Peaking & Descent

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I woke in the dark. Alex and I climbed the small hill to await the sun and the parting of the clouds.

When I walked up the hill there was a small shrine, prayer flags and Buddhist temple. I left a postcard to my other self and I wrote my wanderings down. It said something of the physical planes I had ventured through to reach this the furthest height I had attained in my somewhat short life. I had an extra passport photo and placed it in the shrine as a commemoration and return to my birthland.

I was trying to remember being born. No luck.

Then I shivered and waited for the sun to break through. It was like watching a sporting event; others were cheering as the clouds broke and formed again. The sun was splaying its warmth but the clouds held their positions.

Then, suddenly: the heavens opened. The glory that was Annapurna, the tenth highest peak on earth, showed itself to my weary eye. I was in the shadow of splendor.

Hiking back down was a blast for me after that energy I felt I had received from nature. Everything else would just be a bonus. Dave O' had a porter carry his pack to help out his knee and we were making speedy time. It was great to see nature in reverse order and feel it getting warmer and warmer. We stopped for sleep at the peaky lodge where we had met Alex and friends.

In the morning we ventured lower. On the way down we stopped by a relaxing hot muddy springs that sat along a churning screaming raging river. We yelled over it in joy as monkey families slipped from branch to branch overhead watching us with mischievous eyes.

Getting down was over, I thought; it would take a couple hours. No. We hiked down and down and down and into the evening finally getting on a road where we could jump into a jeep for a few bucks and make the rest of the voyage to the main highway.

The jeep with its exhaust overhead charged through rivers running as high as the windshield. I almost freaked out (as I was riding shotgun) as we sloshed through a runoff that would wash any $30,000 SUV off the road.

When we finally made it back down to our hotels in Pokhara it was late. All I could do was peel my muddy sweat-ravaged clothes off and lay down. I slept the soundest sleep in weeks and awoke enlivened.

I would need it for the new days ahead.

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