Himalayan trek to Annapurna Base Camp
Friday, October 09, 2015
Pokhara, Nepal
After five days of blisters, stairs, nettle stings, aching knees, stairs, and more stairs, we made it to the Annapurna Base Camp!
Along the way we stayed in various tea houses where we learned to budget, make friends with locals and other travelers, and the art of staying warm at 14,000 ft .
We spent our nights drinking hot coco, being serenaded by local dancers, and playing lots of competitive card games. We were stoked to have all of our meals in the tea houses, but we did discover that a ham burger is not what our American minds thought it would be.
As we moved along the trail we encountered local villages, baby day cares, immovable cows, free roaming chickens, sheep by the hundreds, and the cutest baby lambs we have ever seen.
When we heard about the 4 am wake up for our ABC (Annapurna Base Camp) approach from Bishnu, our local guide, we thought the only appropriate thing to do was elevate our ping pong game by making a makeshift table and having an epic tournament.
The next morning was filled with wonder and enchantment. With the moon gleaming off the mountains behind us, we began to get closer to ABC, with the anticipation of the sun rising over Annapurna I, the 10th largest mountain in the world .
Without the proper words to describe the BEAUTY of this scene, we will just say some tears were shed.
The next three days trekking back down the mountain were extremely tough. But, on our second to last day, we got to lounge by the glacier filled river where there were pools of natural hot springs. Our bodies were rejuvenated and we were ready to return to Pokhara!
Personal Highlights from the Trek:
"Seeing fishtail illuminated by the moon during our 4 am trek to ABC" -Sean
"Whenever I was on the trail, there was always a great view" -Griffin
"Ignoring the oncoming frostbite on my hands and lasting a good fifteen more minutes with a big ol' dumb smile on my face staring at the sunlit Annapurnas." - Elliot
"Climbing over the ridge behind our tea house at MBC (Machhpuchhure Base Camp) to an unexpected fantastic view. Looking down at the flowing river in contrast to the huge mountains all in the swirling mist was amazing" -Jeremy
"My highlight was the morning trek to ABC, where my stomach started making odd noises on the trail louder and louder . At some point the sound was so odd that I turned my flashlight off the trail, revealing a goat filled valley. That's when my "grumbling tummy" stared me straight in the eyes and with great confidence repeated yet another time "BEEHHHHHH" in a tone that could only mean "you are at once stupid, an idiot, and a moron. Note to self: hungry stomachs don't beehhhh"-Alex
"The cookie break at the top of one of the many flights of stone steps with Austin, Alex, and Maiti." -Katherine
"All the pictures I have gotten to capture so majestically" -Sam
"When we were at the second tea house, the local women came and sang and danced for us, and we got to join in." -Sophie
"When the sun hit the snowy mountains after walking to ABC in the early morning. Couldn't stop smiling." -Anna
"The amazing views from ABC. It was absolutely magical and worthy of the stairs." -Austin
"Watching the sunrise at ABC. It was absolutely breathtaking." -Maiti
"Taking that first GoPro selfie with the ABC sign, playing with the baby lambs, eating a cinnamon roll on the side of a mountain, soaking in the natural hot springs and the amazing views from all the tea houses ." -Marjorie Anne
"Playing Rummy 2000 against Tim and Alejo but losing by 50" -Jack
"Having great conversations with the team, and enjoying nature at a whole other level. Winning rummy 2000 by exactly reaching 2000 in Jhinu" -Alejandro
Xoxo,
Marjorie Anne, Elliot, Sean
P.S. Just to highlight how freaking awesome this trek was, we debated typing this in all caps, but then decided it still wouldn't do those mountains justice.
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