Laura's Year in Asia = Fun Stories

After a lot of ups and downs and slow slow walking (3 deep breaths per step) we were the first to arrive in Throung Pedi for the day, and were rewarded with the best room that had windows on BOTH sides. Luxury. I started to get a horrible headache that some soup and a bunch of Tylenol got rid of, and enjoyed the rest of the day thinking how i was 5km straight above everyone back home. There was a weird mood in the dining room, as everyone there was wondering if they'd be the one who had to turn back from the pass tomorrow...such a big unknown hanging over everyone's heads. But Justina and I did all we could to prep and had a huge dinner of pasta and tea, drank lots of water and tang, and were in bed at 6:18pm. Yes, that early.

Woken up at 4am on "summit day" and getting out of our warmish beds to go walk another 1066m straight up for 3 hours in -20*C, was not the best start of the day I've ever had, but the adrenaline started pumping and I knew this is the kind of thing I live for, and as uncomfortable as it was probably going to be, I was totally and utterly stoked. After choking down breakfast we set out in the pitch black with our headlamps lighting the way up. It was so surreal taking slow, deliberate steps and having to literally stop to do anything else. The first hour was a blurr of breathing attempts and the pain of putting one foot in front of the other. It was really trippy to look up and not know where the star filled sky stopped and the headlamp-spotted mountain began. The only way to tell was the slight wobble of the headlamp lights every 4-5 seconds when the person took a step.
After 58 minutes we made it to high camp and here at 5000m we watched the sun rise over the Himalayan ranges and just took it all in. Although there were probably another 100 people on their way to the pass too, it seemed like we were all alone. As we started walking again this is where the altitude really started to take its toll on me. Everything was just so difficult, its hard to explain what actually happens to you without your normal amounts of oxygen, bu at times I couldn't even think. I tried to put my hand in my pocket to avoid the inevitable frostbite at one point and fell over on the trail. Lesson learned - one movement at a time. As the sun rose higher the snow crystals started to sparkle around my feet (which I couldn't take my eyes off of or risk another tumble) and played weird tricks with my vision. Nirpa made some comment about how the 3cm of skin on my face was bright red, and i was surprised that blood was actually still going to my face it was so numb. I remember a lot of twists and turns and steep hills, that weren't even hills, but just steep enough to make the uphill walking nearly impossible. I took a lot of 5-step breaks in the last 2 hours (2 minute break every five steps) and I really didn't think I'd make it at that point. Just so completely exhausted from every step, and no end in sight.

But you just keep going, and as I put my head down and kept walking eventually on one glance up, there it was - the 5416m Throung La Pass with tons and tons of colourful Tibetan prayer flags. I remember noticing the colours most after only seeing the white of the snow and my brown boots for so long.
Justina and I snapped some shots with a Canada balloon and then stumbled into the hut and drank some ridiculously overpriced tea just to try to warm up. It is not comfortable to be standing around at 5416m in -20*c temp. Trust me. Then bammo - the Acute Mountain Sickness hit me full force. Justina says she noticed me just snap out of it and knew we had to head down ASAP. Luckily the AMS couldn't have hit me at a better spot, as we were at the high point of the trek and had no where to go but down. I started to feel the HACE first (High Altitude Cerebral Edima) with a deadly headache and dizzyness that made me walk like a 4am Granville st. drunk. Next the HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edima) hit and my lungs were so full with fluid that they felt like solid rocks and every breath felt like someone punching me hard in the chest. Then came the vomiting and HAT (High Altitude Tears.....sounds more hardcore than crying..haha) I can't go into details about the 1600m descent from the pass to Mukinath because I have no recollections of it other than throwing up on the snow a lot and total dizzyness 100% of of the time. Check out Justina's blog for what she remembers. It was a tough 6 hours for sure though. When we finally reached Mukinath, we got to a teahouse and I literally took off my soaking wet pants and socks, climbed into bed, and threw my fleece over my face because any sensory input led to severe waves of pain throughout my body. The afternoon/night was just painful - more vomiting, constant headaches and general all over body pain. Poor Nirpa was so worried about me, he kept coming in and offering tea and soup, but I couldn't do anything let alone open my eyes. But, like the HRA doctor said, just rest at a lower altitude and the symptoms will go away. And go away they did, so that the next morning I was able to sit up, eat breakfast and even trek.

Days 12-13-14: Mukinath - Kagbeni - Marpha - Ghasa
SO there I am semi-conscious, but feeling much better than yesterday, so we decide to trek onto the next stop 3 hours away, as going lower can only make me feel better. That and spending the whole day in bed was not appealing to me, the seasoned trekkker I now am! This parrt of the trek was so nice since it was a) downhill and b) in the dusty, dry, aird region similar to the tibetian plateau called Mustang. (Upper Mustang is considered the famous Shangri-la, and still very difficult to gain entry too...the permit alone for 7 days costs over $700 USD.) Just a stunning area with tons and tons of 7000+ metre peaks at every turn. Kagbeni turned out to beautiful and probably my favouritie town on the trip. Not only because there was a restaurant called "Yak Donalds", but we stayed in a cool traditional tibetan teahouse that was so nice, had hot showers, and the nicest family runing it. And the views - just breathless.


On our way from Kagbeni - Marpha we trekked along a dry river plain that was just one big wind tunnel of dust, and in Jomsom we stopped to get me some meds for the lingering effects of my AMS. The iodine gargle wasn't too pleasent but combined with the sinus pill they gave me, the chaos in my respiratory system seemed to subside. We arrived in Marpha - The Apple Capital of Nepal! - and spent the night drinking strong apple cider, apple brandy, eating dried apples and apple crumble. Hey, when in rome! The next morning we took in the local culture by visiting the distillery. Yep, the distillery where they make apple, peach, apricot and carrot brandy. A few free shots later, and our porter buying a big bottle, we were ready for the day of trekking ahead. Or so we though, I don't know if it was the 9am Brandy shots, but it was an awfully long day trerkking along a horrible path that ruined our legs so that night we couldn't even stand in comfort. I turned into a 6-year old and had a little stomping tantrum about the stupid path with its stupid uneven rocks and the stupidness of the trek. But that soon passed. The night in Ghasa (not the strip) was boring and filled with bad trekking lodge food.


Days 15-16: Ghasa - Tatopani - Pokhara
After the painful trek to Ghasa, we made up or minds to finish the Circut trek without crossing into the Sanctuary area and extending the trek by another 5 days. Many people do it, and it is a great option, but we were trekked out and wanted to spend those extra 5 days rafting or doing something else fun in Pokhara. So with the end clearly in sight now we happily headed off to Tatopani (Nepali: tato= hot, pani = water) The trail was much nicer with dozens of waterfalls and bridges to cross that made it pleasant to trek along. When we arrived in Tatopani we wasted no time heading to the hotsprings. Along the river just 200 steps from our room was the most delightful hotsprings pool I have ever been in. That may be due to teh past 15 days of the absolute torture I inflicted on my body, but also due to just the sun setting over the valley, tall green mountains over a crystal blue river and me sitting in a stone pool with warm, soothing water. Yep. Heaven. No wait, Heaven came after this when we dried off and then headed up to the restaruant that had Happy Hour from 4-6 and we celebrated our successful last day of trekking with two of the coldest, most refresing Everest beers ever. And free popcorn.

Our last day started like every other one. Up at 6:00 to pack - trekking by 7:30. We trekked for about 3 hours, had our last Dal Bhat lunch and then caught a jeep to Beni where we caught a local bus back to Pokhara. Unfortunately this day was ruined by some obnoxious and selfish Israelis who.... actually I can't (shouldn't?) go into the details, or i'll start to rant. But lets just say it's a continuing theme here in Nepal. And our "welcome back" to the non-trekking world was having to have a big fight with the bus driver who insited that although we bought tickets for 3 seats, we only got 2 and had to have people sitting on our laps Only 3 hours out of our trek and the bitch was already back up to 8. Ugh. Pokhara was such a welcome sight as we went to a restaurant that didn't only have "tourism management approved trekking foods" and we took Nirpa out for a big meal and some good beers. It was so sad saying tood bye to Nirpa who had become one of us over the last 16 days. I mean he helped us out so much that I couldn't imagine doing the trip without him. Anyone doing a trek in Nepal should serisously consider hiring a porter or porter/guide. Not only are you supporting their business, but more selfishly, they help you out soo much. He knew the good guesthouses, the restaruants to avoid, the good towns, where the unique off-trail destinations were (hello distilleries!) and was able to book ahead rooms so we were never the ones stuck outside in -10* temps. The details of his company are on my links if anyone wants a trustworthy and good-value guiding service while in Nepal. THANK YOU NIRPA!

So just like that we were done the Annapurna Circuit Trek in a speedy 16 days. We realized after we doubted our abilities coming from a place like B.C. where the Chief, Grouse Grind or even hiking Harmony on a powder day are things that a lot of the world doesn't do on a normal basis. It was a pretty moderate trek, not easy at all, but doable, and we dominated it ;) Now we just had to face the insurmountable task of showering and attempting to clean our smelly, trekkey bodies. Ew.