BootsnAll Travel Network



Day 5: Deurali to Annapurna Base Camp

December 4th, 2007

 

7:30am: There is still a foot deep snow blanketing the ground.  It is absolutely frigid and I lost my insulated cap somewhere on the trail yesterday.  We set off into the fresh powder, through the perilous avalanche zone and pave our trail along the freezing river further into the Annapurnas.  After a difficult morning facing the biting cold, low oxygen and rigorous hiking we stop for a delicious Dahl Baht in the shadow of the impressive mountains that never cease to defy imagination.    Read the rest of this entry »

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Day 4: Dovan to Deurali

December 3rd, 2007

 

A lazy wakeup is overcast by heavy rain pouring outside the lodge, but it eventually subsides.  With the shortest day of the journey ahead of us, we continue the trek at 10am and start a solid day of climbing relentlessly uphill.    Read the rest of this entry »

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Day 3: Chomrong to Dovan

December 2nd, 2007

 

Another early morning greets us and our group continues the long hike through the mountains, and occasionally back down to the river.  My body is begging me to turn back, but I am determined to enter the Sanctuary.  The trek has been brutally rough so far, but the scenery is worth more than the effort.    Read the rest of this entry »

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Day 2: Landruck to Chomrong

December 1st, 2007

 

Awake at 7:30a and back on the trail.  It is very rural here.  Sometimes intense climbing, other times pleasant walks through small villages and the abundant terrace farms.  Occasionally, a waterfall or river is passed over by rickety wooden bridges.  All is beautiful, put paid at the price of laboring through the epic terrain that no vehicle has ever seen.  The day is spent tracing the turquoise Modi-Khola River for a day before we finally break away into the mountains towards Annapurna Base Camp.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Day 1: Phedi to Landruck

November 30th, 2007

– Annapurna Sanctuary Trek –

I depart Pokhara in a taxi around 8am, accompanied by a group of four Europeans, an Israeli and an Nepalese trekking guide.   Shortly, we arrive at Phedi and begin the seven day trek into the Annapurna Sanctuary.  Through multi-hued terraced farming communities and small villages in the hills we spend a full day hiking along rough dirt paths and up countless stone stairs.   Read the rest of this entry »

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Pokhara’s version of paradise

November 27th, 2007

 

In Pokhara the food is top quality and relatively cheap! A spotless, double sized room with a 24-hour hot shower at Hotel Grand Holiday is costing me next to nothing.  My days have been filled with exploration and my nights have been music.  Playing Rock Star in the evening and off-road motorcycle adventuring during the day is a pretty good life. Read the rest of this entry »

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Ascension of Sarangot

November 26th, 2007

Feeling speed over cratered roads, while ascending gnarly paths up Pokhara’s higher peaks. Crescendo at massive vistas of mist shrouded mountains, to become humble staring into the stunning scene. Three-hundred and sixty degrees of pure landscape wonders are shadowed only under the clouds of paragliders. A swirling rush of wind, everything is alive up here!    Read the rest of this entry »

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How did I get here?

November 25th, 2007

How did I end up here? Coconut cookies and pineapple juice. Partaking in some local herbal consumption. Hawks flying past the shaded seat I’ve found, hovering on a Cliffside above Lake Phewa-Tal and the city of Pokhara. In the distance, the Annapurnan Himalayas peak out from behind an absolutely massive cloud-cover which still fails to conceal their majesty! I take my eyes from the vista to look down on the motorcycle helmet in front of me. Read the rest of this entry »

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A chance encounter with a bovine in Pokhara

November 23rd, 2007

I met a cow tonight. Sure, I’ve seen a great many of them casually wandering the streets here, but with this one there was some sort of inter-species cultural exchange.

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Kathmandon’t

November 21st, 2007

One week in the capitol city of Nepal; far too much time to spend there. At first, it seemed like an oasis in my Asian travels. The excellent food, low prices and abundance of other western travelers seemed too good to be true. In the end it proved to be little more than a façade, luring weary travelers with its siren songs of home-style comforts. While I will not deny that proper steaks, pizzas and ice cream was a welcome change, I would have been just as happy with the local Nepalese food. Read the rest of this entry »

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