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Published: September 8th 2007
Hello everyone,
We are back in Kathmandu after an incredible hike and a little relaxation. We did the trek in 17 days. The Annapurna range has some of the heighest peaks in the world. Thorong La is the heighest pass in the world and we crossed it. It is 5416 m above sea level. We thought that the trek would be easy and that we were in pretty good shape for hiking. We were wrong. It rained for 13 of the 17 days. The only time it stopped was when we were above the rain clouds. We walked through landslides, saw an avalanche, and Rachel fell in a river. After about 3000 m, Sean started to periodically go blind. We rested for a few days, but it persisted until we got over the mountain and went down the other side.
The first day set off for Bahundanda. It was a gruelling hike into the mountains, because we had to take all of the high trails due to flooding and we did not eat enough. We crawled into town and the locals stared and laughed. We got a room for $.90, which was the price throughout the trip. After eating, we went down to the village and met the whole town. They invited us to their school and showed us their social clubhouse. So the next day we went to the school. It was nice, but disheartening. They do not have a lot to work with. The headmaster was very nice and showed us around. That day we only walked a couple of hours before the driving rain(18hrs) forced us to stop in Ghermu. They have a lovely waterfall there.
The 3rd day was filled with walking and raining, but not too bad. We made it to Chamche. The worst day of the trip came next. Rachel was grumpy from the beginning. We had to walk through the jungle up and down, and up and down. Sean got stung by a plant and thats when Rachel fell in a small river. We were soaking wet and some people laughed at us. Rachel did not think she could go any further, but we went on and made it to our goal of Dharapani.
Day 5 was a good day. We walked and walked to a big town called Chame. On the way, we came upon a fresh landslide that completely wiped out the only path. It was like a big slippery pile of wet cement in our way. There was a woman with a 2yr old in a basket asleep on her back. She just took off her shoes and tromped over it. We had no choice but to follow. It was really nerve wrecking. We got a nice cottage in Chame and read our books while it rained for another 36 hrs straight. We discovered that the only way to get your clothes dry was in a cloud in the monsoon, was to wear them. This was torturous, but effective. We stayed here for 2 days.
The next day we walked 16 miles. We were headed to a town called Lower Pisang. Somehow, we missed it. When we thought we had to be close, we asked a guy and he pointed the way we had come. So, we asked him what town was next and how long would it take us and set off for Humde. We stayed in an inn where there were lots of Tibetan lamas (monks). They were chanting and praying all night. In the mountains there are lots of Tibetans, some refugees, some are Nepali but follow Tibetan Buddhism.
From Humde, we set off on a short walk to Manang. Manang is a large village. The weather was clear this day and we got some really nice views of the mountains and the glaciers. We hiked to a little lake nearby that was crystal clear and ice cold. We were supposed to acclimate with the altitude in Manang, but we only stayed 24 hours before heading on to Letdar.
Letdar had only 2 buildings, both inns for trekkers. We stayed in the first one, which was run by a crazy guy all alone. He let us eat by a warm stove and had amazing blankets though. We woke up in the morning and set off for Thorong Pedi, the last stop before going over the pass. We got about 20 minutes away and Sean said something strange was happening to him. We sat on some rocks near some yaks and rested. When we started up again, it happened again. He said that he could not see for periods of like 30 seconds then his sight would return. We decided to go back to Letdar, but we went to the other inn. That day the sight thing happened like 20 times. The next morning Sean was still having issues. So we stayed a third night. It was nice to rest. We played cards. We were both a bit scared though and considered turning back.
The next day, Sean got focussed and we made it through a hard hike to Thorong Phedi. Sean focussed on the dew to concentrate. We went the wrong way and had to go down the side of the mountain like yaks and trudged through another landslide. By the time we got there, Sean was losing his vision more often again and we decided to rest there.
The next day we started to climb the 1000m and Sean started going blind. We took a rest and met a Nepali women who did not speak English, but told us we were walking to fast. She was the leader of a group of 30 Nepalis going to a festival on the other side of the pass. We diecided to follow her and became part of their group. She told us when to walk and when to rest. We stayed at her pace, no one went around her. It took us 4 and a half hours to reach the pass. We were ecstatic! Despite all of the hardships along the way, made it. We rested a bit and took it all in. Then, began the long 1600m climb down. This turned out to be worse than the climb up. We did not bring enough food. When the group stopped for lunch, we trudged on. This was a mistake. Our legs were all shakey and we developed lots of blisters. A lady from the group caught up to us and followed us. They thought we were a mess, we think.
We finally made it to Muktinath on the otherside. They had a hot shower powered by gas. We were thrilled, because all of the showers along the way had been solar heated and there had been no sun. We decided to get down the mountain as fast as possible. The next day we made it to Marpha and had some great fried chiken, our first meat in 3 weeks. On the way, we came to a place where the river had flooded and the Army and Police were trying to build a new bridge. It was quite impressive to see. Sean helped a bit. A guy on a motorbike tried to cross the swift water and fell over, entertaining everyone around.
From Marpha we went to Ghasa. It was in a valley known for its landslides. We probably walked over 15 of them. In Ghasa, we found out that what we thought would be a 4 hour walk the next day, would take much longer because the new, flat trail was destroyed by landslides, huge ones. He took the old trail that climbed up and down ridge after ridge. We did not stop once and made it to Tatopani in 6 hours. Tatopani means hot spring. We went to them and hung out with the wandering Hindu holy men (Sadhus) that run them. We were able to relax before our last day of walkin'.
The final day was really rough. It involved a steep climb over a mountain for no reason other than to go down the otherside. Sean was mad, but it helped him get over. We marched to a town where we caught a jeep to another town and then a cab to a bus to Pokhara. Pokhara is a tourist town on a lake. We ended up at the wrong hotel, but got a great rate and stayed. We stayed in Pokhara for a week chillin', bargaining, eating and resting.
Now we are back and trying to figure out where to go next. We will post pictures when we find a good computer. Hope all of you are well and would love to hear what you have been up to.
Some shout outs too...
Linda and Mike for their anniversary!!!
Lisa Huck for her birthday and retirement!
Erica and Nick for their wedding!
Kendra and Justin for there celebration!!
Happy Bday Colleen!!!
Love,
Sean and Rachel
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Ben Brown
non-member comment
Star Trekking accross Nepal!
Sounds like you had a tough time. Can you email me your email address and I will add you to mine. And remember, I might just drop in on you in a few years for a quick ski trip. Catch ya in Kathmandu Somewhere. Ben