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Asia » Nepal » Annapurna February 29th 2024

Yеstеrday was our rеturn from our hikе. Although it was morе difficult for Gus this timе and it was still a tеrrific еxpеriеncе an' unquеstionably thе toughеst physical thin' I havе еvеr donе. Wе flеw back to Pokе aftеr travеlin' to Jomson from Pokhara. Wе travеlеd at a fairly rapid spееd for sеvеn days and but it was worthwhilе bеcausе wе now havе morе timе to sее Chitwan National Park. Aftеr spеndin' thrее days thеrе and wе will takе a flight to Varanasi and India. Considеrin' еach an' еvеry onе of you!... read more

Asia » Nepal » Annapurna November 23rd 2019

Day 9 of the trek - November 11 - from Nepal Hiking Team itinerary. Bamboo to Jhinu Danda (1780m/5840ft. duration 6 hours. We shall hike the trail to Chhomrong, passing through Khuldighar where the people have established an experimental sheep farm, the journey paved with the abundance of our national flower, Rhododendrons, blooming in colors of red, white and pink, contrasting to the primary of glaucous green of the bamboo forests. From Chhomrong, the trail descends steeply to Jhinu Hot spring where you can respite in the naturally salubrious hot spring and have an interlude and rejuvenate yourselves. The second to last day and although we are still descending, we know there is an uphill slog from the suspension bridge after Sinuwa to Chhomrong (see day 5). 2550 stairs on this section alone! It would be ... read more
The long suspension bridge

Asia » Nepal » Annapurna November 20th 2019

Day 4 of the trek, November 6 - from Nepal Hiking Team Itinerary - Chuile to Chhomrong (2020m/6625 ft) Duration 5 hours. We shall descend down the precipitous trail leaving Chuile; and continue through the riotous woodland and forest as we reach Gurung, the village of the Gurung people. A clear morning meant chilly temperatures but it was worth if for our first really clear view of Machhapuchhre (or Fishtail). In the grand scheme of mountains in this part of the world (where to be considered a mountain, it has to be over 6000m), fishtail was relatively low at a mere 6993m. The day is memorable for a lot of down followed by a lot of up (but we were generally descending as part of the whole acclimatization plan). Long pants and warm layers were quickly ... read more
Mules have right of way

Asia » Nepal » Annapurna October 21st 2019

Dag 13: Lichte trekking vanuit Dhampus: vanochtend vertrokken we om 8u30 na het ontbijt weer de bergen in en na een goeie 3 uur rijden over wegen die eigenlijk enkel bedoeld zijn voor een 4x4, kwamen we aan bij ons hotel. We settelde ons in de ruime kamer, trokken onze wandelschoenen aan en vertrokken op een trektocht richting Australian Camp. De Gids zag het eigenlijk helemaal niet meer zitten met ons aangezien we gisteren al kapot waren na de trappen van de grot (weliswaar opgehoopt tussen pelgrims en toeristen in die muffe, vochtige grot). Hij raadde ons dan ook enkele keren een andere wandelroute aan :) Maar dat was buiten ons gerekend. Wij zouden naar dat kamp gaan. Het was maar 1,5 uur de berg op wandelen, dus wij konden dat. Onderweg hadden we vele prachtige ... read more
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Asia » Nepal » Annapurna » Annapurna Circuit April 24th 2019

07:00 start and I asked Sudarshan about the feasibility of going to Marpha and then trekking back from there to Jomsom to replace the Kagbeni to Jomsom leg. He said that was possible but in his opinion the track for both options was all on the road and very dusty and he suggested we go back to Jomsom on the jeep and he could take us on a better trail off the dusty roads in Jomsom. I put the proposal to the youngsters but Mitch and Nick still seemed pretty keen on completing the scheduled trek but in the end after discussing it with Krissy they decided to join Vicki and I in going all the way to Marpha. We set off at 08:00 with Vicki and I sharing the middle seat with Ganesh and Suman, ... read more
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Asia » Nepal » Annapurna » Annapurna Circuit April 23rd 2019

Today we had a late start at 08:00. Original plan was to go to the Kagbeni Monastery before breakfast but Sudarshan decided we should eat first. So we all had fried eggs on toast and it was probably the best we’ve had on this trip. Food at Hotel Buddha was amongst the best we’ve had. After breakfast, Sudarshan gave us an option to visit the Muktinah Temple by horse-back which we thought would be a novel way plus I thought I would be a good test my bad knee on the steep walk back towards the town. We left around 09:00 and all enjoyed the ride up which took about 10 minutes. You cannot ride a horse back in any case, which I am hoping is a way to give the horses a break before taking ... read more
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Asia » Nepal » Annapurna » Annapurna Circuit April 22nd 2019

Today was the penultimate challenge day, reaching the highest point of our trek, Thorung La Pass (5,416m). We woke at 02:45 and the original plan was not have breakfast but Sudarshan was having porridge so we all decided to do the same thing. This meant we didn’t start our hike to High Camp until 03:45. We all had headlamps and you could see a trail of lights going up the trail. None of us had a good nights sleep as it is more difficult in high altitude, but somehow, we all managed to wake up enough to take the first steps upwards. The weather was literally freezing and un-seasonal snow covered the whole trail. This was not what we expected in April and although pretty, it made the hike even more challenging, particularly going downhill in ... read more
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Asia » Nepal » Annapurna » Annapurna Circuit April 21st 2019

Left Yak Kharka at 08:00 and started with a fairly steep climb. Every morning when we start my legs already feel tired but as we progress they start to warm up and I get into rhythm. Krissy still wasn’t feeling the best and we were all concerned for her but she told us she could go on slowly and that’s exactly what we did. Our first rest stop after crossing a long bridge was at 09:20 at Dhading Laxmi Hotel. After a short break the trail leveled out somewhat and we stopped again for a tea break at 10:10 before we started downhill to a wooden bridge at 11:10. We then had a strenuous 20 minute climb up a very steep trail and had our third rest stop at Deurali Tea House at around 11:30. We ... read more
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Asia » Nepal » Annapurna April 20th 2019

Breakfast today was 07:30 but I couldn’t find my sunglasses and Krissy reminded me that I may have taken them off when trying on a polo shirt at the medical lecture yesterday. Sudarshan arranged for Ganesh to go over and check for me. I had already gone over but it wasn’t open and no-one was around. I think Ganesh rang them and luckily he was able to retrieve my sunglasses. We set off around 08:30 but had to wait a few minutes at the AC Checkpoint. At each stop Sudarshan has to register our arrival and departure. This is how they keep track of people hiking the Annapurna Circuit. If someone doesn’t turn up when they are suppose to turn up, there is a search operation put in place. Just last month a guide and his ... read more
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Asia » Nepal » Annapurna » Annapurna Circuit April 19th 2019

Today was our rest day but also acclimatization day, so not really a rest day. Breakfast was arranged for 08:30 to allow us to sleep in, but woke up about 07:00 so did some blogging. After our breakfast we started our day hike at 09:20. We walked out of Manang and crossed the Marsyangdi River and reached Gangapurna Lake around 09:50 where all the boys including Sudarshan and the porters skimmed rocks. Sudarshan then made a pile of rocks and we all had to have goes at throwing stones at it to topple it. It took quite a few goes until Ganesh finaly won the game. After enjoying our visit to the lake we left at 10:20 and had a very steep climb to the Chongkor Viewpoint with a café . It took us about an ... read more
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