Muktinath
Annapurna Circuit V
Muktinath
When we arrived in Jomsom, Claude told me that he was enjoying trekking so much that he was considering completing the entire Annapurna Circuit. This meant continuing on from Muktinath over the Thorung La Pass (5600m/18,500ft) and down the backside of the Annapurna Range. We agreed that it would be too dangerous to attempt the pass with the kids since they are more susceptible to altitude sickness and less able to articulate when they are having symptoms. In the end, we decided that Hari, our guide, would guide Claude safely over the Pass and then return to Muktinath to escort the kids and me back down to Jomsom to catch our flight to Pokhara. Claude would complete the Circuit on his own and then catch a bus to Katmandu to rejoin the kids and me.
I had been having problems with my boots over the past few days, especially on the downhill portions when they would dig into my ankles and create tender “hot spots.” After our little side trip up the mountain in Kagbeni, coming down the steep trail just about did me in and by the time I reached the bottom I was wincing in pain with every step as sharp pains shot up my shins. The next morning as we set out for Muktinath, even after wrapping them with bandages, my ankles were still so tender that I was holding back tears as we began the trek. Luckily, the trek to Muktinath is almost entirely uphill, so by loosening my laces I was able to make it without too much difficulty. We planned to take a rest day in Muktinath while Hari escorted Claude over the pass so I was hopeful that the swelling and tenderness would subside before the long downhill trek.
After changing into my walking sandals, we visited the Hindu temple where we purified ourselves under the 108 holy taps
and got a tilak (red dot) on our foreheads.
Along the way, we had met some Hindu holy men who had walked all the way from Delhi on their pilgrimage to the holy city of Muktinath.
http://picasaweb.google.com/tambour99/AnnapurnaCircuit/photo#5056302083979488546
They were all dressed in orange robes and many had walked the entire way in sandals. At the temple, they were all sitting cross-legged and smoking hashish (for religious purposes only, of course).
We also got to see Muktinath’s eternal flame which supposedly has been burning in a hole in the ground, fueled by an underground reservoir of natural gas, for centuries. On our way back down to our guesthouse, we spun the prayer wheels for luck before returning to our rooftop room to watch the sunset.
The next morning, Claude and Hari and Kumal left for Thorung La Pass at 4AM. I wasn’t worried about him at all, despite the fact that everybody told us that it was crazy to attempt the pass from Muktinath and that sane people go the other way. Of course this just made Claude more determined to prove them wrong. Hari arrived back at the guesthouse around 1:30PM and said that, while Kumal had had to turn back due to symptoms of altitude sickness, Claude had had no trouble conquering one of the highest mountain passes in the world. Meanwhile, I had managed to handwash most of our stinky trekking clothes while the kids caught up on schoolwork – how boring in contrast. After lunch, Dhozi took us down the hill to Jharkot to see the old monastery and on the way back, we stopped to rest while the kids built an enormous rock cairn.
I marveled at the numerous ancient “prayer stones” covered in the carved prayers of long ago lamas. In North America, these would be major archeological finds, but here, they were strewn about everywhere along the path.
Without Claude around, the kids really tried to test my patience and, after a particularly difficult supper, they were in bed by 7PM. Even Hari noticed the change in their behaviour without Claude around to be “The Hammer.” This was the first time we had been separated from each other for more than a few hours on the entire trip and this was my chance to sink or swim as a parent. I hoped I wasn’t going to need a life preserver.
Tags: Annapurna Circuit, Muktinath, Nepal, Travel
tambour
Hi Tamara
still following your travels: amazing stories and am so inspired by you and your family’s journey.
Hope to talk to you when you are finally back
Wishing you safe travels—and fun!
Cathy Conroy