We woke to freezing temperatures and a clear sky at 6 this morning, packed up camp and had breakfast. We set of through thick forest at about 8ish and dropped steeply down towards the Barun Khola River. The going was quite awkward under foot as there were pockets of snow and ice trapped amongst the vegetation. We stopped for a while at a great vantage point which gave us great views down towards the River and of the snow capped mountains of the Eastern Himalaya.

The path gradually levelled out and contoured along the side of the River until we eventually were walking along the left had river bank. We were now truly in the mountain environment, the villages had been left far behind and we were also treated to clear weather for once. The forests began to thin out and eventually we started walking along open meadows, interspersed with coniferous woodland. There was evidence of quite a bit of rock fall on the valley sides so we were quite wary as we made our way along the river bank.

Finally, we crossed an old footbridge made from logs and established our camp site on the right bank in an open meadow at 3540 metres, in an area called Yangle Kharka. This has been the best camp site we have stayed in for the last 4 nights and the good weather has meant that we have been able to wash clothes and ourselves in the ice cold river; the first opportunity since Num. True to form however, the weather has now turned and it has started sleeting outside the tent as I write this update!