Today is another gorgeous day. I walked through pine forest past a few ponds to Lower Pisang. I saw the cutest little baby goat on the way. Lower Pisang was deserted as the farmers plowed their fields after the first rain in an apparently very long time. I then took a trail from Lower Pisang to the Upper Route to Manang. However, the trail disappeared and there was no one (Nepali or trekker) to ask the way. That in itself was pretty unusual. I back tracked and took the more traveled route to Upper Pisang and on to Ghyaru. The trail had great views of Annapurna II. I came across goral (wild goat - antelopes) but they were too fast for me to get their photo. I heard a big crack and saw a huge avalanche cascade down Annapurna II. I forgot that I had a scope with me. I should have taken that out to watch but it was impressive even to the naked eye. All was going well until I reached an exposed steep climb to the village of Ghyaru. The altitude and with less air really took its toll on this climb up to 4000m. I felt like I constantly had to stop to catch my breath. The views from the top were sooo impressive. I had lunch with Annapurna II right in front of me.
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| From AC Part 2 |
After lunch I had headed along the trail to the next village. Along the way I saw more of those goral. They went down what appeared to be a nearly vertical cliff face. I also saw a small rodent. I later found out that it was a mountain rat. This was kind of confusing as it had no tail but two different Nepalese guides told me that was what it was.
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| From AC Part 2 |
I came across a Yak herder moving a Yak and its calf along the same trail. He asked me to climb up off the trail. This was a challenge with my pack. The Yak kept eying me and not moving past. They are apparently a bit temperamental so it was a little worrying. The herder kept yelling at it and throwing its calf forward and eventually it moved on.
I spent the night in Ngawal. I think I was the only trekker in the whole village. I was certainly the only trekker in the guesthouse. I hadn't seen any trekkers on the trail today because most chose to go on the lower (easier) route and because I had done some longer days and stayed in some more unusual places.
April 12 Manang (3540m)
It was pretty chilly (but beautiful) in the morning. I ate breakfast with the guesthouse owner in the kitchen by the fire. I watched her making Tibetan tea (made with yak butter and kind of plunged in a long tube)
I hiked on to Manang where I treated myself to a piece of apple crumble. I found a hotel with a hot shower and took advantage of it. Then I hiked up a trail to view the Gangapurna glacier and the lake below it. There were incredible views of the glacier and the lake. Up above the tea house there was a view point with incredible views down the valley. When I returned I went to the Himalayan Rescue Association seminar on Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) presented by a US doctor. Over half the audience had symptoms already. I got some Diamox in case I developed any symptoms later as I go over the Thorong La Pass.
April 13 Letdar (4200m)
After alot of internal discussion I decided to skip Khangsar. I headed out of Manang stopping in Gunsang for a bit of Tibetan bread. It was awesome place to eat breakfast. I bumped into Florien on my way to Yak Karka riding his bike up. He was doing well on this section of the trail. I continued on to Letdar past Yak Karka feeling the lack of oxygen. Even this was pushing it it terms of AMS prevention advice and when I reached there I had a headache (AMS symptom) so I took some Diamox, drank as much water as possible and hoped for the best. If the headache didn't subside I would not be able to continue on the next day without risking more severe issues. I met a really nice couple (Bridgette and Mike) from NZ who also happened to be teachers. We talked about the Kepler Track and various other tracks in NZ. I met a couple of guys who had taken the trail from Khangsar. Apparently is was not an obvious trail so I am glad that I didn't attempt that one on my own.
Chatted with a Nepali guide of Tibetan descent about Tibet and the impact of the Chinese invasion on the Tibetan people. It was very interesting.
A couple from Netherlands had to go down. One had some more severe AMS - bad headache and nausea.
April 14 Thorung Phedi Base Camp (4450m)
Today is Nepali New Year. I saw a Tibetan style Yak camp and Yak in the distance. Further along I saw some a bit closer and watched them for awhile with my scope. I walked through a landslide area with rocks bouncing down - very worrying. When I got to Phedi there were three blue sheep grazing above the lodge. I snapped a quick photo of them. Guess what? They aren't blue. Most of the people that I had been hanging out with decided to head up to High Camp from Phedi. This was greatly discouraged by the AMS talk and my guide book. I really wanted to go to make the next day a shorter day by heading up to High Camp but I didn't want to risk getting altitude sickness so I stayed at Phedi. I also decided to get a porter for the next day up to the pass. I felt a bit of whimp watching Florian head up to High Camp carrying both his pack and his bike on his back. Further whimpiness-- I tried to get a room with an attached bathroom because I didn't want to have to walk to the bathroo in the cold but they said "no" that they were saving those for couples. I even offered to pay the couple rate. They said I could only have one if I could find a friend to share with. Well let me tell you there are very few women on their own up there so I gave up. Although Florian said that if he had to come back down we could share a room. The irony of this is that later in the afternoon the lodge owner asked me to share a room with a girl. I said "can we get an attached bathroom?" but no they were all already taken so I ended up sharing (I think they were out of rooms) but still had to walk to the toilet in the cold.
I met Lyb and Graeme and decided to go over the pass with them the next day (safety in numbers). We went for an acclimatization hike up towards High Camp. I was sucking air and my head hurt (AMS symptom) and all I could think was "I am so glad I got a porter for tomarrow when I am carrying my pack"
See full sized photos here or watch the slideshow below.
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