Annapurna Trek!

o we rocked out the Annapurna Trek in Nepal and crossed through the Thorong-La Pass at 17,768 feet. I actually made it to 17,777 feet because once we got up there i had to wee and the "out door" bathroom was up this little hill behind the tea house. A porter and i were heading to the "out door toilet" at the same time and he was heading left so i headed right. Then he switched directions so i in turn changed mine, then he did this the third time and after ascending 5000 feet I really didn’t want to go to much further up so I took control of the situation and told the porter, “Hey go left and I’ll go right, Thika?” That topped me off at 17,777.

Anyway the trip was great. We started our trek strong after a 5 day fast inspired by giardia and luckily is sprung up for us again about halfway through the trek. But we rested and made it through! Well done us!

Here are a few pictures from the trek. There is one of us, “looking the part, ehh?”

Another one is on these cages that porters wear and they hike and deliver chickens! How cool is that. We also saw some mules doing the same, but the porters out number the mule chicken carriers by a 30 to 1 ratio.

One is the sign at the top of the Thorong-La pass. Feel free to down load it yourself , show it to folks, and tell people you made the trek!

One is of the goat herders and their posse! It was cool, we got to be escorted by mountain goats!

And the final one is of a gorgeous mountain range who’s name escapes me but in was in the beginning of the trek. This mountain is BEAUTIFUL and the picture doesn’t do it justice!

All in all a great trek and you should do it before it “goes commercial.” The only road less section will be from Manang to Muktinath (about a 4 day section).

As a side note you really don’t need a guide if you have a decent map, and know something about the outdoors. We highly recommend going to the Acute Mountain Sickness talk in Manang- Very informative.

Also if you can stay where the porters stay if you get the change. It is a welcome changed from the hotels and you get to sit around the fire and hear their stories. It was a very rewarding experience for us!~