The Big Trek: Seven Days Walking

After nearly 5 weeks in Nepal we were finally ready to meet up with our guide Chandra, and porter Bhim and head out into the mountains for our big trek to Poon Hill in the Annapurna region. Boy were we excited!















Along the way we walked through several villages. This one had some sheep sunbathing on the balcony.











My mother asked me if we would be too secluded on the trek. Nope.

Safety in numbers I guess.










The first thing you notice trekking into the wilderness is the delightful absence of fumes. Breath it in while it lasts baby.















The original path was blocked, and so we were required to traverse a couple of raging torrents.












After a whopping 2 hours of walking, we really needed some lunch in order to replenish our dangerous caloric deficit.

If you look closely, you can see the effect of low blood sugar in Ty's eyes.








So five hours completed and we got to experience our first Tea House. We heard they were a bit basic and we were actually expecting much, much worse. Pleasant surprise - four clean walls and two beds.















Ty trying out her sleeping bag at 4 in the afternoon.
















This is the little restaurant where we sat sipping tea (yep, they actually have tea at the aptly named houses) and playing cards with Chandra and Bhim for several hours during a thunder storm. We taught them Rummy; Chandra quickly became a pro and did not lose until the last day of the trek.

In the wee hours of the morning we were awoken at 3 separate times by quite substantial earthquakes. The tea house swayed from side to side. A myriad of local dogs spooked and barked for hours. Who knew what was happening in other parts of the world. No news, no internet, no clue.

Even the donkey-horse hybrids look tough. Often functioning as rescue horses or porters, they kind of have to be.





























This is the aforementioned Bhim hauling that heavy bag up many vertical feet. Bhim spoke little English and was one of the most pleasant, gentle and warm people we've met during our travels.










Our first glimpse of the far away mountains was exhilarating.





























Not an uncommon sight unfortunately. God forbid someone parts with the ten bucks a day and hires two porters for a group of five.











This mountain is called Fish Tale and is sacred amongst the Nepali people. No one has successfully climbed this peak.











Looks like home eh?













Chickens are treated wonderfully here in Nepal and even get the occasional free ride by horseback to a destination of their choice. Once arrived, they, of course, will be set loose and allowed to roam and graze freely until they die happily of old age.

During the trek I had many occasions to observe this particular animal. They appear lost in the world and without purpose. Of course, I confided in Ty.

"Chickens aren't useless, honey, they're yummy" was Ty's warmhearted response. We're in the process of getting tee-shirts made with this slogan.


Okay, so this is a Nepali Rhododendron. I'm not kidding.

















Our first snow. It was surreal to travel such a short distance from 75 degree Pokhara and run across snow. There would be more.











Our second day ended in quaint Ghorepani - access point to Poon Hill.












Happy to be in Ghorepani after a much harder second day.












Check out this pad complete with an attached bathroom. You can choose between the western style dumper or the squat. The "Hot" sign on the water was a farce. Ice water showers at 8,622 feet were uncomfortable.















So after the showers we came down here and huddled around the warm wood stove. More card games ensued.











Okay, random I know, but this is how cabbages grow?? Who knew?












On the morning of our third day we rose at 4:00 a.m. and put on every layer we had in preparation for the arduous and dark climb up to Poon Hill.

The climb took just over an hour but constituted the most difficult part of the whole trek.








The 9,630 foot top of Poon Hill offered some chilling temperatures and striking views. I'll avoid commentary on the next set with the exception of a short explanation of the "Chad Knows..." We closed down our fiver account, but Chad Douglass was the only person we knew personally who paid for a fiver. We're simply trying to exploit this kindness in hopes of receiving more dough. Chad, money orders only please.






























































































In addition to the 80's retro aesthetics and figure flattering cut, those rental coats of ours had the additional benefit of funk. The smell was eerily palpable long after removing the horrific garments.

After only 45 short minutes atop Poon Hill, we had to descend back to Ghorepani for a quick tea / breakfast and then it was off for another 6 hours of trekking (I didn't think it would help to tell Chandra I was already sore and that I wanted to explore helicopter rescue options.















A Rhododendron preview. Captivating.
















When people told us that March is good for trekking because "the rhododendrons are in bloom," Ty and I had a hard time hiding our disinterest. "Half way across the world for a few shrubs?"

Turns out these super-sized versions of the plant are more impressive.

















A new (to us) species of monkey. This one seemed amicable.

















Our fourth guesthouse was named "Magnificent." On the contrary, they built these less-than-magnificent rooms with windows facing AWAY from the view you see in the pic below. The picture was taken out of an obscure window. They even built the entire lodge facing the wrong direction. Maybe magnificent describes the degree of their blunder. What a waste!















Notice where the windows are pointed at the lodge. Maaaaaagnifcicent.












We were worried that after the big Poon Hill show, that the beauty would undergo a little atrophy. We were pleasantly surprised to find this not to be true.










Coming in to our soon-to-be favorite village, Gandruk.















Reminds me of a certain Led Zeppelin song.































After being a little let down by the lack of magnificence at the last tea house, this one more than made up for it.















Feathers and chicken goo still stuck to the shell so ya know it's fresh!












Still love goats. This mother wasn't pleased with the dog. I snapped this just as the charge began.
To be fair, this dog followed us for about 20 kilometers and NOTHING liked him. He had a bad energy and was constantly getting into fights because of it. Not a good companion as I felt guilty by association with the mutt.















One thing we loved about the Poon Hill trek is the diversity of the landscapes.















































The "five" is not a wave (who waves at cameras?). Instead it signifies "day 5."

During this day, a fellow traveler clued me in to the fact that five days earlier an 8.9 earthquake hit Japan. No travelers had access to news etc. so everything we knew at this point was hearsay and speculation. Thousands dead, tsunami threats in Hawaii, radiation leaks? Suddenly the shaking from several nights ago got much more serious.

After this point, we became increasingly anxious to get back and find out if everyone was safe.

The tea house on day 6 was cramped.













Even in the last days, the Himalayan vistas kept on coming.












I want one.



























Bhim looking light and happy to be rid of our bag!













Not bad. First hot shower in 6 days! Awwww.

















During our trip, Ty kept wanting to photograph Dal Bhat. The dish consist of foods designed to make one obese and consequently impervious to the cold. Nepalis do not venture outside this dish for lunch or dinner. Damn, that's a lot of the same thing.

Lentil soup, potatoes, white rice, corn papad, and extremely bloat-inducing salty "saag." Ty found the dish palatable. I found it tolerable on day 1. By day 3 I was entirely disenchanted. By day 6 I vowed never to make so much as direct eye contact with a lentil ever, ever, again. We were delighted to find that we each GAINED about 5 pounds after seven days of eating this stuff (despite hours and hours of strenuous daily exercise!)

On our last day, a pack of unruly dogs joined our group. They got in serious fights with other dogs on a pretty much regular basis. They finally abandoned us in order to pack hunt a deer. I've never seen dogs hunt with such ferocity and vigor. On the upside, Ty liked the cute pudgy little thing below. I was too wary of his overprotective mother to enjoy him. Cute in the pics though!
















It should be clear (get it) by this point that our camera is very, very broken. The hex blotches from Vietnam have returned in full gusto, obscuring and blurring most of our photos.

Unfortunately the camera is not the only thing that's broke around here, so Ty and I will not be fixing it this time. =(

We're hoping Kyle will be willing to take and share his pictures during his visit so we can actually do another blog or two before our homecoming on the 27th.

The final stretch. Can you see the road down there?

















Ah, finally back to civilization.













Regardless of my tendency for sarcasm, our Poon Hill trek was a definite highlight of our Nepal experience - both challenging and stunningly beautiful. We hope to come back with all of our closest friends one day and complete the Annapurna Sanctuary trek when we have more time and money (Andy and Jamie, Dre and Joe, - you can hire baby porters so no worries. Phil and Melissa - your kids are old enough to walk dang it. Mark, H-bomb, De De and Maya, Kyle, Corey and Sarah- I won't assume anything about baby porters just yet, but you're all coming and that's final so let's do it!

This would also be a good time to reunite with our non-Washingtonian peeps: That's means you Brad and Hillary, Meg and Steph, Dan and Nancy, Simon, Mark, and Brian and Aly! Make it happen!

As always, we're missing everyone and are looking forward to our joyous reunions in about 66 days!!!!!

YES!