Manaslu Trek Day 13

We were on the trail for 8 hours today. We walked slowly and stopped often to enjoy the views, dip in the icy water, meditate, and take photos. As we descended we stepped back into an enchanted, forested gorge, with peaks still towering above. I wrote that day in my journal, "It feels like I am walking through the land of Tolkien's middle earth." As we entered a village we passed a lady sheering sheep, another chopping straw in a field, and two women carrying their babies on their backs. There were many plants growing along the trail: wild marijuana, bamboo, ferns, and stinging nettle. The stinging nettle got me about 4 different times throughout the trip. One time I was taking pictures by a stone wall while a mule train came behind me. One of the donkeys was carrying a load of propane tanks on its back that hit me and pushed me into the wall, pressing my hand against stinging nettle.