Kamikaze Canuck

The Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) trek continues

Day 3 ( Ghorepani to Poon Hill to Ghorepani to Tadapani)

Starting Elevation: 2860 meters

The day started off at 5AM. We donned our headlamps and started the ascent to Poon Hill. Poon Hill is a viewpoint only an hours hike from Ghorepani. The objective is to get to the viewpoint in time to watch the sun rise overtop of the Himalayas. The steep incline made sure that both Megan and I were sweaty messes by the time we reached the top. But it was worth it.

I was quite surprised at how many people made the one hour early morning hike. I would have to say at least 175 people were on Poon Hill in time for the sun rise.

People scrambled to find the best possible place to capture the sunrise with their expensive cameras with lens's as long as my arm. I suppose all the ruckus took away from the serenity of it all, but nonetheless the views were quite amazing once the sun starting cresting the mountain tops.

Megan and I in front of Dhaulagiri mountain (8175m). 8th highest mountain in the world.

The coloured paper behind us are Buddhist prayer flags and can be found at most important sites in the mountains. Buddhist believe they give good fortune when the wind blows through them.

Someone was actually selling hot tea on Poon Hill which was a nice treat before we had to retreat back down the hill to Ghorepani to pack our bags, have a quick breakfast, and continue on our way to ABC.

As the hike started, we quickly found ourselves climbing steadily again for an hour or more until we had gained another 450 meters in elevation and had another beautiful lookout over the landscape.

The trail eventually levelled off where we enjoyed a modest incline or “Nepali flat” as our guide calls it. After 4 more hours of ups and downs we ascended a sharp incline for 45 minutes before reaching our destination of Tadapani.

Tadapani was a tiny little village with a brilliant view and a crappy guesthouse. Our guide suggested we stay the night at this small teahouse and it turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. We checked in to our room and immediately noticed that the room was falling apart. Electrical tape held the light fixture together, huge cracks ran the whole length of the dirty concrete walls, and the blankets we were provided were stained (Megan says thank god for sleeping bags).

We decided to look for another room in another guesthouse. When our guide told the news to the female guesthouse owner she looked quite offended and continued to follow us (incognito style) when we were looking at other rooms. It was really awkward. We kind of felt guilty and ended up just staying at the original guesthouse despite its shortcomings.

We were not in the guesthouse owners good books. After checking in I asked if I could purchase some laundry soap to hand wash some of my sweaty clothes. She handed me a bar of soap that looked like it came out of the ass end of a cow and walked away. I stood there shocked. How does someone even acquire a bar of soap that looks like this? Crusty brown with chunks of newspaper hanging off of it. My god.

Then I ordered a beer to drink before dinner and as soon as I got the top off – it exploded. That beer bottle was sitting at about 500 psi before I opened it. Beer everywhere. Stay calm Jason.

We were charged full price for the soap and the beer. These are the unpredictable adventures that make traveling so fun. The place wasn't all bad. The dining area was cozy and we had some enjoyable conversation with a Japanese tour group before retiring to bed early.

Total trekking time today: 6 hours

Day 4 (Tadapani to Sinuwa)

Starting Elevation: 2400m

After a surprisingly good sleep we woke up to the Japanese tourists going coo coo for coco puffs with their cameras. Each one had a tripod set up with a monsterous camera which they snapped steadily at the sun rising over the mountains. It was a lovely view – I'll give them that.

After our usual breakfast of muesli and fruit, we started trekking. This turned out to be my favourite day of the trip so far.

The trail wound down through vast valleys where we walked amidst crops of barley, wheat, and potatoes. Every piece of farm land is terraced here – otherwise the pitch of the land would be far to steep to farm.

We descended thousands upon thousands of rock steps before dropping down to the river.

It seems goofy, but after walking so much each day you kind of engage autopilot mode and things just happen. It seems as though your feet put themselves where they need to be without any conscious effort or thought. Almost robotic.

I actually ask often “How many kilometres are we doing today?” and no one ever knows. Someone said to me kilometres are meaningless here because nothing is straight. Every path is zig zagging, climbing, falling – everything but straight. Instead they use hours. “4 hours to the next village”. Seems to be much more efficient.

One of the things we have had to do lots of is dodging animals. Goats, donkeys, mules, horses, oxen, yak – everything uses the same path as we use so we have to share it with all sorts of animals.

After 7 hours of trekking, we arrives in lower Sinewa where we will be staying the night. We fell in love with this little place. Cozy tea house, great food, fair prices, great view:

We spent the evening teaching our guide Lal some new card games and drinking hot drinks. Tomorrow we start to get into much higher altitude, which means colder temperatures as well. Both of us feel that we have adapted to the rigours of trekking in the Himalayas. Days are getting much easier to cope with and even though our legs feel drained, we both feel mentally stronger which is important when the gas tank is running on empty. Eye of the tiger.

 

Total trekking time today: 7 hours