Kachin Tribal Village Trek, Burma/Myanmar - Hiking in the Jungles of Burma

We headed down and it sucked. I can’t say enough how much it sucked. Normally down is quicker and easier. At least it usually isn’t as strenuous. However, the footing was so bad we were all slipping, sliding and jamming our knees deep into their sockets. Normally you would mitigate the terrain by allowing your hiking poles to absorb the abuse. The ground had other ideas as it sucked up one pole and then the other.

Again, our trek required amazing focus. Each and every step needed total concentration. Our time descending ended up being equal to our time up, two hours in each direction. Again, the photo below shows the actual trail. No ladders in the jungle of Burma.

If we had ended the day there, it wouldn’t have been that strenuous. However, we wanted to spend more time in the village of Ziya Dum, so we trekked another four hours down to our previous campsite. Tired as hell, knees screaming, we descended endlessly to our destination.

The story continues...