Days 253-257: Annapurna Circuit Trek, part 2
“Those Himalayas aren’t getting any shorter!” – These words have been muttered by Marcus frequently the past year to encourage us both to get into shape for the dreaded 17,769 foot Thorung La pass.
Day 6: Upper Pisang to Manang (3,540m or 11,611ft)
We left Upper Pisang and it’s rocky, Tibetan-style homes on what would be the first flat(ish) hiking day. Did we mention that the Himalayas aren’t very flat? There is a whole lot of up-and-down between towns that have roughly the same elevation on the map. So this day was very nice.
The buildings are made mostly of stone at this point in the trek – not much wood around except piles of sticks used as insulation until burned.
Cute grey horse posing.
This is first day with snow on the trail. There was a major storm in late October (normally the best time of year for trekking) that dumped meters of snow in the area and trapped lots of hikers.
The scenery reminded us of the Sierras.
Stupa on the way to Manang. Always pass with the stupa on your right.
Did we mention that the animals are getting more hairy? Even the horses were getting shaggy.
Manang was a good-sized town, with a movie “theater” and an internet place. The internet place charged $20/hour – same as our daily budget for the two of us – so we passed. There were a bunch of fantastic bakeries in Manang which were perfect for carbo loading. You can justify eating just about anything when hiking for 6 hours at elevation with full packs.
Praying to the Nescafe god (Colonis) in Manang.
It was getting really cold at night. The sun would set behind the hills before 3pm and the temperature would plummet. We couldn’t figure out how the water was still liquid when we washed our hands (which we started doing pretty rarely because it hurt a lot). Although it was well below freezing outside, it was alright inside (when fully clothed, inside a mummy bag, with another warm person).
Day 7: Acclimitization day around Manang
Acclimitization day does not mean rest day; it means a full hike (but no pack!) and you return to the same elevation to sleep. The area around Manang is full of interesting places to visit, and we opted to go to the Ice Lake. We didn’t actually make it to the lake. We lost the trail and scrambled up a scree slope that Marcus was sure would kill us on the way down (luckily, we found the trail on the way back). But the snow was so deep we had to abandon the lake and had to settle for gorgeous 180 degree views of the Himalayas.
Nice spot for snacking on cinnamon rolls. It was t-shirt weather when the sun was up.
Kelly opted to give up the skirt. It wasn’t exactly easy hiking in a skirt, and it wasn’t serving the cultural purpose it was purported to do.
Marcus directing Kelly for the picture: “Take just one more step.”
The spectacular cliff-side monastery at the nearby village of Braga.
Our hotel’s dining room was probably the warmest place for miles, and we’re pretty sure half the town was in it. While eating dinner, the electricity came on and Marcus and other trekkers raced for their camera battery chargers to get one of the two outlets. We got one and had to pay about $1 to charge the battery. Nothing comes for free in the hills.
We were both still a bit ill from whatever bug we got on day 5 and had mild altitude issues. There is a new-age song played EVERYWHERE that tourists congregate in Nepal. It’s a Tibetan chant version of “Om Mani Padme Hum” that repeats for 24 minutes. They started playing it in the restaurant, and by this point in the hike it sounded a lot like “Oh mommy, bring me home!”
Day 8: Manang to Upper Yak Kharka (4,100m or 13,450ft)
We hiked above the tree line into scenery dominated by low shrubs. It was a short hiking day because you’re only supposed to gain about 300m (1,000 feet) in a day when above 10,000 feet. Due to accommodation availability, we ended up having to go much higher than that.
The only building in the settlement of Upper Yak Kharka: our hotel.
We knew there had to be a reason the settlement name had “yak” in it.
Kelly’s fingers had started to develop some issues from the cold and dryness; it wasn’t pretty. So she wrapped a few of them in medical tape to try and keep them getting any worse before we reached warmer climates. The wind really picked up and we started singing (altered) Beach Boys songs like “Wouldn’t it be nice if we were warmer”.
Day 9: Upper Yak Kharka to Thorung Phedi (4,450m or 14,600ft)
Tough start to the day. Neither of us slept that great because of the weird slow-breathing thing that happens at elevation (like being a fish out of water) and mild headaches. It was windy and we were hiking in the cold shade and talk turned to frost bite. That was the point when Kelly turned around to hike back down. We don’t remember what was said, but we did keep on going up. By the time we came to a tea shop for some “hot lemon” (warm lemonade-like drink) we were both feeling much better.
Blessed tea shops are frequent on the trail serving thirsty and tired trekkers.
Raise a glass of hot lemon to feeling better.
Made it Thorung Phedi early in the day and continued up the hill to acclimatize after dropping off the bags. Found the first fossils of the hike. It’s remarkable to see 150 million year old sea creature fossils at 14,000 feet. Plate tectonics is amazing!
The scenery was still great.
Even the yaks were getting hairier! Glad we got a room with an attached toilet so we didn’t run into one of these guys in the middle of the night.
While in Thorung Phedi, the helicopter landed to evacuate a few people. We were glad it wasn’t us. We did check our insurance policy before we left to see if it covered emergency evacuation, which it thankfully did since flights cost a few thousand bucks.
That evening we had a big dinner (not dal baht, which has peaked at over $3 and was the most expensive thing on the menu), picked up some stale baked goods for the next day, and hoped the strong winds would die down by mornng. Spent the rest of the evening trying to finish up the copy of The Economist we had brought with us so we didn’t have to carry it over the pass.
Day 10: Thorung Phedi over Thorung La pass (5,416m or 17,769ft) to Muktinath (3,800m or 12,460ft)
Alarm goes off at 4:30am. We are both feeling surprisingly well and decided we’ll make a go at Thorung La pass. The daylight was strong enough by 6am that we started out on the 3,000 foot climb to the pass. The wind had died down but it was still pretty chilly. Our water bottles turned into ice slush. Kelly’s nose was still running full-tilt despite the cold medicine. To avoid frostbite, she resorted to plugging her leaky nose with kleenex and wrapping a hankerchief around her face bandito style. Kelly tried to farmer-John it at one point, and the snot froze into a snotcicle on her nose.
Not Kelly’s proudest picture. Marcus recalls the statement: “That’s not going on the blog!”
There was still a lot of snow on the trail from the storm in October. Steep hills covered in icy snow made the going treacherous. There were people going on all fours across some of the scarier sections. Kelly was smart and had bought a hiking pole in Kathmandu that made the going safer, but Marcus didn’t. By some miracle, a guy named Aviv loaned Marcus one of his two hiking poles for the rest of the day. Marcus is pretty sure the pole saved his neck. Those Canadians sure are great!
Kelly’s lungs were challenged and there were many false flats before we made the final push to the pass. No, it’s not night time; closer to 11am.
The air was pretty thin up near the pass and Kelly was having a tough time. Even at the flat part of the pass just 20 feet from the marker, she had to stop to suck wind. But we made it to 17,769 feet under our own power, carrying all our junk, and it was immensely satisfying and relieving. We had rushed through Laos, Vietnam, China and Tibet in order to get through the Thorung La before the end of November (and the end of the good weather). And now it was done! To best part was, it was all down hill from here.
Made it! Thorung La Pass (5,416m or 17,769ft).
There is an enterprising Nepali who has set up a teashop at the top of the pass and sells hot drinks for a premium. By western standards of hygiene, this place would have been raided by the CDC, the proprieter arrested, and then the building burned to prevent the spread of disease. None the less, we bought two cups of hot lemon and enjoyed them immensely.
Still lots of snow on the pass from October and it was gorgeous.
Near the top of the pass there were patches of rock fields not covered in snow and we found lots of those mollusk fossils. Still find it amazing that the Himalayas were once at the bottom of an ocean.
Now about that down hill part. It was a treacherous decent because the whole way was covered in packed ice and we pretty much jogged/slipped our way down the mountain. We had fortuitously positioned our sleeping bags at the base of our bags so that we had a nice cushion every time we fell. And we fell quite a bit. We went down that mountain really fast.
Smokin’! Marcus’ dogs were steaming after that hike.
We got a nice room in Muktinath, that ended up being the coldest room of the hike. In the dining room they had a great invention, which was a pot of hot coals placed under a blanket-draped table. Warm luxury! Turns out this was common on the west side of the pass. But at the time, we thought it was best thing ever.
Tags: Nepal
Kelly & Marcus
December 10th, 2005 at 5:06 pm
Wow
December 11th, 2005 at 10:08 pm
Amazing…. and this is only part 2! Can’t wait to see what comes next….
Love you xoxox
December 12th, 2005 at 2:02 pm
Dear Kelly & Marcus,
I came across your amazing blog while searching for info on hiking the Great Wall of China. This is incredible – I’m green with envy! if you ever do make it to the Southern tip of Africa and want to go off the beaten track, be sure to send me a mail, we’d love to give you some info and help you on your way.
Thanks for the info on China – it will come in handy when we do our planned trek in 2007…
Regards,
Marienne Botha
Johannesburg, South Africa
December 12th, 2005 at 4:05 pm
Its great to travel along with you two in the comfort of my warm cubical, sipping my hot Carmel Macchiato. The images are great and the commentary is even better.
Was the hot drink actually lemons? I didn’t see any lemon trees. Best thing for colds is hot lemon and honey.
Don’t forget to slowdown and smell the yaks (or flowers), experience it all with all your senses, not just with your eyes.
Praying for you,
– Bob –
December 13th, 2005 at 12:12 pm
brrrrrrrrrrr…makes me cold just looking at pics…you go kelly! can’t wait to hear/see more!
December 14th, 2005 at 6:36 am
Replies to comments:
Dan – Thanks!
Lynn – This was the best of the 3.
Marienne – Thanks for the kind words and glad you’ve enjoyed the blog. We plan to get to SA in a few months and will drop you a note.
Bob – Marcus is extremely jealous. Hot lemon is like warm gatorade and probably contains no actual citrus products. _We_ smelled like yaks by the end of it.
Lata – It was REAL cold.