DAY THREE (Thursday, March 7th): Jagat to Bagarchap(2,160m)
17 kilometers, 7.5 hours
Our backpacks were by no means the biggest ones we saw on the trail, but it certainly took a few days for our bodies to get used to carrying the weight--especially in the hot sunshine that was beating down on us every day thus far. The day before was rough--probably one of the toughest days we had on the entire hike given the heat and our dehydration. But, day three was a new day and we started it in the usual fashion with our pre-ordered breakfast (this time of chapati, veggie omeletes and masala tea). We got on the trail around the usual time, 7:40am.
This day was also not without scorching heat. We joked about how much we wanted the cooler, higher altitude air, knowing full well that as soon as we got just that, we'd be back to wishing for the warm sun to bear down on us.
About an hour into the day's hike, we got to the village of Chamje, a very cute little village right on the river that, had we known, we might have planned ahead to stay there. Oh well, next time!
We had one hell of a climb up for about two hours before arriving to a good place for lunch--a climb made worthwhile by some crazy monkeys up in the trees above us. The restaurant where we stopped for lunch was the last of three on the long road heading up (some of the trail is actually just on local dirt roads) so we were starved. It was a tiny place on the side of the road help up on stilts and looming over the steep cliffs that go right down into the turquoise river below.
It didn't take long for our eating to become habitual; porridge and tea for breakfast and a plate of fried noodles, fried rice or fried macaroni for lunch. By day three our bodies were noticeably getting hungrier and hungrier for carbs. We ordered two plates of fried rice from the woman who ran this little restaurant and she brought out the biggest plates of rice we had ever seen. We devoured them. And just as I was struggling to finish the last bites, she brought out extra and piled it onto Toby's plate. It was perfect.
We still had a ways to go on this day, but the steadily inclining dry and dusty road wasn't too bad compared to what we'd already faced.The map of Around Annapurna that we had bought for the trek had all sorts of little amusing details on it, so on this day we successfully passed the "Steep stone trail," "Long hot climb" and "Marijuana fields" before arriving to our final destination of the day, Bagarchap. I guess it makes sense, then, that Tobes was offered hashish by an old woman who walked by us on the road sometime that afternoon...
The two French couples ended up in the same lodge as us again on this night, so that made for a friendly hello seeing them again. The lodge that drew us in on this night was completely vacated (as was the entire village, aside from one other group of trekkers up the way a bit), aside from a little old lady sitting out front. We negotiated our 100 rupee price with her, promising to eat in their lodge (which is how you can get the very cheap and free rooms for the night). And WOW, did we make the right choice. For dinner, we ordered pumpkin curry and Tibetan bread, one of our favorite meals of the entire trek. After seeing pumpkins lining the roof I was sold (I LOVE pumpkin). It was a cross between what I'd consider a "curry" and a pumpkin soup, but whatever it actually was, we were in heaven. The little old lady came out at the end of our meal, seemingly seeking our approval (since she WAS the cook, after all). We made sure to let her know just how happy she had made us that evening. What a treat!
This was the first time we caught sight of Annapurna I, when the last of the evening sunshine hit it just right and made it glow behind everything else that had been lost to dusk a while before.
17 kilometers, 7.5 hours
Our backpacks were by no means the biggest ones we saw on the trail, but it certainly took a few days for our bodies to get used to carrying the weight--especially in the hot sunshine that was beating down on us every day thus far. The day before was rough--probably one of the toughest days we had on the entire hike given the heat and our dehydration. But, day three was a new day and we started it in the usual fashion with our pre-ordered breakfast (this time of chapati, veggie omeletes and masala tea). We got on the trail around the usual time, 7:40am.
This day was also not without scorching heat. We joked about how much we wanted the cooler, higher altitude air, knowing full well that as soon as we got just that, we'd be back to wishing for the warm sun to bear down on us.
About an hour into the day's hike, we got to the village of Chamje, a very cute little village right on the river that, had we known, we might have planned ahead to stay there. Oh well, next time!
We had one hell of a climb up for about two hours before arriving to a good place for lunch--a climb made worthwhile by some crazy monkeys up in the trees above us. The restaurant where we stopped for lunch was the last of three on the long road heading up (some of the trail is actually just on local dirt roads) so we were starved. It was a tiny place on the side of the road help up on stilts and looming over the steep cliffs that go right down into the turquoise river below.
It didn't take long for our eating to become habitual; porridge and tea for breakfast and a plate of fried noodles, fried rice or fried macaroni for lunch. By day three our bodies were noticeably getting hungrier and hungrier for carbs. We ordered two plates of fried rice from the woman who ran this little restaurant and she brought out the biggest plates of rice we had ever seen. We devoured them. And just as I was struggling to finish the last bites, she brought out extra and piled it onto Toby's plate. It was perfect.
We still had a ways to go on this day, but the steadily inclining dry and dusty road wasn't too bad compared to what we'd already faced.The map of Around Annapurna that we had bought for the trek had all sorts of little amusing details on it, so on this day we successfully passed the "Steep stone trail," "Long hot climb" and "Marijuana fields" before arriving to our final destination of the day, Bagarchap. I guess it makes sense, then, that Tobes was offered hashish by an old woman who walked by us on the road sometime that afternoon...
The two French couples ended up in the same lodge as us again on this night, so that made for a friendly hello seeing them again. The lodge that drew us in on this night was completely vacated (as was the entire village, aside from one other group of trekkers up the way a bit), aside from a little old lady sitting out front. We negotiated our 100 rupee price with her, promising to eat in their lodge (which is how you can get the very cheap and free rooms for the night). And WOW, did we make the right choice. For dinner, we ordered pumpkin curry and Tibetan bread, one of our favorite meals of the entire trek. After seeing pumpkins lining the roof I was sold (I LOVE pumpkin). It was a cross between what I'd consider a "curry" and a pumpkin soup, but whatever it actually was, we were in heaven. The little old lady came out at the end of our meal, seemingly seeking our approval (since she WAS the cook, after all). We made sure to let her know just how happy she had made us that evening. What a treat!
This was the first time we caught sight of Annapurna I, when the last of the evening sunshine hit it just right and made it glow behind everything else that had been lost to dusk a while before.
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