Starting down the steps

Being about 500 years newer than the Inca's staircase, the steps weren't quite as high

Will they ever end?

With my eye problems I really prefer going up rather than down.  These steps were a psychological torture, along with being really hard on the knees.  To add to the agony, the thermometer on my pack reached 80 degrees in the shade by mid-morning, and there was no shade.

We finally reached the bridge over the Bhurungdi Khola

Bridge over the Bhurungdi Khola

and several waterfalls.

We still weren’t done with steps.

More steps along the Bhurungdi Khola

On a terrace along the river I saw an interesting “scarecrow”, the only reference to the Maoists I recognized as such.

Terrace "art"

To scare the crows or make a political statement?

The rhododendrons were largely replaced by other flowers.

Pointsettia

The trail eventually joined the east bank of the Bhurungdi Khola and flattened out.  The Bhurungdi Khola wasn’t much of a river at the end of March, but it had a huge collection of rocks.

Pack train along the river path

Bhurungdi Khola

We’re nearing civilization which is moving even closer with the building of a new road.

This segment of the new road doesn't connect to anything yet, and it's very hot and dusty

A work in progress

We were soon back to the old trail.

Back on the old trail

And a few more steps

The trek from Ulleri to Birethanti is supposed to take 2 3/4 to 3 1/2 hours going down.  Going up the books suggest 3 1/2 to 5 hours.  It probably took me 4 1/2 to 5 hours.  Except for lunch, we didn’t stop–a real torture for me as it was extremely hot and I got dehydrated.

After a shower at the Moonlight Hotel in Birethanti, guess what I had to drink?

The Moonlight Hotel "bar"

An Everest!

Birethanti had shops because it was just possible to reach it by road, although a high clearance SUV would have been much better than the cars I saw.

A street in Birethanti

Poon Hill

Unfortunately, it was too cloudy and hazy for great pictures, but here are the best of the lot.

Machhapuchhare just before sunrise

Dhaulagiri at sunrise

Sunrise from Poon Hill

Annapurna South and Machhapuchhare at sunrise from Poon Hill

On the way back to the lodge for breakfast, I spied a tall tree with yellow flowers–the only one I saw.

After breakfast, we began the descent in earnest.  From Ghorepani to Ulleria involved a descent of over 2200 feet.

The steps outside the hotel

The steps through town

The Medical Outpost & The steps at the edge of town

More steps

There were, of course, more rhododendrons, but I also happened upon some orchids.

Orchids

As we followed a stream, there were waterfalls large and small.

\

We encountered a pack train of mules laden with food supplies for the lodges.

Would you like chicken for dinner?

Check-out the path, more steps

The driver wore crocs!

Many of the men from these villages serve in Gurkha regiments of the British Army overseas.

I really have to concentrate on my feet going down hill, so I don’t see much of my surroundings unless I stop.  That coupled with the haze and low-hanging clouds which obscured the mountain peaks meant I took no mountain pictures the entire day after leaving the top of Poon Hill.

We stopped in Banthanti (7,546′) for lunch around 11:30. 

My porter in Banthanti

It took less than an hour to reach Ulleri (6791′).  As this was our stopping point, I had lots of time to take pictures.

Sawing wood

Thatch-roofed building

How do you like the steps to the woodpile?

I stayed at the Mira or Meera Guest House.

Mira Guesthouse, Ulleri

The terrace of the Mira Guesthouse in Ulleri

The Mira's dining room

The Mira's nasturtiums

The Mira's toilet

I had a great corner room here that would have provided fantastic views if it hadn’t been engulfed in clouds.  It also had a bathroom, a most interesting one.

The shower

The toilet

From my window I could look down at the activity at the spigot.

An interesting way to scrub your clothes

Since the Hungry Eye sat at the base of a cliff, I have no pictures of the sunrise on the mountains.

Rhododendrons at first light

Starting at the base of a cliff, the trail headed up through a glen with numerous little waterfalls.

Waterfall near Banthanti

We passed a point where a child died, but I cannot find any further information than what was on the sign.  This was the only place along the entire trail that I saw something like this.

Saranga Riv, son of trekking guide Ganga Bahadur Ghale and Jacqueline Doens

Prayer flags for Saranga Riv Ghale

There were more primroses

and some rare pine trees near Deurali and the top of the pass.

Annapurna South through the rhododendrons

These rhododendron were much reder than most

Annapurna South

We were approaching civilization.

Ghorepani Medical Post, 1 hr

Up to this point, we had seen few large groups of trekkers.  But from here on down to the road, we saw many.  It was the end of March and clearly a lot of college students from all over the world were on holiday.  There were also groups of older folks.

A group heading up to the Sanctuary

Our mountain views now included Dhaulagiri, the world’s 7th highest mountain,

Dhaulagiri

and Machhapuchhare was disappearing behind the mountains we’d crossed.

Machhapuchhare is disappearing from sight

A rest stop

The rhododendron were mostly in various shades of pink

Dhaulagiri

We arrived in Ghorepani before lunch time and checked into the Nice View Lodge in the upper part of town.

Nice Viewpoint Lodge, Ghorepani

Being back in “civilization”, I had my own bathroom–the nicest I had on the trek.

Shower and sink

A western toilet!

But somehow, they forgot about the ceiling.

Bathroom ceiling

The lodge had a huge dining area with fantastic views,

View from Nice Viewpoint

and it served chicken!

When we’d passed through the lower town, I had spied an internet sign, so after lunch and a shower, I went hunting for it. 

"Downtown" Ghorepani

The "central square"

Unfortunately, the service was down.  I gathered that the land-line telephone service was rather spotty, but there also seemed to be problems with the electricity.  I left my camera battery charging for hours and the light never turned green.

Machhapuchhare at sunrise

A short day of walking through rhododendron forests.  We started later (around 8a) and stopped earlier (about 1:30) with a long, long stop for lunch.

We'll hike from Mountain Discovery Lodge to Banthanti

A pack train was being readied for the trail.

Pack train

From the Mountain Discovery Lodge we climbed about 1200′ to Tadapani (8,530′) through a thick rhododendron forest in full bloom.  It was a stiff climb, but absolutely fantastic.

This tree with white flowers was a rarity

Annapurna South

Trail through the rhododendron

Annapurna South and Machhapuchhare from Tadapani

We stayed a while at Tadapani–a couple of hours, until after lunch. 

Himalayan lizard

Verditer Flycatcher

Large-billed Crows

From Tadapani, it was a steep downhill to a stream and the four lodges that make up Banthanti.

Annapurna South among the rhododendron

Machhapuchhare among the rhododendron

Dishes awaiting cleaning

Walking under rhododendron

The stream

Arriving at Banthanti

We stayed at the Hungry Eye

Hungry Eye at Banthanti

where the chickens foraged among the dirty dishes

Chickens lunching on the leftovers

and I had another room with a stone floor and leaky windows.

My room at the Hungry Eye

My room at Kalpana Guesthouse in Chomrong

My stuff; all the rooms would be really cozy if you were sharing

was the best I had on the trek when it comes to a view as it had windows on two sides.

Annapurna South from my window

Annapurna South

Machhapurchhare

From Chomrong we take a different path for our return trip. 

Today we'll walk from Chomrong to the Mountain Discovery Lodge at Chiule

Even though we are heading down, on this day we’ll end up higher than when we started.  Chomrong is at 7,249′; the Mountain Discovery Lodge at 7,365′.  In between, the trail descends to a bridge crossing at 6,332′.

We were out of the Sanctuary and back to walking between villages and among the fields.  Our first “agricultural” encounter was a group of men sheering goats.

Sheering goats

Part of the flock

Nearby a new lodge was being built.

A lodge under construction

It will have some great views.

Annapurna South

For the first couple of hours the trail followed the contours of the mountains without any major ascents or descents.

The path was easy, with lots of views

We met non-trekkers,

Carrying wood home

and, for the first time on this trek, we met a mule train.

The last mule in the train that passed us

We were just over there

We also saw some birds, including this scarlet minivet.

Scarlet minivet

At the village of Ghurjung we began our descent.

Starting down to Ghurjung

The hills were aflame with rhododendron

A child at Ghurjung

I see a bridge and think we’re nearing the bottom.

A bridge over a feeder stream to the Kimrong Khola

But, it’s just a side stream. 

The bridge is over this canyon

As if that wasn’t enough of a downer, my guide points out our destination at the top of the far ridge–the little depression minus trees coming in from the left in the photo below.  We won’t make it there today, but early tomorrow.

We're heading for the lodge at the top of the far ridge

Just before the bridge, we stopped at the Green Hill Lodge for tea.

Green Hill Lodge

Children at Green Hill Lodge

Crossing the canyon

There were several more guesthouses and a school between this bridge and the river.  At one guesthouse, a woman was carding,

A woman carding

and I finally found real tomatoes!

Tomatoes that look like tomatoes!

We finally reached the bottom and the bridge over the Kimrong Khola.

Bridge over the Kimrong Khola between Ghudrung and Siprong

From here it was a steep uphill climb to the British Gurkha Guesthouse where we stopped for lunch.  There were several monks here, and this woman was filling butter lamps.

Melting butter

Filling a lamp

She had quite a few to fill

The courtyard of the guesthouse was a busy place.  Along with the woman filling butter lamps, a girl was practicing soccer moves, and some of the locals were eating their lunch.  Some people use a knife to peel a piece of fruit (note the Giants T-shirt),

Peeling fruit with a knife

but this guy preferred his machete.

Peeling fruit with a machete

Some parts of the uphill path weren’t so great,

I suppose these rocks are useful when it's raining, but--

but some places had stone steps, although they weren’t nearly as nice as those at Chomrong.

Crude stone steps heading up from Kimrong Khola

As we climb ever higher, there are great views of where we’ve come from.

We started way around on the other side of the mountain

Like in Bhutan, obtaining forage for the livestock isn’t easy.  One favorite means is to denude whatever kind of tree this is.

A tree shorn of its leaves for forage

Bundling the leaves to carry them home

A less common method was to scrounge for dead organic matter.

More walking trees!

This was one steep climb!

Up, up, up, and we're not there yet

We took another rest stop at a burned out guesthouse which must have had great views from its rooms.

Looking north towards Annapurna South

Looking towards Machhapuchhre and the way we came from the northeast

We finally reached the Mountain Discovery Lodge on a small ledge that is used for pasturing mules.

Note the small eco-friendly sign

Additional rooms are being added to the 2nd floor

Hand-made building blocks

I assume the new bricks will be used for creating walls between the rooms

The partially completed new WC  has a wall covering I never saw anyplace else.  I wonder what they will put on the top part of the walls.

New WC

This was a very, very popular stopping place.  It was full.  A large portion of the guests were members of a Korean trekking club that brought their own chef.  They had been camping, and some of their sleeping bags must have gotten wet as they were spread out all over the lawn.  Did I say lawn?  Yes, this place had a lawn.

Lawn of the Mountain Discovery Lodge

And it used recycled glass to edge its flowerbeds.

A novel flower bed edging material

In the sanctuary beyond Chomrong, bottles are not allowed.  Both soda and beer must be in cans.

The Koreans were into karaoke.  They played music and sang until about 10 p.m.–mostly American songs.

Map of MBC to Chomrong

It’s uphill out of Bamboo.

Steps heading up and south from Bamboo

Rhododendron (stopping to take a picture gives me an excuse to stop)

I forgot to take my sunrise picture, so here’s one at about 8:45a.

Machhapuchhare is back to looking like a fishtail

Now it was time to start down.

A short stretch of nice and easy downhill

They're like a magnet, always drawing your attention

We stopped at Hilltop after 2+ hours of walking for tea.

Hen-and-chicks

Cabbage patch

From Hilltop to the Sherpa Lodge at Sinuwa was 45 minutes, mostly on steps.  You can see Chomrong strung out along the opposite hillside.  Remember the Kalpana, my destination, is near the top of the escarpment.

My porter starting down from Hilltop towards Sinuwa

Sherpa Guesthouse at Sinuwa

The Sherpa's store

We were a little early for lunch, so I ordered pizza because it would take a while.  That gave me lots of time to investigate my surroundings, a luxury I usually didn’t have.

Notice the shape of the saw this carpenter is using

Every day is laundry day for these guest houses.

Step 1: at the "well"

Step 2: Scrub and rinse

Step 3: Early in the day there's sun & wind for drying

Meanwhile, there’s the garden to tend.

Here are those "tomatoes" again

Those bright colored buckets are used for everything

Another species of Sempervivum

A butterfly

These are the steps leading down from Sinuwa.

Steps down from Sinuwa to the Chomro Khola

Throughout the trek every once in a while there was a little sign with some eco-awareness saying.

The steps:

I'm heading up

But these kids were coming down from school

Will they ever end?

I started trekking around 7:30a at MBC and ended the day at Bamboo a little after 3p.  With my eye problems, downhill is no piece of cake, so it usually takes me as long as going up.

A repeat of one ice field, but this time you can see Annapurna III

There's new snow on the sides of the mountains

An interesting crossing

One can see the meandering river through the rocks of the valley when going in this direction

Turn around, and Annapurna is in your face

I've been walking 45 min & I'm not done with the ice yet

Remember this on the way up, there was awall of fog just beyond the ice field. Now you can see the path.

One of the bridges over the Modi Khola

Without the struggle to breathe going up and the need to beat the storm, one can stop and examine the river

The view from the bridge; there's more water after the storm

It's hard to not keep looking back; the mountain is like a magnet

Cathedrals along the river

Can you find the cairn? I was glad I had a guide.

There it is!

Do I go up and over or around?

Deurali is just ahead

Looking back to Deurali; going down doesn't mean one is always descending

Lunchtime at Himalaya, and the warm clothes have disappeared into the pack

We're back in the bamboo forest heading for Dovan

Black-faced Langur

Langur in the tree tops

Langur on the ground

If the vegetation were different, this could be a bit of the AT

Then again, our rhododendron never get this big or showy

The Tip Top at Dovan was full when we arrived around 2, so we had to proceed to Bamboo.  At the Bomboo Lodge, I got a hot shower!!! and renewed acquaintance with three Swedes I’d met at Chomrong.  (And there was glass in the window, so no draft!)

Since I couldn’t take any pictures when I arrived at MBC, I’m limiting this post to my early morning shots before we started down at about 7:30a.

Gurung Co-op Guest House sign

Annapurna South and the way to ABC are behind me

Tharpa Chuli or Tent Peak towers over MBC

One of the reasons we began our descent about 15 minutes after we left the lodge was that we had to wait for an event.  It began by several men shoveling some snow.  [Note the icy path in front of them.]

Shoveling snow in front of the Gurung Co-op

Soon we heard a chopper.

And it landed right beside the path.

Several of these people below climbed aboard,

and by the time we got down the path to their level, the chopper was taking off.

Deb thought probably someone in the party was suffering from altitude sickness, but I heard from someone else later in the day that they had flown up the day before, hiked to ABC, spent the night, and flown out.

My porter with the lodge and Tent Peak behind

The way to ABC

Tharpu Chuli

ABC is just over the hill

Machhapuchhare Base Camp (MBC)

The way down

I wonder how long it takes to dry

At the Tip Top in Dovan, I had to put pillows in the window which had no glass in order to cut the draft.  The rock floor meant it took a while to get my feet warm even though I had a heavy cover over my sleeping bag.  When I got up in the morning, it was 40°–a lot warmer than the 18 on a February night in Joshua Tree NP. 

Sunrise on Machhapuchhare from Dovan

The day in brief:

Dovan, 8,550’ OR 8218’, 7:23a

Himalayan Hotel  9514’ or 9318’ OR 10,1168’ OR 9580’, ar 9:11, lv 9:30

Deurali  10,597’ OR 10,398’, ar 11:20, lv 12:08

Machhapuchhare Base Camp  12,477’ or 12,139’ or 12,136’, ar abt 3

Dovan to MBC

The posted signboard times were:

Dovan to Himalaya 2 hr

Himalaya to Deurali, 1 ½ hr

Deurali to MBC 2 hr

 At Doran the trail is high above the river with thick stands of bamboo blocking the view of the rushing river and waterfalls on the other side of the river.  

The trail just outside of Dovan

Bamboo and rhododendron rainforest

Primroses, a sign of spring

The river was gaining elevation faster than we were.

The Modi Khola with the Himalaya Guest House in the distance

Approaching the Himalaya Guest House

After crossing a landslide and another avalanche track, we arrived at the Himalayan Hotel where we stopped for a cup of tea.

Boulders in the Modi Khola

Is that Annapurna III peeking out behind Machhapuchhare?

The forest disappeared opening up views of the many waterfalls.

One of many waterfalls (and avalanche chutes) in the area

Deurali is still about a 1/2 hour away at this point.  See those blue roofs in the distance?  They look so near, but there are lots of rocks between here and there.

Approaching Deurali

The first small patch of ice to be crossed

The path is narrow

Another waterfall

Waterfalls and rocks

A water crossing without a bridge

In Deurali  we stopped for lunch at the Panorama Guest House.  

Panorama Guest House in Deurali

From Deurali, we followed the flank of the river to a point where the trail crossed the river to avoid an area heavily prone to avalanches. 

The raging Modi Khola

Crossing the river involved some rock-hopping and a small bridge that could be moved as necessary.

Bridge to the east side of the Modi Khola

About this time the clouds descended.

The bridge back over the Modi Khola

Back on the west side of the river, we soon left its banks to climb up onto a terrace above the river.

We're going to cross the snow and ice to work our way up the side valley

Another ice field to be crossed

It’s supposedly “a gentle climb to  reach Macchapuchre Base Camp” from here,  BUT–

Because it was late spring, the surface of the ice had been constantly melting and then refreezing over night.  Where no one had tread, it was hard and slick.  Where people had tread, it was slushy and slippery.  Most people’s strides were longer than mine, meaning it was difficult to get traction.  Moreover, finding holes for my poles required careful placement rather than just the usual; otherwise, they would just go sliding.  I probably should have stopped to remove the rubber tips, but by the time I figured that out, it was too late.   Moreover, it had started to precipitate, a combination of rain, sleet and snow.  

I packed my camera away in a dry bag, so I have no more pictures for the day.  Besides, it was so foggy when we arrived at MBC, I couldn’t see more than 100′ or so.

Because we were behind most arrivals for the night, Deb had to try several guesthouses before he found one with a single room—the Gurung Cooperative.  There was no electricity in the room.

 It was cold.  A put on all my layers of clothing to sit in the great room where they finally turned on the propane heater under the table at 5 p.m.   At 5 MBC was totally socked in; you couldn’t see the next guesthouse.  By 6, it was clear.

There's no spectacular morning light on Annapurna South from Chomrong

But we finally can see the fishtail of Macchapuchhare

Today’s hike in brief:

Chomrong (7,119′) down to Chomro Khola (6,200′) and then up to Dovan (8,550′), estimated time 6-7 hrs.

Partial sketch map of Annapurna Sanctuary Trek

Part 1: Descend from Chomrong to river and up to Sinuwa

Today's path from Chomrong to Sinuwa, Bamboo and Dovan

Since the Kalpana Guest House was in the upper town, we began hiking by descending the long stone staircase to the Chomro Khola, which we crossed on a suspension bridge. 

Bridge over the Chomro Khola below Chomrong

And then we, of course, had to go back up the side of the mountain to Sinuwa, which had just a few of lodges.  One trekking guide called it a “stiff climb,”  an understatement.  But at least it was early in the morning.

Chhomrung after about 1/2 hour of ascent

Chomrong after 3/4 hr of ascent

I think the Kapana was the one with the green roof near the top

 At the Hilltop Lodge in Sinuwa I inhaled a Power Bar around 9:30 when we stopped for tea and wished I had another in my pack.

One last look back to where we've been; you can just make out Jhina Danda as a few specs on the lower ridge

Next is Bamboo and then Dovan

The ACAP’s Annapurna Sanctuary Special Management Zone begins at Sinuwa.  From here on, no wood fires are allowed, so all lodges must cook with kerosene or gas.  Lodges also are restricted to six or seven bedrooms in designated locations.  According to the trekking guide, about half of the lodges from Sinuwa upwards are owned by Chomrong villagers. 

Even so, we’re not in the wilderness.

Modern technology is never far away

but there's still only one way to carry stuff

I still don't know what these are

At this point the stone steps disappeared (for the most part, but not totally), and the trail narrowed.  On the ridge, the path through the forest was rocky with lots of tree roots.  Just like home on the AT!  We crossed a stream and passed the ruins of an ACAP post (Khuldigar or Khurdi Ghar, 7,800’) before starting steeply downhill to a damp bamboo forest and a collection of lodges called Bamboo, where we stopped for lunch at 12:30 at the Bamboo Guesthouse.

Bamboo forest

 The guidebook allows 4 to 4 ¾ hrs for the trip.  I did it in 5 (including the stop in Sinuwa), but I was exhausted and dehydrated.  (It’s hard to break your rhythm to stop and drink.  I did have Gatorade powder along, so most of the time I was drinking Gatorade.)   My first order of business was to drink a coke while I waited for  a plate of spaghetti and some French fries.  I finished with an apple. 

This was the only time I ended up sitting with Americans.  Most of the people I met at the guesthouses were from other places: France, Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands, Denmark, and Great Britain, to name a few.  On the trail I saw a group of Japanese for several days, but they were camping, probably because they were a group.

From Bamboo the trail climbed steadily, crossing the Bamboo Khola and several other streams leading to the Modi Khola before reaching Dovan (8,331’) at 2:45p.

We were back in the rhododendron forest

Rhododendron alongside a waterfall

The Hotel Tip-Top had hot showers, and since it was sunny when we arrived, we all did some laundry.

Hotel Tip-Top at Dovan

Laundry with a view

There was a waterfall to help you sleep, not that I needed it.

Waterfall at the Tip-Top

And there were flowers everywhere you looked.