley. Before long a uncontrollable wave of nausea took control of my body. I tried to push on but lost control in the middle of some class III rapids.

JJ laid out between fits of vomiting (photo Isaac Thomson)

We regrouped for a few minutes and discussed pushing on but the toils of the sub continent waged war on my body and I laid hunched over purging my body of its evils for the rest of the day battling fever, sweating, vomiting, and diarrhea. The following morning I awoke early and regained control of my body. I was able to put down a bit of oats and we loaded up hopping to regain lost time and cover some distance on the the river. Already on the first day we were well behind our target.

Isaac dropping into the first gorge (photo Will Stubbelfield)

We repacked our overweight and over stuffed kayaks and set off knowing that we had two large portages ahead of us. On the water we bounced our way down the rapids boat scouting and bombing through a fun 6 kilometers of stress free white water. We finally reached our first large rapid and Will and I scouted from opposite banks. A large tongue feeding into a powerful seem closely followed by another large rapid. The power of the Humla finally presented itself.

Cooper Charging through a large swirly boxed in rapid. If you run this you just went to far. (photo Will Stubelfield)

Cooper climbing up the steep bank we just hauled the kayaks up (photo Will Stubblefield)

Just below here is a horrible rapid that we had to portage. A bit to over committed we had to rope our boats up the steep cliff face taking over two hours in total to portage what should have been 20 minutes.

After the first long portage there are several kilometers of good fun kayaking a short portage a great lunch and then the realization that once again we pushed to far and had entered deep into another long portage. This time it took us 3 1/2 rope lengths to pull our boats out of the gorge. The second portage took the better half of a day to walk around the 1.5 kilometer long unrunable first canyon. (photo Will Stubblefield)

Cooper and I broken after the second long portage (photo Will Stubblefield)

The third day we were convinced not to make the same mistake three times in a row. We had hoped to be at the confluence of the Lochi Karnali, and were a long way off pace. We saw a pinch, predicted a portage, and spent the extra time scouting and avoided another epic, walking around this boulder choked canyon.

Cooper running the lunch rapid day 3.

Will ducking under a large old growth strainer covering the large majority of the river.

Day 3 presented one of the hardest and most consistent stretches of hard class IV and V in the entire 240 miles of the Karnali. The rapids were stacked and kept coming at us all day.

Toby hoping all that extra weight will keep his bow down through a stout gorge rapid mid way through day 3. The rapids continued with a solid 8 k's of hard class IV and V rapids. It eventually relented and eased to class IV read and run. We finally found a good pace and began to cover solid ground late into the third day. We bounced our way through boulder gardens stacked with crashing waves and powerful holes. We passed through a small town and the villagers lined the banks to bear witness to our passing. Some kids even showed their enthusiasm by hurling large chunks of wood and rocks at us as we paddled by.

Finally as the last rays of light transformed into darkness we reached the Lochi Khola. In 3 days we covered 40 kilometers. We had grossly underestimated the difficulty of the river. We began to ration our supplies as it seemed reaching Manma in 6 days was a pipe dream. The Humla had taken its toll and day 4 we were to enter the formidable third canyon one of the hardest sections of river on the Humla.