Martin

Poon Hill is a famous viewpoint on the Western side of the Annapurna Circuit, located just to the east of Ghorepani, and 2 days walk up the trail. I took this picture as a series of shots which my mate Jason pasted into a panorama.

Our minibus dropped us off at Naya Pul after an 8 hour drive from Besi Shahar, I had a window seat to enjoy the hot sunshine and wave back at all the kids who waved at the bus. From Naya Pul we gained 1000m altitude in 2 hours to the town of Hille, then on the second day we made another 1200m or so from Hille to Ghorepani. These 2 days had some of the toughest ascents of the whole trip – it’s very different to the eastern side of the circuit cos you’re walking on stone steps rather than rocky paths. North of Hille there’s a famous stretch with over 3700 steep stone steps. By now though I’m feeling fit and strong and a steady pace gets me to Ghorepani, to the best teahouse of the whole trip.

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Hi Everyone, hope you’re all happy…..thanks for checking in and especially for your comments (and abuse).

I’m sitting in a cafe in Pokhara, a fantastic city at the foot of the Annapurnas. It’s been a hell of a time since Manang and being here has given me a chance to relax and reflect a bit on the trip, and to speak to Kath and Meg after having no contact whatsoever for 9 days.

Where to begin? Just after my last post, we decided as a group that Plan B was to get below the snowline then down to the roadhead as quickly as possible, then head over to the West side of the circuit by bus, where we could go to a famous viewpoint called Poon Hill. The plan meant we had to get out to the roadhead in 4 days when it had taken 8 days to get up there, so we had 4 straight days of up at sunrise (5.30am), walk until dark (6pm) with a lunch stop.

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Hello everyone, hope you're all happy..... We've had 3 really tough days but not in the way I'd hoped, and I'm bitterly disappointed to be back in Manang and heading back down the valley the way we came...... On Thursday just after ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Nepal trek is run by an English firm called Himalayan Kingdoms (www.himalayankingdoms.com) and on Saturday they had their pre-trek meet and walk. I arrived in an empty car park at 9.15am at Hawkesbury Upton near Stroud, and over ... [Continue reading this entry]

Finally got into the Beacons last weekend - did the hike from the A470 up to Corn Dhuu peak in 52 mins then straight back down again. Coming down is tough on the thighs and I ached the day ... [Continue reading this entry]

A weekend of highs and lows...... the engagement party was great (yeahhh), Celtic got stuffed by the evil empire (boooo), I didn't get too drunk at the wedding (yeahhh), but still didn't do any exercise on the weekend ... [Continue reading this entry]

Hello, I'm Martin. Welcome. I've been reading blogs of Nepal trekkers with their fitness regimes and their pre-trek gymn routines. I've got 8 weeks to get some semblance of fitness together. I'm 37, basically healthy but 190 lbs ... [Continue reading this entry]