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Day 1: So it begins…
Pokara to Besishar by bus, Besisahar to Bhulbule
September 22nd, 2015
Starting time: Pokhara 6:30 AM
Arrival Besisahar: 11:00 AM

Besisahar to Bhulbule
Starting elevation: 810m (2657 feet)
Highest elevation reached: 1030m (3379 feet)
Finishing elevation: 840m (2755 feet)
Departure time from Besisahar: 12:50 PM
Arrival in Bhulbule: 3:35 PM
Actual time hiking: 2 hours 30 min

I had hoped that when I picked my start date for the Annapurna Circuit Trek that the monsoon season would be winding down. What I discovered on my first day of the trek is that monsoon season is not winding down. It rained for a good part of the night in Pokhara last night. But it was dry this morning as I made an early morning walk in the dark to the bus station about 45 minutes from my hotel on the north end of Lakeside.

The bus was crowded and somewhere along the way the driver stopped to put a bench right in the middle of the bus’s aisle for folks to sit on. It was about a four and half hour ride, bumpy as ever, and hot at times. I didn’t sleep much last night and actually dosed off a lot on the bus, with the help of a milligram and a half of lorazepam.

When we got to Besisahar, I was surprised by its size.  A bustling small city, I expected to come across a small mountain village. I had already gotten my ACAP permit in Pokhara, but the TIMS office had been closed. They told me not to worry about it and that I could pick it up on the way. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize I needed more passport photos for this, and I had left my passport photos back with my other stuff in Pokhara. After finding a place to get photos in Besisahar, getting the TIMS card, then grabbing a bite to eat, it was time to start the hike.

Most of the two and half hour walk took me away from the road, but also up much higher than the road, which was more challenging. Also, the trail wasn’t always marked very clearly and I found myself at one point having fun tromping through someone’s rice paddy garden and having to turn back, just like I had done on the way up to Sarangkot last week. But overall, the hike was not too strenuous.

It started to rain on the way down. But it felt nice. I am still at about the elevation of Pokhara. And even though I climbed up 200 meters, I came back down most of the way. I am staying in Bhulbule at 840 meters which is what Pokhara’s altitude is exactly. Tomorrow we go up to 1300 meters but finish at 1150. Not too strenuous. And not very high yet.

I might have to take back the comment about not being very high. Had dinner here at my lodge. It was not the best. The momos were surprisingly not very tasty. But the tuna macaroni was pretty decent. The guys at the table next to me were going at it with the weed.  If I hadn’t been more mindful, I probably would have gotten hig off their second hand smoke! Another couple is here. They were on my bus and walked up the road.

This little village probably sees much less business with the construction of the road. Most folks that were on the bus and at the TIMS station this morning took transportation further on.

Very cozy accommodation. The sound of the river dominates. Wood planks separate the rooms upstairs. Wood flooring. A cabin-like feel. Makes me miss the barn in Maine.

Day 2: Getting in the Groove
Bhulbule to Ghermu
September 23rd, 2015
Starting elevation: 840m (2755 feet)
Highest elevation reached: 1310m (4295 feet)
Finishing elevation: 1150m (3770 feet)
Departure time: 8:25 AM
Arrival time: 2:00 PM
Actual time hiking: 4 hrs

It rained as I went to sleep last night. It was hard to decipher between the sound of the river and the much nearer patter of drops outside my window. If every tea house is as cozy as last night’s then I will not suffer much over the next few weeks.

The young group of guys was at it again at breakfast with the weed. Their leader has the Rastafarian look going on, but I couldn’t place his nationality. He spoke fluent Nepali. I was the last to leave the lodge this morning out of the three parties that stayed the night.

The first part of today’s journey from Bhulbule to Ghermu took me up the new road. I was confused because the map said that the road was on the other side of the river. I also got confused later because I thought I might be going the wrong way because I had not crossed a big suspension bridge as the guide had suggested I would. Well it turns out that there are now two roads! One on each side of the river.

I passed through the construction of what I believe is a new hydroelectric plant. Jeeps, motorbikes, tractors, and busses made their way pass me. Ah progress. I hope this makes for better lives for everyone. Higher quality of living can mean higher costs and a loss of independence to those who provide that higher standard of living. But I digress…

Living up to my Appalachian Trail nickname, The Caboose (That Got Loose), I passed the group of peace pipers about an hour and half in. They were taking a weed break. After about two and a half hours, I ran into the couple that was at the lodge last night. They had just reached the top of the ridge. They were a welcome sight because I thought by climbing the road I had missed the track somewhere. Turns out that this was partly true, but no matter.

We reached the checkpoint in Bahundanda at 1310 meters and had a nice soup and pancake cornbread for lunch together. Their names are David and Dot. They are from Oxford, England and will be teaching in Vietnam for a year after leaving Nepal.

I made quick work of the afternoon session despite a steady drizzle that had me scrambling for my pack cover and poncho. The rain feels good at this elevation. The guidebook pointed out a section along the ledge that towered high above the river by recounting stories of those who had fallen off the side. There are railings there along most of it, and the trail was plenty wide.

I reached Ghermu by 2:00 PM. The guidebook said that it would take six to six and a half hours to get here. That must be for tour groups or something because I got here in four hours hiking time. I debated going on but I thought that might mean another two and a half hours and the last thing I want to do is overdo it at the beginning. I settled for a lodge in Ghermu with a terrific view of the Siurun River crashing down several hundred meters towards the Marayangdi River below me.

Dot and David are here. I did not see them until late afternoon, but they arrived when I was in the shower. We had dinner together; they are a fun couple. We are the only ones here. We were all surprised to have to put on an extra layer tonight at dinner. On to Tal tomorrow. Looks like quite a bit or road walking on the map.

Day 3: Simple Math
Ghermu to Tal
September 24th, 2015
Starting elevation: 1150m (3770 feet)
Highest elevation reached: 1670m (5480 feet)
Finishing elevation: 1670m (5480 feet)
Departure time: 7:45 AM
Finishing time: 12:50 PM
Actual hiking time: 3 hours 55 min

I got an earlier start this morning thanks I suppose to an earlier bedtime. Dot and David retired last night at 7PM after only one round of rummy.  Although the first hour and a half or so of today’s hike went along the road, I didn’t much mind it because it’s really not much of a road. There was a part early on where I said to myself, “ok this is no longer a road” because it looked impassible to vehicles. Just then, a jeep appeared. I cleared out of the way to let it pass and was amazed at how it maneuvered over what seemed to be no more than a rocky riverbed.

The trail spent the second half of the day on the other side of the river and I marveled at the sight of the road on the other side cut into the cliffside with a straight 200 meter drop to the river without a railing. Want a ride? No thanks, I’ll walk.

There were not any real dicey spots along the trail today so long as one stayed away from the edge. I thought I might eat lunch with Dot and David in Chamje but I arrived there at 10:00, which I figured was too early for lunch even though I was starting to get hungry. I scurried up the embankment on the other side after crossing over a suspension bridge and stopped 45 minutes later at a more remote spot.

The woman at the tea house, one of two buildings in the little settlement of Sattale, served up fried macaroni on a wood burning fire. Wood burning is supposedly bad for the environment here. There is only so much wood, and cutting down trees causes erosion. So I guess I can feel a little bad about going along with it, but I am sorry to say that don’t think this women is going to be winning the combination stove/oven/microwave on The Price is Right anytime soon. She tried to engage me in conversation after realizing that I knew a bit of Nepali. But I didn’t understand most, if not all, of what she was saying. After I had finished, she gave me the menu back and I assumed she wanted me to order something else. I worried that she didn’t have change for my 1000 rupee note. I tried to order a hot chocolate by pointing to the menu, but the next thing I knew she was on the phone. Calling in a helicopter to deliver the hot cocoa? Then she went to the kitchen to fetch her money from a pot, She unfolded the napkin inside and gave me my change. I am not sure what the whole charade was about.

But then it dawned on me as I was reading my book later about an American woman who married a Nepali and lived in Nepal in the late 80s. The book talks a lot about the rights of women. Many lack education. And well it just may have been that she was on the phone asking someone for help as to how much change to give back to me. I am not sure she could properly subtract 300 from 1000. I have been given incorrect change in Nepal before, and unlike what I encountered in India, I think it has been simply due to poor counting.

The sun was out for part of the day and I was lucky not to get rained on. I am in the village of Tal for the night. It’s a decent sized village, with maybe 25 guest houses or so and it was kind of hard to decide on what lodge to stay at. I have a view of a waterfall for a second night in a row.

I am here alone. Dot and David are likely in this village somewhere. I kind of miss their company tonight. But the lady here has been very friendly. She said that there were six people that stayed here last night. There is wifi here, which certainly helps with any homesickness.

Tomorrow looks like a big day with about a 1000 meters climb. It will easily be the longest day so far. Pray for good weather.

Day 4: New Friends
Tal to Chame
September 25th, 2015
Starting elevation: 1670m (5480 feet)
Highest elevation reached: 2670m (8820 feet)
Finishing elevation: 2670m (8820 feet)
Departure time: 7:40 AM
Finishing time: 4:20 PM
Actual hiking time: 6 hours 45 minutes

Phew, that was a good long day. I feel good, but not sure I can put in two days in a row like that. It’s more of a mental thing for me. I just don’t want to get burned out. I had a morning view of some snow-capped mountains from the hotel I stayed at. I hiked for a short time with David and Dot but got ahead of them. I met a Spanish couple and briefly chatted with them.

I got behind both couples when I took the trail option instead of continuing up the road. It was a lot of up down but I had the pleasure of walking through a big meadow full of pink flowers. At 2000 meters, I got my first whiff of my favorite scent in the world: pine. The landscape had changed and the mountain sides were now draped with pine trees up and down the river gorge.

Lunch was fun. I ate with Dot and David and a couple I hadn’t met: Frannie and Mike. They both are originally from Florida but live in Denver now. It clouded over as we ate. in fact, we were starting to get high enough where we about to be in the clouds. We all pulled out extra layers. We were at 2200 meters. The Spanish couple sat at another table alone. I felt a little bad for them.

I spent the entire afternoon hiking with Frannie and Mike to Chame. Dot and Dave were only going to go to Tamang and they moved at a slower pace. We followed an older man up a bunch of shortcut trails and made good time up to the village of Tamang at 2600 meters. The rest of the way was pleasant walking. We couldn’t see very much because we were in the clouds, including the river below. We could hear it, but it may as well have been the ocean, we couldn’t tell the difference.

Despite the clouds, the air is cool and crisp and fresh at this altitude. Perfect hiking weather. We have left the jungle and the hot days behind us.  And we are not high enough yet where the altitude is a problem. As Mike kept saying, this just may well be the perfect altitude. I think I could enjoy living at 8800 feet.

Mike and Frannie are a lot of fun and we chatted the entire afternoon which made the hiking go by with ease. They started in Besishar too but are only on day 3. I am not sure I can keep up with them over the long run. They are trail runners at home. She’s been running races since she was 8 years old. I’ll do my best.

Day 5: Stunning Views
Chame to Upper Pisang
September 26th, 2015
Starting elevation: 2670m (8820 feet)
Highest elevation: 3320m (10,890 feet)
Finishing elevation: 3320m (10,890 feet)
Departure time: 8:15 AM
Finishing time: 1:40 PM
Actual hiking time: 3 hours 40 min

I may be sitting in the most beautiful spot in the world right now. I would like to spare you readers from such hyperbole, but it’s hard, so I apologize. We just arrived at our guesthouse. And the view from my room is just outstanding. Snow-capped mountain peaks to the right, straight ahead, Annapurna II, to our left, and the river running through the valley below. It’s been sunny all day.

I walked with Frannie and Mike again and they are staying here at the guesthouse as well. It got downright hot after lunch in the high mountain air. The landscape has changed again. The pine are a bit more sparse which means we’ve been walking up the valley with a lot more sun on us.

Last night I had a few instances of shortness of breath, but not bad. This morning I could tell the air was getting thinner as my breathe got off rhythm and I huffed for a bit more air.

Mike and Frannie are pretty knowledgeable outdoors people. Mike says that its pretty consistent in terms of where each individual might get altitude sickness. If you start to feel it on one hike at 3000 meters that’s probably where you’ll start to feel it the next time. But everyone responds differently.

I’ve been to 4900 meters (16,200 feet) in Peru, and I climbed Mt. Whitney well above 14,000 feet last year without acclimating at all. I drove up from from 3000 feet that morning to the start of the trail at 8600 and climbed straight up. Yes, I felt the affects, but I made it. So, I was a little surprised to be seeking out an extra breath here and there this morning.

I am going to take a pill of Diamox tonight as a precautionary measure. Tomorrow night I’ll probably be at the same elevation as tonight after reaching a maximum altitude during the day of 3700 meters; so in terms of altitude difficulties this should be the hardest night.

It’ll be nice to have the afternoon to wash clothes, shower, read, and review some Nepali.

Day 6: Feeling High
Upper Pisang to Braka
September 27th, 2015
Starting elevation: 3320m (10,890 feet)
Highest elevation: Around 3700m (12,140 feet)
Finishing elevation: 3480m (11,420 feet)
Departure time: 8:00 AM
Finishing time: 3:05 PM
Actual hiking time: 5 hours 25 min

Last night I took a Diamox pill to help me adjust to the altitude. One of the benefits they say is that it helps you sleep better. Well that’s impossible because now I remember someone mentioning the side effect: I peed four times in four hours and six times overall throughout the night. I only slept about four and a half to five hours. But that gave me time to get a lot of solitaire and some reading in.

My anxiety has been particularly intense the last few nights and I think perhaps my heart is beating slightly faster at this altitude. I would like to be more cognizant of that so I don’t let my thoughts run wild and focus back in on my breath.

Frannie and Mike walked on ahead today. We bumped into each other a few times during the day. We’ve spent a lot of time together over the past few days and they deserve their space. I appreciate the company they’ve provided me. They are really good people.

The day was a beautiful one. The best yet, even though the morning started out cloudy. Just outstanding views of Annapurna II, III, and IV, as well as Gangapurna, and a few other peaks not as high but still snow-covered. Both Annapurna II and III are a shade under 8,000 meters. There are only fourteen 8,000 meter peaks in the world. Annapurna I is at 8,091m. I am not sure I will even be able to see Annapurna I on this hike, but maybe on the back side of the circuit.

We encountered a difficult climb up to Ghyaru, made more difficult by the altitude. You really have to find a good pace between your steps and your breath. After Ghyaru, the trees became shorter and more sparse and we were totally subject to the strong afternoon alpine sun.

I had lunch with a Spanish couple in Ngwal that I’ve crossed paths with for the past three days or so. My Spanish is pretty rusty, but it’s good to get some practice. They are from Cataluña. They told me there is a big vote today to decide if Cataluña will become independent from Spain.

The guy was suffering from altitude sickness. He just felt terrible. Ironically enough he’s climbed Mount Blanc at over 4,800 meters. He said he felt sick then too but just powered through it. He reached the top in two days. I didn’t know that was possible. As we dined inside, it became very windy and we were worried that the afternoon hike might be a bit brutal in such a wind, but as soon as the trail started going back down into the valley the wind died down and it was pretty toasty again.

I wanted to get to Braka, find a hotel and the make a quick transition with my day pack and hike up to Milrepa’s Cave at 4000 meters. But it took a while to pick a hotel and by 3:30 PM I knew there was only about two and half hours of daylight left. That would be cutting it too close. I feel strong and ready to hike more, but the day was long enough.

There are four hotels in this little village. I think I might be the only one in this particular hotel tonight. The Spanish women read somewhere that right now there are only 15% of the tourists in the country that would normally be here. There haven’t been a whole lot of people on this trek so far. Tonight might be a little lonely. No wifi! Ha. I have no idea what the college football scores were from yesterday. How will I ever survive!

 

Day 7: Ice Ice Baby (Sorry…I couldn’t think of a better title)
Braka to Braka
September 28th, 2015
Starting elevation: 3480m (11,420 feet)
Highest elevation: 4600m (15,091 feet)
Finishing elevation: 3480m (11,420 feet)
Departure time: 7:45 AM
Finishing time: 1:00 PM
Actual time hiking: 4 hours 30 min

I took the side trail up to Ice Lake today. It really should be called Ice Lakes as there are two of them, but plural nouns don’t work the same in Nepali. It was a long hard climb and the guidebook was off. It said it would take 4:30 to 5 hours round trip. It took me 5 hours and 15 minutes round trip and I was really in a groove and moving quite well.

All week I have been doing the guidebook’s estimated times in half to maybe two thirds of the time. Not today. It turns out that going up over 1100 meters is the same no matter how you slice it. It’s a long way up, and it got a little windy and chilly up there. Fortunately the sun was out most of the time.

The plan was to come back down and then head to the other side of the valley and go up to this cave before coming back down again and heading up the road to Manang for the night 30 minutes away where I hoped there would be internet so I could contact home. I’ve gone a few days now without internet and I am worried that they are worrying about me. But I am intrigued by the fact that two hours beyond this cave you can reach the bottom of the Annapurna Glacier.

If I had skipped lunch today then perhaps I might have had time to do it, but it would have been a long day and that side of the valley is out of the sun in the late afternoon. So I decided to stay at the same hotel tonight and try it in the morning before heading on to Manang. There is really no need for me to rush. I don’t want to miss anything.

I was very happy that I was able to sleep well last night. I was worried that the altitude might keep me awake again. I also was very pleased with how I held up going up to 4600 meters today. If I ever wanted to be a mountaineer I think my body could take the altitude.