Annpurna Circuit: Part 6

June 12: Marpha to Ghasa

Today's hike was close to six hours, with a break for lunch in Kalopani. The terrain was far different from yesterday's dry brownness. We entered a region of fir forest, swiftly moving fog and crashing rivers fed by clear streams.

Locals told us it had been raining every day for the past week, but today was precipitation-free. Kalopani was one of the most attractive villages I've seen, with well-designed stone brick lodges, a school that looked like a mountain retreat and lovely gardens. Purna said not many trekkers stay there anymore. Seemed like it would make a great place to live/run a lodge/trekking business.

Ghasa to Tatopani: Today was a descent into what looks and feels most like a tropical rain forest, with banana trees, towering canopies, ferns, waterfalls, and, of course, steamy rain.

June 14: Tatopani to Ghorepani

This was the final all-uphill struggle of the trek, close to six full hours, most of which was on stone steps in steamy jungle heat. The water buffalo looked much more content with themselves, wallowing in their muddy holes and thus keeping cool as sweat poured down my face and sun blisters appeared on my forearms (as I am allergic to sunscreen).

We broke for lunch and were soon joined by an Aussie and a girl from Denmark, along with their guides/porters. Apparently the Dane and another guy who had been traveling with them originally were hit by altitude sickness on their attempt at Thorong-la and had to descend to High Camp. The guy decided to turn back, while the two women made a successful attempt the next day. The Aussie said she is heading to Turkey (yaaaaaaay) and the Middles East on a six-month trip after this.

Even Purna, who seems to have boundless energy, was waning as we neared the top. The noodle soup he'd had for lunch just wasn't enough to power him through. Should've stuck with dhal bhat.

Annpurna Circuit: Part 5

Muktinath to Kagbeni

The wind is blustering outside as if it would like to cleanse us all from this earth; but instead the prayer flags are being shredded, the muddy river is rippling and the hay is blowing into faces and up noses.

The hike from Muktinath this morning took only a few hours. It was a rather desolate trek down a winding, dusty road on which we would sometimes have to hop to the side and wait for impatient, packed, white jeeps to speed by, honking even though we clearly weren't in their way.

The terrain reminds me most of Nevada, except perhaps with even less vegetation growing here. I saw only one hint of life on the way, a tiny lizard skirting its way across the road to again hide itself amongst the rocks and sand.

There are several lodges and little shops, one with an authentic-looking 7Eleven sign, in this village. The architecture reminds me of a that in a Mexican town, with colorful outer window dressings, wood piping and white exteriors.

After trying the dense Kagbeni bread with some mushroom soup we ventured out into the wind and walked to an overlook of the muddy, sluggish river. But after reaching the other side of the village, with debris blowing up into our faces, Purna had had enough and we returned to Shangri-la (the name of our lodge).

Kagbeni to Marpha

Thus far, today was my least favorite hike. The wind was gusting directly against us the entire time and we had to constantly jet to the side of the road to avoid oncoming jeeps and motorcycles, which left a cloud of dust in our faces. My nose is so dried out it feels as if the slightest twitch will set it to bleeding. My face is unevenly tanned as the winds kept blowing the flaps of my hat up, so I appear rather like a charred alien at the moment.

The terrain -- in a word, austere. Dusty riverbeds, dry, rocky roads, sun beating down, gusts never ending. We hit the town of Jomsom around 11am, a fairly large town but not much to it. There was much construction going on and many lodges, as several treks in the region start from here. It also has a stone slab road running all the way through it, but nothing to distinguish it from any other dusty, gray frontier town. From Jomsom it was another hour to Marpha.

Tried some of the regionally popular Marpha Apple Brandy. Let's just say I wouldn't recommend it, unless you're feeling desperate and there's nothing else around.

Annapurna Circuit: Part 4, Thorong-la Pass

June 9: Thorong High Camp to Thorong-la Pass to Muktinath

I conquered Thorong-la Pass today at 5,416m (17,769ft.). The climb was not as difficult as I had expected. I was lucky to have no signs of altitude sickness, though breathing was a chore. Though breathing deeply, it still feels as if one is not getting enough air, perhaps something like suffocation.

We were the first to leave the High Camp this morning at around 5:40am, though the Chilean and his guide and an Italian/Spaniard pair I had met last night soon followed. I thought they might catch up at some point but surprisingly neither pair ever did. So when we reached Thorong-la, welcomed by the well-known sign with prayer flags emerging from a stone pillar, we had it all to ourselves. We dropped our bags and headed up the slope for a better view, from where we could see glacial lakes and a 360-degree view of the surrounding peaks.

The descent was actually more difficult than the climb since after a few hours, even with trekking poles, hip sockets and knees have just had it on the steep, rocky terrain. But we forged ahead without breaks and made it to Muktinath before noon, with a donkey train tromping in right behind us -- they always seemed to find us.

After some rest and a hot shower that felt like salvation we walked up the hill to a Hindu temple complex. Surrounding the temple, where many Indians go on pilgrammage, are 108 taps in the shape of boar's heads along the wall. In the front courtyard are two holy pools. A path leads along the full perimeter amongst shade trees. It was interesting to see the mix of Hindu and Buddhist elements, such as the prayer wheels, there. And above the perimeter wall stood a number of stupas.

The lodge where we stayed, called the North Pole, had the best enchiladas I have ever had served on a sizzling iron skillet. I was beyond surprised to find this Mexican dish done so well in the Nepali frontier.

Annapurna Circuit: Part 4

June 7: Manang to Yak Khakar

Today was a mostly easy three-and-a-half-hour hike from Manang, though there was some climbing at the beginning. We passed the Chilean (what me and my guide, Purna, had taken to calling another Circuit hiker that had started around the same time as us, whose actual name was Jean-Paul) for the second time that day; he looked rather winded though we had seen him only around 10 minutes ago having a tea break.

Yak Khakar is a strange little village with a lot of Nepali people just camping out here, hiking up the nearby mountain every day to collect semi-precious stones, and returning each evening to their camp. Once we got here, Purna and I walked down to the river and found comfortable boulders for lizard lounging in the sun; if it weren't so windy, I would've quickly fallen asleep, sombrero over face to prevent a bad burn.

No lights at the tea house here and water quite scarce. Toilets have been locked for the low season. Purna said this was to keep the Nepali campers from using them.

Yak Khakar to Thorong High Camp

I am writing this with gloves on, wearing a down jacket and sitting in my down sleeping bag, with a hat on. Outside there are snow showers falling on and off, though earlier it was clear and sunny but with a definite chill in the air. I hiked up here with just a Capilene zip-T -- and what a climb it was, a precursor to tomorrow I suppose. Just ahead of us was a mountain biker and his guide, who both had to lug their bikes up this section cause it was way too steep to ride.

The High Camp lodge is pretty basic, all of stone and mud and plaster, but the windows are pretty well sealed compared to yesterday's digs. The camp is a series of low-slung quarters that appear almost like army bunkers.

Tomorrow morning have to be ready by 5am so we can breakfast and hit the pass (Thorong-la Pass, the highest point on the Circuit) before it gets too windy. The elevation here at High Camp is 4,800m (15,748ft.). Feels kind of like a frontier ghost town as most people are holed up in their rooms resting up for tomorrow, and there are also those who made the attempt today but got altitude sickness and had to return.

Annapurna Circuit: Part 3

Pisang to Manang

Today's hike was only around four hours, with a two-hour layover at lunch because of the long prep time for dhal bhat (the Nepalese national dish of rice and lentil soup, usually with a side of veg) in Braka Manju. Nothing to strenuous, though we did gain some elevation. Manang is at 3,519m (11,548 ft.). Since we got in early we took off again to see Gangapurna Lake, which lies on the outskirts of Manang and was formed by a glacier.

Manang is an attractive town of stone brick homes and tea houses and an older section that looks like a sprawling stone fortress. After hiking up to the ridge above the lake and sitting in the sun for awhile, with great views of Gangapurna Glacier above, we headed back down and then climbed up the hill behind the tea house to a stupa.

Manang to Ice Lake

The purpose of today's hike -- which actually took us backwards on the trail we came up yesterday, then cut up into mountains on a very steep grade -- was acclimatization, with Ice Lake located over 1,000 meters higher than Manang at 4,600m (15,091ft.). We started out at 8am after a breakfast of mueslix and hot milk. After walking back to Braka, which is where we had lunched yesterday, we joined the trail head and it was all pretty much up, up, up at more than a 45 degree grade for the next three and a half hours, with only the last 15 minutes or so providing some respite.

When we climbed over the final ridge, the punchline appeared -- an itty-bitty nondescript excuse for a lake, surrounded by no vegetation whatsoever. Next to it stood the remains of a temple, now only a square of stacked stone on a foundation. It was also quite cold and my fingers quickly went the way of numb. So after eating our packed lunch of chapatis and eggs, we sat for a bit, but the temps. cooled even further and we soon were making our way back down.

Annapurna Circuit: Part 2

Temang to Chame

Chame to Pisang
Clockwise from left: Buddhist prayer stone, Annapurna II, temple in Upper Pisang, Pisang

The light in the tea house is dim, waxing, waning. The roar of the river is farther off than I've become accustomed to, with the sound usually putting me right to sleep every night. Today's hike was around five hours. When we got into Pisang village, we soon after took off again and walked the dozens of stone steps to Upper Pisang. At the top is a temple, where an old man sat grinning in a corner out front, looking as if he'd just been sitting there enjoying the view of Annupurna II all day.

Annapurna Circuit: Excerpts from the trekking journal, Part 1

Okay, so this is a little late in coming since in the interim between the trek and now I've also been to India and am now in Malaysia. But the 21-day trek was an amazing start to this trip and was chock full of sights and sounds that I will not soon forget. So here are some snippets from the journey to provide you with a taste of the diversity of terrain that the circuit covers.Purna, my guide/porter, near the beginning of the Circuit

Day 3: Ghernu Phant to Tal

The theme of the day was donkeys, known in Nepalese as "kajar." Though we hardly saw any yesterday, today it seemed as if they were snaking down or up every path and cable bridge. In the afternoon we had donkey trains both in front and behind us at one point and later had to stop several times so such trains could pass on the narrow trail. Some packs had around 60 animals, with some carrying steel cables and others sacks of rice.

Day 4: Tal to Temang

Today we left the humid warm lowlands and made the long, steep climb to alpine country. Here the clouds roll in every evening, covering the surrounding peaks, one of which is Manaslu (the eighth-highest peak in the world). The cooler weather made the climb easier but an earlier one -- a makeshift trail due to road construction -- was a series of steep switchbacks on an exposed ridge, in other words, grueling.

**As I'm falling asleep since I was on a red-eye flight from India to Kuala Lumpur last night and thus got no sleep at all, I will continue this tomorrow.