Trekking the Annapurna Mountains — The Race is On! — Day 2 Out on the Himalayan Trail to Poon Hill: Ulleri to Ghorepani

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Today we woke up early (at 5:30) to start our second day of trekking. On the plus side, it wasn't raining; in fact the weather was gorgeous and sunny. Unfortunately, all of our clothes were still wet from the thorough soaking we got yesterday. Since we really only brought two pairs of clothes we decided that we would put the wet clothes back on for the hike so that we would have dry clothes to change into when we finished for the day. But we waited till the last possible minute to put those cold wet clothes on. We went down for breakfast and another look at the view in our dry clothes before changing.

Breakfast was great! Eggs, hashbrowns, toast, juice and coffee for 5 bucks. Not bad considering the only way to bring supplies in is by foot or donkey and it is a one day walk to the nearest road! Of course, these little villages are quite self sufficient: they grow a lot of their own food and there are many chickens and water buffalo around. In Nepal, the default milk is water buffalo milk because the cow is a sacred animal to the Hindus.

We were pleased to see that the cloud cover broke in the morning, so we had a nice view of the peaks of Annapurna South (7,219 m/23,684 feet tall) and Machapuchare (6,993 m/22,943 feet tall) on our way up the trail.

For the first hour and a half or so of today's trek we were walking up the hillside along a nice stone path. We meandered through little villages and past farm houses. We past quite a few local Nepali people going about their business. Much of that business involves carrying heavy loads of grasses or supplies up and down the path. The path that we walk on is not just for tourists. The tourists use it but it is really the Nepalese highway between the various villages on the route. All trade and commerce happens on this path, either by foot or donkey. Porters can carry up to 30 kg (66 lb), and donkeys up to 60 kg (132 lb). It's extremely impressive to think that everything here that isn't grown locally is carried in. The porters carry their loads on their back with a strap that goes over their forehead. It's extremely impressive and looks very tough.

The second phase of our walk was through the jungle. This is incredibly thick jungle - thicker than the Amazon - but the path remained a beautiful stone path. We criss-crossed over rivers and wound our way around and up the mountain. Everywhere you looked there were amazing rhododendron trees - not bushes, trees. Huge! No wonder it is Nepal's national tree.

As we walked the sky was starting to gray over. Our goal was to make it to Gohrepani before the rain hit. We wanted to avoid the drenching we got yesterday. Unfortunately, as we got higher it got harder to walk. Mike has a fairly tough time at high altitudes and today we are peaking out at nearly 2,900 metres (9,500 feet). For Mike, it began to become a bit tougher to climb quickly.

We took a brief break at Nangethanti (28.383369 N, 83.711563 E), a village of about three buildings. We purchased some cookies and water from one of the local vendors as well as a couple snickers bars for a treat. After all this hiking we thought we deserved it! We also bought a third chocolate bar and gave it to the shopkeepers three little girls. They loved it!

With snacks in hand, we hit the path again. No rest for those looking to beat the rain!

Eventually, when we were about 20 minutes from our destination, it started to sprinkle a bit, although the path looked like there had recently been some pretty heavy rain. We put our rain covers on our packs and carried on carrying on. Before we knew it, we made it to Ghorepani, our destination for the night.

We checked into our tea house, the Hungry Eye Hotel and were incredibly amazed. The rooms were gorgeous - 5 stars for the middle of the Himalayas - and much nicer than the place we stayed at the night before. Cheap too - at $6 per room (not per person!), you really cant complain. Our rooms (remember, we trekked with Katie, another med student) both had private bathrooms - very clean and nice. They even had western toilets! I pity the poor porter that had to pack those potties up the mountain! We would highly recommend this place to any future travellers. Apparently though, if you want the private bathrooms you have to book ahead. For us, it was easy because this is the slow season, but in the busy season they are very much in demand.

After settling in and taking off our still wet clothes, we came down and hung them up above the stove and enjoyed lunch. Mike had veggie curry on rice; it was amazing. All the veggies (carrots, potatoes, cabbage, beans, and peppers) were grown in the garden behind the tea house. Elysia had freshly made corn bread with melted yak cheese on it and veggie momos (dumplings). Delicious, and cheap - expensive by Nepali standards though, as we are in the mountains - about $7 total.

In the afternoon, we wrote this blog, while the rain poured outside. It was a pleasant feeling to be inside and really know what we were missing out in that rain! We also played some Dutch Blitz.

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Today's Trek by the Numbers:

Starting Elevation: 2,026 m (6,647 feet)
Starting Place: Ulleri, Nepal (28.356646 N, 83.735672 E)
Ending Elevation: 2,888 m (9,475 feet)
Ending Place: Gohrepani, Nepal (28.402517 N, 83.700050 E)
Total Vertical Climb (included all the ups in the ups and downs): 1,432 m (4,698 feet)
Distance Traveled over Ground: 9.94 km (6.18 miles)
Pace: 28:51 minutes/km (46:26 minutes/mile)
Hiking Time: 4:46:59
Calories Burned: 3,420

You can see a detailed and interactive map of our route, along with a 3D video of our path here:
Interactive Map and Video of Route

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A bit about our guide

Today was a fantastic day, in no small part to our wonderful guide. We thought we would share his contact information in case any other travellers are planning a Nepal trek and looking for a guide. If you are, get in touch with Devman Tamang - he will take care of you and knows all there is to know about trekking in Nepal and all of the different routes. We would strongly recommend him, without any hesitation! Here is how you can get in touch with him:

Devman Tamang
Email: [e-mail] or [e-mail]
Devman's Tour Company Website: Himalayan Nepal Trek
Devman's Facebook Page
Telephone: [phone]

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Photos

Good morning from the Himalayas
Ulleri, Nepal

Good morning from the Himalayas
Ulleri, Nepal

The BIG Mountains
As seen from Ulleri

Today's Climb
A fairly steady uphill track all day.

We are taking a break...
... but the locals aren't. They carry BIG loads up and down these paths. We are having enough trouble with just ourselves and our small packs! Lazy!

Another Quick Break
Enjoying the sun. It's a nice change from the rain yesterday.

Back on the trail.
Trying to dry our wet clothes on our packs

Group Picture
L-R: Katie, Elysia, Devman, Mike

The good thing about trekking in rainy season
is that all the rivers are beautiful.

More stairs!
There are ALWAYS more stairs!