Everest Base Camp trek – summary

I just arrived back in Kathmandu last night (Thursday, 30 November) after a seemingly long, undoubtedly cold, 11-day trek to Everest Base Camp. Here is how it went down....

Day 1 (Saturday, 18 November): Kathmandu to Lukla (2840 m, 9315 ft) to Jorsale (2805 m, 9200 ft); [total daily ascent: 585 m, 1919 ft]

As expected, my flight from Kathmandu to Lukla - the traditional starting point for the trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC) - was delayed because of fog on both ends. (As an aside, there are no roads to Lukla, so you either have to walk for 6 days - both ways - or fly, and taking the flight was not a decision I made lightly as I am really trying not to fly if at all possible). Three hours late I boarded the twin-otter turbo prop and 'mildly' enjoyed the 35-minute flight to Lukla - I have discovered recently that I really don't like flying any more though. The landing at the Lukla airport is way scary, perhaps the scariest I can remember. The runway is angled and is about 60 m (~200 ft) higher at one end. Its also a short runway so the angle is really noticeable. The angle helps slow the planes on landing and speed up on take off. The run way is short and ends in a wall at one end for landing and on take off ends with a cliff! During approach you come over this pass and then drop like a rock down to Lukla only to land on an upslope with a big thud. It really isn't very comforting. I was glad when it was over. It was unexpectly cold at the Lukla airport and I immediately had to put on my down jacket and hat. I wasn't expecting that! Cold, I would soon learn, was going to be the theme of this trek.

Once in Lukla, I immediately started hiking. I had a couple of milestone villages that I wanted to get past and out of the way the first day. The first was the village of Phakding (pronounced as you would suspect...) and the Maoist check point there. There was no way I was going to pay those terroist dicks any more money so I schemed a few options over in my mind. The first, if there happened to be another group at the check post at the time, was to just walk on by. The Maoists - which there are usually only 2 of, are not your typical terrorists, but unintimidating looking, impressionable youths - would be too busy collecting money from the big group to worry about little ole me. After waiting 30 or 45 minutes just before the checkpost and realizing that no groups were coming by, I finally fell in behind a group of 2 and decided to try my second scheme; the bull-shit story. I made up some story about how I had already paid them but my guide and sick friend had my reciept and were in the next town. After asking me some questions and giving me the stink-eye for a bit, one of them finally said, "okay, thank you" and let me pass. I had also shown them my 'expired' Maoist reciept from the Annapurna Circuit trek which I'm sure helped. I think Ken would be proud of me for refusing to pay this time. 1 obstacle down, 1 more to go.

The next obstacle was in the village of Monjo, the 'official permit' checking station. New rules prescribe that all trekkers have either a guide or a porter and a Trekker's Registration Certificate (TRC) which can only be obtained through an authorized trekking agency. After asking around some of the shadier trekking agencies in Kathmandu if they could get me just the TRC for a little commision in their pockets and not having any luck, I decided to just go without one. When I rounded a corner in the village of Monjo, I saw the green TRC sign out of the corner of my eye. I looked straight on, quickened my pace, put a determined look on my face, and barreled on though. There was one guy standing in the doorway but he said nothing so I just keep going and kept up my pace until I was out of the village. Second obstacle down, victory was mine!

A few minutes later I gladly paid the National Park entrance fee and continued on a few more minutes to the village of Josale, where I decided I would spend the night. Even though it was still fairly early, I couldn't go any higher if I wanted to acclimate properly. I was the only one in the guesthouse there and after an early dinner and no electricity, I went to sleep way early. I was already sleeping in my thermal pants even at this 'low' elevation...

Day 2 (Sunday, 19 November): Jorsale to Namche Bazar (3440 m, 11,283 ft); [total daily ascent: 650 m, 2132 ft]

This was a really short day, only an hour and 45 minutes of hiking before I was forced to stop to acclimate properly. I arrived in the 'bustling' village of Namche Bazar before 11 AM. Namche was socked in with fog all this day so it wasn't until the following morning when the clouds partially lifted that I got to witness the spectacular scenery and high mountains that surround the village. I spent the chilly day hiking around the foggy village and hanging out in a bakery reading.... Namche is full of new-looking lodges, as are a lot of the villages on the EBC trek. This is quite a change from the Annapurna Circuit. The food and lodging prices are also more expensive, I would soon discover. I guess that is what 50 years of huge international expeditions coming through that are willing to pay anything does to the local economy...

Day 3 (Monday, 20 November): Namche Bazar to Tengboche (3870 m, 12,694 ft); [total daily ascent: 820 m, 2690 ft]

Today was less cloudy and I got my first view of Mt. Ama Dablam (6856 m, 22,488 ft) on the hike to Tengboche. Ama Dablam has to be one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. It is amazing and you see it for most of the trek. I should have spent this day and night in Namche Bazar to accilmate properly but I got to Namche so early the previous day, I couldn't bare the thought of hanging around there another day alone, so I decided to move on. I've determined that I acclimate fairly quickly so I felt fine with this decision. I would have had a view of the top of Everest from the window of my room in Tengboche, but the clouds rolled in again and cut off all views. And to think people pay $165 for a room with a view at the Hotel Everest View above Namche. My room with a (would be) view in Tengboche was $1.50. It was another short day and I was in Tengboche by noon. Tengboche has a fantastic monastery too, but I'm all monsteried out by now, so I didn't bother to go inside. Another cold night insued and there was ice on the inside of my window in the morning.

Day 4 (Tuesday, 21 November): Tengboche to Dingboche (4360 m, 14,301 ft); [total daily ascent: 650 m, 2132 ft]

Finally a nice clear day. Great views of Ama Dablam and Nuptse (7861 m, 25,784 ft). Although this day was short, I could really feel the altitude on the final ascent up to Dingboche. I had to stop and rest several times which isn't like me. That afternoon in Dingboche some doctors came around to my guesthouse and described a research experiment they were doing on the possiblitly of Diamox (altitude sickness drug) preventing HAPE (High Altitude Pulmenary Edema). They needed subjects to take a pill that was either Diamox or a sugar pill and do a short physical exam in Dingboche and then again in the next town. So of course I volunteered. I filled out the quick questionaire and got my blood-oxygen saturation measured. At 79% it was a little on the low side for the elevation but I felt fine and didn't have so much as a headache.

The past couple of days I had gotten in the habit of taking a nap in the afternoons when I arrived at the guesthouse. This, along with the early bedtimes, made for some long nights. A few nights in a row I would wake up around 3 AM and be completely rested, since bed time was around 8 PM. I had to force my self to stay up later and not take naps the subsequent days.

Day 5 (Wednesday, 22 November): Dingboche to Chhukhung (4750 m, 15,580 ft) and back to Dingboche - acclimization day; [total daily ascent: 560 m, 1837 ft]

I made sure not to skip this acclimization day. I took a short acclimization hike in the morning up to the village of Chhukhung (4750 m, 15,580 ft). The views along the way in the upper Imja Khola (Khola = river) valley were fantastic. One one side of the valley you had Nuptse (7861 m, 25,784 ft) and Lhotse (8414 m, 27,598 ft), at the head of the valley Island Peak (6189 m, 20,300 ft) and behind that, Peak 38 (7591 m, ft), and on the other side of the valley the north side of Ama Dablam (6856 m, 22,488 ft) and the fantastic, long, snow fluted ridge of the Ombigaichan (6340 m, 20,795 ft) massif. The almost snow free rock mass of Amphu Gyabjen (5630 m, 18,466 ft) to the north of Ama Dablam was also very inviting looking. Wow!

I had an ever so slight a headache and was tired during the hike, but this was only my fifth day and I was already sleeping quite high so I wasn't overly surprised. The good weather made the views all the more enjoyable.

That night I woke up around 2 PM to go pee and as I was trying to get back to sleep I heard the sound of something rustling through a plastic bag that lay on the floor. At first I thought it was wind. I picked up one of the plastic bags and put it out of reach. About 10 minutes later and after more rustling I turned on my light to find the other plastic bag half way into a crack in the floor! RATS! I took a blanket and stuffed it into the crack but could still hear the little buggers scratching behind the wall. I tell you its really hard to fall back asleep when you here the little scratching of rats feet.....

Day 6 (Thursday, 23 November): Dingboche to Lobuche (4950 m, 16,236 ft); [total daily ascent: 700 m, 2296 ft; + hike, 305 m, 1000 ft]

More great views today and more great weather. Nuptse, Cholatse (6335 m, 20,779 ft), Pumo Ri (7165 m, 23,501 ft), and the rock covered lower Khumbu Glacier were all quite impressive sights. Once in Lobuche I did the follow up to the Diamox study. My blood oxygen saturation was now 74%, still a little low, but I felt better than I did in Dingboche. I was sleeping fine too. They also did an ultrasound of my lungs and heart (which is the closest I ever want to come to be pregnant) and found no fluid in my lungs and that my heart was fine. Overall I was in great shape.

Then I took a short hike up onto the lower ramparts of Lobuche Peak (6119 m, 20,070 ft) to 5150 m (16,892 ft), 200 m (656 ft) above Lobuche village. I sat and enjoyed the solitude and views for a while before hiking back down and up to the lateral moraine of the Khumbu Glacier. There I sat again watching the sun set behind Cholatse behind me and the stunning, steep snow cone of Pumo Ri in front of me. I wanted to sit there and watch the Alpenglow on Pumo Ri and Nuptse, but after the sun set behind Cholatse, the temps dropped to -10 C (14 F) and I headed for the relative warmth of the guesthouse dining room. I slept great this night despite having to get up to pee 3 or 4 times. Damn Diamox!!

Day 7 (Friday, 24 November): Lobuche to Gorak Shep (5150 m, 16,892 ft) to Everest Base Camp (5350 m, 17,548 ft) back to Gorak Shep; [total daily ascent: 700 m, 2296 ft]

I felt good on 1.5 hr hike to Gorak Shep, the last and highest outpost of cilivization. I checked into my guesthouse and then made the 4-hour round trip up to Everest Base Camp and back. I was really tired and slow on the hike to Everest Base Camp. I was also cold and wore every thing I brought during the entire hike from Gorek Shep to EBC and back; thermal pants, down jacket, rain shell, neck gaitor, hat, gloves. There aren't any views of Everest from Base Camp but you can see it when you are walking along the lateral moraine. What is more impressive, in my opinion is the view of Nuptse. That is a stunning, and scary mountain. Witnessed a couple of avalanches come off of it. And the Khumbu icefall is way freaking scary looking, and steep. I don't know who's bright idea it was to pioneer the 'standard' route through that thing. Yikes! There was less trash at Base Camp and along the trail there than at Base Camp on the Tibetan side. That was surprising.

As I was leaving Gorek Shep to head up to EBC I was walking along through this flat, dried up lake bed, minding my own business, all bundled up, when I felt this pat on my shoulder. I turned around expecting to see someone I had met, but instead find a horse rear up on its hind legs and put its front legs up in the air at me. I backed away but the horse slowly approached me again. I picked up some rocks to throw and made for the shelter of more uneven terrain. Finally the molesting horse left me alone but I was on the look out for that thing on the way back! Damn confused or crazy horse.

Day 8 (Saturday, 25 November): Gorek Shep to Kala Pathar (5550 m, 18,204 ft) back to Gorek Shep and down to Zonglha (4830 m, 15,842 ft); [total daily ascent: 725 m, 2378 ft]

I slept really well at Gorek Shep at altitude. My water froze for the first time indoors. It is usually near or just below freezing indoors so water typically doesn't freeze. The 1.5-hour hike up to Kala Pathar, a high point on a ridge of Pumo Ri, was tiring but well worth it for the views. Simply a stunning panorama that I can't really put into words. I took lots of pictures. From here you can see every mountain I have mentioned thus far and of course hulking mass of Everest (8850 m, 29,035 ft).

Then I made the longer than expected hike back down through Lobuche but turning off and up another valley to Zonglha. It was a beautiful 3.5-hour hike and once I turned off the main trail, I saw no one else. I had plans of going up and over Cho La (la = pass) (5330 m, 17,482 ft) the following day. I hadn't planned to have the energy or motivation to do this extra bit, but I dug deep and found it. I wanted to go over Cho La to the village of Gokyo at 4790 m (15,711 ft) and back down the Gokyo valley to Namche Bazar. That way I wouldn't have to hike back out the same way.

Ama Dablam still dominates the skyline back at these 'lower' elevations and scary looking Cholatse really presses in on Zonglha. In fact the sun sets behind Cholatse around 3 pm. It was really cold here at Zonglha and my water froze hard again during the night (23 F in my room in the morning). I was the only one staying at the guest house along with the 19 year old sherpa boy who ran the guesthouse during the winter and a couple of his friends.

Day 9 (Sunday, 26 November): Zonglha to 'almost' Cho La (5250 m, 17,220 ft) back to Zonglha and down to Pangboche (3930 m, 12,890 ft); [total daily ascent: 482 m, 1581 ft]

I hiked for 2 tiring hours this morning alone up to where the snow started, just before the pass. Actually it was more than snow, it was a glacier with seracs! And it was damn icy and in the shade. I left Zonglha at 8 AM, and arrived a couple hundred feet below the pass at 10 AM. No one was around and the trail followed a steep traverse across the icy shaded snow up to the true pass. I was so close, but my equipment (shoes) simply wasn't adequate for the conditions. I waited for an hour for some one to show up, hoping to gain some more information, or possibly borrow crampons. Finally as I was descending down the protected, short icy slope I come up, a couple of people slip-slid there way over the pass. I talked to them a bit and they did not instill confindence in what lay ahead. They had proper boots on with edges and still didn't look that graceful coming over. There was no way my worn down sneakers were going to grip the ice and the ride I would have taken was no good! I wouldn't have died, but I certainly could have broken a leg and I would have had no way to get back up even if I arrived down there uninjured. So I resided to decending back the way, extremely frustrated and feeling defeated, after I came ever so close.

It was a quick trek down through Zonglha and then off down a side trail down the valley until I hit a river crossing 4300 m (14,104 ft). That is where the second bit of fun began. My map shows the trail going right through the river without a bridge, so I thought I could ford this Himalayan flow. Wrong! I spent what felt like a couple of very frustrating, cold (sun had set behind Cholatse), windy, hours going up and down the river, across and back to various islands, getting to within spitting distance of being across at one point; cussing out loud, twisting my ankle painfully, and nearly coming to tears from all the frustration, before residing my self to staying on the near side of the river and following it several miles down stream to where the main trail crossed the river (the problem is I didn't know ifI would get cliffed out on this side of the river, as often happens with the main trails which are forced to jump to the other side of the river). But I managed to stay dry and find my way down to the main trail as it finally crossed back across, by this point extremely tired. I pressed on and made it to the village of Pangboche eventually. Not my best day!

Day 10 (Monday, 27 November): Pangboche to Khumjung (3780 m, 12,398 ft) to Namche Bazar (3440 m, 11,283 ft); [total daily ascent: 750 m, 2460 ft]

This was another tiring day and a big ascent day for being on the descent! Lots of ups and downs on this trek. As I passed back through Tengboche it was clear and I could see Everest and Ama Dablam and the view I would have had from my room when I stayed there if it had been clear. Really pretty. I was about 30 minutes away from Namche - my stopping place for the night - when I ran out of water but I wanted to make a short, scenic side trip through the village of Khumjung. It was supposed to be only a 20 or 30 minuted detour. Well, it took much longer than that and had much more elevation gain that I was expecting. It felt like I would never get to Namche as all the trails kept leading away. I finally arrived in Namche probably 1.5 hours later than I expected, really tired, thirty, and hungry. Another frustrating and tiring day, and the descent is suppose to be easy! It was still cold in Namche.

Day 11 (Tuesday, 28 November): Namche Bazar to Lukla (2840 m, 9315 ft); [total daily ascent: 685 m, 2247 ft]

Finally, the last day of hiking was upon me, although I knew there was still quite a bit of up and down to go. I passed back through the permit check post in Monjo in the same fashion I had come through the first time. This time there was a desk sitting out in front and a couple of guys standing there talking. Surprisingly they said not a word as I whizzed by. Next was the Maoist check post again. I really didn't have a good story this time, as I was afraid my last story would be remembered and not accepted. I had passed several large groups on the way down though so I would just wait and go through with one of them. After waiting for a half hour just before the check post, I finally got bored and fell in behind a group of 3. To my surprise the Maoists weren't even there! I think there must be too few tourists now or maybe they are just tired of it all. Who knows. But that gave me a big sigh of relief as I whizzed by there too.

Upon arriving into Lukla I stopped by the airline office and got confirmed on a flight the following day at 11:15 AM. Too easy, right? (yes, right, as it turns out). Actually this required 2 trips to the airline office. I had finished my book a few nights before so it was a long evening at the big empty guesthouse.

Day 12 (Wednesday, 29 November): Lukla flight frustration

I didn't need to be at the airport until 10:30 AM today, so I waited, very bored, at the guest house before heading down to the airport just after 10 AM. No flights had gone out the previous day due to clouds in Lukla and there were clouds rolling up the valley today too. So there was a backlog of passengers. Nevertheless the clouds would occasionally break and a plane or 2 would roll in and out. I got as far as being on the second plane out. It was 2:30 PM and the last plane flys at 4 PM, but Lukla was currently heavily socked in thick with fog. No planes are coming from Kathmandu. They told us to go back and come again tomorrow. Talk about a waste of a day and a huge let down. I really wanted to get out of cold, soggy Lukla. But first we had to go to the airline office, twice more, and reconfirm our flight, of course. This time I got a 10 AM departure, the 3rd round of planes instead of 4th, some improvement I suppose. I bought a book to help me through the next 24 hours.

Day 13 (Thursday, 30 November): Lukla to Kathmandu

Today, it was perfectly clear in Lukla (and the night had been cold as evidenced by the frozen water on the paths). But, as luck would have it, Kathmandu was foggy..... So again all the flights were delayed. I was at the airport before 9 AM today. At 2:30 PM, 48 hours after arriving in Lukla, I boarded the third and last round of flights for that day. Talk about a roller coaster ride and what a long, boring, frustrating 48 hours! Soon enough we dropped off the end slanted runway and after a bumpy, 35-minute ride, were back in the relative warmth of Kathmandu. It was good to be back in Kathmandu, strangely enough.

Everest Base Camp trek itinerary

I'm back in Kathmandu again, staying in my old, reliable Sagarmatha Guesthouse right smack in the middle of Thamel. Arrived here yesterday (Thursday, 16 November) afternoon after an 8-hour bus ride from Pokhara. Luckily Annick and Julianna were on the same bus so I had some company. Its so freaking busy here in Thamel/Kathmandu compared to relaxed Pokhara. So many more beggers and touts trying to get your money; and so much more traffic! Its hard to walk down the streets here. I had several 'errands' to do in Kathmandu prior to my hike and I got almost everything done yesterday afternoon. Money, food, map, long underwear, travel agents..... So today I can just 'relax'.

Tomorrow (Saturday, 18 November) morning I fly from Kathmandu to Lukla, Nepal; the standard starting place for the trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC). I'm flying on Yeti Airlines and my flight (# 103) leaves - or is supposed to leave - Kathmandu at 6:30 AM. When I arrive in Lukla I will hike for a few hours to a further village for the night. I don't have a guide or a permit and I've been hearing all different kinds of information on what will happen if I don't have a permit. I'm just going to go there and see what happens. I'm sure I will find a way through some way of another. Another concern I have is having to pay the Maoists more money on this trek. Apparently the Maoists ask for NRs 2500 (~$35) on the Everest Base Camp trek. But there is no way I'm giving them any more money! Now that they are officially a part of the Nepali government they shouldn't be extorting money from tourists any more.

I think it will take me 7 or 8 days to reach the last village before Base Camp called Gorak Shep. From there I will make two side trips. One to the actual Everest Base Camp, where unfortunately you can't even see Everest. The second up Kala Pattar (5545-meters) - a small summit/high point on a ridge of Pumo Ri - where you are supposed to have the best views of Everest. Both of these side trips are extremely popular. Then it will probably take me 3-4 days to hike back out to Lukla.

I fly out of Lukla back to Kathmandu on 3 December departing Lukla (flight # 112) at 7:45 AM, but flights into and out of Lukla are notoriously unreliable and people often get stuck in Lukla for an extra day due to cancelled or delayed flights. The earliest I will be able to email will be 3rd or 4th December. There will be tons of people trekking this route as this is high season so I won't be alone.

Bike ride to Sarangkot, Pokhara - attempt

This morning (Wednesday, 15 November) I decided that for my last day in Pokhara I would rent a bike and ride up to Sarangkot, the small mountain next to the lake where all the paragliders take off from. From the top of Sarangkot you are supposed to have fantastic views of the Annapurna range and of Pokhara and Phewa Tal (Tal = lake). So after breakfast I searched around for a place to rent a bike from, which there are surprisingly few of. It was Rs 50 (~$.65) to rent the bike for the day. My guide book said most places charge Rs 100 for the day so I was a little skeptical. But I gave it a quick test ride and it seemed fine for what I was paying. So off I went.

It was okay going on flat ground (actually it wasn't; it was really hard work even on flat ground because it was a piece of shit bike and the brakes rubbed against the rims creating extra resistance and the geometry was just too small for me) but once I turned off onto the road to Sarangkot, which followed steeply up a riidge, it became impossible to ride the bike. The gears just wouldn't go low enough and with the extra resistance from the brakes and remarkably heavy weight of the bike (not to mention the geometry kept me from climbing any where close to efficiently) it just wasn't happening. So I resorted to pushing the bike up the hill. I thought that at the very least I would be able to cruise down the steep, twisty road. So that was my motivation.

After pushing that piece-of-shit-bike 3 or 4 kilometers up the steep hill and realizing that I still had another 3 km or so to go to the top, I decided it was really a stupid thing to be doing - pushing a bike up a road. So I stopped for snack, called it my personal summit for the day, and let the anticipation of the downhill ride build. It was down hill all the way back to Lakeside, the tourist district.

Off I went down the hill on the piece-of-shit-bike and to my huge disappointment I discovered that the brakes, although adequate on flat ground, weren't strong enough to keep me from accelerating down hill. My hands cramped intensely as I tried to squeeze hard enough to slow my acceleration. It was no use and I had no tools for any adjustments. I had to use my feet to stop and quite annoyed, I walked the bike back down the steep, twisting hill riding about half the time on the not so steep sections. What a huge disappointment.

It seems like every time I rent a bike some place I am disappointed with the bike. Bummer. Guess you get what you pay for though. It would have been a really fun descent on a proper bike and the views were awesome.

So I have the rest of the day to kill here in Pokhara and then tomorrow (Thursday, 16 November) morning I catch the tourist bus for the 7-hour (and Rs 300, ~$4) ride to Kathmandu.

Yesterday (Tuesday, 14 November) afternoon I randomly bumped into a couple of friends - Annick and Julianna - here in Pokhara that I had met in Tibet and then hung out with a bit in Kathmandu. They were on the Annapurna Circuit trek at the same time as me and we discovered that they were always just one day ahead of me. I kept expecting to see them on the trail and never did and then forgot they would be in Pokhara until I saw them yesterday. So we went out for drinks and dinner last night and had a good time catching up. It seems that most people I have met in Nepal are in Pokhara right now.

Pokhara

I have 2 more days in Pokhara before I take the bus to Kathmandu on Thursday (16 November) morning. Pokhara is such a great little get-away from Kathmandu and a fantastic place to unwind after a trek. Its so easy to do absolutely nothing here, as I have gotten quite good at doing. The weather is nice and warm too, which is really what I needed after freezing my ass off for 2 weeks.

On Sunday (12 November) I went and got a haircut from one of the several thousand barber shops placed every couple feet along the main road. The businesses along the main road in this tourist district seem alternate fairly consistently in a 'restaurant-hotel-camping shop-internet cafe-book shop-souvernir shop-barber shop-restaurant' pattern. The barber quoted me Rs 80 (~$1.10) for a hair cut. After a haircut its standard to then get a head massage or more. I got the full treatment (back, shoulder, and head massage) after my haircut which would have freaked me out had I not heard from some friends that massages are a standard part of the deal (even for locals)! But eventually I had to get out of there as I began to feel akward and gave the guy Rs 100 (~$1.25).

The discrepancy in prices here is really hard to get use to. Right before I got the haircut I had spent Rs 150 ($2.00) using the internet. Anything involving the service industry here is just so cheap. I really feel bad that I can't give money to every one on the street that asks for it. Nepal is just such a poor country.

The food is disproportionately expensive here compared to everything else; in large part because I have been eating at touristy restaurants. Its pretty common for my dinner to cost as much as my room for the night (which is Rs 250 or ~$3.50 for a nice double room with clean attached bath). Still, if you are careful, $10/day to live on in Nepal is quite reasonable. The average Nepali lives on $250/year...... (and I just spent $200 on a round trip domestic airline ticket).

Pokhara, Nepal - R&R days

My first two days in Pokhara (Saturday, 11 November and Sunday, 12 November) I didn't do much besides sleep in, eat lots, and relax. Been hanging out with the group of people that I hiked with, although we are staying in different guesthouses. Its common to keep running into the same people on the street as the tourist district is centered along one may road along the lake. Pokhara is an awesome little city. Its right on a lake and is very laid back. I call it Thamel-light. (Thamel is the tourist district in Kathmandu). I keep seeing all these people that I saw while trekking.

Saturday (11 November) night we all went out to eat with our guides. It was quite a fine time and the Danish girls (Sina and Irene) treated the group to dinner to 'pay us back' for using our guides services during the trek. Good times. Last night (Sunday, 12 November) we all went out to eat again, without the guides who had left. Another fine night. Yesterday afternoon I finally met up with my friend Sui again. I met Sui on my Mongolian jeep trip and we have been trying to meet back up ever since we both left Beijing!

Today (Monday, 13 November) Sui and I rented a row boat and rowed across the lake to where a trail climbs up a small mountain to a pagoda. After about a 45 minute hike through sub-tropical 'jungle' we arrived on the top of the ridge at the World Peace Pagoda. Although it was still a little cloudy, we had awesome views of the mountains from the ridge top including Annapurna South, Machhapuchhare (Fish Tail Mountain), and Annapurna III, IV, and II. Unfortunately Dhaulagiri and Manaslu were buried in the clouds. We hung out there in the sun for a while enjoying the fine, warm weather and views. It was a fine vantange point and we hiked around up there for a bit before decending back to the lake shore and our row boat. Then we rowed a little further around the lake to a little restaurant for lunch before rowing back to town. It was a fine way to spend the day and get a little exercise after my recent stint of doing jack-shit.

I just booked my flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, Nepal where I will begin my Everest Base Camp trek. I fly from Kathmandu to Lukla on 18 November and then fly back from Lukla to Kathmandu on 3 December. So that will be another 15-day period without email access. I'm not really looking forward to the cold weather again but its just something I'm going to have to deal with since I want to see the 'big hill' from the Nepalese side. The high point will be ~5550 meters so I'm expecting to freeze my ass off (again). But it will be for the last time for a while.

I have 2 more days in Pokhara before I take the bus back to Kathmandu and will have a day and a half there before flying out to Lukla.

Annapurna Circuit Trek - summary

Two Fridays ago (27 October) Yvette – the girl from Holland that I met in Kathmandu – and I met up with our guide, Ram, early in the morning and hopped on the bus from Kathmandu to Besi Sahar, Nepal. Our trek around the Annapurna Massif began from Besi Sahar at 760 meters (2493 ft). Actually we took another bus a bit further to Sera – same elevation – and started hiking from there. The second bus ride was one of the most crowded I’ve ever been on. Luckily I didn’t have to ride on the roof! It was already well into the afternoon by the time we started hiking that day so we hiked just an hour or so to the village of Bhulbhule at 840 meters (2755 ft).

It would take ages to write out a complete day-by-day trip report of the entire journey (and probably be pretty boring to read) so I’ll just summarize the towns, elevations, and anything of note.

Day 1 (Friday, 27 October): Sera (760 m, 2493 ft) to Bhulbhule (840 m, 2755 ft)
I was surprised by the guest house and the extensive menu that would become quite common along the trek.

Day 2 (Saturday, 28 October): Bhulbhule to Shree Chaur (1200 m, 3936 ft)
Met two American guys at the guest house who we would continue to bump into and travel with over the next week on the trail.

Day 3 (Sunday, 29 October): Shree Chaur to Dharapani (1860 m, 6101 ft)
Met another American traveling with (actually filming) two Danish girls at the guesthouse. Along with the two Americans I met the previous day (all of whom I had met briefly the first night in Bhulbhule), we all ended up basically traveling together staying at the same places each night and having a pretty damn fun time. The American ‘film producer’ was making a short film about the trek – staring the two Danes on their first hike ever – and said he would send me a copy of the DVD, since I ‘appeared’ in some of the footage. He had me fill out an official (looking) release form before being filmed; something about Americans being very litigious....

Day 4 (Monday, 30 October): Dharapani to Chame (2670 m, 8758 ft)
Went through the first Maoist check post and was forced to pay Rs 1200 (~$17). Yep, I paid money to an official terrorist organization so technically I could go to jail. At least they were nice and gave me a receipt which I later had to show at two other Maoists check posts. Great views of Manaslu (8162 m) from Dharapani and Chame.

Day 5 (Tuesday, 31 October): Chame to Bhratang (2850 m, 9348 ft)
This day I felt like shit when I woke up but decided to hike anyway (since I didn’t want to hold up Yvette). Had I been alone I would have taken a sick day. Almost immediately I knew I couldn’t hike the whole day. I felt horrible; weak, tired, and sore. But strangely those were my only symptoms; not even a headache. I was only able to hike about 2 hours before complete exhaustion. Even on flat terrain I had to take breaks. My guide eventually had to carry my pack for the second hour. Eventually we came to small village of Bhratang and I had to stop there as I could go absolutely no further. I slept for the rest of the day and had a restless night’s sleep

Day 6 (Wednesday, 1 November): Bhratang
This was a rather boring day spent around the unexciting guesthouse sleeping and reading. I felt better than the first day but still not well enough to hike. I wasn’t sure whether or not I would be able to continue the trek. The thought of turning back didn't sit well with me.

Day 7 (Thursday, 2 November): Bhratang to Manang (3540 m, 11611 ft)
When I woke up this morning I wasn’t sure which direction I was headed - up or down - I just knew I was hiking somewhere. Although I wasn’t feeling completely better, I couldn’t stay in Bhratang another day so it was either in or out. I dreaded the thought of heading out, so I made the decision to head further in and up. It turned out to be the right decision and I felt progressively better through out the day (although still not 100% better even the following morning). It was a fairly easy day and that evening I caught up with all my friends who had taken a rest day in Manang to acclimate. I combined a day and a half of hiking into one and passed through the town they had stayed in the first night I was sick. I was glad to catch up with the group, mainly to let Yvette know that I hadn’t taken the guide that she had also paid for. Silly reason I know. That evening it started snowing and we all went to see a movie (!) at one of the 4 (yep, 4) tiny cinemas in Manang. What a random thing to have in a tiny mountain village, a cinema! The seats were uncomfortable and covered with Yak skins but they served popcorn and it was heated by a fire. We watched the made for TV version of Krakauer's 'Into Thin Air'. It made me really, really not want to climb Everest!! It was a strange place to see a movie. Manang also had lots of good bakeries. That was something else I wasn't expecting to see on this trek!! Yummie....

Day 8 (Friday, 3 November): Manang to Letdar (4200 m, 13776 ft)
The previous night I had planned to spend the next day as the standard acclimatization day in Manang which would mean I would loose the group again who were continuing on. Around mid morning I decided to push on regardless because it was snowing for a second day in a row. I was concerned there would be too much snow accumulating at the pass at this rate and it would keep me from crossing over the pass when the rest of the group had succeeded because they were a day earlier (funny logic). So I hiked all day in the snow perhaps overly concerned about all my recent elevation gain without any acclimazation days. I really didn't want to get sick and have to stay put or worse, go down. One of the American guys got AMS in Letdar and the two of them had to stop there. I didn’t see them the rest of the hike but later found out that they had made it over the pass the next day. I was surprised at how little everyone else knew about AMS (acute mountain sickness) and had to tell him not to go any higher until he was completely better and to descend if he got worse. There was no debating those rules. On the hike that day I saw a porter who had gotten severely sick with AMS (or worse) being carried down the trail on the back of another porter. That really hit it home for me. Somewhat amazingly I had no effects from the altitude whatsoever the entire trek, no headache and no restless nights. Must have been all that time in Tibet…

Day 9 (Saturday, 4 November): Letdar to Thorung Phedi (4590 m, 15055 ft)
This was a short (and clear) day, so after lunch in Thorung Phedi we hiked up to Thorung ‘High Camp’ a new settlement at 4900 m (16072 ft) for an acclimazation hike. Some people stayed there and in hindsight I would have preferred to stay there too. Even that short hike was hard work at elevation. It had been getting progressively colder since Manang and it was quite cold at Thorung Phedi. Luckily all the toilets were outside and there was no heating in the rooms… I guess I should be happy there were actually clean toilets at all these places.

Day 10 (Sunday, 5 November): Thorung Phedi to Thorung La (5416 m, 17765 ft) to Muktinath (3800 m, 12464 ft)
It was fantastically clear this morning when we woke up and the star-lit mountains looked amazing. My hydration tube froze solid not too long after I started hiking and didn’t thaw out for a long, long time. But once it thawed it did so remarkably quickly. One moment it was frozen completely solid and the next time I looked down (far down the other side of the pass) it was totally thawed. The intense sun at those elevations is incredible. Luckily I was able to keep my other water bottle from freezing with careful attention. There was also a tea house at 5100 m (16728 ft) which was great for warming up and taking a break out of the wind. I was hiking in my down jacket and was still cold!!! Haven’t done that since Rainier. The views from the top of Thorung La (la = pass) were pretty incredible as you might imagine. Part of Dhaulagiri (8167 m) came into view for the first time. It was a fairly big day at altitude with the cold but it was still a rather short day. Once on the other side of the pass, we stopped for a long lunch at 11 AM at 4100 m (13448 ft) an hour from the village we stayed in that evening after departing around 5 AM that morning.

Day 11 (Monday, 6 November): Muktinath to Marpha (2670 m, 8758 ft)
Cool little village of Marpha. All the buildings and houses are connected as one down the main street/path and painted white. Noticeably warmer at these low altitudes….

Day 12 (Tuesday, 7 November): Marpha to Ghasa (2010 m, 6593 ft)
Nothing much to say about Ghasa. Good pastries at the guesthouse. Yummy!

Day 13 (Wednesday, 8 November): Ghasa to Tatopani (1190 m, 3903 ft)
Tatopani is famous for its hot springs which I got to enjoy that afternoon. They are quite clean and crowded with weary trekkers. Yvette, the two Danish girls, and therefore, my guide, decided to spend a rest day in Tatopani the next day. I would have none of that and planned to continue on the next day alone.

Day 14 (Thursday, 9 November): Tatopani to Ghorepani (2750 m, 9020 ft)
Possibly the hardest day of the trek because of the altitude gain - 1800 m (5900 feet) with ups and downs). Nevertheless I made it just a 6-hour day. Without my guide I had no idea where to stay that evening! Luckily he recommended a guesthouse to me before I left him in Tatopani.

Day 15 (Friday, 10 November): Ghorepani to Poon Hill (3210 m, 10529 ft) to Naya Pul (1070 m, 3510 ft) to Pokhara
Woke up before the sun again, which I officially hate doing, especially when its cold out, to make the 30 minute hike up to the summit of Poon Hill to watch the sunrise over some of the highest mountains in the world. I was shocked at the number of people up there with me - well over a hundred, I would guess. It was a fantastic show though seeing Dhaulagiri (8167 m), Annapurna I (8091 m), Annapurna South (7219 m) and several other incredible mountains from that vantage. Most impressive might have been Machhapuchhre (Fish Tail Mountain, 6993 m). Nice views and a nice way to end the trek. Then it was a knee jarring, thigh burning 2200-meter (7216-ft) descent down to Naya Pul, the town at the end of the Annapurna circuit trek. That may be one of the most tiring descents ever! Got to Naya Pul early enough to catch the bus to Pokhara when I had been planning to just catch the bus the next morning. The 2-hour, $.80 bus ride, to Pokhara was really slow stopping for varying lengths of time for no apparent reason but I finally arrived in Pokhara and got a nice comfortable room (with attached bath!). Now I could enjoy some much needed R&R and plan my next move...

In summary the trek took 15 days, covered over 300 km (185+ miles), starting from an altitude of 760 meters (2493 ft) climbing to 5416 meters (17765 ft) on the tenth day. By the time I arrived in Pokhara I was pretty knackered. I also learned that even on a seemingly 'easy' trek, pack weight is still critical. I carried a lot of extra stuff I shouldn’t have because I didn’t think the trek would be any big deal. It was stupid and I should have known better.

Our guide was awesome and it was great to have him along to point out the mountains and show us the best places to stay and eat. That said I saw a lot of people who had some how gotten away with a guide (the American and 2 Danes for one) which made me a bit jealous. When I do the Everest Base Camp trek I’m not going to take a guide. I’ll figure out how to get around the permit issue somehow!