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.