Trek Diary - The Gods Are Smiling!

Friday 21^st September 2012

ABC to Dobhan (Dovan)

 

Looking down on Annapurna Base Camp.

Fish Tail in the background.



 

5.30am start to catch the sun lighting up the Annapurna Range. A stunning morning – not a cloud in the sky.  ABC camp is in a natural amphitheatre surrounded by the famous peaks ( Annapurna 1, Annapurna 3, Annapurna South, Gangapurna, Hiunchuli and Machapuchare). We were blessed to have such a beautiful morning to see these wonderful mountains. 

Closer look at the glacier

towards the bottom right of the above photo



 

New sign carried uup from Deurali yesterday

After breakfast we started our descent. No fogs on the Annapurna meadows. The walk back through the pass was in brilliant sunshine. On such a beautiful morning how could it be anything else but a great walk down, however, slippery in parts because of the downhill slopes and loose gravel.

 

 

Feast your eyes on that! So special!

Today was a long trek. We started at 7.30am and got into Dobhan, just before 4pm and the obligatory afternoon downpour. It was a wise decision to stop. Original intentions were to make it to Bamboo this afternoon but thirty seconds after we looked at the dark storm clouds and decided to pull the pin the rains  came tumbling down. We have both arrived exhausted – we covered some distance today!

 

I had been dreading the stretch just after Deurali, the narrow ledge with the drop at the side, a demon I had to cross. My imagination can run away with itself sometimes I feel. As mentioned earlier, the track is continually being worked on. Over the last few days the path had been made wider and the gradient seemed less. It was with a huge whoop, whoop that I conquered it! One demon remains, tomorrow after Bamboo.

Our lodge in Dobhan has brand new bathroom facilities and a freshly-painted rooms. It is the best lodge we have stayed at during our trek. I highly recommend it.

 

Saturday 22^nd September 2012

Dobhan to Chhomrong 

Another beautiful morning! An early start and on our way, going down. That would be Nepali going down – the general direction is down but there are a lot of ups in the going down! Morning ginger and lemon tea was at Bamboo at the Buddha Guesthouse where we stayed on the way up. I had left an important item, my soap box, in the bathroom and luckily it was still sitting where I had left it. Our beautiful Bali soap had seen a bit of use. Hope it was enjoyed!

Bamboo in sunshine!

A group of local porters on their way through.

From Bamboo up to Sinuwa for lunch. Enjoyed doing this walk today through the forests in the sunshine instead of rain. Met my last demon south of Bamboo! The water was not cascading over the slippery rocks today so the degree of difficulty was reduced. They were still wet and slimy. Some stepping stones had been strategically placed in the patch so I may not have been the only casualty. Last demon down! No mishap!

Last demon stretch!

Without the cascading water

and the addition of a few stones to anchor yourself on the demon was not such a horror!

 

Going up!

 

 

More going up!

From Sinuwa it is down, down to the river below Chhomrong. The guesthouse is high on the hill above the village of Chhomrong – from the river to the guesthouse, 2098 steps. Thankfully they were the last steps of the day. No rain this afternoon – well not really, just a light shower as we were climbing to the guesthouse. Only the second day that we have been without afternoon rain. The fog and clouds are still rolling through so there will still be rain higher up.

 

Heading down from Sinuwa and back into village life.

At the bottom about to cross, then?

UP, UP, UP!

 

We have had some beautiful views of the mountains between the clouds. Looking forward to tomorrow morning when hopefully we will have a clear sky and stunning views.

 

Late afternoon sunshine on the Annapurnas.  

 

Trek Diary - I’ve got a beautiful feeling, the weather’s all going our way!

Day 7 - Wednesday 19^th September 2012

Bamboo (2190m) to Deurali (3231m)

 

Good morning Fishtail! So nice to finally glimpse you. You are worth the wait!

No rain overnight! We woke to a cold, slightly overcast morning. Thank you – the rain has broken at least for now. Ram has been saying for the last few days that when the Women’s Festival was over the weather would clear. The festival was yesterday. Apparently it always rains for the festival.

Blue skies smiling at me!

Raj and Neil disappearing into the Bamboo Forest

Classic bridges.  These ones were a cinch!

 

The land of waterfalls!

Each one more beautiful than the last.

 



 

Today was what we have trudged five days in the rain for. The scenery was out of this world and ....... we finally got to enjoy it. The cloud lifted. The sun shone brightly. It was good trekking today but tough going in some spots. We went up another 1041 metres – slowly, slowly to make sure we got used to the altitude.

Taking time to smell the flowers

Lunch spot - Himalaya

Then back to some more beautiful scenery!

The tough spots – some doozie makeshift bridges, high, with torrents of water a long way below. One in particular had a narrow, gravel ledge that had to be negotiated both to and from it. I am not looking forward to returning that way but that is not for a few days.

 

Deurali in the distance - doesn't look too hard.

A grotto or a hanging rock?

Whatever -The view from here was special

And while we marvelled at the scenery
around the bend a 'demon' is looming!

The demon - more so the gravel approaches than the bridge. They were crumbly, slippery and narrow!

 

 I had been forewarned of the ‘two terror’ bridges by a trekker who had crawled across them. The bridges were just two parallel logs the day before us. Today bamboo branches had been placed on top. Scary enough but better than two bare slippery logs.  

Work is continually being done on the track. It is the only way up the mountain for both locals and trekkers. All goods are carried by porters to the teahouses, lodges and local homes so the track needs to be passable at all times. There are no roads here! Everything is carried in by the porters. Building supplies, gas bottles, all produced foods, all bottled drinks, linen, quilts, the list goes on - whatever is needed in this neck of the woods - the porters bring it in! The weight that the porters are able to carry is phenomenal. They don't appear to watch where they put their feet and they never hesitate.

My mountain legs have finally kicked in. I must have needed the sun. The only twinge in my knee today was fifty metres short of our accommodation.

 

 

 

Tonight we are staying at the Shangri La Guest House, an apt name for a guest house overlooking a picturesque, peaceful valley. I am sitting outside enjoying the late afternoon sun. The temperature is beginning to drop so I guess we are in for a cold night.  

 

Day 8 – Thursday 20^th September 2012

Deurali (3231m) to ABC (4130m) 

These beautiful vistas greeted us just over the ridge from Duerali

 

We woke to a clear morning. We are on a winning streak!

From Deurali it was up over the ridge and onto an alpine meadow. A river ran down the middle and the mountains flanked either side of us. In the distance we could see our destination – The Annapurna Ranges! The meadow was beautiful. Flattish walking which was  a bit of a treat and gorgeous flowers everywhere, every colour of the rainbow, all shapes and sizes.
 

My kind of track - flattish!



 

Ice cave!



Almost at Machupuchare

looking back towards the alpine meadow

From the meadow it was another climb to Machupuchare Base Camp for an early lunch. While having lunch the fog swept up the valley bringing with it a light shower.
Thankfully only short lived but the fog remained for the final two hours of our journey to ABC. 
 

View to the Annapurnas from Machupuchare Base Camp

Neil felt a little giddy with the altitude during our final climb but with rest once we arrived it turned out, thankfully, to be nothing serious. Must have been the second chapati at lunch! We had taken the final assent slowly. We were almost there, 100 metres short, when the rain commenced. Luck was on our side for once! We made the final sprint up the stairs just in time. It flogged down for the next five hours.

There are no hot showers here, just a bucket of hot water. It is wet and very cold so we have decided to give the bucket a miss. The bathing facilities also leave a lot to be desired as they are combined with starting block toilets. We are not that dirty!

At sunset the rain stopped and we all went out to marvel at the sight of the gigantic mountains. With the backdrop of a stormy sky they are still awesome – just one of their many moods.



 

 

 



At bedtime the stars were out – a good omen. We went to bed fully clothed with beanies and gloves.