Click here to to use The Annapurna Circuit map as a reference

 

Day 15: Sikha to Tadapani – Not to be confused with “Tatopani.” “Pani” means “water” in Nepali. And we’ll there’s a lot of water here. Hence, there are a lot of “panis” along this trek- Ghoripani, Dharapani, Kalopani…
October 6th, 2015
Starting elevation: 2000m (6560ft)
Finishing elevation: 2700m (8860ft)
Highest elevation reached: 3210m (10,170ft)
Departure time: 7:45 AM
Finishing time: 4:25 PM                                                                                      Actual hiking time: 6 hours 30 min

I can feel my body getting into trekking shape. I feel good after many hours on the trail today. The long hours were not as much of a factor as the amount of altitude I gained overall today. 1800 meters! Up. Then up some more to Ghorepani.

In Ghorepani I met up with the Poon Hill Loop, a 4 to 6 day trek that starts close to Pokhara. I left my pack in Ghorepani and flew up to Poon Hill, where I enjoyed a beautiful vista nearly alone. Most trekkers tackle this hill in the morning to catch the sunrise.

Back to Ghorepani for lunch and then back uphill towards Tadapani. At the vista at the top of the ridge there was a little snack shop and I overpaid for a snickers – I was starving. After two weeks on the trail I am starting to notice that my body is demanding a higher calorie intake.

Down down down for two solid hours to a river crossing then back up to Tadapani. When I got here a drum was banging and a hundred people were gathered around a sheep. It was all red on its top. I couldn’t tell if it was blood or not, but I am sure they were going to kill it. Why else would over a hundred people be gathered around to watch? There may have been two sheep. I don’t know, I didn’t really want to watch. My guess was that it was a sacrifice, which is more disturbing to me than if they were going to use the meat afterwards. (I later learned that this was part of ritual on behalf of someone who had recently died.)

Hard to believe that it wasn’t too too long ago the human sacrifice was banned in Nepal. Although I heard that a ten year old boy was killed earlier this year in an apparent sacrifice.

It took a long time to pick a hotel. I am so indecisive, but I wanted a good view of Annapurna South, Hiunchuli, and Machhapuchhare. It is pretty incredible here. I got the last room in this lodge. The Poon Hill trekkers are in Tadapani in full force.

Day 16: Tadapani to Bamboo 

October 7th, 2015
Starting elevation: 2700m (8860ft)
Finishing elevation: 2320m (7610ft)
Highest elevation reached: 2700m (8860ft)
Departure time: 7:45 AM
Finishing time: 3:40 PM
Actual hiking time: 6 hours 5 min

Another long day, made longer by the fact that I didn’t quite have the juice this afternoon to cruise at my normal speed up a morale crushing steep hill in a hot sun up to the village of Sinuwa. Lots and lots of ups and downs today. But I made it to my target: the little village of Bamboo.

I am now in the valley gorge of the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC). Two short days from here to ABC. From here to Machhupuchhare Base Camp, the guidebook warns of avalanches that fall down into the gorge from 1000s of meters above. They usually happen in the winter and spring, but I am not taking any chances; I’ll finish my hiking day tomorrow by 10:00 AM before the sun warms the snowy slopes above, then get another early start the next morning.

It’s been a few nights since I’ve checked in with home. I was hoping to check in tonight but there’s no internet in this small little village.

 

Day 17: Bamboo to Annapurna Base Camp

October 8th, 2015
Starting elevation: 2320m (7610ft)
Finishing elevation: 4130m (13,550ft)
Highest elevation reached: 4130m (13,550ft)
Departure time: 6:40 AM
Finishing time: 2:50 PM
Actual hiking time: 6 hours

I felt bad asking the woman at the lodge last night to get up super early to make breakfast for me. We decided on 6:00 and I was pretty much ready to go by then. I got off by 6:40. I cruised to Deruali by 9:45. It was so early but the sun was out and upcoming was the most dangerous section of avalanches. I had passed over one old one already. But I was assured by a guide that there was absolutely no danger ahead.

I only saw one very very old snow fall on the way to Machhupuchhare Base Camp. I arrived there at 12:25. I had climbed 1400 meters and I had felt it on the way up. Extra huffs and puffs and my head felt like it was starting to swell. I had chosen a hotel based on what books they had available to read. I had some soup, and looked at the map. Only 1200 more vertical feet and an hour and a half to Annapurna Base Camp. If I went up today it would save me a whole day. But could I handle the altitude change?

I took a Diamox and told the guys at the hotel that I was not going to stay after all. The Diamox must have worked because I felt real good all the way up to ABC. I hiked up even a little further towards Hiunchuli (6441m) after I had checked into my hotel.

Just above ABC is like a graveyard without the bodies. There are memorials everywhere for climbers that have lost their lives, including the famous Kazak guide Anatoli Boukreev who John Krakhauer criticizes in Into Thin Air that prompted Boukreev to write his own book contradicting Krakhauer’s account. Boukreev died in an avalanche on Annapurna only a few years later. Annapurna is the most dangerous 8000 meter peak. Only 161 people have summited. 61 have died.

I am surrounded by so many peaks right now it is just incredible.

A couple of frustrating things: the camera on my iPad is cutting off the tips of mountains. What it looks like it is going capture and what it captures is not consistent. I also left my sunglasses somewhere up above ABC. Ugh! Why am I so absented minded? It drives me nuts! Let’s blame it on the altitude.

It’s clouded over, there might be no sunset to view tonight. Needless to say, the views have been more “breathtaking” than the thin air.

 

Day 18: Annapurna Base Camp to Sinuwa
October 9th, 2015
Starting elevation: 4130m (13,550ft)
Finishing elevation: 2320m (7610ft)
Highest elevation reached: 4130m (13,550ft)
Departure time: 8:00 AM
Finishing time: 4:55 PM
Actual hiking time: 6 hours 10 min

Not a great night’s sleep at 4100 meters last night, but all in all it could have been worse. Got about five hours of sleep.

Spent last night chatting with two young women from Holland and two young women from Denmark. they had met a few days before and now seemed inseparable.

I wanted to spare my knees today as much as I could going down 1800 meters (6000ft). I took breaks at every village or lodge area and had tea or something to eat. I am pretty slow going down. It was the fourth long day in a row. But my body seems to be holding up rather well. The knees are a little sore tonight but not too bad.

Tomorrow will be a short day to Jhinu and the hot springs there. I’ll be back in Pokhara in three days.

Day 19: Sinuwa to Landruk 

October 10th, 2015
Starting elevation: 2320m (7610ft)
Finishing elevation: 1630m (5350ft)
Highest elevation reached: 2320m (7610ft)
Departure time: 7:40 AM
Finishing time: 4:45 PM
Actual hiking time: 5 hours 10 min

I got to Jhinu, where the hot springs are located, in the late morning. But it’s another good 20 minutes down to the river to actually get to them. I counted this as part of my total hiking time today.

I decided to go on. I arrived in Landruk in the late afternoon just before it started to downpour, the first real rain in over two weeks. I had heard thunder and started to book it!

I slept 10 hours last night! Which doesn’t necessarily explain why I was a little cranky today.

Lots of steep stairs down and a bit of “Nepali flat,” which means you go up only to come back down with no elevation change. Towards the end of the day however there was a nice flat section along the river for about 20 minutes. I think this has been the longest flat section I have experienced in 19 days.

Day 20: Landruk to Damphus

October 11th, 2015
Starting elevation: 1630m (5350ft)
Finishing elevation: 1680m (5510ft)
Highest elevation reached: 2135m (7004ft)
Departure time: 8:00 AM
Finishing time: 2:15 PMActual hiking time: 4 hours 10 min

The last uphill climb of the trek and it was a dandy to get over a small pass and into another valley. I felt sluggish this morning. Stopped in Tolka for a tea before making the push to the pass.

We were in a cloud at the top as I ate lunch and I had to dig deep into my bag to get some warm clothes; I didn’t think I’d need them today.

Pushed on to Damphus, a pretty big mountain village spread over a half hour. The road comes up here and I saw my first motorized vehicle in a week.

There was a girl’s soccer game going on at a school. Many students dressed in their school uniforms were watching the game even though it’s Sunday. Weekends don’t seem to exist here. Some of the students were playing with a volleyball on the sideline. Volleyball seems big here; I’ve seen more volleyball nets than soccer fields and there were porters and guides spiking and digging a volleyball at Annapurna Base Camp.

You know what else I’ve seen a lot of on the limited TV I’ve seen? Professional wrestling! Hulk Hogan style. I think I’ve even had someone ask me if I liked a certain particular wrestler, but I didn’t recognize the name (because I am not a big fan myself) and I am not sure I heard the word “wrestling” right.

But back to the 12 year old girls soccer game: there was even a PA system, but no standard soccer uniforms. Many of the girls wore Germany or Brazil shirts. The field was rocky, rough and uneven; there were even a couple of mud puddles, but it was pretty official as they had a ref and linesmen. The sidelines were marked with rope.

The girls went at it pretty hard and there were some nasty collisions where I wondered whether one or both of the victims would get up. A number of townies watched with me from the road above. I can’t tell you how awesome it was to watch just any game to fulfill my sports fix!

The weather looked ominous and it started to sprinkle. I waited out a downpour complete with little pieces of hail at a guesthouse, then decided not to make the steep, wet and slippery descent down to Phedi even though my legs wanted to keep going.

I am staying at that same guest house. A very nice young couple with a nine month old made me feel at home. No wifi, no hot water, and a long wait for a tiny little pizza even though I am the only one here, but only one day to Pokhara. The rain and lightning came back. I think staying was the right call.

Day 21:Damphus to Pokhara                                                                       Starting elevation: 1680m (5510ft)                                                        Finishing elevation: 840m (2756ft)
Highest elevation reached: 1680m (5510ft)
Departure time: 7:50 AM
Finishing time: 12:45 PM                                                                                    Actual hiking time: 4 hours 40 min

Not very good service at the Damphus hotel. The couple was nice enough but I don’t think they are used to hosting. Most trekkers likely bypass a stay in Damphus because it is to close to the start of the trail. But I had plans to walk all the way to Pokhara on the road.

There has been a fuel shortage problem in Nepal in the past few days and weeks because India is boycotting Nepal’s new constitution. The constitution states the Indians cannot partake in politics in Nepal. To show their disagreement, India has blockaded the border, and Nepal has had no way of getting fuel into the country. Flights have been cancelled. The sides of the roads in Pokhara are lined with busses, taxis, and motorbikes all out of commission.

The busses that did pass me on the highway to Pokhara were full. Not just full, packed on the top of the bus, people grabbing arms and hanging out of the door. Motorcyclists turned their motors off going downhill, and some folks were even pushing their motorbikes uphill to conserve or because they were out of gas. The next day at the International Mountain Museum I was told I couldn’t get any food at the restaurant because they were out of cooking fuel. “No fuel, no wood.”

I rolled into Pokhara with pizza and beer on my mind with the Annapurna Circuit and Base Camp in the books. A rest day in Pokhara and then on to Kathmandu.