Back to the Circuit

To continue the Nepali adventures....

By the eighth day of trekking Steph and I reached Braga, a short 20 min walk from the relative metropolis of Manang. From Upper Pisang we turned our backs on the staggering view of Pisang Peak and, from across the valley, walked along side Annapurna II and IV. I killed my camera battery in the first few hours of walking. Good lighting is fickle in the steep canyons, so it's necessary to snap while the snappn's good. Manang Valley was perhaps my favorite of the trail. The river was mostly dry, leaving behind a washed bed of braided stone. Conical ribbons of karsted sandstone bisect the major mountain ranges on either side of the valley, which narrows as it bends toward Thorong La. We took a "rest day" in Braga to allow our bodies to adjust to the elevation. I use the term loosely since we took advantage of our location and hiked up to the ice lakes at 15,000 ft. From that vantage point it feels like you're sitting in the middle of a chandelier. Instead of poking at the sky from below, the mountains seem to be hanging like a snowy 360 degree curtain. Incredible. Annapurna II IV and I tower above the lakes, a wall of peaks and glaciers with moraines splashing out below. We took on the beast of a hike with our friend Jonas, who ultimately got sick later in the evening and must of made the pass several days after us- we never saw him again. Fortunately, neither Steph nor I felt any of the negative side effects that often come with hiking at elevation.

While in Braga, we stayed at the New Yak lodge and kept warm with steaming cups of "hot lemon, " which is essentially hot lemon/lime Gatoraid. At this point the dream of showering with water more hospitable than glacial flow had long disintegrated, so with the teasing promise of a mild solar shower as our carrot we spent our second "rest day" in Manang itself. Other than a short morning jaunt to the ice blue waters of Gangapurna Lake, our time in Manang was spent collecting our last necessities before the pass and sampling Yak meat. I have re-termed Steph's vegetarianism to very respectable "flexitarianism." One of the many things I love about my cherished friend is her shared sense of culinary adventure. So, on that day, we ordering what Mavis's Kitchen calls "Yak Strog-noff." Verdict: super tasty, but the local cheese is much more yakalicious.

After strongly considering hanging around this area for a few extra days, we decided to take advantage of the incredible weather and continue making our way toward the pass.

As an aside, this is where we learned that most of the villages along the trail have long been abandoned by their original inhabitants. Most have moved to larger cities like Kathmandu for work (especially the youth and the men) and those that remain or have relocated here have come to take part in the tourist industry. It was sort of a harsh reality to face. The Annapurna region and pace of life there seemed so idyllic, so it was strange to view it again as a place much changed (and potentially not totally for the better culturally) under the gilded weight of almost constant tourism. The romantic vacuum-like oyster was transformed into the very real- an ever-adjusting, self-preserving, self-advancing reality. As we continued, a different kind of appreciation evolved.

With our water purification systems (steri pens) on the fritz from some combination of cold and elevation, we stocked up on vit-C fortified drink powder, re-stocked our chapstick supply, and purchased some Thanksgiving chocolate before hitting the trail to Yakarka. The three hour hike passed herds of the impressively adroit furry cow-like animals. Their snaking paths all along the hillsides were more than enough proof of their suitability to the steep scree sloped terrain. The Lulu peaks became visible as we turned the bend, with the trail snaking up toward our next destination at Thorong Phedi, or "foot of the hill." We were free to pace as we pleased before Manang, but from there we were careful not to ascend too quickly and risk altitude sickness. Yakarka was memorable for the rounds of poker, etc played around a smoky yak dung fire, and for the stench of the squat toilet that almost ran us out of our room. Thanksgiving marked the day before the pass. We broke into our Toblerone and a petrified (to our dismay) Cadbury 'fruit and nut' bar to give thanks. Much of the day was spent slurping down garlic soup and chattering about the pass conditions- the topic was popular among all trekkers and implied a heightened sense of intimidation as pass day approached. Our friend Rom brought his mandolin and played familiar tunes with a couple of locals with a slide guitar.