And...... we're back. For the past ten days Jay and I have been hiking throughout the Annapurna region of the Himalayas, northwest of the city of Pokhara. The blog map is now fully functional and I've charted our course through the mountain villages of scenic Nepal (for all the map junkies out there).
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The bus screeched to a stop in the village of Nayapul following a bus ride from the outskirts of Pokhara. Thankfully, we had managed to procure seats in the far back of the bus, saving us from a two hour game of duck and cover with the compartments overhead.
The strong sun was refreshing following two weeks of overcast fog. Passing roadside refreshment stalls we headed down our first of many dirt paths on our way to Birethanti, the starting point for the 10 day trek to base camp of Annapurna I. Having finally reached the countryside of Nepal, we laughed over the presence of candy wrappers that littered the ground. As the trek progressed we would see less of these eye sores, replaced by the heights of snow capped mountain ranges.
For three days we hiked through lowland forests and terraced cliff side farm land, stopping for water or a rest at the villages that appear every two hours along the route. As the sun lowered over the horizon each day we searched out a guesthouse for the night. Lodging costs are very cheap ($1/night), but its an unwritten requirement that all guests eat overpriced dinners and breakfasts at the guesthouse. Daily routines took form as the trek continued. Early wake ups and turn ins book ended six hour days of hiking, the morning air becoming crisper each day. Discounting a sick day we made good time on our way through the villages of Gorephani and Tadapani.
On day four Annapurna I and its neighboring behemoth, Gangapurna rose even higher. A strange phenomenon that I have never experienced, the longer we hiked into the mountain range, the larger the mountains seemed to loom. Following days of occasionally glimpsing a mountain peak the range became our permanent backdrop. Altitude increased and thick vegetation gave way to stunted scrub and blue white glacial streams. During the day we sweated through our t shirts. At night the temperature quickly dropped. Guests wore down jackets and gloves at they hungrily gobbled down starchy dinners or poured over a book.
Our foresight in bringing spare food and snacks was offset by the mistake of not hitting the ATM before leaving town and we anxiously worried that our money wouldn't carry us throughout the journey. Asking the locals for an their nearest ATM location was useless. Buffalo are staunchly opposed to financial institutions.
On mid day of day seven we reached Annapurna base camp, altitude 4130m (13629 ft). White snowy peaks surrounded us as we craned our necks upward toward Annapurna I, towering ominously at over 8000m. Our legs ached as we posed for victory pictures, our new hippy friend from Colorado taking off his shirt in the freezing wind that blew across the glacier below us.
We stayed the night at Macchapucchre Base Camp, feasting on pizza, pasta and steaming hot mint tea as fog crept eerily up the valley to envelope our guesthouse. The next morning we barreled down the trail, conquering the thousands of stairs that run through Chomrong to reach the hot springs of Jhinu. Our final day of the trek was spent lumbering through the idyllic countryside buffering the river. Our legs ached as we boarded the local bus back to Pokhara, this time with beers in hand.
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The bus screeched to a stop in the village of Nayapul following a bus ride from the outskirts of Pokhara. Thankfully, we had managed to procure seats in the far back of the bus, saving us from a two hour game of duck and cover with the compartments overhead.
The strong sun was refreshing following two weeks of overcast fog. Passing roadside refreshment stalls we headed down our first of many dirt paths on our way to Birethanti, the starting point for the 10 day trek to base camp of Annapurna I. Having finally reached the countryside of Nepal, we laughed over the presence of candy wrappers that littered the ground. As the trek progressed we would see less of these eye sores, replaced by the heights of snow capped mountain ranges.
For three days we hiked through lowland forests and terraced cliff side farm land, stopping for water or a rest at the villages that appear every two hours along the route. As the sun lowered over the horizon each day we searched out a guesthouse for the night. Lodging costs are very cheap ($1/night), but its an unwritten requirement that all guests eat overpriced dinners and breakfasts at the guesthouse. Daily routines took form as the trek continued. Early wake ups and turn ins book ended six hour days of hiking, the morning air becoming crisper each day. Discounting a sick day we made good time on our way through the villages of Gorephani and Tadapani.
On day four Annapurna I and its neighboring behemoth, Gangapurna rose even higher. A strange phenomenon that I have never experienced, the longer we hiked into the mountain range, the larger the mountains seemed to loom. Following days of occasionally glimpsing a mountain peak the range became our permanent backdrop. Altitude increased and thick vegetation gave way to stunted scrub and blue white glacial streams. During the day we sweated through our t shirts. At night the temperature quickly dropped. Guests wore down jackets and gloves at they hungrily gobbled down starchy dinners or poured over a book.
Our foresight in bringing spare food and snacks was offset by the mistake of not hitting the ATM before leaving town and we anxiously worried that our money wouldn't carry us throughout the journey. Asking the locals for an their nearest ATM location was useless. Buffalo are staunchly opposed to financial institutions.
On mid day of day seven we reached Annapurna base camp, altitude 4130m (13629 ft). White snowy peaks surrounded us as we craned our necks upward toward Annapurna I, towering ominously at over 8000m. Our legs ached as we posed for victory pictures, our new hippy friend from Colorado taking off his shirt in the freezing wind that blew across the glacier below us.
We stayed the night at Macchapucchre Base Camp, feasting on pizza, pasta and steaming hot mint tea as fog crept eerily up the valley to envelope our guesthouse. The next morning we barreled down the trail, conquering the thousands of stairs that run through Chomrong to reach the hot springs of Jhinu. Our final day of the trek was spent lumbering through the idyllic countryside buffering the river. Our legs ached as we boarded the local bus back to Pokhara, this time with beers in hand.
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