Days 5-8 - Annapurna Circuit

Day 5: Chame to Lower Pisang (Distance:  (Elevation 3250m))

After a great sleep last night the brisk morning woke us up right away. Temperatures were now starting our day around the minus 5 mark and soon will be dropping lower as we climb higher. Breakfasts were now taking a regular menu and each of us were ordering the same things - muesli, porridge and a buckwheat pancake instead of toast.  The terrain today wasn't super steep but we always were climbing. It was a slog of a walk today and for the 6-7 hours we went, things just pressed on and on.

As we made our way parallel to the river, the mountains grew larger and became more spectacular every step of the way.  Before we stopped for lunch, I looked at my GPS and it was reading over the 10,000 foot mark - hooray! Almost at the same landmark, we were passing a Japanese memorial paid to those who've lost their lives climbing for their country in Nepal's mountain. The memorials seemed to just have sprung up and were in a peaceful area surrounded by trees as the sunshine cast shadows over their memorials. As a tribute, passer-bye's would stop and give a moment of silence to pay their respects. So many people have lost their lives on these mountains and they've paved the way to new explorations so we can follow in their paths.

Continuing on to our destination for the night, the paths were totally clear and were like walking on a park trail in Stanley Park. Our tea hut this night was great - we had a great view of Upper Pisang, this medieval-style village that scaled the hillside and offered centuries worth of history from those living there. It would be part of our walk the next day...

Day 6: Lower Pisang to Manang (Distance: 19.75km (Elevation 3540m))

Today was by far our hardest day as right from the get go we were climbing. With frost on the tin roofs and jackets zipped up to stay warm, we made off for the hike. We went up through Upper Pisang to see all the ancient architecture and prayer wheels that sprung up through much of the village. What a gorgeous place, something that none of of had expected from this hike! After passing through Upper Pisang we continued up the hill so a series of switchbacks that moved us from the Marsyandi River all the way up to a monestary at Ghyaru, 11,500 feet. We had been climbing straight up for almost 2 hours on a trail similar to the one that takes you up to Garibaldi and Black Tusk. Stopping for dude chhia (milk tea) at the monestary, we got some great photos.

After our tea we pressed on, up and up and up - and more up, then some down, then some flats, right into Manang. There was this one area where we both saw a vulture and got a great shot of Nic (and might I add it's now her Blog backdrop photo...haha).  Passing bye views of Gangapurna, Tilcho Peak and both Annapurna 2 & 3 we rolled into Ngawal where Surya and Nic helped make the momo's they'd ordered for lunch. This is unlike many Nepali families to offer guests into their kitchen but this time they did and it was with gratitude they accepted and went for it.  

7 hours after we started for the day, we rolled into Manang and called it a day (for 2). Here we would spend the next 48 hours acclimatizing for the push over the next 2 1/2 days. With a good rest and hike planned for tomorrow Day 6 ends...

Day 7: Acclimatization Day in Manang:

A morning sunrise at 5:30 with my tripod and SLR camera started my day. We had a local hike planned today to get used to hiking at altitude and exerting lots of effort. There was a gompa behind the tea hut and it took us just over 30 minutes to climb to it.  The whole team made it with no problems and we even had some energy left over for some laughs! Ya, that's right... Bill IS wearing his face mask as a thong.

We came back down to have a bite to eat then set off for another walk around Manang to see what it's all about and we came across a great lake called Gangapurna Lake. It was obviously glacier-fed and had a pristine aqua colour to it. On one side there were huge hulu's formed from years of erosion giving this small puddle some real character. To give the area some perspective, you can see how small we are in the photo compared to all that was around us...

Day 8: Manang to Yak Kharka (Distance: not much (Elevation: LOTS - 4022m)).

The wind was howling today and I still can't understand WHY generators aren't used here to foster power from it... it is a developing country so in a few years I hope they get it straight! Today's hike wasn't too bad - a little up, a little down - you know. You can really feel the drop in temperature now as we're well above the 10,000 ft mark and as we make our way further up into alpine territory the down jackets and tuques come out.  Nothing too exciting here except for I saw my first YAK. I heard stories of how large they are and until you see one face to face you can't fathom their size (and how much hair they have). Not only did we see the yaks, we say Blue Sheep and spotted deer, all of which are specific to these altitudes and climate.  So with a warm fire, good company and more card games, Day 8 finished and the real fun begins tomorrow where we climb to Thorong Phedi or possible to High Camp, depending on how we all feel with the altitude...

Days 1-4 - Annapurna Circuit

Day 1: Bhule Bhule (Elevation 840m)

It took us 6 hours by private bus to drive from Kathmandu to Beshishar, our launch point for the start of this trip. Once we were dropped off, we then switched all our gear onto a local bus where we drove on a dirt road for another hour. The road was narrow, very bumpy and had steep cliffs on one side - no mistakes were wanted here!

Tonight we stayed at the Everest Guest House and it was just us and one other guest. During peak trekking season, on any given day there might be 300 to 350 registered hikers going into the Annapurna Region for the circuit - the day we registered there were 13 plus us... needless to say, we felt as if we were the only ones out there which was awesome!

Day 2: Bhule Bhule to Jagot (20km - Elevation (1260m)

We got up at 6am, warm, well-rested and HUNGRY! We were served black tea and continuously offered more food, as it's the Nepali way to be as studious as possible. Now let the hike begin - we crossed our first supension bridge and started walking.  The village of Bhule Bhule was very cool as it was both our first glance at mountain-side Nepali living, and showed us the stonework used to build their homes and walkways. Everything was very old and the villagers were always working on something.

For the next 2 hours we walked along the hillside where there had been a landslide, it took out one of the roads and made for some tricky passings us. The workers were throwing rocks from above and whistling to each other to stop when hikers were close by. I'm guessing that the landslide took out the main bridge for hikers and that this makeshift one was put up. We crossed it then made our way back up an insane hour-long hill climb.  Strolling into our tea hut in the late afternoon, we wound down with a game of cribbage, a Gorkha beer and discussed how we were going to do the next few days where the elevation gain gets increased!

Day 3: Jagot to Dharapani (18 km - Elevation 1800m)

Our guide Surya must have been playing a joke on us with the route as we would climb for hours, have a break, then decend for an hour of steep terrain, another break for lunch then haul ourselves back up another hill... Today was no exception. After switchbacking ourselves down the route, we came to a riverside village called Tal Phedi and had some lunch. Nic had been carrying balloons with her since the beginning and brought one out for a child at lunch. He was so happy and played with it for all of our lunch with his grandfather.

It really is amazing to watch something so minor to us be given to another person that wouldn't normally get something like a balloon and see their reaction. This boy had a big smile on his face and the grandfather was just as happy!

So back onto the trail on into our last few hours of hiking this day. Was crossed this spectacular suspension bridge that had mindblowing views of the mountains from the valley that we were in and set itself up as just a very nice spot to stop and take a minute to soak it all in.  Arriving at the tea house for the night, Bill and I ate Dal Bhat then the group played a mean game of "O Hell." Bill scored 153, Nic scored 138, Dave 116... and me, well, lets just say I was learning tonight!

Day 4: Dharapani to Chame (16.5km - Elevation 2688m)

What a hike today...wow! Not too technical but we got our first real closeup view of an 8000'er - Manasalu (8,156m (8th highest in the world)). To see one of these mountains so close put so many things into perspective. Forget that we're standing at nearly 8500 feet ourselves, this behemouth of a mountain just stared at us and called out greatness. Imagine being in the centre of a valley and having the sun shine right onto the snow cap of Manasalu's peak at a quarter past 6 in the morning... what a sight to wake up to! Check out the picture below!

Chame was a beautiful spot to call home for the one night. Bill and I tried a local rice wine called Chhangy, which is equivillant to some homemade moonshine but stronger! One cup and I was slurring my speech and feeling great. The other part that made for such a great night was that the owners offered each of us FRESH yak momo's (like dumplings). These baby's were fresh as two yaks had been 'relived' of their duties earlier that day and prepared for dinner that night. SOOOO GOOD! More Dal Bhat for dinner then off to Pisang tomorrow....

My Nepal Journey Ends and my Vancouver One Begins!

Phew... I haven't blogged in a while and I've been getting rather ancy to tell YOU all about what's been going on these past few weeks.

So first off, I'm back in Vancouver, have settled into my new home in West Van and am piecing together the life that I had prior to leaving and getting going for 2010 with a BANG! I am very excited to see what happens this year as Nepal gave me a chance to really think about what I've done, where I am and where I want to be. It was an experience of a lifetime that I am so incredibly thankful for!

So what's next:

I'm going to tell you all about our trek through the Annapurna Circuit and the last 6 weeks in Nepal - the protests, political situation, having to fly out early from Kathmandu, photos and so on... I'm going to break the trek down into a few different parts so you don't have blogs that are too 'heavy' to digest.

Where I stand for 2010 - what some of my goals are (so YOU can keep me accountable) and how I see the year playing out.  After spending 109 days travelling in totally foreign cities than what I'm used to, I have gained a completely new perspective on personal values and thoughts on day-to-day living, helping me carry myself as a much more well-rounded person (eliminating a lot of the BS that goes on (and has gone on) in my life).

I would love all of YOUR feedback on these blogs as I'm going to give the straight goods and tell things how I saw them.  It's all about learning isn't it, so your honest feedback is very welcomed!

Until then....