16km
7:15am to 4:30pm
The dynamics have changed! We waved good-bye to JP yesterday and rode off with Gyanu in a taxi to the bus stand. So now it is 3 women and our guide. We decided to travel to the start point in the late afternoon so we could sleep there and start on the trail early. The guidebook recommends taking the bus in the AM and starting the trail mid-day. But given the heat at the low altitude…and after having the circuit behind us, we knew better than to start late in the day.
Our porridge was served at 6:30am and we hit the trail about 7:15. We signed back into the Annapurna Conservation books and headed up the hill. The night at the Moonlight Hotel was uneventful except for some coughing fits in the middle of the night. We now sleep in a triple so my coughing wakes up 2, not 1. But without the husband around anymore we got to have some good girl gossip time…well needed after 18 days on the circuit! J
The morning walk started out hot but pretty flat. Then we hit a section of stairs-UP UP UP! And for lunch we made it to Ghandruk. I has stayed there 4 years ago when I did the Poon Hill circuit. It is a big town with lots of hotels. Our guide book suggests it as the first days stop. But since we had gotten an early start, we were there by 11:30am, much too early for stopping. Although never too early for eating! This is officially the International ABC Dal Bhat Tour. We are eating porridge for breakfast, and dal bhat for lunch and dinner!! It doesn’t get much better than that!
Gyanu taught us a new card game while we were waiting for lunch. It is pretty easy and a fun game—a good one to remember and teach other people. I gotta get the name of it again (Dunbull).
It has changed everything having a guide with us! I think it is motivating us so far. We were going pretty hard this morning. But we did stop for tea twice today! Great! The PM stop was another ‘get out of the rain’ stop! It was perfect timing too cause it started POURING as soon as we sat down and ordered tea. We drank more mint tea and played more cards! Then the decision was made to go DOWN to the next town. This trail has much more UP & DOWN then the circuit which was mostly UP and after we crossed the pass was all DOWN. So that means tomorrow morning we will have a long UP climb to get out of the valley…but better to push on now incase we need to slow down later.
A view of Machupuchre (Fish Tail) from the trail.
My left knee is starting to hurt again. Maybe I’ll never make it out at all. They might have to leave me in here to fend for myself. But we are ahead of schedule and ahead of the guide book, which is always good! Especially since the guidebook seems to give suggestions for days that are totally unreasonable.
Everyone else we met on the trail today 1) had guides & PORTERS and 2) didn’t make it this far! We aren’t walking fast, but seeing as we just finished an 18 day trek on the circuit, we are doing well! This town has 1 hotel and we are the only ones here. We are getting in just before the real trekking season starts! Time for a cold cold shower and dal bhat!
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