Kamikaze Canuck

Side note: The original title of this blog was “Sore Feet and Proud Smiles”. Megan suggested I make the adjustment.

 

Currently we are sitting at 2860 meters above sea level in a guesthouse that is literally built into the side of a mountain. Our legs are aching, our shirts are dripping with sweat, but we are proud to be done the first two (of ten) days of the ABC trek (Annapurna Base Camp). I am typing this blog from the small village of Ghorepani and unbelievably they have wifi here. Hard to believe. Meg and I are currently enjoying a pot of post-hike hot lemon tea while checking out the view from our guesthouse: “Super View Guesthouse”.

 

 

But let's back up a minute and fill you in on how we got here….

 

After interviewing a couple different potential trekking guides, Megan and I decided on a man named “Lal”. Lal was a true veteran of the mountains. At 44 years old he had done the 10 day ABC trek over 100 times! He was originally born in the surrounding Annapurna mountains and has been guiding and portering for 17 years. Lal stood about about 5'3″ tall, had darker skin than most Nepalis, and a big round face that revealed a huge white toothed smile. We felt comfortable with him and hired him only minutes after meeting him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After cramming our belongings into my backpack, we were all prepped for the trip. Most people doing this trek hire a porter to pack their backpack for them. To me this is cheating. A lot of people will argue that by hiring a porter, you help the Nepali economy. That may be true but how could I let someone that is nearly a foot shorter than me and 80lbs less than me pack my backpack for me? I would feel like such a wuss. The taxi arrived early in the morning to take us to the starting point for our trek (a 1.5 hour drive). The owner of our guesthouse looked puzzled when I loaded my big 80L Arcteryx backpack into the taxi. 40 lbs was a big load on a hike like this.

In a few short minutes; Lal, Megan, and I departed in the taxi from Lakeside city of Pokhara:

 

 

 

Our taxi wound through the Nepali hills revealing two snow capped Mountains in the distance. Lal leaned back from the front passengers seat and said with a smile “those mountains are called Annapurna 1 and Machhapuchhre”. Seemed impossible. How could we get to the base camp of Annapurna 1 when it seems so impossibly far away. What did we get ourselves into. At that moment, I zoomed in as far as my camera would go and snapped a picture:

 

 

 

Megan began to get nervous, shifting from side to side in her seat. I didn't have to ask what she was thinking at that moment. The taxi came to a stop on a dirt road near a small village called Nayapul. We opened the hatchback, grabbed our bags, paid the driver, and he sped off in a cloud of dust.

After Lal presented our trekking permits to the park authorities, we started off our trek:

 

 

 

Day 1 (Nayapul to Ulleri)

Starting elevation: 1070m

 

 

 

We started our hike passing through the small village of Nayapul, then following a winding river through a green, lush valley until we reached the second village of Birethani:

 

 

After showing our permits for a second time, we continued to follow the river Northwest, losing sight of the mountains. Occasionally a Jeep would pass us kicking up dust and forcing us to the side of the road. The sun felt hotter than usual, almost to the point where it wore us down more than the actual trekking did. This forced us to drink litres and litres of water, filling up our water bottles from outdoor taps located near local villages. We passed by terraced rice fields where farmers farmed steep swathes of land:

 

 

 

Overall the trekking was surprisingly easy, with little altitude change. In 3 short hours we had reached our lunch destination, a few houses lumped together called “Sudame”. After a quick meal of muesli for me and veg fried rice for Meg, we continued our trek. We passed by more rice fields and over rope bridges, dodging oxen, donkeys, and goats along the way. In another 1.5 hours, we found ourselves at the village of Tikhedhungga. We had planned on staying at Tikkhedhungga for the night, but Megan insisted that we push on to the next village of Ulleri. “How far to Ulleri?” we asked Lal. He pointed to the top of the mountain across the river valley. Meg got her way. We crossed the river and started up the mountain.

 

This is when things changed. Big time. We had been told earlier about an area where we would have to climb 3280 rock steps – this was the start of that. My 40lb backpack began to feel heavier every 15 minutes as we trudged up the steps at a snails pace. Our quads and calves started burning more with each step. We were forced to stop for water breaks every 20 minutes. The sun compounded the exhaustion. This may seem like exaggeration, but I have done some very difficult hikes and this day was as hard as any that I have faced. I asked Megan for a piece of chocolate that she was storing in her small backpack. She refused – saying that the chocolate should only be used as a reward when we finish our hike. Ugh.

 

 

It was a brutal few hours. Megan did great – she basically willed herself up the mountain. The gas tank was empty. At one point Lal offered to switch packs to give my legs a short break (his pack weighed only 10-15 kilos). I accepted. We continued to climb in altitude until the village of Ulleri was visible. As quickly as we could, we checked into a guesthouse, showered, ate, hung up our sweat stained t-shirts, and did some quick stretches before heading to bed.

 

 

Total hours of trekking: 6.5 hours

 

Day 2 (Ulleri to Ghorepani)

Starting elevation: 1960m

 

We woke up early the next morning to the sound of a farmer moving his donkeys through the village. Each donkey had a bell around its neck which made it sound like an awful symphony of clanging bells.

 

We were pleasantly surprised in the morning to find that our legs were not completely seized up from the beating they took the day before. We paid our bill at the guesthouse, had a hot breakfast, and set out at 7:45am.

The rock steps continued upwards, zig zagging up the mountain and revealing some excellent views of snow capped mountains. Before long, the scenery changed and we found ourselves walking through a beautiful green forest passing over bridges.

 

At one point we passed a couple of porters packing a cages of chickens on their backs.

 

A couple of hours later we reached a village called Naya Thanti where stopped to have a quick bite to eat and to air out our sweaty t-shirts.

 

After lunch, the path became considerably easier. Blooming rhododendron flowers began to appear, scattered out along the trail.

 

 

Again, we started climbing sharply, gaining altitude with every step. Those damn rock steps appeared again making our legs ache with each step. After another hour or so, we reached our destination of Ghorepani where we were blown away by the view of the valley and surrounding mountains.

 

This was a difficult day but it didn't compare to the first day.

 

Total hours of trekking: 5 hours

 

That pretty much catches you up on what we've been doing. And now you know

 

 

Again, how insane is it that we have wifi here in the middle of nowhere?