Day 13: Jomson to Kalopani
We were all very happy to get out of Jomsom as it was one of the least favourite places for each of us. There weren't really any places to see, the village seemed 'cold' and un-inviting and the people there never really peaked an interest for me. Take that experience then turn it around and show me the complete opposite - welcome to Marpha! This tiny little village in our journey to the next stop and we come across this small area with very old buildings, cobblestone walkways, a plethora of wood drying on house rooftops and so on... Marpha was a particularly quiet place and the locals were incredibly friendly and humble to have us walk through. We tasted some local apple brandy (of which I bought and now have in Vancouver if any of you would like to try some) and had a snack atop one of the residences. I highly recommend this place to future travellers as a place to stay a night or two instead of Jomsom as it's very close and you'll get a way better experience from the place.
Day 14: Kalopani to Tatopani
"Tato" means "hot" and "Pani" means "water" = Hot Water = Natural Hot Springs!! Oh ya, that's right... we were going to stay the night at a spot that has a natural hot spring for anyone passing by and with the few people on the trail at the time, we knew that it wouldn't be busy at all. Passing though villages on the way we checked out a wedding ceremony. This must have been an arranged marriage as the bride was much younger than the groom. It was neat to see their traditions and how show respect and happiness for the couple. I would never go through with an arranged marriage so I can't say I was happy for these people, but hey, it's their system and their traditions so best of luck to them!
Day 15: Tatopani to Ghorepani
Up and up and up...and up some more! Today we began at the river's edge and we to climb for the entire leg of the day. It was switch back after switch back to get up the hillside and it was tough. With the past few days being very easy, I was excited to have another really tough day so on I went. The incline wasn't guelling but it was consistent. We agreed that today's hike was actually equivillant to FOUR Grouse Grinds. There were hundres of stairs, all uneven in length, height and distance apart from one another making for a tough few hours. We stopped in Sikha Valley for lunch. It's in the afternoon sunshine and was a great place to take off our boots and socks to dry them out while we ate. Of course I ordered Dal Bhat again and powered through it. I'm telling you that if any of you ever want to come over for dinner I will personally make and serve you this amazing dinner!
Into Ghorepani - done! We are just below 10,000 feet tonight and can see for miles from where we are. We have a spectacular view of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna South mountain ranges and the tea hut that we're staying at is like a tree house. The wall are paper thin plywood, the ceiling slopes to one side of the house so when you go to have a shower you need to duck down and hunch over to get through and the main room has an awesome fireplace that warms up everyone in it! Great day and we're all happy!
Day 16: Poon Hill / Rest Day
Up at 4:45am and with headlamps on we set out the door for a quick 2 hour hike up to Poon Hill (3210 meters - or just over 10,000 feet). The viewpoint offers panoramic shots of the entire valley, Pokhara area and beyond everything for miles and miles! There was a bit of morning fog in the valley but it set a mood for the photos. It really looked as if we were floating on clouds because they were below us and it was crystal clear higher up. There might have been 100 people there and that is pretty low considering at peak season they have 500 or so each morning!
