I’m sitting over breakfast at our Inn, looking up at Annapurna II – literally right in front of me. It’s a pretty breathtaking view. So, today begins day 5 of trekking. I haven’t washed my hands since lunch 2 days ago. I haven’t washed my body or my hair in 4 days, but I did wash my face recently. I don’t feel as dirty as I should do, but I am having a hard time getting my fingers through my hair. I’m not uncomfortable though- it’s too cold to care.
Yesterday was a good day. We covered some distance. I thought we were setting out for 6 hours, but it was closer to 7 1/2 when we stopped. We left Timang around 7:30 and had a short stair climb after breakfast and then it was a pretty easy trek until we stopped for lunch, just some rolling hills here and there. Three hours in, we stopped for a tea and snickers break (something that’s become a daily indulgence), and then walked on to Bhratang for lunch. Veg soup didn’t cut it and I think I was low on water too because the initial climb after lunch had me feeling wiped out.
Besides this steady climb between Bhratang and Dhukur Posari, the end was pretty flat, but I was struggling after lunch. I felt feverish and then cold, so I stopped to put on an extra layer and chugged some water. I took time to look at the trail behind me. Sometimes you forget to do this, cause you’re so focused on what lies ahead. There was a great mountain view so I took the opportunity to grab my camera and take a picture.
When I looked at the picture on my screen, it looked like the clouds were forming giant angel wings, spread wide opened. It was an awesome shot, and felt like just the encouragement I needed to carry on. We turned a bend and I found a shortcut to circumnavigate some long upward bends and before too long we were in Dhukur Pokhari.
Emily and I decided to continue to Pisang, which was less than an hour and a very easy trek, but we then decided to stay in “Upper” Pisang, not just Pisang… which meant ending the day with a grueling uphill climb. I was looking straight up at where I would be sleeping and where I could put my pack down, but the vertical climb did me in.
We arrived around 5:20 and got one of the last rooms at the Annapurna Hotel – the only thing on my mind was food and my masala tea. I ordered the biggest plate of potatoes ever, and Emily and I split an Apple Pie…it is Thanksgiving after all. I still didn’t feel stuffed despite all the food I’d consumed.
I crawled into my sleeping bag, and thanks to an extra blanket, felt like I would warm up eventually. I fell asleep to Emily doing sit-ups in her sleeping bag in order to keep warm.
I’m learning a lot from Emily actually. She’s spent a lot of time in Boulder, Colorado, so she knows a thing or two about hiking and camping. I’m learning all these little secrets, like sleeping on top of your clothes at night so they are warm when you put them on in the morning and the sit-ups in your sleeping bag trick. I’m becoming quite accustomed to this whole idea of trekking…so far.
