Trek day 4 Lots of Waterfalls and Overcoming Fear

On the morning of Day 4 I had breakfast at my lodge in Landruk with a great mountain view (albeit a bit cloudy).

Then we started out on our 5 hour trek to our next destination - Majgaon. As we started out, my guide Sunita casually mentioned if I remembered seeing all of the waterfalls on the other side of the valley as we were hiking to Ghandruk? Ha ha this was her way of breaking me in to the fact that it was going to be a challenging day.

Mill on the hillside taking the advantage of hydropower that is everywhere available in the mountains.

I have had a number of accidents crossing rivers on my treks in the USA. I chipped my elbow bone on one slip and fall, mild concussion on another fall and probably 5-6 other incidents that have given me a trepidation for crossing rivers.

On this part of the trek, we had to cross waterfalls that cascaded across the trail and plummeted down the hillside every 20 minutes or so. A lot of them had swiftly flowing waters. I often opted to just walk through with my shoes on while my guide and porter hopped blissfully from one stone to the next. I started to shudder internally each time we turned a corner and heard the sound of water. The waterfalls seemed to be getting deeper and deeper. 

At one point we reached a waterfall that terrified me. It was rushing FAST and deep across the trail with no option around it. I almost started to cry on the spot. Memories of all my previous falls and injuries flooded into my mind (no pun intended). The sight of the precipice that loomed just beyond the crossing point was daunting. I thought for sure that my guides would turn around and find some other way. But no, they rolled up their pants/shorts. 

They assured me that they were there for me. I had to keep my presence of mind and "Just Do It" as Nike says! Buddhi my porter waded out to the middle of the fall to help and Sunita went first. I watched as sure-footed Sunita floundered even with the help of Buddhi. Then it was my turn. Here is the footage of me overcoming some fear and gaining confidence for future crossings Ha ha . Click here to view.

We had quite a few more crossings before we reached our lodge for the night. I seemed to find some peace after that crossing. My prayer became  " Water I know you need some way to flow, please save me a small path to cross you safely".