Trying to Remember Trekking...

*unless otherwise noted, all photos were taken by me before my camera battery ran out on day 3. enjoy Sam's photos, though, as he is also a great photographer!* :)


Okay, so FINALLY I will post about trekking in the Annapurnas with my friend Sam. Hopefully everyone’s heard my PSA/commercial and I hope everyone REALLY enjoyed Seth’s guest blogging about Ghana. I’ve gotten some requests from other people that want to guest blog. Totally let me know if you want to post! :) Nepal’s not always fun and adventure… though this trek definitely was!

So back in November, my friend Sam (from Adelaide, Australia) and I went for a week long trek near the Annapurnas. We went without a guide or porter, but looking like a Nepali, everyone on the trail thought that I was Sam’s guide/porter. I spoke SO much Nepali that week and was even told that I speak better Nepali than some chick we met on the trail that was Nepali but grew up in the states. Ha! :)

Sam and I took the tourist bus to Pokhara from Kathmandu, leaving at 7am and getting into PKH by the afternoon. Raj set us up with a new hotel close to Fewa Lake. PKH seems like a cool city… I didn’t do any research about the place, so I have no idea what there is do there. Which also means I have to go back, just to cover the things I had no idea about. All I know about Pokhara is that it has great views everywhere you go… even at the bus park!

Views of the Annapurnas from the bus park!
Kids in playing on Fewa Lake.

After a local bus ride to Nayapul, Sam and I started on our trek.

Day 1: Nayapul to Ulleri – or 3,280 steps from hell.
That’s right. 3,280 wide stone steps the map said. As we started our hike and came across steps along the way, we thought, oh, the steps aren’t so bad. The way was good - nice and easy. Nayapul is at pretty low elevation (1010m). What we didn’t realize is that those 3,280 steps only covered the elevation gained from Tikhedunga (1570m) to Ulleri (2070 m). So by the time we reached Tikhedunga, I was unmotivated to climb steps up to our first stop on our trek, Ulleri. Let’s just say that Ulleri was not my favorite place just because of those damn stairs. Why steps on the trail? Good question, since I would take a million switchbacks over taking 3,280 steps. Turns out steps were put in because the area is at high risk of landslides (the remains of a huge one we saw on our next to last day of hiking). We also got to cross some high steel suspension bridges which I really like to jump on and Sam doesn’t. The climbing of the stairs also meant we got great views of the valley with its terraced farming, seeing the river run its course through the valley, and waterfalls along the trail.

Suspension bridge on the way to Tikhedunga and Ulleri.
Terraced farming on the way up to Ulleri.

Day 2: Ulleri to Ghorepani – the day of the donkeys.
After going to sleep early (Sam and I kept pushing us to top our early night records… I think the earliest we went to bed was something like 6:55pm) and having breakfast with Raj (who was guiding 2 Irishman up to Annapurna Base Camp and sharing the trail with us for a couple of days), Sam and I set off for Ghorepani (2810m). The hike was great… we met a few herds of donkeys along the way and Sam almost got run over as they came through the trail. Hiking into lower Ghorepani, the place was like a ghost town with a herd of donkeys running through it. Where we stayed in Ghorepani (thanks to Raj for running ahead and getting us a room and then meeting us down in lower Ghorepani to greet us with key in hand!), it was like a ski town with tons of trekkers/tourists roaming the small town, cute lodges, warm desserts at every lodge, and amazing views to give us a sense of what sunrise on nearby Poon Hill would look like the next day. There was even a pool table which was trekked up to town in pieces by porters, taking three days! Ghorepani was also freezing cold. Luckily I had enough layers and Sam had his down jacket. I was glad to hang out in the room and surround myself with my sleeping bag.

Incoming! Donkeys about to run over Sam. (Photo by Sam)

More donkeys in lower Ghorepani. (photo by Sam)

Cloud cover over the Annapurnas.

I heart my sleeping bag. (Photo by Sam)

Day 3: Poon Hill for sunrise and down to Tadapani – or hiking with 150 of our closest friends.
Again after a good night’s sleep (hey… we NEEDED to go to sleep early this time!), we got an early start at 4:30am to hike up to Poon Hill for what we heard is an amazing sunrise. 4:30am is a lot early, but Sam and I are slow hikers (we LIKE to take our time and see things) and hiking in the dark with a headlamp is never an easy thing. It was definitely worth it, though. Poon Hill is 3210m and you have amazing views of the Annapurnas – you can see the whole range! If you’re looking for a quiet sunrise to yourself… good luck. Poon Hill was CROWDED with everyone else who reached Ghorepani the day before. It’s THE thing to do for anyone coming through. That also means those same 150 people you didn’t know were staying in Ghorepani? Yup, they’re coming with you on the trail to wherever your next stop is. Ours was Tadapani (not the famous Tatopani, but the one on the way to Ghandruk). So after a quick breakfast back in Ghorepani, we left with everyone else to Tadapani. One of the best days of the trek for scenery alone. Hiking through the forest and getting glimpses of Machhapuchhre (or Fishtail Mountain). The scenery changed so much from when we were climbing out of the valley.

Mountain views from Poon Hill during sunrise.

Me and the mountains. (Photo by Sam)

Sunrise from Poon Hill. (Photo by Sam)

Hiking down from Poon Hill, cloud cover over the valley. (Photo by Sam)

Day 4: Tadapani to Sayauli Bazaar – or of course this is the day I fall.
It was super cold in Tadapani (1190m) as the fog came in and we were happy to jump into our warm sleeping bags after a realllly good dinner at the Hotel Panaroma Point (which had great views – if you could see through the fog). Running out of time (grrr, I only had 1 week off from work and that included our travel to and from PKH), Sam and I took advantage of the downhill bits of the trek and decided to skip Ghandruk (a beautiful town with great views, I would recommend staying there instead of running out of time) and hike all the way down to Sayauli Bazaar. On the way to Sayauli Bazaar, we saw this HUGE landslide area, cute kids having the time of their lives with homemade paper windmills, and a funeral. We were tired (hiking from Tadapani took us about 6-7 hours) and I was distracted by the funeral. This is when I fell. Was it on wide stone steps from hell or a particularly tricky part of the trail? NO. It was while we were stopped (yes, standing still!) and on a flat part in town. I turned and my ankle didn’t come with me. And there I was on the ground with Sam and me both freaking out that the fall was worse than it was. I was fine, no worries. Just another clumsy Julie moment. More embarrassed than anything (the lodge owner saw our overreaction), Sam and I decided to stop at the Honest Lodge (not more than 25m from where I fell). The lodge owner was GREAT – so happy with my Nepali and probably being nice because he saw me fall and gave us a great deal on a room with a private hot shower and toilet. Word. The room wasn’t the best… it was almost like a jail cell with its horrible bare lightbulb and Sam scared the crap out of me with his talk about Blair Witch Project (I HATE the image of the guy standing in the corner) and Hostel. Thanks, Sam. Not to mention that the funeral that distracted me before, made its procession right by our lodge on the way down to the river to burn the body.

Trekking buddies… even after 5 days together! (Photo by Sam)

Hiking through the forest and seeing the mountains still. (Photo by Sam)

Landslide area… yeah, that’s the trail going right through it. (Photo by Sam)

Day 5: Sayauli Bazaar to Nayapull – or yay for flat bits!
Sam and I, along with a stray dog that decided to guide us back to Nayapull, hiked alongside the river. We were joined by a couple of Aussies (they seem to just FIND each other wherever they are). :) The hike was short (maybe 2 hours) and completely flat. A great way to end the trek! And what better way to get back to PKH? Riding on top of a local bus as it careens around corners to reach Pokhara. It was Sam’s idea, Mom, but don’t worry. I was holding on the ENTIRE time! And I was probably loads safer than if I were riding inside the bus where the diesel fumes just fill the whole bus and people are throwing up all the time.

Signing us out of the Annapurna Conservation Area – we made it! (Photo by Sam)

View from the top of the bus… luckily nothing coming our way.

We got back to PKH safely and were so tired that we couldn’t be bothered to really explore the city. Instead we went out for Korean barbecue – the BEST pork I’ve eaten in a long time (can you believe it!? Pork! Haha) and then went back to the hotel to watch crap movies on TV. The ride back to KTM the next day was pretty uneventful, but Sam and I were pretty restless and annoyed to be coming back. It’s hard to be trekking in amazing places with fresh clean air and then coming back to KTM where there’s nothing but smog, noise, and a ton of people.
Sam and I have already decided we need to go trekking again… we just need to figure out where. The adventures of Sam and Julie continued a couple weeks later (again, my next post will be a flashback) as we went rafting on the Trisuli river.