Annapurna Base Camp Trek - Part III

May 3^rd 2011 – Tikhedhunga to Ghorepani

Summary – Altitude gain 1340m (tough day). A steep flight of steps from Tikhedhunga to Ulleri. Gradual climb from Ulleri to Ban Thanti. Steep climb on rocks and steps from Ban Thanti to Ghorepani.

We had a lazy morning and a 3^rd look at the ACAP menu made us decide that we should cook our own breakfast. We asked for permission to enter the kitchen and made egg burji. By the time we finished cooking and eating breakfast, it was around 8. The skies had cleared and there was bright sunshine. All through the trip, I was tired and went to bed by 8 at night. Thanks to the new Kindle that I had bought, I always had some reading material before I dozed off. Since I slept early I got up early too by 4:30 or so and was ready to hear the bird calls. But that never made me get out of bed, I would snuggle in the sleeping bag till 6 and then get up and get ready.

In any case, we left Tikhedhunga and we immediately crossed Bhurungdi Khola and started climbing, climbing and climbing. It seemed like a stairway to heaven or rather hell. It was all steps, endless and relentless. The climb was to a village named Ulleri (2020m) and it was the first serious climb in our trip and my legs and lungs were not used to such an assault. It was just 500 meters of climbing and we did it in 1.5 hours or so. The only relief was the first glimpse of Annapurna South (7219m) from the final approach to Ulleri.

Ulleri is a nice village on a ridge with good views and nice tea shops. We had nimbu pani to refresh ourselves and I also bought two bracelets from the shop on the top. I don't think there are very many Indian trekkers on this route and so most of the shop keepers were quite interested in knowing where we were from. Mumbai is always associated with Bollywood (or should I say The Hindi Film Industry?) and my companions were asked if they had met Kajol or Salman Khan. Bengaluru somehow seems to convey to them a very developed city where everyone is a scientist. I did not try too hard to persuade them otherwise. Ulleri also has a primary school and it did not help my self-esteem to see so many tiny tots scrambling up the steps for their morning classes. The high school is in Tikhedhunga and the older kids were waltzing down the steps. Some enthu, I say. I was curious to go inside the school but better sense prevailed and I let go of the thought.

After 30 minutes of “Shavasana” in Ulleri we set off for our next lunch stop at Ban Thanti (2210). The climb was easier and gradual and we had a leisurely walk. We walked mainly throughly step cultivated fields and small settlements. We had a long lunch in Ban Thanti. The tea houses start preparing lunch after you order them, so it takes a while. This worked well for me as it gave me time to laze around and recoup from the morning activity. Most of these villages were clean and cute. The ACAP has done an amazing job in keeping them tourist friendly. It must have been around 1 pm when we started from Ban Thanti. Now the climb was getting steep again through a rhododendron forest. There were either steps or rocks. The sky closed in again and there was thunder. I was reminded of our previous evening hail and Zubin and I hastened to reach our final destination Ghorepani. We had to climb another 600m for the day and it seemed a lot. I had taken out my jacket and covered myself and the day pack with a poncho. This made the heat inside unbearable and I was sweating profusely. But the thought of another thunder storm made me climb very fast and continuously. We stopped for a quick breather in Nangga Thanti and continued up, up and up. The forests were thick and there were lot of streams and tiny waterfalls, but the idea of dipping was not appealing since the water was coooold. By the time we reached the suburbs of Ghorepani big droplets of rain was falling. We had to climb another infernal flight of steps to reach downtown Ghorepani and we checked-in into the Hungry Eye Guest House and Restaurant. The threat of rain had made me climb faster even than Narayan and it was worthwhile since we narrowly missed a heavy downpour. I was pooped and I suspected that I had pulled something in my left knee. But we were warm next to a fire, indoors and I postponed my worries for the next day. The only other guest in the guest house was a German girl who had just finished her medical college and was in Kathmandu for a few months. Her guide and porter was a good friend of Mahesh and so they happily chatted away. The guest house had fantastic views of the mountains which we could see when the clouds occasionally cleared up. There was fresh snow piled up on the high peaks and the lower slopes were glittering with hail. We were glad that we were indoors.

Ghorepani is actually a diversion from the main ABC trail. We had climbed up here to go to Poon Hill from where we could also get a view of Dhaulagiri. The idea was to see the first sun rays on Dhaulagiri and Annapurna range. People who know me well would understand how much I detest sunrises. I hate getting up early in the morning, but the enthusiasm around me was infectious and in any case I was getting up around 4:30 so I decided I would join them on the climb to Poon Hill for the sunrise views. I had a light dinner of noodle soup and went to bed after a hot shower.

Annapurna Base Camp Trek - Part II

May 2nd 2011 – Pokhara to Tikhedunga

Summary – Altitude gain 500m. A short downhill from Naya Pul to Birethanti. A gradual uphill climb from Birethanti to Tikhedunga.

We had an early breakfast in Lake View Resort and packed our bags and headed out for our trek. We had a 1.5 hours car journey to Naya Pul. It was a Maruti 800 and it handled 6 of us admirably with our bags too in the hilly slopes near Pokhara. We reached Naya Pul not without incidents. Narayan noticed that his bag was missing. It seemed like his bag had dropped off during the car journey somewhere on the road unnoticed. Poor guy not only did he loose all his clothes but also his harmonica and his certificates. We were told by Mahesh that Narayan plays the harmonica very well and we would be missing his performances during the trek. Each of us donated some of our clothes to him so that he was adequately clothed. He took all this in his stride. Though he was definitely feeling bad about his bag, he continued to maintain his cheery countenance.

At Naya Pul, Narayan tied both Zubin's and my sacks together and carried them in typical Sherpa style using his forehead. This seems to be the preferred mode of carrying weights. They must have enormous strength in the their neck muscles. The sacks together must have weighed around 30 kilos and I couldn't help feeling sorry for him.

The path from Naya Pul (1070m) follows the Modi Khola (river). Modi Khola was going to be our companion for most of the trek be we left it after 30 minutes of walk after crossing over a bridge in Birethanti (1025m). We took a left towards Ghorepani from Birethanti. The path was a broad road and we could see construction equipment (heavy earth movers) for widening the road. The climb was gradual at this point and we walked comfortably. The road follows the Bhurungdi Khola river which joins Modi Khola at Birethanti. I was getting used to walking with my day pack. It is an old North Face pack, actually Madhavi's which I have used since Sahyadri days. It is the most comfortable of the small packs I have and hence I chose it for this long trip. I had 2 litres of water, some emergency medicines, flash light, rain poncho, a sweater, a jacket, gloves and an umbrella in my day pack to handle all eventualities.

We passed several villages and had our lunch at Hille (1460m). The menu card indicated that it was prescribed by Annapurna Area Conservation Project (ACAP). ACAP coordinates all the 'tea houses' in the Annapurna area. The tea houses provide simple lodging, a bed with a clean sheet and not-so clean blanket. I used my sleeping bag instead of the blanket. ACAP seems to be doing a good job except for the fact that ALL the tea houses in the entire area have almost the same menu. It felt like stepping into a McDonalds every time for food and this got tiresome after the third meal.

Almost within 30 minutes after lunch we reached our final destination for today, Tikhedungha (1520m). We passed the downtown area and checked ourselves in into Laxmi Guest House. I had a hot shower (yes, that is possible for 100 Nepali Rupees) and started writing my diary in the dining area sitting next to the Bhurungdi Khola. Narayan sat in front of me and was busy keeping notes and accounts and reading. Narayan is fully conversant in English and he can read and write fluently too. I could see a Verditer Flycatcher a few feet away and a Great Barbet screeching.

Thunder clouds rolled in and it started to hail. There were huge hail stones and it hailed for almost 45 minutes. I again started to worry about the weather. The Annapurna area is notorious for its weather due to the dramatic altitude differences. The South Face of Annapurna frequently has bad weather, lot of precipitation and avalanches. Our destination, ABC is in the south side and hence my apprehension...