Wednesday- Trek to Landruk at 5,248'
We were up at the usual time of 6:00 with hot tea followed by washing water about 10 minutes later. We have to have everything packed and ready for the Porters by 7:00 which is when breakfast is served. We had our first good view of Annapurna South as we got up. We hit the trail at 8:00 and walked through a rhododendron forest and several small villages. We had lunch at Tolka and then followed Avery bad road to Landruk. We actually lost elevation today. Total hiking time was about six hours. Our campsite was very nice although the trip to the toilet tent was a bit hairy. The typical routine when arriving in camp is to get our gear in the tent which is already set up. Washing water is brought to each tent shortly after arrival and we clean up the best we can. We have tea and crackers around 4:30 and dinner is served at 6:00. We are usually in bed by 8:00 after reading for a short time.
Thursday- Trek to Chhomrong at 6,944'
Today's trek was billed as one of our toughest days and it sure lived up to its billing. From Landruk we descended to New Bridge at 4,288' where we crossed the Modi Khola River. The descent was through meadows and forest. There were many stairs which were really hard on my knees. We had lunch at Jhinudanda and then the work really began as we climbed to Chhomrong. Susan really toughed it out as the stairs were crazy hard. I paced as best as I could which really helped. We had low clouds most of the days so our views were limited. We had another great campsite with real toilets.
Susan's turn
We are very happy to be out of the city. It was like nothing I can describe.
The mountains are stunning and grow taller the closer we get! Indeed, today was the most difficult climb,by far, that I have ever done. The heat and humidity do me in but Ed got me up the mountain by dumping cold water over my head every chance we had and making me walk very slowly. I sleep well! There are many flowers along the way, some wild and some very common to us all. Several beautiful waterfalls along the way. I never realized we would be in the tropics.
Friday - Trek to Bamboo at 6,816'
We woke this morning to crystal clear skies and an amazing view of Annapurna South and Macahhapuchhre (also known as Fishtail). We didn't even have to get out of the tent. Don't let the little change of elevation fool you as today's trek was tough. We first descended to the Chhomrong River losing around 1,500' of elevation all of it on rock stairs. We then ascended to Sinuwa at 7,552' most of it on rock stairs. We were in direct sunlight virtually the entire time and we were sure glad to get there where we stopped for lunch. It was a much needed break. After lunch we had only a two hour trek to Bamboo through mostly forest. We decided to forego washing water and paid 400 rupees ($4) for a shower. We are awaiting dinner and the cloud cover is very low.
Susan's turn
Going down is very hard on Ed's knees,he prefers to go up where as I struggle going up. I am mad and sad at the amount of litter on this spectacular trails. It is disgusting. There seem to be very few Americans on the trail, almost all Europeans and Asians. We pass many villages in a day, all remote and subsistence living. A few of the children have been quite aggressive about asking for money. Our guide has asked us not to indulge these activities. Many water buffalo on the trail, long trains of mules carrying loads and stray dogs everywhere and amazingly they all look alike! The porters carry extraordinary loads, some weighing more than they appear to weight themselves. It all is amazing. Looking forward to cooler weather. What an experience, except for the bathrooms!
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