The Annapurna Circuit

Hello friends, I'm sitting in an internet cafe with nothing planned for today except napping, eating and reporting back to you about my trek. I have a lot to write. Sorry if your boss yells at you Monday morning while you spend hours reading this rather than working. Especially you, George. I will try to use my journal to help me relate my journey to you as it happened, rather than purely through the filter of my memory.

13 March: Bus ride from Kathmandu to Besi Sahar I got on the bus this morning with my guide Babu (yes, just like Babu Bat from Seinfeld). Babu talks about as much as a photograph of me talks. I keep trying to think of conversation topics, but found myself getting nowhere. We took the longest bus ride of all time, compounded by the time spent fixing the bus when it broke down by the side of the road. Everyone used this as an opportunity to pee in the bushes. I finally decided I should too, since you never know when the bus is going to stop again. Being the only tourist on the bus, everyone watched me ascend to a bush-obscured spot to do my business. Is a tourist peeing really so interesting? We arrived in Besi Sahar maybe 8 hours after leaving Kathmandu and I was happy to be off the bus. I found people honk a lot here, but it's different than it was in SE Asia-there it was a friendly reminder that someone was coming. Here, it's a warning to get out of the way or they actually will hit you. I had a craving for chocolate, but there was no chocolate to be found!

14 March: Besi Sahar to Bahundanda I spent the morning wondering what I'd gotten myself into. The trekking was fine--we definitely took the "slow and steady wins the race" approach, but the morning started off raining really hard. We could see it snowing in the mountains. We didn't really see any other hikers this day and I was feeling lonely--especially since Babu is 1. silent and 2. his English isn't good enough to carry on a long conversation even if he weren't predisposed to silence. I was worried I wouldn't have anyone to talk to for the whole trip. I hadn't showered since I arrived in Nepal and decided today was the day to do it, hot water or no. I took the iciest cold shower of all time and vowed never to do it again. I could feel my skull shrink under the cold water. Then it hailed for a while. Luckily, we were indoors already. The hike was definitely not through wilderness--people have inhabited these regions for a really long time. It was strange to see the juxtaposition of modern and well, un-modern--people living in stone houses with grass huts, but with electricity (all hydroelectric!) and solar powered hot showers.

15 March: Bahundanda to Chamje This was a more difficult day hiking. We were up and down all day and my stomach was feeling rather iffy. We also saw a lot of people going the opposite way down the path. They had tried to make it over the Thorung La pass and found it under 2 meters of snow. So began days of anxiety over whether or not we too would make it over the pass. A little background: this pass is sort of the lynch-pin that would allow you to complete the entire circuit--if you don't make it over for whatever reason, you have to go back the way you came. I figured if I was going to haul my ass uphill for 10 days I'd like to go down for the next 10 as a reward.
Anyways, obstacles to making it over the pass include:
1. Snow--too much snow and you can't get over
2. Weather--snow storms and high winds will prevent safe passage
3. AMS: acute mountain sickness (also known as altitude sickness)--this became the most worrisome of the obstacles--mostly because it can result in death and you don't really have any control over it, other than ascending slowly and drinking lots of water. To give you some context, the pass is at 5,415 meters or 17,766 feet high, the highest pass in the world--apparently this is almost 2000 feet taller than Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps. The O2 content is 50% of what it is at sea level. So, it's high up.
We saw a bunch of porters carrying sections of pipe for a hydro plant that weighed 80 kilos each (about 175 lbs!!!)! None of the guys could’ve weighed over 150 and even that’s stretching it. As I walked farther and farther in, I appreciated more and more that so much of what I saw was carried in someone’s back—concrete, mattresses, Snickers, water, suspension bridges, etc.
This day we saw a lot of pretty waterfalls and marijuana growing wild on the side of the road.

16 March: Chamje to Bagarchhap: 4701 feet to 7100 feet
This was one of my more difficult days. The real problem for me was not the endless uphill, so much as the lack of adequate sustenance.
The national food here is Daal Bhat: rice, lentil soup, some curry and some kind of pickled vegetable. The plate is bottomless—you can eat as much as you want, but unfortunately, I never really wanted to.
We mostly traveled uphill this day, through a river valley, over a glacial moraine and started to get into more arid areas. While we were crossing a suspension bridge over the river, a big gust of wind blew a tree branch into my hand. This hurt, but I’m glad it didn’t hit me in the head. The event was all the more curious because there weren’t really any trees around…
Anyhoo, I was pretty hungry by lunch time, ready to eat my fill of daal bhat. Unfortunately, it was so salty it was inedible. It was actually burning my tongue. After sitting for a while at lunch my muscles cooled down and got really stiff and sore. That, on top of being hungry, made the afternoon quite unpleasant. I was in a bad place for the last hour of the trek and wished I had someone with me to offer some encouragement. I wanted to sit down like a donkey and refuse to go any farther.
But, never fear friends, I picked myself up by my bootstraps and made it to the guesthouse, where I laid down for 45 minutes before I felt well enough to get up and get something to eat.
We saw a monkey in the morning, which was unexpected….

17 March: Bagarchhap to Chame: 7100 feet to 8901 feet
Today’s walk was really beautiful. We walked through pine forests that smelled really nice. It reminded me of the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico.
I started off the day really sore from the day before, but still felt really good in the morning.
Lunch was again inedibly salty, but I choked it down because I wasn’t sure when I’d have another opportunity to feed the machine. We spent more time in pine forests and windswept plains, and started climbing into areas inhabited by Tibetan Buddhist communities. We also started encountering snow and ice on the paths.
I saw people plowing their fields with oxen and a wood plow. This blew my mind.
In the afternoon, we stopped for a rest and I think my blood sugar must have crashed. I tried to stand up and almost fainted. I actually lied down and went fetal on the side of the path. This is quite funny in retrospect, but wasn’t so funny at the time. I thought I was already feeling the altitude, but I think I just wasn’t eating enough. Later, I was telling some people about it and they asked me how long I was laying there—I said I thought about 20 minutes. My guide, Babu insisted it was 40 minutes….how could he be so sure? He said he knew because he had time to smoke 2 cigarettes…while I was lying fetal on the side of path. Again, I can’t help but laugh, though I wasn’t laughing at the time.
I finally got up and we made it to town. I lay in my warm sleeping bag for an hour till I was able to move again. I ate several candy bars and forced myself to drink a bunch of water. I resolved to eat more protein.
When I had difficult moments, I tried to cheer myself up by thinking of Larry David saying, “must go on, can’t go on….MUST go on.” This usually helped.
The other people staying in the lodge were all other women trekkers, which I thought was cool. One of them told me she’d been feeling the same way I was and that eating and drinking more really helped her feel better. It was nice to finally have some other people to talk to. I ended up trekking with these women for the majority of the rest of the circuit, which was really wonderful:
Robyn and Rebecca: mother and daughter from Melbourne
Segoren and Natalie: friends from France
Nadia: solo trekker from Australia
This day and the day before were my most difficult 2 days on the trek. I think I was getting used to how much I needed to be eating, the sudden increase in physical activity, etc.
I really felt and still feel like everything I saw was so amazing, but I can’t hold on to any of it. I try to think of it and I forget what it looks like later. I’m left only with impressions and feelings, no concrete images. I think that’s what happens, though, when you’re existing from moment to moment.

18 March: Chame to Pisang: 2713 meters to 3185 meters (sorry, I didn’t write it down in feet)
Quoted from my journal: "Yay! A day where I don’t feel like s--- when we roll into our final destination!”
I was so sore the day before this and not at all this day—amazing how quickly your body adapts to changing circumstances.
This walk was not terribly strenuous, but was really pretty. We walked through more pine forests, and then through the snow. The snow was really slippery, which made it a little more difficult.
We saw tons of avalanches high on the mountains. It kept taking me a minute to realize I was hearing avalanches, not airplanes. There was no reason we'd be seeing airplanes, although we did see someone get evacuated in a helicopter the day before.
Pisang was the first town we came to that I absolutely loved. It was so pretty and quaint. The buildings are all made of stone. Call me the biggest nerd alive, but I really felt like I was in Rohan. We climbed up to the tallest part of the city to see the Buddhist temple there. When we came out of the temple there was mist rolling through the valley and we could see the Himalayas. It was really beautiful.
The sun is unbelievably intense--I could feel myself frying even with SPF 50 on.

19 March: Pisang to Manag: 10,449 feet to 11,650 feet
I didn’t much care for the first part of this day’s walk. It was not that pretty and the path was all thick mud, so walking was really tedious. It did, however, get really beautiful after we stopped for a morning snack (a freshly baked chocolate roll, much to my delight!).
Supposedly, this area looks like Tibet. We were surrounded by tall mountains and it looked like desert. There were no more trees, just scrubby brush.
I think I burned my eyeballs from the snow glare, even though I was wearing my sunglasses. My eyes watered uncontrollably for the next 24 hours, which made me look like I was constanly in tears about something. It was annoying, but then it got better.
We met a guy at lunch on his way back down from the Thorung La Pass because he got altitude sickness up high. He did not look good and he made me nervous about getting altitude sickness also. The good news he had, though, was that the weather was good, the snow was melting and lots of people were making it over every day.
At this point, the only effect of the altitude I was feeling was being a little more out of breath climbing uphill than I felt like I should be.
Manang is on a plateau, so it really didn't feel like we were that high up.
I think drinking tons of water and eating more was really helping me feel better than I had been.
I had a little bit of a cough in Bangkok, and it got worse as we got higher up. I was told this is normal because the air is so dry. It really only started to get better once we came down.
I was thinking in Manang what a nice mental break the trek was after the previous 3 months of traveling. It was nice to just walk and look around and not have to think about any kind of logistics. Also, we went to bed anywhere between 8 and 9 every night--it was dark and we were tired, so I got lots of sleep.
It was also really nice not to be so hot. The only time the cold bothered me (and it only really got cold when the sun went down) was when I had to get up to pee in the middle of the night. It's rough to climb out of your warm sleeping bag, find your flashlight and shoes and walk 30 feet to the bathroom.
I decided in Manang that I'm more fit than I was giving myself credit for. There were some days that were challenging, but none of them were un-doable.

20 March: Rest/Acclimatization day in Manang
We stayed in Manang to acclimatize to the altitude. I woke up with swollen hands and feet, which I was told was a natural reaction to the altitude.
We hiked up to a Buddhist temple 1500 feet above Manang to help with acclimatization--they recommend you climb high and sleep low. For only 100 rupees (about $1.30) we were blessed by 90 year old monk for a good and lucky and safe crossing of the Thorung La. He seemed to be running quite a lucrative operation up on the hill. The climb was not terribly difficult, but I could tell it was getting harder to breathe as we ascended.
I went to a talk on Acute Mountain Sickness given by the Himalayan Rescue Association in Manang. They succeeded in making me nervous about AMS. They told us some of the physiological things happening as your body attempts to adjust to the altitude. One of the things I found particularly interesting is that you breathe faster to take in more oxygen, but as you breathe out, your expelling the same amount of CO2 you would be at sea level--this messes up the pH of your blood in some way. You have to drink tons of water (at least 4 to 5 liters per day) so your kidneys can filter out the byproduct of this screwed up pH. The altitude also suppresses appetite and makes it difficult to sleep. I was definitely having to force myself to eat. Why is it that when you can justifiably eat candy with abandon, you don't really want it?
From the Buddhist temple on the hill, we had a really great view of Gangapurna (a big mountain) and it's glaciar and glacial lake. There was a huge avalanche on the glaciar, which was really cool to see. I had a bit of a "Lauren" moment when I felt all weepy and happy to be here.
In the evening I went to see the film version of Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air." Krakauer was played by the guy who played Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore. This did not lend him credibility. It was a bad idea to watch this movie after going to the AMS lecture and before attempting the Thorung La. It's about a bunch of people dying on Everest.
I woke up in the middle of the night and watched the stars from my window. They were really bright and the sky was really clear. I also had the pleasure of watching the sun rise and the light hit the mountain peaks from my bed. Needless to say, the view from my room was really great.

21 March: Manang to Letdar: 11,650 feet to 13,701 feet
We set off walking again this morning. There were no more trees on the trail. We saw some really great sweeping mountain vistas, and glaciers too.
I was feeling the altitude this day more than previously. It was harder to breathe and I started to feel like my body was really heavy, like I was walking through pudding. I also got a headache during the walk. I felt fine when we stopped.
The morning was sunny. We stopped for lunch and I was dragging at that point. We left lunch and it started to snow that icy pellet-y snow. This was not that fun.
The walk to Letdar was not that far, but you're not supposed to sleep more than 400 meters above the last place you slept, after 3,500 meters. Sorry I keep mixing meters and feet.
We were supposed to stay in a village lower down than Letdar, but the locals were saying that there was going to be snow in 4 days, so we moved on a day faster to make sure we could get over the pass.
This French guy with an unbelievably effeminate voice got really mad at the guy running the guesthouse about the price of a liter of boiled water. He yelled at him for 15 minutes, "it's just water, you just put it on a fire" bla bla bla. To clarify, after Manang there are no permanent settlments. Just guesthouses for tourists doing the circuit. However, there's no running water and no fuel--whatever boiled water you buy has first been carried up the mountain on someone's back and then is boiled by fuel that was also carried up the mountain on someone's back. We kept running into this guy for the next week. He was annoying.

22 March: Letdar to Thorung Phedi High Camp: 4925 meters
We left Letdar and fortunately the trail was mostly frozen. This was nice because it meant we didn't have to slog through the mud for hours. We got to Thorong Phedi by 11:00, had lunch and then climbed the extra 500 meters to High Camp. This climb was straight uphill through the snow. I had to stop every couple minutes to catch my breath.
The lodge up there was really nice and the views were spectacular. And we saw some yaks.
I didn't feel that great at high camp--but no one did, really. I felt like there was a giant weight pressing down on me, although I wasn't breathless, like some people.
The outhouse was really nasty--people missed the hole and then it all froze after dark.
It was cold at night--this was the only evening where I was uncomfortably cold at dinner.
Some people were smoking at high camp, which I found beyond my comprehension.
Creepy French guy kept staring at me while I was writing in my journal.
Tomorrow, the pass and no more wondering if we'd make it over or not.

23 March: High Camp to Muktinath: 4925 meters to 12474 feet
We got up at 3:30 in the morning and rolled out around 4:30 to complete the much-anticipated Thorong La crossing. We left so early because, apparently, the wind picks up as the day progresses. By 10 am it can be strong enough to blow you away!
It wasn't so cold in the morning, which I was happy about. I was wearing all my clothes. It was really beautiful to be walking through the snow in the dark, looking at the stars. We saw the dawn break over the mountains. I was huffing and puffing my way to the pass. my nose wouldn't stop running, which was really annoying. There was nothing I could do about it and sniffling kept interrupting my breathing.
I could not catch my breath, which was such an odd sensation when you're barely moving at all.
It took us about 2 hours and 45 minutes to reach the pass. The last 45 minutes were pretty difficult for me. It took all my energy to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. It didn't help that we kept reaching false ridges that I thought were the pass--then we'd get to them and see we still had to keep climbing.
We got to a little stone tea house at the pass and enjoyed a cup of tea! I was with the 2 French ladies I'd met days earlier. We were the first people to cross the pass for the day. I felt more relief than enthusiasm when we finally saw the Tibetan prayer flags at the pass. It was nice, after all the worry and anticipation, to finally be there. I got all weepy again, as I'm wont to do. But I had to bottle it up, because it was cold and windy and I didn't want to tell the strangers I was with how happy I was to be there and how I felt like I brought a little piece of all the people I care about to the top of the mountain.
We were so close to the peaks of the mountains all around us. I really felt like I was on top of the world. It seemed we could reach out and touch the glaciers around us. It would've been more amazing if I could breathe.
Then came the 1600 meter descent. This is a long way down. At first we had a lot of fun sliding down in the snow. I was making an art out of falling on my a--. No problem, till I torqued my knee when I fell in a weird way.
Then, the path got nearly vertical and it seemed that if you fell, you'd slide right down the mountain. This did not appeal to me.
The descent was rough, but infinitely better than the ascent.
I was really dreading going over the pass--I was cold and out of sorts the night before. After I made it over, I felt like it was a long day, but it wasn't necessary to dread it.
We rolled into Muktinath around noon and enjoyed a celebratory beer--much deserved.
I definitely felt better being at a lower altitude. My cough was painful on the pass, and was much improved in Muktinath.
This side of the pass looked completely different from the other side. The mountains had a different shape and it was much drier.
It was nice to make it over and not have to worry about drinking and eating enough and other altitude-related worries.

24 March: Muktinath to Kagbeni
We got up in a leisurely fashion and visited a temple in Muktinath that's very holy for Hindus. People walk all the way from India to make pilgrimages to this site. This side of the circuit is also called the Pilgrim trail, as a result.
There's a natural spring and a source of natural gas that burns perpetually--apparently the confluence of water, fire and earth make the place very holy. In any case, I had my karma cleansed by the 108 water spouts shaped like cow heads, issuing forth holy water.
This day one of the most amazing, crazy things ever happened to me.
I ran into Jessica, my bestest travel buddy from Laos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As if you can "run into" someone while on a 3 week walking trip. I knew she was coming to Nepal and I even thought about altering my itinerary so we could trek together, but she was coming a week later than me and staying for less time, so I decided to stick to my guns. Running into her was so inconceivable and so lovely. We spent the next 5 days of the trek hiking together!
This side of the pass is full of apple orchards, so there were lots of apple products to be enjoyed, including apple brandy, which was gross.
At this point in the trek, I really started to feel the outside world fall away. I felt detached from anything outside the reality of the current experience. I felt like the walk was really helping me prepare for the coming journey inside myself that awaits in India.
I spent a lot of time talking to Rebecca (one of the women from Australia). She and her mom are Buddhists and she's been to a number of meditation retreats. We spent a lot of time talking about it.
I had several painful blisters on my feet after the downhill walk and my achilles tendons were strangely sore.

25 March: Kagbeni to Marpha
I had the opportunity to use the internet, which brought me back to reality in a weird way.
I was really tired this day, more so than the day before and my feet started to really hurt. I had to take my hiking boots off at lunch and walk in my sandals. Rebecca thought that the stiffness of the hiking boot sole was aggravating my achilles--she was having the same problem. My ankles swelled up and looked like granny ankles. I wore my sandals for most of the rest of the trek.
It made all the difference in the world to be with Jessica--suddenly everything is funny and you have someone to share it all with.

26 March: Marpha to Ghasa
This walk was long, but flat, mostly through a river bed. We got to walk through more pine forest, which was nice.

27 March: Ghasa to Tatopani
Another day of walking! Still really happy to have Jess along for the ride. Not her guide, though. He had the manners and attention span of an 8 year old. He was constantly making annoying noises, banging a plastic bottle against his leg, joking in completely unfunny ways, etc. He also patted her on the behind the first day--she threw him the elbow in response and he punched her back! Unbelievable. I think she's glad we ran into each other.
I was really feeling how nice it was to walk when you could breathe sufficient oxygen.
We ate some delicious, locally grown oranges.

28 March: Tatopani to Shikha
Begin days of neverending upward stone staircases. Sigh.
4 hours of endless stairs. Not much else to report.
Jess and I hung out and played cards for the afternoon after we finished walking.

29 March: Shikha to Ghorepani
Yet more endless stairs, though it only took 3 hours to reach Ghorepani. We went slow enough to talk today and went up with Robyn and Rebecca most of the way. We enjoyed a game of hearts with them upon arrival at our destination.
Babu had a couple glasses of Roxi, the local moonshine and he got unbelievably chatty. I wanted to know if I could get him drunk in the morning so we could have some conversation during the day.
As we gained altitude, we got to see more and more big mountains--until it got too hazy to see anything. People are burning the grasses in preparation for the growing season, so there's a lot of haze.

30 March: Ghorepani to Tadapani
This morning we woke up before the dawn to climb another endless staircase to the (apparently) famous view point: Poon Hill. We watched the sun come up over the mountains. I cursed the whole way up the hill. I was so over climbing up endless staircases at this point.
Jess and I had to part after Poon Hill and breakfast and I spent the morning in denial of this fact.
The views were really beautiful.
Jess and I split up after breakfast--she had to get back to Kathmandu for a flight. It was sad.
At this point I REALLY lost all motivation for climbing up hills. Too bad that's what we did all morning. One cool thing though, an airplane flew by and we were looking down on the top of it. Crazy.
The walk happened to be really beautiful, much to my delight. We walked for 2 days through forests of rhododendrons. It felt like fairy land.
I was still wearing my sandals....when I cut my foot. It bled a lot and I attracted a bit of a crowd of porters while I was treating it. Where's Babu? Having a smoke.
We arrived in Tadapani, which is supposed to have great views of the Annapurnas, but it was still hazy. Alas, no sweeping mountain vistas were to be had.

31 March: Tadapani to Nayapul to Pokhara
We shortened the trekking itinerary by another day and walked in one day from Tadapani to Nayapul. This was an endless day of descending stone staircases. I preferred this infinitely to ascending them. I felt sorry for the poor bastards on their way up. I was really tired by the end of the day. The walk was really beautiful through the valley, but it got hot and humid as we continued to descend.
While I was tired I kept reminding myself that I walked myself in and I could walk myself out.
I definitely felt some culture shock when I saw cars and buses again. It felt sad to be done with the walking. I missed some of my favorite places on the trek.
We got to Pokhara and it was nice to get my clothes washed and have a bathroom attached to the bedroom.

I feel like I have more thoughts and impressions to share about the trek, other than just events, but I can't think of them now and I've been typing for about 2 hours. So, they'll have to wait for later.
We went on a little city tour yesterday. I was tired, and then what do I discover is on the itinerary? Yup, climbing up another hill. The extent to which I did not care about the viewpoint or the stup on top of the hill is inexpressable. But I made it up and live to tell the tale.
Today I slept in till the delightful hour of 8:00 (first time in a long time...) and enjoyed some baked goods from breakfast. The Western food is really, really good here--I think it's because the local food is so crappy.
Did I mention there are tons of people from Tibet here? I don't think I realized how many Tibetan refugees and how much Tibetan influence there would be here. I met a lady in Marpha who says she has relatives in Minneapolis and that there'sa Tibetan community there. Who knew.
Anyways, friends, I hope you've enjoyed my accounting. I'm afraid it doesn't have the same spark it has when I'm writing in the moment, but it will have to do.
Tomorrow I go south to Chitwan National Park for 4 days. I think there's probably internet there, but I'm not sure. You may not hear from me for a few days. I will be looking at rhinos. Sweet.
TTFN,
Lauren