Date: Saturday, June 23, 2012
Location: Manang
Elevation: 3540m
Today's trek was about as far as yesterday's, but with much milder ups and downs and no significant altitude change we finished it really quickly. It felt so short that I was surprised to see this village. We hiked with Mike and Rob again today and I enjoyed their company because a week straight with Peter had been making me go nuts yesterday.
We planned to sleep in today - as much sleeping in we could do given that we fell asleep before 9pm yesterday. At 5:20am Rob started knocking on the plank of wood separating our beds, excitedly telling us to look out the window. I rub my eyes, pull back the lace drapes, and see the most astounding thing of my life: Annapurna II and all but the summit of IV. What I thought was the mountain yesterday was only a minor cliff face. The sun rose over the valley and first hit the peak then took about a half hour to work its way below the snow line. The thing was 4km higher than our elevation. Impossible! And to think that Everest is almost 1km taller than A-II is just mind-boggling.
The boys put on some warm clothes to walk to the edge of the village but I just stayed snuggled in bed, chin propped up the windowsill, watching the clouds roll in. We were higher than the clouds, so the entire valley floor was covered and the mountains across looked like they were floating. I'm at a loss for words to describe the scenery. A brainstorming session with the boys didn't come up with much more poetic ways to put the view into words. We all took a lot of photos in hope that the images will re-spark this magical sensation in the future.
The first hour to hour and a half of the hike was on the high trail with continual views of II and IV. I found a little pinnacle to hike up from which we took triumphant-looking mountaineer photos. The rest of the day was either downhill or flat as we rejoined the low road on our way to Manang. Now we are in Manang, trying to figure out our game plan for resting and a side trip to Tilicho Lake. I bought six candy bars (Snickers, dark Kit Kats, dark Tolberone, and Twix) to get me through the rest of the hike. They ranged from Rs 80-100 ($0.95 to 1.15) and were irresistably inexpensive. So it goes.
The AMS talk and health station are closed because it is low season. Only 260 trekkers entered the AC in June last year, with over 60,000 visiting over all of 2011. Peter and I instead are listening to my Saturday oldies right now. I managed to get my own room at this teahouse and am so excited to have it to myself tonight. Now to nap.
Location: Manang
Elevation: 3540m
Today's trek was about as far as yesterday's, but with much milder ups and downs and no significant altitude change we finished it really quickly. It felt so short that I was surprised to see this village. We hiked with Mike and Rob again today and I enjoyed their company because a week straight with Peter had been making me go nuts yesterday.
We planned to sleep in today - as much sleeping in we could do given that we fell asleep before 9pm yesterday. At 5:20am Rob started knocking on the plank of wood separating our beds, excitedly telling us to look out the window. I rub my eyes, pull back the lace drapes, and see the most astounding thing of my life: Annapurna II and all but the summit of IV. What I thought was the mountain yesterday was only a minor cliff face. The sun rose over the valley and first hit the peak then took about a half hour to work its way below the snow line. The thing was 4km higher than our elevation. Impossible! And to think that Everest is almost 1km taller than A-II is just mind-boggling.
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