There and Back - Annapurna Trek

The Trek begins: Phedi - going up the first hill

First "Platinum" stone on the path - later I found out it was paved with those

Written: India, Gopalpur, Himachal Pradesh

There and back – Trekking Annapurna, Nepal

Can one truly squeeze a lifetime into one blog? Sitting here in the sweltering heat of India, it feels like that trek was a mini-lifetime. So, I'll just reflect on a few experiences that touched my heart or were simply surprising.

I was barren of expectations going to the trek....except that I knew there would be quite a bit of up and down [given the local T-shirt humour: “a Nepali flat” followed by a picture of a rugged zigzag]. I braced myself literally: support braces on my ankles and knees and shok-absorbing trekking poles. I knew it could rain, so there was a bit of gore-tex with me + a waterproof rucksack. Given that I was my own porter and guide.....that did not add up to a super-light bag [around 10 kilos – way too much for that terrain!]. I knew there could be altitude issues – so I had the local Dilmax pills and the trekking usuals with me: water purification tablets etc. I felt prepared....at least, equipment-wise.

The trail head was at Phedi and shot straight up. I felt grateful for the poles. The first thing that I could not peel my gaze off of was the platinum-looking stones that graced the whole of the path – worn by many thousands soles....and the flutterbies that seemed to emerge out of nowhere and dance around my platinum path.... I've never seen such a graceful path.

Quickly, I realized that my path lay through the idyllically colourful and raw-life villages of the mountain people of Nepal. I did not want to race through the route [not yet determined at the beginning except for the starting point], so I tredded gently. I quickly realized just how many stark metaphors trekking gave for the way I do life.

Always before me lay a steep staircase up or down.....and near it lay a discreet little analog path [taken by the locals for the most part]. There we go – analog path vs. binary way.....quantum jumps or gentle progress. CHOOSE [“Ghostbusters” come to mind ;o) ]

I quickly realized that my map was not detailed enough. It gave me a rough idea of the territory: like a discreet little path over the blue body of water that looks like a river....that turned out to be a nearly vertical climb of a path hugging a waterfall. I haven't done bouldering with a rucksack, all in Gore-tex in the rain. It's an experience.....one after which I came out looking pretty pitiful in a tiny village by a proud name of Baishe Kharka....consisting of 2 lodges and 2 houses amidst the mountain jungle. I hoped to proceed to the next village [Tadapani], as that is where massage was said to be available, but the twighlight was upon me. However, a miracle has happened: it turned out the masseuse from Tadapani actually lived in Baishe Kharka! He came 20 min after me and gave me a bone-crunching massage – something much needed after that day of trekking.

I had a heart-warming experience in the lovely village of Tolka. There I was pulled into a clean and cozy Sunlight guesthouse by its smiling owner Maylee. She cooked me some yummy masala tea and baked [!] mo-mo [a Nepalese staple food: pot-sticker kind of little things with veggies or meat inside – they steam, bake or fry them]. I opened all the glass-less windows in my little room looking out over the steep canyon and the constellations of the houses on the other side, as they were lighting up. And in the evening, I came down to sit with her and her 77 year-old mother and 19 year-old son and a little neighborhood boy who just like the warmth of the hearth and their cozy company. I was invited as one of the family and we all sat there and told stories of our life paths......with our elder falling asleep gently. I smile remembering that evening.

Before descending into the steep canyon separating Landruk and Gandruk, I stopped for some afternoon tea with at a little cafe/guesthouse run by a Nepalese gentleman and his Indian wife. They told me of their sister that lived in Tatopani – about 6 hours away and ran an inn there [Panorama Inn]. Of course, I took their photos to later show to their dear one. I love seeing the mosaic of lives assemble like that – threaded by my path....

Indeed, when I finally reached Tadapani, getting caught by rain and hail at noon there, having done but an hour of trekking then [that was the day that I resolved to get up at the crack of dawn so that I could cover some distance......as the clouds tend to begin their chase around 10-11 AM at that time of year there], I did find a Panorama Inn, which turned out to be the coziest place in the village. And I met the sister of my Indian friend from the other side of the canyon....she turned out to be a radiant woman who baked yummilicious apple pies. It was there that I had my first “breakfast of champions” while facing Dhaulagiri and several Annapurna peaks.....and the first rays of sun for the first time in Nepal. A sight I will never foget.

It was there that I sat surrounded by the friendly porters and guides and a wise Tibetan man who taught me their language.....and I found out just how much of the modern Nepali is Sanskrit.....that I could understand=> remember. Russian is indeed a dialect of Sanskrit. It's ALIVE! We spoke of life-universe-and-everything.....I felt so at home with these open-hearted people in this small mountain kitchen amidst the white peaks. I felt like I was born there. There was heart comraderie there that transcended our linguo-cultural backgrounds - something so essentially human that there is no word for it.

As I headed for the next village, the magnificent Gorepani, the high point of the trek [~3 km high], bright and early, I quickly got caught up by a colourful group of uber-friendly Sanskrit-speakers [yep, Russians, I mean] and introduced myself by my nick-name [Bagira], a dashingly handsome fellow with bright emerald eyes said: "well, then I'm Sher-Khan!" And so I met Danila - a brilliant photographer who without a second thought has plucked a rucksack off my back [even though he had a sherpa!] and has carried it for 7 hours to Gorepani - not one of the easiest routes. He was my hero that day. We ended up lagging behind the group and frolicking in the beauty of the still-in-bloom rhododendrons that shone to us through the cloud-fog and chasing wild rabbit-mouse mutants through the rocks so that we could capture their adorable snouts with my semi-pro and Sher-Khan's totally pro cameras.

We felt like "ezhiki v tumane" ["hedgehogs in the fog" - like that adorable Russian cartoon - INSERT LINK]. And then we discovered that we both sing....and know A LOT of songs. However, Danila gave me a challenge after I sang some traditional folk songs [all about fog, thirsty horses wandering the banks of the steep rivers, evenings of departures etc....the classic minor key Russian stuff]: "how about some funny songs?" And so began the search for the Russian songs we both knew that were in the major key. Good luck. We did end up screaming Nautilus Pompillius "Ya hochu bit' s tobooooooj" at the top of our lungs - I have to say, our duo was pretty good on that one. Though, the major key didn't happen, we found that there were plenty of sad, sad, yearning and longing tunes to play with....enough to get us unnoticeably to Gorepani. Where our friends [the rest of the group] and porters/guides were happy to see we were still alive [they got there an hour ahead of us and were already digging into a "roastie" lunch - oooooh, roasties - that potato-cheese-egg bliss that the Nepali lodges concoct to return the burned calories to the trekkers pronto].

And then a masseusse materialized out of nowhere. I got my body-bliss, and came out to drink hot lemon tea with my new friends by a huge round heart [surrounded by socks and coats in want of drying].....it turned out that in addition to the hot lemon tea, these awesome folks had Chivas to drink. Now, most of you know - I don't partake. At all. Except for when I'm freezing. And I was. So we drank, laughed, sang some more sad Russian songs around the fire.....and then started to play sharades. I haven't played that game for I don't know how long.....and these guys were experts. Word combos like "a stupefied alien" or "an incredible sturgeon" or "viking at the crossings" and "pale spirochette" [most of the twistiest ones came from the lawyer-by-training Sher-Khan, of course - it takes purposeful irrationality to create them, he shared] were in the game. It was hysterically funny, considering our tired-warmed-up/altitude-giddy state.

The next day, I bit farewell to my lovely new friends [it turned out that by 8 AM, Sher-Khan has already made it there-and-back to Poon-Hill - the local peak from which one can behold one of the most spectacular mountain vistas around Annapurna - 1.5 hour hike one way - so there's a torch-bearing myriad of tourists ascending the thing at 4 AM]. My intent was to land in the hot-spring oasis of Tattopani [an "easy" 7-or-so hour all-downhill trek with an altitude change of about 2 km]. In the high spirits from playing with my friends, I continued on singing arias AND the newly-flooding-my-brain Russian songs in the major key [where were they when I needed them most? LOL].

Soon I found that I wasn't meeting any of the villages that I was supposed to see along the way. And the trail began resembling something of a goat path. And I did have to climb over a few creeks....and it did seem oddly flat and not coming down at - keeping in mind the promised gradual 2 km drop. About 3 hrs into the joyful singing walk through the alpine-like meadows of stunning vistas, it did occur to me that I haven't met another trekker. Ooh-oooh. Did I get lost? That would be my first time on this route.

ASIDE: Right about then, I stopped for a minute's breath on a breath-taking medow with the white peaks witnessing me silently.....and I saw a baba coming toward me from the forest. He sat down on the same resting platform [brilliant constructions of stone all over the Nepali trails] - barefoot, with his walking stick and sac with all his worldly possessions....his skin darkened to amber, his bones visible, his face serene. Silently, he pulled out a sac of powder from his folded cloth "rucksack" and offered me some pahat [ghee, honey and some spices - a delightfully yummy mixture] with a gentle smile....silently, we ate and watched our white peak witnesses. All I had to offer was some chocolate - he didn't take that. And just like that - without exchanging a single word, he headed off toward Gorepani.....

I whisked out my 55:000:1 map and began to dig for the goat route I was on. It was not marked. That was when I got that I need a bit higher resolution map to trek without a guide [obvious, one would think!]. Though, I gathered that I was about 1 km directly above the place I was supposed to be at. And so began my feverish descent to the village of Sikha [1/2 way poing between Gorepani and Tattopani]. Feverish because there was that cloud factor behind me - pushing alarmingly close. And not a single house in sight where I could hide in the case of an epic downpour that tends to happen there. Through the forest, cow paths, more than one tiered rice terrace and many-a-gulch......much of it seemed like bushwhacking - I felt fortunate to have my shock-absorbing trekking poles that held me like a mountain goat on sometimes 75% incline.... A strange experience after a well-trotten main Annapurna trail. Finally, I came across a farmer [after climbing out - literally - from a gulch bordering his land], who has almost walked me by the hand to the main trail towards Sikha - even though I've just asked to point in the direction. My exhausted face-expression must have played a role.....and, of course, the remarkable Nepali hospitality and open-heartedness.... I offered him some $$, but he absolutely refused to take it - he said I was a guest of his land, and it was his honour to welcome me however he could.

With my knees and ankles crying for mercy, I've made it into Sikha.....and just as I stepped into my lodge room, the blue window of the sky that has traveled above my head for about 2 hours has closed and the downfall has come. I think, that was the time I really got the meaning of "raining like cats and dogs" - there was big hail....and waterfalls came down from the roof. And I was inside - with a roastie and a hot shower! Can you believe it?!

The next day, I closed the 1000 km altitude gap between Sikha and Tatopani.....and soaked my weary bones in the hot springs near the fast glacier river..... It is a kindly recharging place....as many hot-spring bearing spots are. So green, with delicious food and many trekkers recovering from their journeys or just taking a break on the way to Jhomsom.

Here I realized that my trekking route was complete - my body was unambiguously crying for me to stop. However, I also felt that for whatever reason I must see the sacred Muktinath - the high-altitude Temple of Five Elements - one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in Nepal. I figured, given that I was somewhat short on time, given that I was to attend a Yoga school in India in but a week, the next day was to be the journey up.

I do have a thing for goats.....[meant in the best sense]

Platinum path

Nepali version of "King of the Mountain"

On the way to Potana - the first stop after Phedi

Twilight conversation

"Ruk" = "Tree" in Nepali.....in N.E. Sanskrit dialect, "Ruk" is a root for "hands".....you can see why Nepali is easy to learn.

Approaching Potana.

Nepali villagers make their own baskets.....and here's the action

Morning tea and unhurried conversation.....with the view below:

Could this be any more idyllic?

I stopped for my fill of Masala tea and watched the villagers go about their lives....
Tea is really the fuel on the trek.....the lemon-ginger kind is really something in these chilly hills!

That's a pretty standard grade for a Nepali path. Up and down and up again....The locals do it in flip-flops at an alarming speed.

Grandma cuts and granddaughter carries the firewood. The girl is maybe 12 years old.

Miley - my dear hostess in Tolka - tending her chickens

Miley and moi in Tolka - in front of her lovely guesthouse/home.

Miley's heart-warming smile

Path from Tolka to Landruk

Landruk village

The Great Gandruk peak watching

"Baishee" [Bisons]

Baishee at rest

How about that pastoral setting?

"Any questions?"

Landruk ->Gandruk trek - the view from the other side [looking upon Landruk]. That white trek on the other side is the path down to the river before one ascends "into the clouds" to Gandruk.

I had tea with these folks in Landruk, and they mentioned that the sister of this woman runs Panorama Inn in Tadapani [where I ended up staying a couple days later, when the rain caught me by surprise].

Telling you.....that thing for goats ;O)

My lucky Unicorn - did I meet the last one?

Doing laundry....

The roofs of Gandruk

When I made it there, I was so wiped from climbing down to the river and up "into the clouds" [that's what the travelers I met from the others side suggested I do if I were to get there!]. It was good to be there...

This is a normal sight on the path...

Those homes on the other side - that's Landruk, where I drank tea with the Indian family.

I stopped to refill my water bottle and found these curious treasures.

Nepali women can fashion almost anything out of scarves - so practical!

......where men are men.

Rest on the path.....

"There's just a blink between the past and the future....and that very blink is called 'life' "

A moment of peace

In Gandruk I realized just how high I was.....when I saw the eagles fly from above....they were in the clouds below me....so hypnotic and peaceful....

Twighlight tea....

on the way to Tadapani

I joined her on the roof for a bit and we shared the sound of silence....

Something wicked this way comes....

Separating the seeds from the sheaths....by the stick

A window of light

Lunch

King of the Mountain

Mossy beauty before Tadapani

I felt like I was in some "Big Fish" scene....or an amcient fairy tale - the only person on that mossy trail.... I half-expected some lepricon to jump out and join me with a jig!

Tadapani vista from the "Panorama Inn"

"Breakfast of Champions"

Ooooh, those mountain apple pies! Yummmmmy! Well worth the climb ;O)

The first rays of sun.....6 AM - time to hug the trail!

Gandruk in all his stark beauty!

We're going....down.

And some have more than a backpack to carry - that's how chicken ride around here!

Right before my meeting with my friends and Sher-Khan [Danila]

"Bagira and Sher-Khan" [my serendipitous friend who gently took off my backpack and carried it for 7 hours to Gorepani!]. Behind us - rhododendrons and the Fog. We were the genuine "Hedgehogs in the fog" [Ezhiki v Tumane].

Magical rhododendrons....how lucky we were!

"Hodyat koni.....nad rekoou" - that's what we sang, and the fog carried our harmonizing duo far and wide through the hills...

"Blossoms and Fog"

EZHIK V TUMANE = HEDGEHOG IN THE FOG - this little movie touches me to the core....it's simply beautiful and naively profound. True Zen.

Folks at the top - this kind of a rest platform for travelers is so common in Nepal - I believe, they are places where serendipity shows itself. 

Our mutant mouse [almost rabbity ears, but size of a mouse] - Sher-Khan and I took like 200 pix of it - we chased it between us through the rocks and got some beautiful "portraits," I don't think the poor critter had that much attention in years!

Top of the hill cairn

The fog is such a masterful sculptor - like Leonardo, it carves new figures from the forest by removing the unnecessary parts....

My Sanskrit-speaking friends - with the Gorepani's grand vista. They are taking off for Pokhara, and I'm off to Muktinath via Tattopani. Hence, our paths part....

Last I saw of them - and Sher-Khan ;O) Blessed winds!

Leaving Gorepani for Tattopani....or, as it turned out, Sikkha [1/2 way between the two].

A magical meadow I walked through - turns out, on the trail way above the intended one......

A rest platform on that meadow where I felt gravity to stop.

....and appreciate the gift of the vista before me.

And out of nowhere came a Baba with a sack....he sat on the platform next to me and shared some "pahati" with me [honey, ghee and nut flower]....and a moment of peaceful silence. Then he walked on without uttering a word.

Bamboo man....as I approached Sikkha [after finally finding my path and loosing 1km of height precipitously - right before the rain has showered down].

The view from my window in Sikkha

My window in Sikkha

Lakshmi tea place - rose pink water in every bottle, magenta flowers - Lakshmi reigned supreme here, and the tea was delicious as the honey flowed abundantly.

A marble quarry on the approach to Tattopani [the hot-spring town]

I love minerals almost as much as goats ;O) They are proof that nature is an incredible abstract artist.

I was to walk that ridge to go down to the white river below ["seti" kola = white river in Nepali, "kali kola" = black river].

And Tatopani was the end of my "by foot" trek. From there - up to Jomsom by bus and to Muktinath by a major off-roading jeep.