Hey everybody!
I am going to have to catch you up with our Trekking. The internet was really bad in Nepal for posting pictures, so we just took the pictures and are uploading them now.
We decided to do the 11 day trek to the Annapurna Base Camp (A.B.C.) via Poon hill, with altitudes ranging from less than 3000' to 13,644'. We took a bus from Kathmandu northwest about 6 hours to Pohkara, and then took a taxi in the morning to Nayapul where we would start trekking.
This beautiful flower was outside our hotel in Pohkara
A note on my notations: I gave the starting and ending altitude as well as the length of time we were walking/hiking/climbing. However this does not take into account that we may have climbed down 3000 feet, and then climbed 3500 feet while also walking 5 miles in distance for a total gain of only 500 feet in altitude. Needless to say this was the hardest physical activity that either of us have ever done.
Our Guide: This is Raju. He was our guide/porter. He helped carry Grace's bag and showed us the safest paths (or area of the paths) to take. He was also helped us arrange lodging, food, extra blankets, etc. He was also our constant translator/language instructor; brought us cookies for with our afternoon tea, and was generally AWESOME. He started as a porter at age 16 carrying 60-120lb loads up the mountain, then became a guide. He made the trekking so much easier and safer.
Day 1: Nayapul (3,500') to Uleri (6,430') 6 hours, climbed 2,930 feet
Grace posed in front of this beautiful bridge our first morning while our guide got our trekking permits in order.
We think of Nepal as being cold. All the time. Covered in snow. Yeti's country. BRRRRRRR Because... thats where the Himalayas are right? Well, may I remind you that several of the highest peaks in the Himalayas (over 8000m) are actually in Pakistan; which is also always cold. Oh wait... =)
Below 10,000' the weather is cool in the morning and evening (40s-50s) and warm in the middle of the day (60s-70s) and if you are trekking you might be quite warm. This beautiful terracing is being used to grow rice.
This baby goat was chilling out in the sun. Thought you would like it (all kidding aside.)
This first day was pretty easy till we got to the last two hours and it was all rock stairs. Raju said that it is estimated that there are 3000 stairs in the last two hours of climbing that first day. If he hadn't been there, I think we would have turned back.
Day 2: Ulleri(6,430') to Ghorepani (9,380') 5 hours, climbed 2,950 feet
The trail went through a lot of old rhododendron forrest. It was absolutely gorgeous; like something out of Lord of the Rings.
Day 3: Ghorepani (9,380') to Poon Hill (10,530') to Ghorepani (9,380') 1 hour, 1,150 feet each way
Ghorepani (9,380') to Tadapani (8,700') 7 hours, descended 1,830 feet
We climbed up to Poon Hill starting at 530, climbing by flashlight to catch the panoramic view right at sunrise. It was absolutely breathtaking.
Got a group shot with some of the people who had either stayed in the same tea house or we kept meeting on the way.
After breakfast we walked to the next town we would stay in and passed through this valley where there was snow and ice on the trail simply because the valley was steep enough the sun didn't get in. Raju knew the trail and had advised us to get ice crampons in Pohkara that slipped over our boots. like chains for your tires. Such good advice. People who didn't have them said it was one of the scariest and most dangerous things they had ever done. For us it was easy, and were able to enjoy the views. Thanks Raju!
Day 4: Tadapani (8,700') to Chormong (7,120') 6 hours, descended 1,580 feet
This was quite a day. It started out by descending almost 4,000 feet to the valley floor, crossing a steel rope bridge, then climbing 4,000 feet only to descend to the next valley floor, cross another bridge, and climb back up again. Here are some of the stairs, some sections go straight and then they zigzag down the mountain and out of the picture. (and yes... we had to climb back up these later)
Here is one of the bridges. We crossed about 20 different bridges like this during the course of the trek.
Day 5: Chormong (7,120') to Bamboo (7,540') 5 hours, climbed 420 feet
This day was not as interesting on the walk as it was in the evening. However, I almost fell off the mountain. Grace was kind enough to take a picture.
Just kidding... There was terracing down to a garden I am just standing on the next terrace down. It WAS pretty steep though.
The best part of the day was actually after we stopped walking, and while we were having dinner. You can so rarely say, "so there we were, eating dinner in a Nepali tea house, surrounded by Koreans, watching WWE Smackdown..." The nepali guides loved WWE and wrestle-mania, and the Koreans were loving it too. Who knew? There were even appearances by The Undertaker and John Cena. (There are some who will appreciate that)
Day 6: Bamboo (7,540') to Deurali (10,560') 6 hours, climbed 3,020 feet
Bamboo to Deurali was almost all up rather than the peak/valley/peak method we had been taking. This is a little town on the way called Dovan where we had lunch.
Day 7: Deurali (10,560') to A.B.C. (13,640') 6 hours, climbed 3,080 feet
A.B.C. (13,640') to M.B.C. (12,140') 2.5 hours, descended 1,500 feet
This was a long, hard, WONDERFUL day. We were again really happy to have the crampons Raju recommended, but this was the first time we saw consistent snow or ice. We climbed up to Machhapuchhre (Fishtail) Base Camp (M.B.C) and dropped off our bags (I just emptied mine of all but the extra jackets and water) had some lunch, and then headed up to A.B.C. (we were not the only ones)
We made it all the way up to A.B.C. and Raju got a picture for us (you have already seen the one with the sign right?) That is Annapurna I behind us. It was the first mountain over 8000m to be climbed and is the most deadly mountain over 8000m. It has a 38% fatality to summit ratio. yikes! For us it is just pretty; no climbing needed.
Then we headed back down to M.B.C. to spend the night as the altitude was getting to Grace.
Day 8: M.B.C. (12,140') to Lower Sinuwa (7,680') 9.5 hours, descended 4,460 feet
This was a really long day. Most of it was down so we moved a little quicker. Especially once we got out of the snow, which was about mid-morning.
Snow in the morning, and monkeys in the afternoon. (They were eating Pringles BTW)
Day 9: Lower Sinuwa (7,680') to Jhinu Danda (5,840') 4 hours, descended 1,840 feet
This was where we actually started to go a different way than we had come and loop back around so we started seeing parts of the area we hadn't before, rather than just back-tracking. This is where we had lunch.
This is a really pretty bird we saw...
Day 10: Jhinu Danda(5,840') to Syauli Bazar (3,840') 5 hours, descended 2,000 feet
And, this is what passes for a delivery truck on the trail. There is no motor vehicle access to almost the whole area we trekked in. Everything that is brought up there is brought via pony/donkey or by porter. Price is relative though. In the most expensive part of the trek a bottle of water was $1.70, and our dinner cost $5. Normally a bottle of water was around $0.30 and dinner was $1.50
Day 11: Syauli Bazar (3,840') to Nayapul (3,500') 4 hours, descended 340 feet
I thought that y'all might like to see what our rooms had looked like this whole time. We were using down sleeping bags with an extra blanket on top if we were cold (we usually got one just in case.) Only one place we stayed had a bathroom attached to the room, and we were lucky to get a bathroom with a western style potty let alone one that flushed. So... enjoy the multiple bathrooms you have.. they are a sweet sweet blessing.
And then back at the bridge in Nayapul. (we might have lost a little weight on the trek...) It would honestly be a shame if we weren't in better shape after all of that work.
Thats all for now folks. Gonna go out and see some of Greece, but we will have more on Nepal soon, then will have you up to date...
