Stormfields Ahead - Trekking in Nepal
Assigned to e.apt.d...@gmail.com by me
Eric Apt-Dudfield
Trekking in Nepal
Selected photos:
All Photos:
Hello friends and family!
Last week we returned from the Nepal countryside and 4 weeks of amazing trekking through the Annapurna Conservation Area (see the end of the post for a day-by-day run through). We completed two popular routes – the Annapurna Circuit Trek, with the Annapurna Base camp. We are headed to Vietnam tomorrow. You can read our summarized impressions below (hard to talk about an entire month in one post!) Eric is most excited about the photos – check them out!
While the Annapurna circuit can be completed in as little as 10 days, including going over the high pass at Thorong-La (nearly 18,000ft), that entails taking a jeep up dirt roads and skipping huge portions of the trail at both beginning and end. We completed the entire trekking route – and were glad we had the time to do it!
Overall, the trek was awesome! It was challenging, but not overwhelming and so nice to have a place to sleep and warm meals/tea all along the way! We also were extremely fortunate to have clear, magnificent views on so many days including the highlights:
-Tilicho Lake- a 3 day side trip to a sky blue HUGE lake at 5200m
- The day we climbed over Thorong-La Pass,
- Arriving at Annapurna base camp- surrounded by towering, snow covered and glacial peaks in all directions
…and numerous other days too-( just take a look at our photo album!).
5) The last 2 days for me- being sick (stomach flu) and hiking is not a good combo. Luckily, it was at the end of the trip, and we weren’t in a huge rush to get back. Even so, she was surprised by her hiking speed, despite feeling like she was dragging, we still passed people on the trail! I guess 4 weeks of hiking did get us into shape!
[Eric says:] I was very impressed by the porters. They carry huge loads (70-80lbs) supported by straps on their foreheads. And they walk long days. Some porters are hired by trekkers to carry their packs (we even saw some carrying 2 huge rolling duffle bags strapped together!). Others are carrying supplies and goods to the Inns that are not near a road. Although we carried our own loads, it was humbling to know that many of the meals we ate had been brought in by foot.
[Kate says:] For me Tilicho Tal was also one of the most rewarding days. With amazing mountain views and this BRIGHT blue HUGE, glacial lake at the base of Tilicho mountain, it was well worth the effort to climb up there. I also had the special experience of leaving a bit of my Mom’s ashes up there (she loved water and mountain views!) and a prayer flag for her and my family. So glad the clouds were high for us that day, and in fact, the very next day, clouds moved in a brought snow. The ascent for those going up that day was much more difficult, and without the sweeping views. We were so fortunate!
Climbing up to the pass at nearly 18000 feet was another great 2 days. First to High Base Camp (~15,700ft) where there was a “mini” peak we hiked to with gorgeous 360 degree mountain views, and a look at the trail up to the pass. We stayed the night there, before climbing the pass the next day. And we both were strong and pretty fast up to the pass. Unlike others who’d risen at the ungodly hour of 4am and started in the dark, we were the only ones left eating breakfast at 6am. We started hiking at 7am, and got to the pass before 9! Less than 2 hours (not the 3-5hours some guides were saying to their clients), without rushing, but just feeling strong. The 5,000 ft descent after was actually more painful- yikes to the knees! But not too bad either.
Other highlights were the lowlands early on in the trek through verdant valleys and terraced rice fields, and then the descent after the pass watching the ecosystems change from high, dry mountain desert, to high alpine shrubby forests, to thicker forest, and then pure jungle. Looping around and back up into the Annapurna Base Camp was also extremely worthwhile (imagine the Annapurna circuit as walking around the mountains, and the Base Camp as walking right up into the valley of one of the biggest mountains). It added about 5 days to our trek, and 4 of those were on the much busier “out and back” path to the base camp, but MAN OH MAN, the view at base camp was astounding! You are surrounded on ALL sides by towering peaks and can see and hear their glaciers slowly creeping down the rocky faces. We had a brilliantly sunny day for this too- again, such good fortune!
The daily routine did start to get tedious at times, but also brought us back to simple pleasures: basking in mountain views, enjoying that particularly good cup of tea (or apple pie- yes, they grow lots of apples up there!), soothing sore muscles in that rare but cherished HOT shower, or finding brief, sweet pet-love in that one fluffy dog (who we called “shadow”, then “shadeux” for the second time this happened) who follows you loyally for too long along the path, getting further and further from their home village but not seeming to care, just happy to have new human friends…
But all good adventures must come to an end. And just in time, we think. It was great, but we’re ready to move on from hiking to biking again- this time on more well-trodden paths. We’re headed to Vietnam tomorrow to begin this new adventure!
But before we leave Nepal, we were able to have a nice relaxing week in Pokhara. And we both took a motorcycle lesson with the Hearts and Tears motorcycle club (www.heartsandtears.com)! It was a great, very safe place to do it, in an open field with the owner of the club, Matt (an Aussie, who changed life paths after working for an engineering NGO in Kathmandu). By the end of the day we had learned all the basics of motorcycle riding and were able to take a short spin around the small town of Pokhara. Matt also shared with us about a local man (Vishnu) who he’s gotten to know over the years who is running a small school and clinic in a nearby village. A portion of Hearts and Tears profits go to Vishnu’s work. We decided to give $100 of our donation funds to Vishnu’s work, feeling good about finding a local cause that could be vouched for by an expat. Hearts and Tears co-founder Chantal says she’ll update us with how the funds are used.
**Side lesson: Intentional Breathing for altitude sickness (I learned a lot about the physiology of this at the volunteer run Himalayan Rescue Association clinic along the trail in Manang-so cool)… So my understanding of altitude sickness is that as we ascend beyond ~3500meters, our bodies do a poor job of compensating quickly to the decreases in oxygen (usually done by increasing heart rate and respiratory rate). Essentially, we hyperventilate (exhale too much CO2) resulting increased blood pH, and at the same time, still don’t get enough oxygen…our kidneys try to compensate for this (causing us to pee more than usual), but they often can’t quickly enough. Thus, it’s recommend you not ascend more than 400-600m per day (where you sleep, you can climb higher and come back down), to give your body time to compensate. Common side effects of high altitude are dizziness, tingling in extremities, nausea/vomitting, excessive fatigue, and difficulty sleeping. If any of these are coupled with a headache it’s considered Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) and you must stop ascending and wait to acclimatize, or descend if symptoms worsen. If not, you may get swelling of your brain, which has something like a 30% fatality rate.
At any rate, it’s a pretty fascinating process because you can actually manipulate it in real time, or so I found. As I made that first climb beyond 4200m (>13,700ft), I found that as those symptoms of tingling and nausea began if I walked EXTREMELY slowly AND took rapid but also DEEP inhalations and exhalations (as if I was jogging), the symptoms would actually go away! And I could continue at my steady pace. A when I would stop to rest, I would actually INCREASE my respiratory rate slightly (to the unknowing observer it appeared I was quite short of breath, but I was doing this ON PURPOSE), to intentionally “replenish” my oxygen stores. My theory is that this intentional breathing forced my body to exchange both oxygen and carbon dioxide at a more rapid pace, and helped mitigate the problems that happen when your body just is allowed to compensate on it’s own (resulting in hyperventilation, too low oxygen, and symptoms). Unfortunately, this breathing technique is not actively advocated by the physicians at the HRA because it obviously requires a lot of focus and intention- but I SWEAR by it. Besides, for me, there was little else to focus on while hiking than my breathing anyways, as I silently walked and took in the views. I later used the technique while climbing to the Thorong La Pass (5416m, 17,769ft!) and had NO symptoms whatsoever, and passed many people on the way up, just going at my steady, moderate pace…that said, I got some sideways glances as I passed and they heard my “heavy breathing”. It was great to feel strong and pretty fast on that ascent (not that speed was the goal)! I wanted to share the technique with others, and did with a few people who were struggling to get up to the pass, but really by then, they were too distracted/tired to focus on some random advice…But now at least y’all can try it if you’re ever at high altitude and having symptoms!
For those interested to look on google maps below is a list of the days/stop locations (there is also a very basic route map photo at the end of our album).
Day 1: Bus from Pokhara to trailhead at Besi Sahar (790m elevation), hike to Ngadi (1050m)
Day 2: Up and down from Ngadi to Syange (1100m)- through rice paddies and farms, ending up along the raging Marsyangdi River
Day 3: From Synage to Tal (1700m)- along the shores of the Marsyangdi and slowly up out of the jungle
Day 4: Tal to Danakyu (2270) with side trip to quaint village of Odar
Day 5: Danakyu to Chame (2670m)- Chame is a popular spot for people to catch a jeep to to begin their trek
Day 6: Rest day in Chame- mostly due to rain.
Day 7: Wake up to first slight views of Himalaya through the clouds! Chame to Upper Pisang (3350m)- pass 10,000 feet! Now into alpine ecosystem
Day 8: Eric does side hike up ridge towards Pisang Peak. Then we do the short, steep hike from Upper Pisang to Ghyaru (3670m)
Day 9: Ghyaru to Braga/Bhraka (3360m) down to the Marsyangdi River valley- many yaks grazing here!
Day 10: Side hike for acclimatization to Milarepa Cave (monk from 1,000+ years ago) and close view of Annapurna III glacier (4200m), then listened to Acute Mountain Sickness Lecture by the Himalayan Rescue Association volunteers in Manang; finally hike 2 short hours to Khangsar (3734m)
Day 11: Khangsar to Tilicho Lake Base Camp (4200m)- this is a side trail of 3 days to see Tilicho Tal (Lake) the largest lake at elevation about 4920m; sketchy rock slide zones on this hike!
Day 12: Tilicho Base Camp to Tilicho Tal (5200m) and back to Tilicho base camp- Kate has some symptoms of altitude sickness, but overcomes them with “intentional breathing”; VERY rewarding view of lake at top of ridge. *One of Kate’s favorite days!*
Day 13: Wake up to snow at base camp! So glad we had clear skies yesterday. Long, up and down hike from Tilicho Base Camp to Ledar (4200m)
Day 14: Shorter hiking day, Ledar to High Base Camp (4925m last stop before the Pass)
Day 15: The BIG day! High Base Camp to Muktinath (3760m) over Thorong-La pass (5416m, nearly 18,000ft!)- we both feel STRONG and make it to the pass in no time, without any altitude symptoms. The skies are CLEAR too!
Day 16: Rest day in Muktinath- first HOT shower in one week!, visit Buddhist and Hindu temple complex during Dosai celebration, many pilgrims in town.
Day 17: Muktinath to Jomsom (2720m)- take nice side route through high dessert climate to avoid new roadway. Many people now fly out of Jomsom or take a Jeep back to Pokhara from here.
Day 18: Jomsom to Tukuche (2590m)- difficult time finding side trail, do some mountain scrambling, and cross sketchy bridge with ladder to end LONG day.
Day 19: Tukuche to Ghasa (2010m)- nice valley hike down into jungle climate
Day 20: Ghasa to Tatopani (1190m)- more downhill to another popular trail ending point.
Day 21: Steep, long uphill from Tatopani to Ghorepani (2860m)- many people divide this into 2 days trekking, this portion of trial leaves the road.
Day 22: Rest day in Ghorepani. We wait out the cloudy weather.
Day 23: Wake up for morning view at popular Poon Hill (3210m), over 1000 other tourists are here! It’s part of an easier 2 day trek from another trail head. Then hike VERY LONG, up and down day from Ghorepani to Chomrong (2170m)- heading towards Annapurna Base Camp.
Day 24: Chomrong to Deurali (3200m)- stairmaster day (over 2000 steps down, and 1700 steps back up on just the first hour of trekking!), through jungle and back up to alpine zone.
Day 25: Deurali to Annapurna Base Camp (4130m) and back down- arrive to Base Camp as sun rises over sacred Machupucherre mountain *One of Eric’s favorite days!* We bask in the sunshine and overwhelming 360degree mountain views for 3 hours, then head back down to Deurali.
Day 26: Deurali to Chomrong(2170m)- back to the large village of Chomrong, enjoy a hot shower and chocolate cake! yum!
Day 27: Chomrong to Kilyu (1390m)- Kate gets sick! 
we stop rather than hike all the way out to the bus/taxi stand
Day 28: Kilyu to Nayapul (1070m)- Kate’s well enough to finish the short 3 hour hike out! We take a taxi 1 hour back to Pokhara!
