DAY SIX (Sunday, March 10th): Upper Pisang to Manang (3,540m)
19.5 kilometers, 8 hours
This day was going to be our longest day yet, but we had the incentive of a rest day the following day to keep us going. It was another apple porridge and tea breakfast before leaving our lodge just before 8am with Yolanda, our young and admirable German friend.
We started the day's hike by climbing up 420 meters to the next village of Ghyaru (3,730m), following endless switchbacks that were originally created for the crew who installed the electrical poles going up the side of the mountain. Given the ever-increasing elevation gain, and the fact that our bodies were in desperate need for some rest after five days straight of trekking, it was slow going (yet steady) going up those 420 meters. Many of us who had stayed in Upper Pisang the night before set out within about 20 minutes of each other so we made for quite a sight, I'm sure, dotting the hillside from bottom to top.
Once we got to higher altitude (i.e., starting this day and on every day here forth), there was only one way to get up steep climbs like this and that was to keep your head down, your breath under control and take slow, but rhythmic, steps. Left... Right... Left... Right... This morning hike was no exception. Stopping made you lose your momentum and it was that much harder to continue going up, so we rarely stopped but instead just kept a slow and steady pace. Up... Up... Up
At the top, around 9:45am, we were rewarded with what would have been a stunning view of the Annapurnas in front of us and the river and villages below us, but it happened to be the ONE cloudy day we had on the entire trek. I had read countless people talk about just how amazing the views were on this particular day of the trek, but all of us that day instead just got to see clouds. Bummer.
We climbed up and down to the next village, Ngawal (3,680m), and had another lunch of fried noodles. The last stretch of the day was about a three hour hike to Manang, Turns out we took the long way (we could have followed a shorter, alternative route), but it ended up being just as well. It started snowing lightly on us midway through the afternoon's trek and was quite peaceful and beautiful, really.
We lost Yolanda not long after, as she was heading to the school to do a few months of volunteer work, so we said our goodbyes under the falling snow and continued on our way.
By the time we got to Bhraga (3,450m), the snow had picked up a lot and was getting to be very heavy, sticking to everything--including us. The last 30-45 minutes of our day's hike we were walking with our sunglasses on and heads down trying to avoid the horizontally falling snowflakes. Finally, we arrived to Manang, covered in white, and found our friend Richard at Tilicho Hotel. We got a little purple cottage of our own--perfect!
First up, as always, was get into warm, dry clothes! Second up, was a pot of warm masala tea and some fresh Tibetan bread to celebrate our arrival and fill our empty bellies. Finally, some much-needed R&R for 36 hours...
DAY SEVEN (Monday, March 11th): Manang rest day
If ever there was a day that we were tired, it was this day. Our bodies resisted us trying to move them very far, our noses wouldn't stop forcing us to reach for a new tissue every five minutes, and my sinuses created incredible pain and pressure in my face and head. We ventured out to a 500-year old Monastary back in the town of Bhraga, but that took it out of us and the rest of the day became quiet and lazy. We spent the day reading, lying down, eating (baked goods!) and trying to recoop. We had tea with a nice Austrian guy, Chris and chatted mostly about travel through Asia and the trek. A pharmacist and doctor both reassured me that my sinus infection wouldn't be a problem in continuing up in the coming days. We stocked up on a new roll of toilet paper and filled up on water. And that pretty much sums up our day!
19.5 kilometers, 8 hours
This day was going to be our longest day yet, but we had the incentive of a rest day the following day to keep us going. It was another apple porridge and tea breakfast before leaving our lodge just before 8am with Yolanda, our young and admirable German friend.
We started the day's hike by climbing up 420 meters to the next village of Ghyaru (3,730m), following endless switchbacks that were originally created for the crew who installed the electrical poles going up the side of the mountain. Given the ever-increasing elevation gain, and the fact that our bodies were in desperate need for some rest after five days straight of trekking, it was slow going (yet steady) going up those 420 meters. Many of us who had stayed in Upper Pisang the night before set out within about 20 minutes of each other so we made for quite a sight, I'm sure, dotting the hillside from bottom to top.
Once we got to higher altitude (i.e., starting this day and on every day here forth), there was only one way to get up steep climbs like this and that was to keep your head down, your breath under control and take slow, but rhythmic, steps. Left... Right... Left... Right... This morning hike was no exception. Stopping made you lose your momentum and it was that much harder to continue going up, so we rarely stopped but instead just kept a slow and steady pace. Up... Up... Up
At the top, around 9:45am, we were rewarded with what would have been a stunning view of the Annapurnas in front of us and the river and villages below us, but it happened to be the ONE cloudy day we had on the entire trek. I had read countless people talk about just how amazing the views were on this particular day of the trek, but all of us that day instead just got to see clouds. Bummer.
We climbed up and down to the next village, Ngawal (3,680m), and had another lunch of fried noodles. The last stretch of the day was about a three hour hike to Manang, Turns out we took the long way (we could have followed a shorter, alternative route), but it ended up being just as well. It started snowing lightly on us midway through the afternoon's trek and was quite peaceful and beautiful, really.
We lost Yolanda not long after, as she was heading to the school to do a few months of volunteer work, so we said our goodbyes under the falling snow and continued on our way.
By the time we got to Bhraga (3,450m), the snow had picked up a lot and was getting to be very heavy, sticking to everything--including us. The last 30-45 minutes of our day's hike we were walking with our sunglasses on and heads down trying to avoid the horizontally falling snowflakes. Finally, we arrived to Manang, covered in white, and found our friend Richard at Tilicho Hotel. We got a little purple cottage of our own--perfect!
First up, as always, was get into warm, dry clothes! Second up, was a pot of warm masala tea and some fresh Tibetan bread to celebrate our arrival and fill our empty bellies. Finally, some much-needed R&R for 36 hours...
DAY SEVEN (Monday, March 11th): Manang rest day
If ever there was a day that we were tired, it was this day. Our bodies resisted us trying to move them very far, our noses wouldn't stop forcing us to reach for a new tissue every five minutes, and my sinuses created incredible pain and pressure in my face and head. We ventured out to a 500-year old Monastary back in the town of Bhraga, but that took it out of us and the rest of the day became quiet and lazy. We spent the day reading, lying down, eating (baked goods!) and trying to recoop. We had tea with a nice Austrian guy, Chris and chatted mostly about travel through Asia and the trek. A pharmacist and doctor both reassured me that my sinus infection wouldn't be a problem in continuing up in the coming days. We stocked up on a new roll of toilet paper and filled up on water. And that pretty much sums up our day!
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