Annapurna Circuit Trek - Day by Day

From Kathmandu We hired 3 Sherpas, Mingma, Sangae, and Pasang, who happily carried our packs for 15 days from Kathmandu to Pokhara and assisted us all along the way. We were so happy to hike with them every day. They made our trek really special and we are grateful for their positive attitudes and smiling faces.

Day 1: Bus ride from Kathmandu to BesiSahar...should have been a 5-6 hour bus ride but was interrupted by a major landslide making he total trip 14 hours and not a little frightening. Slept in BesiSahar, the starting point for the trek.

Day 2: BesiSahar to Buhandande...a rainy morning but a beautiful hiking day. I fell face first in the first (of many) rivers we crossed but mostly dried out by the end of our 7 hours of hiking. The hills were beautiful, mostly rice fields and tropical plants. A monsoon rain fell in the evening until early morning and our tea house leaked badly so we didn't have the best nights sleep.

Day 3: Buhandande to Chame...another long trekking day and a few leeches joined us along the rivers we trekked through. No harm, though, Pasang Sherpa and Emma shrugged them off and we enjoyed a hot day, gorgeous waterfalls and hillside rice fields along with our first glimpse of a really BIG mountain. The trail was cut off by landslides in many places and we hiked over them to continue on our way.

Day 4: Chame to Dhurabani...the hardest day of hiking for me because of sore muscles. Also we had to stop along the way a few times because they were blasting some trails in preparation for new roads. We hiked over more big landslides and waterfalls today and left the rice paddies and tropical climate at a lower elevation. Dhurabani is at 1800 meters.

Day 5: Dhurabani to Chame (a real town!)... difficult morning hike uphill through lush temperate forests and fog but much cooler temperatures than previous days. This elevation is filled with apple orchards, so fresh apples & apple pie for the next week! Chame is big with many teahouses and shopping but the electricity was cut off in the early evening- which is very common along the trail. Not our first or last dark, cold night.

Day 6: Chame to Lower Pisang...elevation 3200 meters. Beautiful hike today in cold and windy weather. Emma and I do yoga before and after hiking every day which really helps body & mind to stay present and not sore. We've gotten close to Avner and Assaf, 40-something Israeli men and their porters Ganu and Picas. We eat most meals and stay in the same tea houses with them. They are very entertaining and have made for lots of laughs!

Day 7: Chame to Lower Pisang...started hiking late today because of rain but the morning turned clear as we hiked through the start of Manang valley. Not a difficult hike today but a long day with some upset stomachs and afternoon rain bringing us into Manang. At 3200 meters we are almost above the tree line, the temperature has dropped drastically and the air is very dry despite the rain.

Day 8: Rest day in Manang...it is strongly recommended to take a day of rest at 3500 meters to acclimate to the high altitude before ascending. We obliged and just did a morning hike up to a view point where the views of surrounding peaks were truly breathtaking. We were just feeling the slightest effects of Altitude Sickness (headache, fatigue) but overall okay. While the clouds cleared all day the mountains kept revealing themselves one by one.

Day 9: Manang to Yak Kharka...Crystal clear skies this morning and the most majestic view I've ever seen as I pulled back the curtain on my guesthouse window: a full moon in the dawn light over an 8000 meter peak covered in snow. Hike was exceptionally beautiful and we proceeded slowly through green alpine fields past yaks & sheep and thinning air. A little hard to breathe as we ascended to 4000 meters.

Day 10: Yak Kharka to High Camp... Another sunny day of glorious mountain peaks over alpine meadows. We easily hiked to Thorong Phedi in the morning, the first option of places to stay for the night. We decided to continue on to High Camp instead as to have an easier next day for our big trek over the pass. It was 1 hour of hiking straight up, 500 meters. "Slowly, slowly" was our motto. High Camp was miserable, freezing cold, full of other hikers (mostly Israeli) and our rooms were like stone dungeons with a communal outdoor toilet - squat style like all tea houses on the trek. It snowed for a bit which was quite pretty amidst the peaks but literally freezing. No heat anywhere. And no sleep to speak of.

Day 11: Thorong Pass to Muktinath...a bleary eyed 3am wake-up to an almost full moon, unimpeded starlight and a towering ring of mountains. At 4:30am we set-off to conquer the pass which was 2 1/2 hours of hiking in freezing temperatures wearing just about everything we had brought. It was a very difficult morning for me but the sun finally came up over the hills behind us and offered an incomparable sunrise worth every grueling step. For many, it's the 1000 meter descent of this day that is more difficult. For me it was the pre-dawn cold and thinning air. Every second was a challenge until that first ray of sun hit my trembling legs. It felt as if I was being pushed to my limits and finally God said "ok, you've done it!" and there was the sun! By noon we had hiked down to Muktinath and decided to take a rest day the following day after rewarding ourselves with cold beer.

Day 12: Muktinath...we convinced our Israeli friends to stay in Muktinath for the day and had a late breakfast, stroll around the arid town, and late lunch with our entertaining mates. Muktinath is an ancient place of pilgrimage for both Hindus and Buddhists. We carelessly strolled to the temple grounds stopping to admire (and purchase) Tibetan inspired wares along the way. It was a great day of rest and we were all the most grateful for warm weather, our first in many days.

Day 13: Muktinath to Jomsom...We had intended to stay in Kagbeni, just hiking the short 2-3 hours to this dusty town. On arrival, however, we found a depressed, windy, ghost town that we didn't want to spend more time in than necessary. So after a too-long lunch break we braved the winds and trekked onwards to Jomsom. For all of us it was the worst 3 hours of the trip. The wind whipped us with a constant stream of dust and we had to walk on gravel roads with buses and jeeps roaring past. By the time we arrived in Jomsom we had decided to take a bus the rest of the way so as to avoid another day of similar walking. We debated flying to Pokhara but with tight budgets and last minute travel plans that didn't look like the best option.

Day 14: Jomsom to Beni...oh how we wish we had flown. 7am to 4pm on buses and jeeps driving on cliff-side, one-lane mud tracks, over and around landslides - again we had to pass on foot and take a bus on the other side - and we reached Beni dirtier and more exhausted than the previous day's walk had left us. Beni was he biggest town we had seen in 2 weeks and we were all a little jarred with he noise of cars, motorcycles, and "city" life. We celebrated the completion of our Annapurna journey with round of beers and a hearty thank you to our Sherpas.

Day 15: Beni to Pokhara...A mostly-paved road brought us the 4 hours to Pokhara, Nepal's second largest city and the official end of our trek. We said a sad good-bye to Mingma, Sangae, and Pasang and checked in at the Peace Eye Guest House which looks to be our home for the next week.

It's taken me 3 days to type this in my iPod mostly from the cozy bakery here or my rooftop patio. Pokhara is a great place to unwind with friendly tourists, yummy bakeries, and our friends of the past two weeks. Emma and I have continued our daily yoga practice and Mike is playing music with fellow nomads around town. This morning I took a canoe ride on the lake with a traveller I met a few days ago. There is talk of visiting other parts of Nepal in the upcoming week but, honestly I think I need vacation. That probably sounds funny coming from a jobless traveller but, as many people know, traveling is tiring! I believe today is Monday and I have reservations back in Kathmandu next Sunday for my last two nights in Nepal. Another week of lounging with minimal agenda and minimal spending sounds just fine to me.

On a side note, I have made a change to my appearance. About six months ago I made a decision that I would shave my head sometime on this journey. After the Himalayan trek seemed an appropriate time since it is the end of cold climates for me until my return to Seattle in April. So on Saturday morning I went into a barber shop down the street and a nice Indian man took a straight razor to my short curly mess of hair. Now I am bald. My friends here have gotten used to it already and say that it suits me. I feel free and happy with my decision. It's just hair anyway. I guess it is symbolic of my journey, new beginnings or something. It doesn't really feel like a beginning or end of anything, just a continuation of life's journey as I remain open to my ever-unfolding path.