Today, I woke up feeling refreshed. After reviewing how far we’ve hiked (87km/54 miles) and what we have left to Thorung La Pass (21km/13miles), my mental status is top notch! We’re only three days away from crossing Thorung La Pass!!!!! And of those three days, we have one long day, one medium day, and one short day. We’ve covered a lot of miles so far and are now into the ‘taking it slow’ phase because of the altitude. We can do this!
After taking a nap and being lazy, I was pumped to start trekking again tomorrow. Flynn, on the other hand, had developed a medical issue over the last few days that by 7pm required us to take her to the Himalayan Rescue Association’s health post in town. When I say health post, it’s literally three doctors volunteering their time from US, NZ, and England and living in a 4-room shelter. There isn’t even an examination room, so their consultations take place outside while sitting on plastic chairs.
Dr. Ben from the US conducted a medical procedure on Flynn in our teahouse room to provide her some relief. We plan to give Flynn’s body another day of rest and recovery so we can get back to trekking on Monday.
View of Annapurna III from the village of Manang
Days 8-10: April 1-3, 2018
We had a restless night’s sleep. After Dr. Ben’s morning visit, we knew we needed to get Flynn to an actual doctor’s office in Kathmandu that had more supplies and equipment. I left Flynn alone for about an hour to check out our options for how we could get back to Kathmandu. I knew she would not make it walking back down, no matter how much she tried to convince me. I looked into paying two scooter owners to drive us down — she probably would have fallen off the back. I looked into taking a Jeep down — would have taken two days and I would have had to slip her some Xanax so she wouldn’t have a panic attack. Here’s a video I took of the road on our previous day’s hike to Chame. I even checked into renting a man’s pony to strap Flynn to while I walked beside them. Needless to say my options were limited.
When I came back to give Flynn her options, she had taken a turn for the worse. She could barely keep her eyes open, was lethargic, and couldn’t move from the fetal position. I immediately summoned Dr. Ben who then made the executive decision that Flynn would need to be medically evacuated via helicopter.
After speaking to the helicopter company, insurance, and hospitals, our chopper arrived at 5pm that evening for an hour long flight. Side note: Their helipad was a field of rocks.While Flynn was in dire pain, I busted out my Go Pro to get some fantastic views of the Annapurnas. She’ll appreciate this later. I’m glad I paid attention to all of Brian’s tours of his bases and flight simulators because I was able to look at the helicopter’s navigation instrument and give Flynn an update on how far away we were. “We just went over Tal.” “Now, Besisahar which means we’re halfway there!”
Backpacks and trekking poles along with our two pilots
Upon arrival at the Kathmandu airport, we were transferred into an ambulance. It was more like a truck with a topper, but it did have a bed, seats, and heart/pulse monitor. On the way to the hospital, I gave the EMT all of Flynn’s information and chain of events leading up to this point. “Are you a medical professional?” he asked me. Nope, just her friend that has been documenting EVERYTHING. He then preceded to give me a tour of the city and ask about my time spent in Nepal. “Look! We’re now in the center of town. Have you been here yet?” “This is your first time in Nepal? What do you think about it?!” Um… aren’t you going to help my friend? You’re more like a welcoming committee than a medical professional. Oh, the medical standards in third world countries…
After arriving at the hospital, I again gave the ER doctor Flynn’s information and the rundown of events. After some imaging and tests, Flynn was admitted to the hospital for Acute Intestinal Obstruction. Basically, she was able to put food into her body, but it hadn’t exited in eight days.
We spent the next 48 hours in the hospital. While Flynn was in subpar conditions, I got pampered. A staff member made up my bed, gave me a towel for my shower, came in to take my food and drink orders… I practically had a butler for the duration of our hospital stay.
After being unsatisfied with answers and not given much information, we may have fibbed to the doctors so they would discharge Flynn. It wasn’t our proudest moment, but she needed to be seen by a GI specialist in the US. We purchased her a ticket on the next available flight back to Denver.
Day 11: April 4, 2018
After sending Flynn off to the airport, I finally had a chance to decompress. What the heck just happened?! Should I go back and start the circuit over? Will I have enough time? I really shouldn’t hike it alone when crossing into new elevation heights. Will the experience even be what I’m looking for without Flynn? Am I mentally ready to rehike those seven days so soon?
I purchased a bus ticket to the town of Pokhara departing the next morning as A) it was hard to walk around Kathmandu when there was just a buzz in the air from people either starting their trek or coming off of one and B) Flynn and I had planned to spend three days there at the end of our trek because it had been highly suggested from other travelers.
Days 12-15: April 5-7, 2018
Over the next few days in Pokhara, I felt very down and discouraged. The feeling of defeat was overbearing. The months of preparation that went into trekking the Annapurna Circuit – the research, the training, the packing lists, Facetiming Flynn while she was in my storage unit grabbing my gear, the building of excitement… we were only three days away from crossing Thorung La Pass. I couldn’t shake the overwhelming feeling of sadness. I legit slipped into a mild depression. Talking or hearing about the circuit made me instantly burst into tears. There was one day where I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed until 5pm.
After some sleepless nights and many shed tears, I decided to hike the Annapurna Sanctuary trek instead which led to Annapurna Base Camp. While I still wasn’t feeling like myself, I knew the mountains were my happy place and I needed to escape to them. A wise man once told me, “The hardest part of mountaineering is knowing your limits and when to turn around.” 12 days to hike the Annapurna Circuit is doable, but it doesn’t allow for anything to go wrong, nor does it allow for proper acclimatization. The worst thing you can do is rush altitude.
The hospital Flynn stayed in was specifically for foreign travelers. I nosily looked at the whiteboard of other patients on her floor and she was the only one in there for something other than Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). While I knew it was the right decision to forgo Annapurna Circuit, it still took me quite a few days to accept it as my reality.
We left our hotel at 6am to catch a taxi to the New Bus Station (how original). We miraculously found counter 34 (nothing is in English, even their numbers are written different) even through all the men asking, “Where you go? You have ticket? Hello?!?! Follow me!” It was a bit overwhelming. After supplying our pre-purchased ticket, a guy showed us to our bus. This is what we were shown and told we were purchasing at the travel agency:
Air conditioning, bags under the bus, WiFi, manufactured within the last 5 years
This is what we actually got:
Wifi?! Pretty sure this bus rolled out of the factory circa 1950. Air conditioning?! You mean, opening the windows. Notice their E-brake? It’s a rock. Deluxe?! Quite the opposite.
Well played travel agency, well played….
By 7am, we were rolling, or should I say crawling, through Kathmandu. We had mentally prepared for a seven hour journey to go a whopping 179km. The first three hours of the trip were identical to driving into the mountains from Denver on a Saturday morning – standstill traffic for no apparent reason. The further we got, the more the roads resembled Independence Pass to Aspen – hairpin turns, extreme drop offs without guardrails, one and a half lane roads….
During the fifth hour of our journey, we popped the front driver tire. We drove on it until we came to four shacks on the side of the road, one of which repaired tires. One hour later, the tire was patched up, secured back into its place, and our journey continued. We made it to Besisahar around 3:30pm. Here the bus stopped so all trekkers could check-in and register their Trekkers’ Information Management System (TIMS) cards. TIMS is a way to monitor trekkers’ locations on the trail so if a natural disaster were to strike, rescuers have an idea of where x amount of people are. However, their sophisticated system is just paper and pen so if a natural disaster were to come through, I’m pretty sure the notebook full of information would be gone as well.
We originally planned to only take the bus to Besisahar, but since traffic was finally moving, we decided to stay on until the final destination of Bhulbhule. Besisahar technically starts the Annapurna Circuit, but the trail is literally the road that buses, jeeps, and motorbikes drive on which can be both dusty and dangerous. Asian drivers are organized and strategic compared to the crazy drivers in Nepal.One lane road with oncoming traffic??? Sure, that is the PERFECT time to pass the vehicle in front of me.
The closer to Bhulbhule we got, the sketchier the road became. Remember those waterfall roads I frequently found myself on in the Philippines? It was like that, but with more road erosion and much higher drop offs. There were some areas that made my stomach drop, but overall I felt confident we’d make it to Bhulbhule in one piece. Flynn, on the other hand, was getting more and more nervous as we kept going along. And justifiably so. In 2015, she and her husband, Paul, were driving to a remote mountain biking area when they rolled their Ford Escape off a similar road. They were unhurt (their car was another story), but Flynn has had some PTSD on unserviced forest roads ever since, especially because she was the one driving.
Back to the current situation, I noticed her growing very quiet (quite unlike her), eyes bulging, and grabbing on to parts of the seats. “This is giving me flashbacks. I don’t know how much longer I can do this”, she said to me. During the three minutes it took me to look up how much further we had left, Flynn started to have a panic attack. I know all too well what that feels like so we rushed off the bus, climbed on top of the bus to retrieve our backpacks, and stood on the side of the road while she calmed down. It was only 3.8km (2.36 miles) to the town of Khudi so we put on our hiking boots, grabbed our hiking poles, threw on our headlamps, and began our trek on the Annapurna Circuit at 5pm (should be off the trail by 3pm at the latest) with thunder and lightning in the distance. We booked it into town in a mere 30 minutes, registered our Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP), and found a room at the first teahouse in town (you’re supposed to shop around and negotiate a free room in exchange for eating all your meals there). 300 rupees for one night? GREAT! A room with two beds? PERFECT! Bedframes made out of 2x4s and a crepe-thin mattress? EXCELLENT!
Starting out on the Annapurna Circuit
Flynn kept apologizing for how our trek started out but I gently reminded her of our conversation back in Phnom Penh; we had spent an hour talking about our expectations, our limits, acknowledging we were going to have good and bad days, and the agreement that if one of us was at our limit for the day, the other person would be supportive to stop and not peer pressure the other to keep going. Little did we know we would have to put that to the test Day 1.
Somewhere after Besisahar –> Khudi 3.8km (2.36 miles) 30 minutes
Day 2: March 26, 2018
Find the white-cloud-looking things on the horizon. I promise those are the Himalayas and they look much better in person!
We began trekking at 7:30am. We saw our first glimpse of the Himalayas in Bhulbhule. I can’t believe we’re actually doing this! We met two porters here and ended up leap-frogging with them for most of the day. They were our lifesavers at some crucial intersections in the beginning because we were just chatting along and not paying attention to signage. To be fair, the signage is a bit like Where’s Waldo… most of the red arrows and red and white stripes are either faded or in places we wouldn’t think to look. Twice we were ahead of them and then we heard, “Excuse me! This way!!!!” from behind us. Once we figured out where to look for the signage (10 minutes down a path instead of at an intersection, 2 feet off the ground instead of on the path or at eye-level), it was smooth sailing. It took us five and a half hours to reach our destination of Ghermu for the night, including about ten stops. We have plenty of time so we took way too many pictures and drank more water than we normally would have if we were hiking in Colorado.
Row after row after row of rice terraces. I stopped counting after I reached 100.
We stayed at Rainbow Lodge as it was at the far end of town and overlooked a massive waterfall. We saw three groups of trekkers from our bus ride and all were so concerned about us from yesterday. “We’re so glad to see you guys!” “Did you make it in before the rain?!” “We were talking about how dangerous it was getting off the bus where you did.” Another reinforcement that there are still good people in this world.
Breakfast arrived a bit late so we didn’t get on the trail until 7:55am. Ten minutes into our trek, we crossed a suspension bridge over the Marsyangdi River and were met with a herd of rice and propane-carrying donkeys with less than 20 feet left. “What should we do? They’re too wide to go around,” I said to Flynn. The bridge was barely wide enough for two locals. She forged ahead only to be pushed around like a rag doll by the first donkey. There’s no way I’m going to do that another nine times. “Turn around!!!! I’m heading back!” I shouted among the chaos. After backtracking to the original side of the bridge in the order of lead donkey, me, Flynn, four donkeys, herder #1, five donkeys, and herder #2, we attempted to cross again and were successful. Safe to say that suspension bridge can handle some weight!
The suspension bridge after our run-in with the herd of donkeys
After the village of Syange, we noticed the porters staying on the road even though the trail was marked to the left and away from the road. After some discussion, we chose to to follow the New Annapurna Trekking Trail (NATT). This proved to be a poor choice as the trail was steep, rocky, and crossed a stream while having to climb over some big rocks with a 50 foot drop to the right, only to eventually meet back up with the road. Lesson learned: ALWAYS follow the porters. They’re carrying up to 30kg (66 pounds) so they know the most efficient way.
Flynn and I have never used trekking poles before but we brought them as they were highly recommended. The first two days, we felt (and probably) looked like giraffes learning to walk for the first time – super uncoordinated and gangly. I have since figured out how to use them uphill and downhill, but Flynn still looks goofy going downhill.
One of the numerous waterfalls
We were able to see some impressive waterfalls through the remainder of our hike. The trail became steep and after Chamje. We stopped frequently for breaks to rest my legs and get more water. It was a hot day so I crushed just shy of 5 liters of water during our hike. As the trail finally started to descend, we were met with views of Tal in a valley and off in the distance, another Himalayan peak. We knew ahead of time today was going to be steep so when we finally saw our destination for the night after six hours of trekking, we were elated!
In Tal, I was able to pick up some Vaseline for my chub-rub (area where your thighs rub together). Our teahouse had a warm shower and WiFi, although it was only strong enough for Facebook Messenger (no internet, Skype, Line, or Viber). After letting my brother, Adam, know where we had made it for the night, I did some laundry in a bucket and ate a delicious pumpkin, potato, bean, and vegetable curry with homemade cornbread.
Absolutely delicious dinner!
The Annapurna Circuit is also known as the Apple Pie trail because at the end of everyday, there is hot apple pie waiting for you if you please. After today’s steep climbs, we felt we deserved it so we ordered some at dinner. It came out looking like a calzone but flaky and inside was apples and chocolate in place of cinnamon! Soooo good! I may have to bring this style of apple pie back to the States.
Ghermu –> Tal 12.87 km (8 miles) 6 hours 640 meters (2,099 feet) ascent
Day 4: March 28, 2018
We knew today was going to be a LONG day so we decided to forgo breakfast right away and were on the trail by 6:46am. We took an hour and a half breakfast break in Dharapani after going through the ACAP check point. It was a little longer break than we anticipated, but we needed some additional time to mentally prepare for a hard, steep section coming up.
In a matter of an hour, we gained 500m (2,099 feet) of elevation. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I had anticipated as it was just incline and not stairs. Stairs are my nemesis. I can walk inclines all day (thanks to my previous months’ of training), but my legs (specifically my thighs) wear out so much quicker on stairs. Nine and a half hours after we first started on the trail (including our long breakfast stop), we made it to our destination of Chame, just before rain really started to come down. We gained 1,100m (3,608 feet) of elevation today and we can feel it in the cold temperatures. I hiked in my pants and thermal base layer for the whole day.
So. Many. Stairs.
After dinner, Flynn went back to our room and I stayed in the dining hall playing various versions of Solitaire with the deck of cards I brought. I attracted the attention of a local and after some conversation, I asked if he wanted to play a card game. I figured Crazy 8s was an easy game to teach. Fast forward to an hour and a half later, myself, the local, and the lodge owner were in a heated game of Crazy 8s… it was so much fun! I even learned how to say the suits in Nepalese.
Today’s Lesson: Flynn needs more time awake in the mornings before we start hiking and I can’t have long breaks.
Today was a mentally challenging day. We knew it was going to be a short four and a half hour day and had thought the terrain was going to be easy. While it was easier than yesterday, I wouldn’t describe it as easy. We hiked in silence for the last hour and a half. We did have some awesome views of Annapurna II and two other Himalayan peaks which helped.
We made it to our destination of Upper Pisang and have an incredible view of Annapurna II staring at us (although both of us failed to take any pictures of it for some reason). The windows in both the gas-powered shower and in the toilet rooms are perfectly placed in view of the massive peak. Our shoulders are starting to hurt from carrying our packs. I’ve rubbed off two blisters on my feet so far with two more coming in. This is the longest either of us have backpacked so all things considered, we’re actually doing pretty well!
Tonight will definitely be a chilly one as we were both in our down jackets by 5pm and the temperature is only dropping. Tonight’s teahouse is made of wood with some gaps which doesn’t help with the cold temps. Luckily there is a wood-burning fireplace in the dining hall so I plan to stay in here until I’m ready to go to bed. Gotta take advantage of all the heat I can get.
All I could think about when looking at the face of this mountain is how awesome it would be to get some fresh tracks on my snowboard.
We woke up to four inches of snow this morning. We decided to leave a little bit later today to allow for other trekkers to pack down the snow and for it to clear/warm up. All our research and previous hikers had told us to take the harder route up from Upper Pisang because the views made it worth it. We mentally prepared ourselves to be miserable for the first part of the day. After rounding a bend, we saw the mammoth beast we were about to take on. It was switchback after switchback after switchback for as far as our eyes could see. This better be worth it… After stripping down to just our base layers, we took a deep breath and began the seemingly never-ending climb. One hour later we reached the top, only to see the exact same view as we had this morning in Upper Pisang. It was so discouraging! What were all these other people thinking?! Am I missing something here?
How many switchbacks can you find? It’s so much more daunting in person!
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We hiked in silence for most of the day as we were both mentally drained. Physically our bodies are feeling pretty well (our shoulders are getting stronger, our feet more adjusted to the daily hiking), but mentally we are rundown. Neither of us were prepared for how mentally challenging this trek was going to be. Packing our bags every morning just to unpack every night is draining. Finding a place to sleep every night is exhausting. It’s getting significantly colder with each passing day. We are struggling to live in the moment and appreciate the vast Himalayas constantly surrounding us. Hiking up an incline only to descend and hike back up another incline is frustrating – I’m used to Colorado’s hikes where you keep hiking up inclines until you reach the summit.
We made it all the way to Manang which was 12 miles from Upper Pisang and took eight hours. We had already planned for an extra day in Manang to acclimate and this couldn’t have come at a better time. We plan to do absolutely nothing tomorrow. We will rest our bodies and rest our brains as we have come to accept the fact that the next three days are all going to be very hard mentally. It’s only going to get colder and steeper until we cross the pass. I feel that after Thorung La Pass, we’ll be back to our high energy selves and take everything in. For now, this is the most mentally challenging thing I’ve ever done.
Our nightly meal of dal bhat. Each one was slightly different, although it always had rice, lentils, and potatoes.
This is where we did our laundry and was one option for getting drinking water.
What I expected teahouses to look like…
What a teahouse actually looks like.
Prayer wheels mark the entrance to larger villages. You are supposed to walk on the left side and spin the prayer wheels clockwise.
How the exit of a village was marked.
Where’s Waldo? One of the better trail markings.
P.S. If you’re just tuning in, I have added in pictures to my previous blogs. You’ll need to go all the way back to the post titled Flynn and Tina Have Arrived for the unseen pictures!
There are TONS of blogs and information out there about how to hike the Annapurna Circuit without a guide or porter. Here is my list of tips that aren’t covered in any of those outlets:
Keep the weight of your pack to 20% of your body weight.
Buy Lonely Planet’s Trekking in Nepal Himalaya book. I usually despise Lonely Planet, but they created this book right! Hiking times, suggested itineraries, and most importantly, telling you the most efficient way to complete the circuit…. such as when to follow the road and when to veer off on the trail.
Shop Right Supermarket, located in the Thamel neighborhood, is very clean, very organized, and massive. It consists of two floors and is the best place to find odd items that can’t be found in trekking shops such as bug spray, Ziploc bags, and Western candy.
Aroma Garden, also located in the Thamel neighborhood, is your place for Tiger Balm, small containers of lotion, face wash, and soaps. Everything has a price on it so you don’t have to worry about negotiating.
You will need two full days in Kathmandu to get Nepalese rupees and change them down to small bills. Teahouse lodge owners prefer exact change and you’ll want more 100s and 50s than 500s and 1,000s. Day One pull all your money out of the ATM. Find a bank, explain how much money you want to change down, and confirm they will have enough small bills for you when you return the following day. I found success at NMB Bank Limited. If you aren’t able to go through a bank, you’ll need at least five hours of stopping in at every single money exchange to make change.
An average of $25USD per day on the circuit is plenty.
Nepal Tourism Board Office in Kathmandu will provide six passport photos for free. Don’t spend money on these beforehand!
There is an ATM right outside the Nepal Tourism Board Office in Kathmandu.
No bus ticket to Besisahar/Bhulbhule can be booked online. Travel agencies will oversell and over promise you on the price and conditions of the bus. Instead, go to New Bus Station at 6am (this is when counters open), find counter 30 (also labeled 34, 35, and 37), and buy your ticket directly. Bus will leave by 7am and take about nine hours to Bhulbhule including traffic, two toilet stops, and one lunch stop. There is no tourist bus to Besisahar/Bhulbhule… only a local bus.
Buy Tiger Balm to apply to sore muscles at night.
From Jagat to Dharapani, there will be a split in the trail with a suspension bridge in view. Both options are marked with the red and white stripes. The trail to the right says 1:30 to Dharaphani and Trekking Trail. Choose the trail to the LEFT to eventually cross the bridge. The left-hand trail is less steep and is a quicker route to Dharapani.
Stay at Royal Garden in Chame. It’s located at the far end of town. It was the nicest lodge we stayed in during our trek. The attached bathroom has a Western toilet, but the outside shower had HOT water (43 degrees Celsius).
Stay in Upper Pisang, but take the Lower Pisang route to Manang. The views from Ghyaru and Ngawal are the same you get in Upper Pisang.
We woke up to four inches of snow this morning. We decided to leave a little bit later today to allow for other trekkers to pack down the snow and for it to clear/warm up. All our research and previous hikers had told us to take the harder route up from Upper Pisang because the views made it worth it. We mentally prepared ourselves to be miserable for the first part of the day. After rounding a bend, we saw the mammoth beast we were about to take on. It was switchback after switchback after switchback for as far as our eyes could see. This better be worth it… After stripping down to just our base layers, we took a deep breath and began the seemingly never-ending climb. One hour later we reached the top, only to see the exact same view as we had this morning in Upper Pisang. It was so discouraging! What were all these other people thinking?! Am I missing something here?
Mary Poppins' Adventures 