The mighty Himalayas
The trek: Annapurna Sanctuary, Highest Point 13,550 feet
Day 1: Pokhara – Tikhedhunga (4.5 hours)
High – Fresh muscles, no blisters, best room in the guest house, an amazing lighting storm
Low – It’s the first day, of course no lows!
Day 2: Tikhedhunga – Ghorepani (5 hours)
High – We beat the snow storm by two minutes and sat by the fire the rest of the afternoon
Low – Climbed 3,280 stone steps first thing in the morning, bye bye fresh leg muscles.
Day 3: Ghorepani – Poon Hill – Ghurjung (9 hours)
High – Sunrise panorama of the Himalayas at Poon Hill (3200 meters)
Low – 9 hours of walking and the first blisters appear.
Day 4: Ghurjung – Dovan (7.5 hours)
High – Hiking all day with views of the mountains and missing the afternoon rains at a cozy guest house in Sinuwa for lunch.
Low – First realization that we may be underprepared in terms of rain gear and warm clothing.
Day 5: Dovan – Machhapuchhre Base Camp (7 hours)
High – Walking through avalanche chutes and snow fields and arriving at our first base camp!
Low – First signs of altitude sickness and infectious diarrhea (both in me). Everyone over here talks about I.D. really openly, probably because EVERYONE gets it, so sorry if this is too much info.
Day 6: MBC – Annapurna Base Camp (3 hours, normal time is 1 hour)
High – Our final destination, what could be more satisfying!
Low – Full blown I.D. and a 36 hour migraine (presumably from the altitude)
Day 7: ABC – Bamboo (6.5 hours)
High – Getting out of the cold weather! And of course walking downhill is much easier.
Low – We were caught in a huge thunder storm and all our gear was completed soaked. At this point I had taken in about three pieces of bread over three days and couldn’t hold any fluids so my strength was pretty minimal.
Day 8: Bamboo – Chomrong (5 hours)
High – My first real meal in three days, chocolate cake with a candle in it and a hot shower, a sweet sweet hot shower. What a birthday present!
Low – The ‘first real meal’ was at night so my forth day walking on empty was incredibly difficult.
Day 9: Chomrong – Pokhara (8 hours)
High – A sunny beautiful and easy day of walking through wheat fields and following the winding river down the mountain.
Low – None! It was such a rewarding experience!
More Pictures:
Greg pointing out our final destination, Annapurna Base Camp
Much of the walking was like this. Maybe I’m looking at the mountains and their beauty, maybe I’m deep in thought. Likely there is a huge staircase in front of me and I’m wishing I had a donkey.
Somewhere between MBC and ABC I think
Views from the top
One of the many stupas
Looks pretty daunting huh? Try not eating for two days and then doing it!
A porter carrying up his daily delivery to ABC
A porter pit stop obviously
There must be more stairs in front of me.
The last day walking out, looks so much easier!
A chicken porter
And of course the adorable children begging for ’sweets’ and ‘choco’
Congratulations with the excellent use of your survival skills in Nepal. Bad news…. I have a few hundred steps, climbing in mind for your visit in China. Good news…. You and Greg can syc-up for it while lounging for a few days at the Sofitel in jinan.
Love you!!!!! and great Blog. I’m still gigling.
so Nepal equals the best diet ever? Must. Visit.
Did you find the McDonalds yet? Katherine, you look pale and thin…time for a burger!
xx