Reports from Annapurna

Hope everyone reading this is doing well and enjoying the holiday seasons back state side. I also hope that everyone enjoyed Jim's post to be honest I haven't worked up the energy to read all of them yet but I'm sure they are good. Alright well semi quick report on my time hiking on my own.

First off to give people an idea of what hiking or trekking as they call it around here is all about. Its not what people think of in the states. There is very little "wilderness" here, for one people have been living in the mountains for centuries and no one came and kicked them all out which happened in other places (no need to name names). So while hiking you encounter frequent houses lodges and villages. On even the more minor routes lodges and shops have sprung up to accommodate the massive number of western hikers who visit each year. This means you have to carry a minimal amount of food and no shelter. Which I guess is a good thing since I didn't have a tent with me. All in all it made for an interesting and very different experience from hiking in the United States.

For the actual report I left Pokhara at about 5:45 on a bus headed to Nayapul. My objective was the Annapurna Base Camp(ABC), and I had four days to do it...which I had been told was impossible. I got to Nayapul and began my hike I quickly came to a checkpoint. ABC is within the Annapurna Conservation Protection Area, this means a lot of things but as far a hikers are concerned it mostly means you need a permit. The checkpoint is where they check your permit...funny how that works. The gentleman at the checkpoint ask me where I was going and for how long I told him, he said it was impossible and wrote six days down in his book. Ohh well. I started off not too much of interest, lots of asking people which way to go since there are no signs and often many side trails. The first part was essentially a dirt road with a decent amount of trash around. The further into the mountains the better things got. People were much less pushy then people in towns. In towns you avoid asking directions or anything because it seems like everyone wants something. Here Lodge owners would ask you if you wanted to rest or a snack once or twice and then leave it at that.

Since the area sees so many western tourist they cater to the taste of western tourist and when I saw some chocolate cake late in the afternoon I couldn't resist. My mistake it wasn't very good. I ended my first day at around four in a summer settlement called Sinuwa. Dinner was Dal Bhatt (traditional Nepali dish of rice, lentil soup, and curried veggies) not only was it the cheapest but Dal Bhatt always involves refills. Desert was a snickers roll...a snickers bar wrapped and dough and deep fried. After dinner I had my first hot shower(solar) since leaving the states.

The next day was the push to ABC I started bright and early with a meal of Hot Cereal and Bananas. The whole day was cloudy so there wasn't much to see. I arrived at the camp about an hour below ABC at 12. It was here that I met two polish guys also hiking to ABC. We talked for awhile over lunch and decided that we'd head up together. Off we went to make the final climb in a cloud. Part way up we looked behind us to see that we had hiked above the clouds and could see some of the worlds highest mountains all around us. It was pretty amazing. We continued our hike and reached ABC about 2. I decided to spend the night there instead of starting the trip down figuring I'd be able to make the two day trip down since I made it up in a little over a day and a half. The night was enjoyable if cold. A little later a Chinese woman and her guide showed up we all enjoyed dinner and conversation before retreating to the warmth of our sleeping bags.

The next day I started early and skipped breakfast since I wasn't feeling well. Things didn't get better though out the day and by the end I felt pretty horrible and was hiking for about ten minutes then resting for five. I got into a lodge and started throwing up (just to cover all the details). Luckily I got better though out the night and by morn was able to hold down a little water. I started hiking and took a shorter route back since I wasn't in the best of condition. I made it back to Nayapul by 11:30 and was back in Pokhara by 1:30. Well that about wraps up my journey so until next time.

Adam McCurdy