26 Days, 200 Miles: Trekking the Annapurna Circuit - Marpha, Nepal
Marpha, Nepal
April 19 - May 14 Home to 8 of the world's 10 highest peaks, Nepal opened its borders to foreign visitors in the early 1950s. Since then, word has spread that its mystical mountains, glacier rapids, and enchanting people are worth seeing. Each year, more than 100,000 people visit Nepal to trek, which accounts for 30 percent of Nepal's tourism. Of those trekkers, 60 percent head to the Annapurna Circuit, generally thought to be one of the most accessible long-distance treks on the planet. Not only is it cheap as chips and other-worldly in its beauty, but it's comfortable--where else can you tea-house trek in the mountains for weeks on end, on $15 a day, knowing you've got a hot meal waiting for you and a warm bed to crawl into? (Seriously, I'd like to know.) Jason, who did the Annapurna Circuit two years ago and kept extensive notes on his experience, served as a Sherpa for Becca and I. His guidance, expertise, and support made the trek the amazing experience that it was. On Day 1, April 19, we took a bus from Pokhara to Besi Sahar, the starting point of the trek. We had just hopped off the bus, backpacks in tow, with Adam, a 23-year old native of Baltimore, who was finishing up his degree in political science at the University of Chicago, and will be working for Bloomberg in NYC starting this summer; and Michael, a 24-year old mechanic from Germany who hopes to learn the ropes before assuming more responsibilities at his father's Ford dealership near Munich. At 2,500 feet, all five of us were breathing easy and melting quickly under the late-morning sun and humidity. Jason had scheduled a short day of trekking for us, knowing that the moist heat and our yet-to-be-fit bodies would make it feel like a long day. We spent the night at Bhulbule, at 2,709 feet. Waking up before sunrise the next morning, Day 2, we walked to Ghermu (3,854 feet). We kept it short that day, again because of our fitness levels and the weather. I was starting to feel like mild thirst and hunger were constant companions. Even after a meal, or a half-liter chug of water, my body wasn't satiated. With this in mind, I started the next day, Day 3, with two breakfasts. My porridge with apple needed an omelet on the side so I could feel like I was adequately nourishing my body. Double meals became the new norm after this day. After a long day of trekking, we slept in Tal (5,280 ft.), a village located in the middle of two dramatically steep peaks. At about 4pm, the sun crept behind the mountains, and we enjoyed a long, 2.5-hour period of dusk. Now that we didn't need to wake up at or before sunrise to beat the heat, we slept in and left at 8am for Timang (8,288 ft) on Day 4. This day felt a bit longer than the others, largely because of the path's steep incline and the thinner air at higher elevation. But it was well worth it to arrive at yet another amazing guest house where Jason stayed on his trek two years ago. We ate lunch overlooking a grazing spot for cattle and horses in the foreground, with a backdrop of several unbelievably massive snow-capped peaks. Day 5 was short. We walked from Timang to Chame (8,500 ft.). At this point, the jungles that we trekked through on lower lands had given way to pines, glacial rivers, and trees with young flowers that were grateful for the sunshine and daily rains that are characteristic of the Himalayan spring. Day 6, in contrast with Day 5, was a climb. Unfortunately, this was the beginning of a short battle I had with the local bacteria. Traveler's Diarrhea was slowing me down, forcing me to reduce my intake of food, increase my consumption of water, and make frequent stops in the bush. The beauty of the trek and the support from Jason and Becca was invaluable on this day, as I heard the stories of other trekkers with brutal TD who had stayed behind to rest or to turn back to Pokhara for treatment. After a very long day, we ended at Upper Pisang (10,400 ft.). We walked to Ngawal (11,700 ft.) on Day 7. While the day wasn't particularly long, it was punctuated by one of the steepest climbs on the trek, during which we gained some 1,500 feet in about an hour of hiking straight up the face of a mountain. We reached the top and had lunch, admiring a white Buddhist shrine (chaitya) surrounded by Tibetan prayer flags and overlooking the snow on the Himalayan peaks around us. The rest of the trek that day was marked by a strong scent of pines, sightings of eagles and wild horses, and mountain air so crisp that we needed jackets in the afternoon for the first time on the trek. On Day 8 we descended a bit to Manang (11,400 ft.). Known for being a more developed village on the trek--complete with a movie theater and a pharmacy--Manang served as the location of our first rest day. I was finally able to treat my TD in Manang at the Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) Aid Post. I felt great after speaking with an American doctor from Portland, who answered my detailed questions about the GI issues I was experiencing, as well as the GI issues I had experienced in India and the subsequent treatment I received there (Asia's been an exciting trip for my GI tract). The HRA Aid Post has been in Manang for trekking season every year since the 1980s, treating visitors and educating them about Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). After a short 3-day course of Azithromyacin, I was able to return to the 6-meals-a-day diet. In Manang I tried yak meat for the first time, in the form of a yak burger. The meat is pretty tough; I much prefer yak cheese, which tastes a bit like Parmesan. Much of the food served on the trek (and indeed, in the rest of Nepal) is influenced by the west (à la pasta, pizza, burgers, fried potatoes) or Tibet (Thukpa, noodle soup; Thenthuk, a hearty dumpling soup). But one of the best foods, one that actually comes from Nepal, is the mo:mo--dumplings stuffed with vegetables and sometimes shredded meat. Still recovering from my illness, Day 9 in Manang was a rest day for me (Jason and Becca went to Ice Lake), and Day 10 was a rest day for all of us. We enjoyed watching several movies at the local movie theater (think cozy, but basic), drinking tea by the dining room heater, and bulking up with five or six protein-filled meals. Unfortunately, this is where we had to say goodbye to Adam, who had less time than us to complete the Circuit and return back to the States, and Michael, who was also working with a shorter time budget too. Day 11 was a short trek over to Sree Karka (12,789 ft.). The mountainous landscape was beautiful, extraterrestrial. One of the notable challenges on the trek, mentally speaking, was Day 12 to Tilicho Base Camp (13,100 ft.). It was during this trek that I substantially reduced my fear of heights, as it requires trekking across a landslide area. Statistically speaking, this area is much safer than it looks, as long as you cross it in the early morning, as we did. In the afternoon, the winds kick up rocks and it can be harder to cross. But that's not always comforting when you have a thin path to walk on and steep views all around. It was definitely one of the most scenic days of the trip. Sleeping at Tilicho Base Camp was hard for me, as it was for some other people that I spoke with. As you drift to sleep, you naturally start breathing slowly--but when your brain detects a lack of oxygen intake, you wake up suddenly, gasping for air. This happened basically all night, so it was hard to sleep for more than an hour at a time. For this reason, I tried to allow about 10 hours in bed for attempted sleeping time. The next day, Day 13, Jason and I spent 3.5 hours hiking up to Tilicho Lake (16,254 ft.). Our bodies were in pretty great shape at this point, but it was still punishing--worth every step, though. The lake, frozen most of the year, was covered in a thin layer of snow. We heard the crackling of avalanches in the distance, and occasionally saw one falling over the lake in the distance. On Day 14 we returned to Manang. Along the way, Jason was offered entrance to a cliff-side Buddhist monastery--the one that he tried to get into two years ago--and was able to flag down Becca and I so we could join him. All of us marveled at the beauty and serenity of this hillside Buddhist relic, which is ordinarily bolted shut, the inside kept secret to the vast majority of trekkers who want to see it. The man lit prayer candles for us and just asked that we not publish any pictures of the inside of the temple. Day 15 was a short but scenic hike over to Ledar (13,388 ft.) We saw yak grazing in the sunlit fields of golden sand, mountains covered in pines and snow. At this point in the trek, it was impossible to ignore the impressive numbers of Israeli trekkers that were roughly our age. Many of them, having recently finished their three-year mandatory military service, are fit enough to start trekking without much of a break-in period. There would be tables of 12 or more Israelis at many of the guest houses we were staying at before the pass. It was important to arrive early to High Camp (15,419 ft.) on Day 16 so that we could get a room there before they start renting out sleeping space in the kitchen. Fortunately, we secured a room. At Base Camp we ingested plenty of calorie-rich meals while having the pleasure of chatting with a funny, kind, and well-traveled Chilean couple, Patricia and Francisco, who saved up money so they could quit their jobs and travel for a year. Waking up bright and early, Day 17, we left as early as we could for the Thorung-La Pass at 17,769 feet. The Annapurna Circuit is home to a total of 14 peaks that stretch to over 22,970 feet; on that day, we we went between two of them: Yakwakang and Thorung Peaks. After a multi-hour climb that morning, during which we felt more short of breath that at any other point on the trek, we were elated to reach the top of the pass, and drunk from the effects of the altitude and adrenaline. At that altitude, we were breathing 50 percent of the oxygen content present at sea level. The descent was not as amazing - going from 17,769 feet to Muktinath at 11,660 feet did a number on our knees. Becca, who had been dealing with knee pain for days, was not looking forward to this day. But she was a trooper and pushed through it. We finally made it to the Bob Marley Hotel, one of the most highly recommended hotels on the trek. We took a rest day on Day 18, relishing the fact that the cook at Bob Marley spent 15 years in Sydney and knows how to make tasty western eats. Over the course of our two-night stay, I ate the yak burger, burrito, enchilada, yak steak sizzler, apple pie, apple crumble, meat gnocchi, omelet, fried potatoes, and pesto gnocchi. Doubling up on meals, as always. It was on Day 18 that Jason, Becca, and I had the pleasure of getting to know a delightful, if eclectic traveling trio: Abby, from the Isle of Man (between Great Britain and Ireland), who quit her job at a human rights charity in London to travel; Christina, from Norway, who will begin her bachelor's degree at a University near Oslo this fall; and John, a young chemist from Texas who has been living in Portland and working for a big tech firm there. While Christina and John were napping, Abby went with us to check out the world's only Buddhist-Hindu complex--an archetype for the coexistence that has existed between these two major religions for centuries. We wandered through the grounds, observing the outside and sometimes the interior of each shrine and temple. Muktinath is the location for this special complex because, according to lore, all of the elements are represented: earth, air, holy water, and fire. Each year, thousands of Indians make a pilgrimage trip to Muktinath and other areas that are holy in the Annapurna region. Day 19 was one of the most photogenic days of the trek (but not by much). We walked through the Kali Gandaki Gorge, which sits between two peaks that tower above 26,000 feet and is widely considered to be the deepest canyon on Earth. The morning was calm, with blue skies and shapely mountains. The baron landscape was dotted with the deep-green hue of buckwheat, patches of shade left by clouds passing by, and finely sculpted rock formations. By the afternoon, the wind was intense. Unfortunately, Jason was dealing with nausea and general GI issues, but he soldiered on. We had finally arrived at YakDonald's, the hotel and restaurant we were staying at in Kagbeni (9,160 ft.), a town that borders Upper Mustang, a Tibetan zone in Nepal that requires a $50/day trekking pass, available to a small number of trekking groups each year. The region is known for rich Tibetan culture, sacred walled cities, and eye-poppingly beautiful landscapes that are largely untouched by outsiders. It was there, in YakDonald's, in a very uniquely decorated room, that we celebrated Abby's birthday. We drank wine, ate a yak noodle dish out of clay pots, and shared stories from our collective adventures. We popped out of the room for a look at the sunset, and ended the night with chocolate cake. On Day 20 we trekked to Marpha (8,616 ft.) via Jomsom, which is the location of one of the world's most dangerous airports. Because of the high winds that pass through the Kali Gandaki Gorge, it's only possible for early-morning and morning flights to go into and out of Jomsom. There are usually one or two crashes each year in Jomsom--in fact, the last time Jason was on the Annapurna Circuit, he saw the burned and melted remnants of an airplane sitting on the bedrock, visible from the trekking path. Marpha was a lovely destination...probably our favorite on the entire trek. It's known for its incredible apples. The best way to eat them wasn't in apple pie, though: You could get a liter of ice-cold Marpha apple juice for $1.50 at the corner store, which mixed quite well with the locally made apple brandy. In Marpha we stayed at Sunrise Lodge, a cute place that has an impressive garden. When you order a salad, someone goes running out of the kitchen and comes back a few minutes later with lettuce, cabbage, and carrots--roots dangling, dirt falling out. The terrace of Sunrise was a great place to look at the rocky texture of the Himalayan peak that juts out right above Marpha. We rested on Day 21. After a long morning of reading over breakfast, we took a walk in the sun with Patricia and Francisco. We hiked up the rocks to a lookout point, which catches the brute of the early afternoon wind. It was blowing so hard, we were starting to feel like we could lose our cameras or even our footing--easily 60 miles per hour or more. After this we visited a Buddhist temple that overlooks the town and the valley beyond it. Marpha's beauty was nothing short of spectacular. You can tell you are in a truly special place when you see the buckwheat blowing like fine hairs in the wind, or when you notice the sheer amount of stone used to build the walls, roofs, and streets of this ancient Himalayan town. We spent the entire day with Patricia and Francisco, getting to know their affinity for travel and life a bit better. Francisco taught us, with impressive clarity, what the settings mean on our cameras and when to adjust them to achieve different effects. Reluctantly, I left Marpha on Day 22 while the others took a second rest day. Over 20 days of trekking had solidified my body-mind connection, and all I know is that I was ready to go to Kalopani (8,300 feet) and loathe to rest. I slept that night in Kalopani. I ate well, slept well, and missed Becca and Jason heeps. The next day, Day 23, to Tatopani (4,145 ft.) was one of the hardest but most beautiful of the entire trek. Though I was descending on the whole, the trekker's path ascended and descended constantly. The views were great, but after 7 hours of trekking, I was ready for what Tatopani was known for: hot springs. After all, that's what tatopani means in Nepali. I saw Jason and Becca at the first hotel I checked - the description Jason gave of it was spot on. That evening we went to the hot springs. I talked with an American who graduated from UC Davis the same year that I graduated from UA. She told me about working for the U.S. government on a massive fishing boat, supervising fisherman and taking samples of the fish to make sure they are following U.S. environmental law. She said she made great money doing it, and never had any chance to spend it on the boat, which made it ideal for temporary work: You go in broke, come out rich, and your boss says come back whenever you want. In addition to working on the fishing boat, she's also worked as a diving instructor. We started Day 24 with an early-morning soak in the hot springs, followed by breakfast and tea with our feet still in the water. We lounged around in the afternoon with John, Christina, and Abby. It was a great day to get some reading in. We were reading so much during our down time that it was easy to finish a book in 2 or 3 days. Jason and I could not have been more thankful to have Kindles, because we were able to read exactly what we wanted to on the trek. On Day 25 we worked our asses off, literally, going straight uphill from Tatopani to Ghorepani (9,180 ft.) - a 5,000-foot gain that took us 10 hours including breaks. We ate dinner as a rainstorm rolled by, clearing the skies for our pre-dawn trek tomorrow to Poon Hill to watch the sunrise. Day 26, 4am, we left for Poon Hill, some 1,400 feet above. It took us just 45 minutes to get up there. We had a clear morning, which was excellent for watching the sun splash its rays on the blonde hills and white-capped mountains. After eating breakfast with everyone back in Ghorepani, I descended thousands of feet, from the mountains to the valleys, to return to Pokhara to start working again. With toned legs, an impressive farmer's tan, and a clear mind, I went back to the real world with a new found love for trekking nature and an appreciation for returning to the basics.