Annapurna Trek

May 11th, 2009 by Elizabeth Kruithof

Well…I have missed you all very much on my trek, and it certainly seems like an entire world of things have happened since I last got to write to you. I’ll try to keep my entry(ies) about the trek as concise as I can…otherwise this might turn in to a novel

The night before we left for the trek (April 26), we met with our guide Raj only to be informed that he had a sudden matter to attend to and that a different guide would be taking us on our trek. None of us were very impressed by this, to say the least. We went out after for one last indulgent dinner and dessert (also justified because it was Mike’s birthday) and I said goodbye to the volunteer who worked with me at the children’s home (there will be none left of our volunteer group by the time I return to Kathmandu).

Trek – Day 1:

Pack weight = 31 pounds

Liz weight = 125 pounds

We met our new guide, Hari, outside our hotel and took a taxi to the bus park where we boarded a local bus (something reminiscent of an elongated and rounded tin can). Luckily, I was short enough to fit nicely in my seat, but the other 4 in the group (all being 6 feet or taller) had their knees crunched in to the seat in front of them. It was a long (about 7 hours), hot, winding bus ride from Kathmandu…most of the ride had the bus swaying too far from side to side around corners hugging the cliffs the plunged down to the Trisuli River below. It was hotter, muggier, and greener than the city, as we passed through decrepit shack villages, and hill after hill of never ending terraces growing corn. When we stopped for lunch along the road there was a microbus that had just freshly nose-dived off a drop off…a little unnerving to say the least, especially since there are no lines on the road and many blind corners. I wiped the sweat off my face when we arrived in Besisahar (where the trek begins) and a large black swath appeared across my white t-shirt (probably from the dust and exhaust of the bus ride….disgusting). We decided to start hiking to the first guesthouse at Khudi which took 2 very hot, sweaty hours. The scenery was almost jungle-like, with the Marsyandi River flowing below us…but the views were all hazy. At the guesthouse we all went down to the river to wash off the sweat and dirt. Our (mine and Laurel’s) room here is a mud hut with a thatched bamboo roof (and gigantic spiders). We played some cards while waiting for dinner (which I’ll cease to mention from now on…because if there was every any dead time between hiking and waiting for food, we were always playing until we couldn’t stand the thought of gin rummy any longer!)…and 2 hours later we finally had our dhal bhaat.

Trek – Day 2:

Used my sleeping bag for the first time in Nepal last night and tossed and turned as things bit me through the night. I discovered lemon tea at breakfast, so I won’t bother telling you after this that I drank it every morning (and sometimes more) on the hike. We heading out on the trail by 7am (pretty typical for every morning of the hike), after having woken up at 5:30am to try to beat the heat of the day. After leaving the motor road (which is currently being built around the circuit….sadly) we started along a path that cut through fields of corn. We were surrounded by hills sliced all the way up the sides by green terraces and small villages, but unfortunately the haze continues and we’ve yet to see a clear view (or get a decent photo). 4 hours of hot, muggy hiking later (I’m sure I’ve sweat more today than I ever have in my life) we stopped in Bahundanda after much upward climbing. I tried Tibetan bread for lunch, which was like a deep fried roti (so obviously delicious). Along the up and down trail after lunch, Hari took us to a pool in a stream underneath a bridge, where the boys stripped down and jumped in. Doesn’t seem fair that it’s inappropriate for women to strip off as well. Once the boys were out of sight, I took off my shirt to wash off the sweat, and the next thing I knew, I’d slipped off the rock in to the wait deep pool…boots, socks, pants, and all. I spent the last of the hike to Ghermu hiking in Holey Soles with boots and socks tied to the outside of my bag.

Trek – Day 3:

Brandin would be in heaven with the museli, hot milk, and apple we get for breakfast. We hiked back down to the river and crossed a bouncy suspension bridge (as we would many many times over the next two weeks). We were hiking along the “road” that is currenlty being chiseled out of the mountain…soon we were scampering straight up on the loose rock and dusty dirt of the new, almost verticle road. I felt like I was moving even slower than ‘Nepali speed’, plodding one foot in front of the other at the back of the pack…up, up, up. At lunch in Chamje I was already very tired….I aired out my socks and boots that were still soaked from yesterday…my feet look disgusting. Back down the cross the river (so we erased all the up we’d just done…and were about to gain it back and then some). The next 2 hours were very difficult for me…up, up, and straight up moving dherai bistaari (very slowly). My legs felt exhausted as I passed or got passed by train after train of donkeys decorated with colourful head patches, bells, and heavy loads. I struggled the rest of the way to Tal…Mike offered to carry something for me, but I was set on carrying all my own stuff for the trek. When I arrived exhausted after the climb to the very cute, brightly coloured guesthouse the only thing that lifted my tired spirits was the amazing potato, bean, pumpkin curry I had for dinner.

Trek- Day 4:

We left the low lying river village of Tal and started our hike up and down and up and down (again and again and again). My pace was better today, but still slower than the rest of the group. It’s more of a mental challenge to hike by yourself at the back, I think, since you only have your own thoughts to convince you to keep going. At first I wondered if I was out of shape…but I reminded myself that the rest of the group was carrying bags of similar weight to me, yet they were bigger than me. For example, one of the boys weighs 95 pounds more than I do and has legs much longer….so the percent of my body weight I was carrying was much more than the others. Still, I was much slower behind them. After walking along the landslide ridden, very thin mountainside paths (best not to imagine your fate if a foot were to slip on the loose dirt and rock keeping you attached to the mountain) we finally arrived for lunch in Bagarchhap. It was a wonderful surprise when we arrived in Danaque, a small stone village, after only half an hour because of the new road (which is much faster than the original trail, I guess). We all got to have hot, solar-powered showers, and hung around for the rest of the afternoon eating coconut biscuits and watching hindi American Idol (this lodge actually had a TV!). It started to thunder and rain during our dhal bhaat.

Ok I have to pee really badly so I need to run back to the hotel. This will have to be a multiple entry one!