Hi Everyone,

I am back in Pokhara after an awesome trek with a few of my students through the lower villages of the Annapurna sanctuary and then ultimately right up to Annapurna Base Camp itself.

It is hard to describe a trek through the Himalayas. Mere adjectives don't really do it justice. For me, it is an experience that encompasses every aspect of my being. In anycase, I will try my best.

The morning that our adventure begun we left Pokhara and drove to Nayaphul, about 1.5 (40kms) hours west of here. The first day - by Himalayan standards - was easy, a few hours walk to a small village called Hile, at about 1400m. We settled into our typical Nepali lodge and then walked 10 minutes to a nearby waterfall, where we all splashed around in the cold water for a while. After we returned and replenished ourselves on tea and biscuits, I spoke to the students about high altitude health, in preparation for what was to come.

The next day the hard slog begun. Leaving Hile we climbed up a very steep - and what seemed at times to be vertical - stone staircase 500m to the small village of Ulleri. This took us just over 1 hour. It was hard work, and we took a short break up the top. Still, there was another 1000m to climb for the day! Around 3pm we finally made it into Ghorepani---actually in surprisingly good condition.

Early the next morning we made the hike (along with a few others) up to Poon Hill, one of the most famous viewpoints in the entire Himalayas. It was a perfect sunrise and the view was amazing. I was last there 10 years ago and it made me think of the photo I had given to my dad of me standing up there with the mountains in the background all those years back. Becca wasn't feeling too well that morning, so she stayed in bed and peered outside her window...which almost provided as good a view!

We returned to our lodge for breakfast and then packed and headed on our way to Tadopani. Ghorepani to Tadopani was a fairly short day of about 4 hours, with a few stiff climbs, and we pulled in there around lunch. We intended to go further but the skies opened up as we finished lunch and so the decision was made to rest there for the day. And besides, the view of Macchupucchare (Fish Tail) from here warranted an overnight stay, in my opinion. Macchupucchare (just under 7000m)
has never been summited - it is a sacred mountain and is named after the unique, fish tail-like nature of its summit.

Afternoons and nights - I should say - were spent eating, reading menus, ordering, waiting for more food, eating and then going to bed, never later than 8pm. This isn't too far from the truth. You really get into a delightfully simple routine while trekking and it does revolve around three basic things - walking, sleeping and eating. I enjoy all three immensely. The menus become all too familiar - veg cheese macaroni, hot ginger lemon honey, chips and eggs, tibetan bread with cheese, veg spring roll... When you pop your head into the kitchens, and survey the cooking equipment - usually two gas burners, and a motley collection of utensils and charred pots and pans - it is amazing the quality of food that does actually emerge from them. Sometimes I would think, surely there can't be any nutrition coming out of this kitchen, but we were all regularly surprised.

The next day was 'solo' walking day, which basically meant that we all left in 20 minute intervals along a trail which goes through some dense forest and some more remote villages. It was a beautiful trail - quiet, forested, mountain views, a few traditional villages and the odd local and westerner walking past. I pulled into Chomrong at 9.45am and then eagerly awaited the arrival of the rest of the group.

To my surprise Zach arrived next, despite the fact we had agreed that David would leave after me and then Zach! After some time David arrived to much jeering...I only got lost once he reported! By 1pm everyone had arrived and hopefully they had all learnt something about trekking independently in the Himalayas from the experience.

Chomrong is set in a spectacular location at the base of Annapurna South (7219m) and at the point where the lower valley systems seem to all come together and united as one, head north towards the abode of the Himalayan gods.

Two students left us at Chomrong - Zach had come down with a sore throat and he didn't want to go higher feeling as he did. Becca was also finding the going tough and so we decided that the two of them should head back to Pokhara with Amit, our Nepali guide.

The next day, after saying goodbye to the others, David, Serena, Courtney and myself headed out along the trail towards the high mountains to the north. We powered along, as we seemed to normally do, up and down the steep stone staircases and through the dense oak and bamboo forests of the Annapurnas. It was Himalayan trekking at its finest.

Just before Himalaya (at 2900m, our destination for that evening) we had to contend with two avalanches, an unwelcome sight I had been forewarned about by some friendly Canadian folks back in Chomrong. This area is known to be avalanche prone and we needed to be very careful when crossing it - the slightest of slips would have proved very serious. Fortunately we had acquired some trusty bamboo sticks to help us navigate those slippery avalanches. We did so with finesse - a good thing - and our lodge at the aptly named Himalaya came as a welcome sight.

From Himalaya things really got exciting, as the next day our goal was Macchupucchare base camp (MBC), some 800 meters higher at 3700m. I felt our acclimatisation regime was sufficient. We had been living for one month at 2000m in Darjeeling, and in the last few days had been up around 2700-3100m a couple of times. So the big jump up to 3700m didn't concern me.

We hit the snow line almost immediately after Himalaya and it was slippery going. The snow freezes overnight, so in effect the trail is as much ice as snow. Fortunately there was a decent trail to follow, but it was still tough hiking considering the altitude, snow, slippery trails, crossing snow bridges over freezing rivers and then dealing with the intense sun once its rays reached us deep in the valley.

We made it to MBC by 10am and the rest of the day was spent relaxing and eating. I had decided that we would sleep at MBC (3700m) rather than Annapurna base camp (4100m) as I felt that jumping up to ABC would most likely lead to one of the students coming down with acute mountain sickness. This still became an issue at MBC, but only a minor one and didn't cause the issues that it may have should we have been further up at ABC.

The next morning, with perfect skies, we took off early through the snow to Annapurna base camp. We got there by 7am and basked in the morning sun and sublime views for an hour or so, taking photos and enjoying the moment.

We made it back to MBC, packed our packs, and then headed down  through the melting snow and over the dodgy snow bridges to Himalaya. We enjoyed a big lunch there and then made it down to a small village called Bamboo (2300m) for the night. It was a huge day, about 7-8 hours of serious hiking with full packs and much of it in snow but the group did really well.

We played Spades (a card game) that night, and Serena and I taught David a lesson
he will likely never forget.

The next day it was mission impossible - Bamboo to Pokhara in one day! We had decided to go for it, knowing it would be a foot slog par excellence, but everyone was keen for it. Hour after hour went by, and I had to laugh too myself as I would notice how ragged - including myself - everyone looked. While only 8 days in length, the Annapurna base camp trek is not easy. It is actually rated as "Very Difficult" by Nepa, the map-making organization here in Nepal.

The climb to Chomrong was quite a hurdle, both physically and mentally. We could hardly speak as we got to the top of the hill and fell into a lodge's dining hall requesting water and whatever chocolate they could provide us. After 30 minutes we marched on ...and on... and on. By about 4pm we had made it Syauli Bazaar where it has been rumoured that a taxi may be possible for Pokhara, instead of another 1.5 hours further down the track.

By this time, however, the afternoon showers had begun in earnest - usual for this time of year - and so we decided to stay the night here rather than risk going another 15 minutes in the rain only to find no taxis.

It felt good to relax for the evening, our last in the mountains, and to know that we would be leaving the Himalayas the next morning in a much more fresh and calm state. I'm glad we didn't leave that night in the end. It worked out well. We had a restful evening and we were close enough to the road head to get out easily the next day.

We were back in Pokhara before lunch...the mountains behind us...but hopefully the experiences and perspectives will always be with us.

Now we have a few days to relax and unwind in Pokhara before traveling back to Kathmandu on the 4th where we will reunite with the rest of our group, who have been trekking north of Kathmandu.

Our 10-day Buddhist retreat at Kopan Monastery is from the 6th to the 16th April. And the good news is we have flights confirmed for Lhasa for the 17th...

Best wishes to everyone,

Gavin