Saturday, March 24, 2018

Upper Pisang to Manang: Climbing into the Sky


Josh awoke feeling able to continue the trek towards Manang (11,500 ft/3500m) where we have to stay for 2 days to acclimatize before our push to Thorang La Pass.


The staff at Hotel Manang Marshyangdi were extremely kind and didn’t mind me ferrying food and hot ginger tea to the bungalow for my patient,



Our hike ensued at 08:30am through pine forests followed by arid sections with primitive dry stack rock dwellings dotted along the way. 


Looking back towards Upper Pisang and it’s backdrop of Swargadwari aka the Great Wall of Nepal, we could not help but feel a sense of awe at the magnificence of our surroundings and the fact that we were even there at all. The rewards of getting out of your comfort zone are huge!


Humde was the halfway point of today’s walk, a tiny little village with an Airport situated at an elevation of 11,145 ft.


A cup of lemon, ginger honey tea and an apple pie made from scratch while we waited were enjoyed at Hotel Gandaki Guesthouse and Restaurant, while we chatted to our host and her 4 year old daughter who is fluent in English as her second language. She learns it at the tiny school up here on the roof of the world.... amazing!


There was evidence of the recent snowfall as here and there lay patches of ice on all the north facing sides of the track. We heard via another hiker that Thorang La Pass is currently closed due to heavy snowfall and we hope that conditions will change by the time we get there.


From here on out, it’s straight uphill all the way to the pass. I decided not to take any diamox ( altitude sickness pills) today as I am feeling fine at this elevation and will reassess in Manang.


I pondered on some of the reasons why, in my opinion these epic long distance hikes can enhance one’s life and came up with the following:

It’s a walking meditation.

You are completely in the present moment: What happened yesterday is gone, tomorrow doesn’t matter yet, your focus is getting through today.

Seeing how other people in the far flung regions of the world live, makes you re-evaluate what is important in life.

You experience gratitude about many aspects of your life in general and about life and encounters on the trail.

You experience sincere kindness of others.

You realize how little you need to survive ( in fact only as much as you can carry in a backpack).

You realize that you can always go further than you think you can go, and therefore you allow yourself to Dream bigger.


Past Mugje we hiked on to the absolutely stunning medieval terraced village of Braka, whose awe inspiring Gompa ( monastery ) sits high above the ancient dwellings facing the impressive view of Annapurna 3.


The oldest bakery on the Annapurna Circuit is situated in Braka and we stopped to enjoy a slice of apple pie and a cinnamon roll. It’s great doing these types of treks as carbo loading is a requirement!


The original baker of this establishment now owns it and we met him over tea, what a wonderful and friendly man! He mentioned that his parents and grandparents could always forecast the weather but now it is impossible as the climate has undergone a change and it is no longer predictable.



Annapurna 3 constantly loomed above us as we continued to Manang. It is bitterly cold and windy up here and we checked into a teahouse which promised a hot shower and WiFi.... none of these materialized. We had an icy cold shower, later to find out the water is only warm from 1-3 pm as it is solar heated and the WiFi doesn’t work well. Tomorrow we plan to check in somewhere else.


Dinner comprised of a veggie burger for Two Feathers and a yak burger and finger chips for Dreadknot who is feeling slightly improved from his cold.


Early to bed to stay warm. Tomorrow we shall explore Manang during our “day off”, while our lungs get used to the thin air.

Goodnight from the rooftop of the world.


2 comments:

  1. Incredibly beautiful- Shugga

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    1. Thanks Shuggs.... one of those incredible life experiences 👌

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