Naaaaiiiiilllled It

 Annapurna I

We have returned from our trek into the Himalaya with some sore knees but having seen one of the most beautiful places we've ever been.  We planned on taking 10 days but ended up finishing in 9, making our last day a long one, but it was worth it.  Now...how to describe the actual hike?  First of all, the scenery was incredible.  We started getting some good views of Fishtail (the only peak in Nepal that's off-limits to climbers) and some of the Annapurna mountains early on in the trek.  It's incredible to see these peaks poking out above the tree-covered smaller mountains.  In addition to the Himalayan mountains, the valleys were also beautiful in their own way.  The trail goes from village to village so we were constantly walking by rice and millet terraces, rural people going about their farming, donkeys carrying goods (the only mode of transporting goods in the region), through gorgeous forests, or waiting for a herd of goats to move out of the way.  It was cool to see a way of life that is so self-sufficient and involves no motorized vehicles, although it seems everyone still has a cell phone!

Fishtail just before sunrise

On our third day of hiking we got our first real taste for the Annapurna Mountain Range.  We woke up at 4:30am to hike to view sunrise from Poon Hill.  Calling it a hill is a bit of a misnomer, since it stands at almost 10,000 feet, dwarfing the tallest mountain in our northeast! (Mount Washington in NH is about 6500 feet). That was spectacular.  The whole range was laid out before us.  We watched as the mountains started to come out of the darkness and then as the sun slowly lit the ridges.  The effect was that the mountains seemed tipped with gold.  Although it was freezing cold it was hard for Alex to tear herself away.  We watched as the whole range was lit up before heading back down for breakfast and a full day of hiking.  Over the next 3 days we continued to slowly climb in elevation and get closer to the mountains.  At some points you felt like you could reach out and touch them.  Views were always best in the mornings, before 11, when the air was crystal clear and before the clouds moved in.  Day 6 was the "big day" of reading Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) at 13,500 feet.  We left early in order to get there in time to see the mountains and secure a bedroom in the often overcrowded lodges.  The last hour of the hike brought us into Annapurna Sanctuary, the area encircled by the mountains and where ABC is located.  It is aptly named for the effect is truly overwhelming.  Even though Alex was quite out of breath from altitude she could barely look up from the path without getting choked up from the beauty of it all.  Once at base camp we were literally at the foot of some of the most impressive mountains in the world.  We could stand in one spot, turn 360 degrees, and see massive, snow-covered peaks in every direction.  We arrived at 9:30 am and had a nice hour or so taking it in from a quiet spot.  The next morning we woke up at 6:00, rolled out of our bedroom in all the clothes we brought, and watched sunrise in this surreal location.  Again, the slow transformation was jaw dropping.  It is a moment and place we'll never forget.

We made it!

Sunrise on Annapurna I as seen from ABC

One of the reasons we were drawn to this trek was for the scenery of the Sanctuary but there were some other aspects that also really made it memorable.  The ability to hike without tents/food and stay in the lodges along the way was very unique.  We usually woke up early, around 6, and would hike for 5-7 hours each day.  The hiking was all steep uphill or downhill...there was almost no flat ground for the entire trek.  We would stop for a tea break mid-morning at one of the villages and then often reach our destination by a late lunch time.  That gave us the afternoon to nap, read, play cards, and relax.  Each lodge had a common "dining hall" where everyone gathered for warmth from about 4pm through dinner.  This was a lot of fun because we met a lot of interesting people during this time.  There was a nice sense of comraderie since we were all in it together. Some people we would see day after day at the lodges so we got to know them better.  It was cool to hear where other people have traveled and their life stories.  We met one family from Australia who were hiking with their 6 and 11 year old sons and traveling for several months together!  The dining hall was also the place to refuel.  We actually had decent to good food the whole time, with lots of variety, something we weren't really expecting.

We hired a guide and Alex had a porter for her pack...our guide was very nice but didn't really add too much to our experience.  Alex also wished she had carried her own pack (or, at least, tried to carry it).  Chris' pack made him pretty sore for the first couple days, but then he got used to it.  The porter even had trouble keeping up with us.  By the end, Alex's porter told Chris "you nationality no American; only just Nepali" because of how fast he walked up the mountains.

Victory cheer from the Sanctuary

We're now back in Pokhara, where we had a victory dinner consisting of steaks, hamburgers, beer, and cocktails. And today, we went paragliding, which was extremely fun. It was a great way to end our time in this region of Nepal. Tomorrow, we move on to the small Newari (one of Nepal's ethnic groups) village, called Bandipur.

Photo of Alex taken by Chris