Annapurna Base Camp

I flew from Kathmandu to Pokhara on the morning of Sept. 25 with a plan to hike to Annapurna Base Camp in just 4 days. This is normally an 8-10 day trek but Gerry told me it could be done if I put in full days(10-12 hours). Full days are no problem for me since I have done so much hiking over the past year working at Second Nature. Ha...Second Nature Blue Ridge not Second Nature Himalaya! This trek turned out to challenge me more physically than anything I have ever done. I have never pushed my body so hard and for so long as the 3.5 days I spent hiking to and from ABC...
Day 1: I woke up before 5am and took taxi to Kathmandu Airport to catch Buddha Air flight to Pokhara. Upon arrival I obtained trekking permits and made a friend from Chicago and had lunch. After lunch, jumped in a taxi with a man named Tek who is the most loyal cab driver I have ever known. He took me to the trailhead, gave me his card and said, "Call when you want pick up...". I threw my boots on and confidently marched through a village and then the stairs started, and they continued, and continued. These stairs are steep and it was hot. I quickly realized that I would need to pace myself if I didn't want to pass out from heat exhaustion...and drink tons of water. I was in the clouds after an hour or so and it cooled off...and then it rained like hell. Every village I got to was strongly encouraging me to stay but I pushed on until dark and made it to the village of Tolka where I was greeted by some very sweet people who wanted me to stay, and I did. That evening I looked at my maps trying to figure out what it would take to get it done in such a short period of time. After my regular dinner of Dal Bhat (Rice and Lentils), the power went out and I hit the sack.
Day 2: I woke up at 6:00 and had porridge and black coffee, took a picture with my new friend, and took off down the trail. It was cool and the sun wasn't hitting the side of the valley I was on...I was cruisin. This was also when I got my first glimpse of the Annapurnas...what a sight to see! The first part of the day was mostly downhill and in the shade of the mountains, not the case for long. I was setting different villages as goals at different times and was ahead of schedule most of the day. My goal for lunch was a village called Chomrung at the top of a steep, hot climb and I was there before noon. I shared a cold drink with a nice couple I met from Holland, loaded up on carbs, cranked up the ipod, and took off with the goal of a village called Himalaya to end the day. I met lots of nice people this day but had to keep moving if I was going to get to base camp and back. It started raining late in the afternoon and it was cooling off as I was gaining significant altitude. When I stopped to put my rain gear on, a guy named Al from the UK came by and he was also trying to get to Himalaya. We were both running on fumes but we helped each other with the final leg to the destination. Getting to Himalaya to enjoy a nice cup of hot lemon tea was a great feeling! I had hiked from a hot and humid jungle with monkeys to a cooler climate and was nearly above the tree line. The weather cleared and the night sky was amazing in the high Himalaya. I couldn't convince anyone to wake up with me at 5 to haul ass to base camp before the daily cloud cover rolled in...
Day 3: 5am wake up and started hiking with headlamp. I stopped in the next village about 1.5 hours up the trail for porridge and coffee. There was a Korean climbing group about to attempt a new route on one of the nearby peaks. In case I haven't mentioned it, my legs are already wrecked at this point, but fortunately my energy level was awesome! I found reserves of energy I didn't know were there with the help of Snickers and Coconut Crunchies(best cookies in Nepal). Sometime around 8am I arrived at the base camp for Machupuchre which is about 1.5 hours from Annapurna Base Camp. I had a second cup of coffee, talked to some of the guys working at the guest house, and took off for the last climb to ABC while listening to LCD Soundsystem Nike 45 min endurance music...it seriously helps! Arrived at ABC around 10am. The sanctuary is amazing! I was surrounded by huge peaks on all sides and an incredible view of Annapurna(10th highest peak in the world). Being at the base of the Annapurna Glacier on a sunny day surrounded by giants and prayer flags was one of the most peaceful feelings I've ever experienced. The clouds were rolling in and it was time for my descent after a good lunch...Dal Bhat of course. I left base camp after 2 short hours and trudged my way down to a village called Bamboo, which is a couple hours past Himalaya where I had started in the dark that morning. Arrived in Bamboo just before dark, showered, ate Dal Bhat, read for a short time in the book Annapurna(Story of first ascent), and went to sleep for a solid 10 hours.
Day 4: Slept in until around 6:30 and got the day started with coffee and porrage as usual. Said goodbye to my friends at the Bamboo Guest House and headed south. It was a cool morning but warmed up quickly and I was shedding layers within an hour. My leg muscles were in rough shape and going down the stairs was brutal. I did my best to tread lightly and it probably looked like I was dancing my way down the stairs to avoid pain as much as possible. I would stop along the way for water and Coconut Crunchies. My goal today was to get to the hot springs at Jinhu and I was there by lunchtime. I made the decision that I would spend time in the hot springs even if it would cost me an extra night on the trail. The hot springs was amazing, a nicely crafted pool right next to ice cold class V whitewater...a bit out of the way but so worth it. After hot springs and Dal Bhat, back to the trail that I was told could not be finished that day...wrong! It can be finished, its just a matter of how much pain you are willing to deal with...HTFU! The rest of the day was just setting goals, getting there and setting a new goal. I arrived in Nayapul just before dark with a couple Koreans I met in the homestretch who had gotten lost that day. Tek, my loyal cab driver was waiting for me since I called him a couple hours up the trail. He drove 2 hours to pick me up for 1500 rupees (about $20), and brought me back to Pokhara to his best friend's hotel...the Buddha. I showered and limped down the street to a nice pasta dinner...what an adventure!
So, I have a day of rest here in Lakeside Pokhara and leave in the morning for the Karnali River with Equator Expeditions. The Karnali is in Western Nepal and takes a day and a half of driving to get to the put in. It is one of Nepal's classic big water rivers and we will be on it for more than a week. Thank God kayaking doesn't involve using the legs too much. A good friend of mine told me a little while ago on the phone, "You can plan an expedition, but you can't plan the outcome!"...should be a good time!
Thank you for reading...Namaste!

Please go to http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=214415&id=1533910566&page=2 to see the photo album...

Sukute Beach

After two nights back in Kathmandu, I headed out to the Equator Expedtions camp on the Sun Kosi River called Sukute Beach. I left KTM on Friday and planned to stay for the weekend, do some paddling, relax, and get familiar with the camp and surrounding area. It turned into a little more than just the weekend.
There weren't any company vehicles going out to the camp the day I wanted to leave so I got a ride with my boat and gear to the bus station in Kathmandu. Fortunately, my friend Manese was with me to help get the boat on the roof of the bus and explain to the driver where I needed to go. The bus was empty when we left the "station", but that would soon change as it filled up and people piled on the roof...and I'm guessing on my kayak too! Riding on the roof of the bus here is just what you do when the bus gets full. Unfortunately, I opted not to relieve my bladder before taking off and it turned into a long and painful bus ride. It takes a long time to get out of the city but as we headed East from Kathmandu the air was cleaner and the views were incredible from the windy mountain road to Sukute. It was difficult to really appreciate the beauty since I had to pee really badly and the bus didn't usually come to a full stop, not even to let people on and off. No more drinking coffee before bus rides for me.
The bus finally arrived at Sukute and I was greeted by one of the Nepali guys, Ramus, who was on the Trisuli trip a few days before. The camp was quiet and it was drizzling. Besides the guides and training guides who were staying at the camp, there were 4 others who had been there for a few days and we had a quiet evening with no electricity and enjoyed a candlelight dinner and went to bed. The tents at the camp are about 15 feet from the river and the sound of the whitewater outside makes for some great sleeping. It was a low key weekend of paddling, reading, writing, eating, playing pool, and of course riding on the roof of the bus when we got off the river to get back to camp.
My plan was to leave with the group of 4 on Sunday but 4 Israelis showed up for a kayak clinic until Wednesday. So, I stayed to help teach the clinic with my new friend Raju since I didn't have anything else planned. I didn't have any clean clothes either but I'm used to it from living in the woods. I got to run the section above camp as a kayak safety for some rafters on Sunday before the clinic started which was a blast. It was also a good opportunity to work on some rescue skills! Teaching kayaking is new to me but the clinic went well and I really enjoyed working with Raju. One afternoon when we got off the river, I was invited to go up to his village to drop something off for the family. We jumped on the bus up to Belephi located upstream from camp, hung out for a while, and caught a ride back to Sukute on a local school bus...in the bus not on the roof. At one point on the school bus I turned to Raju and said, "Do I look different or something?" The kids on the bus were looking at me like I was from a different planet. All it took was a little "Namaste" to break the ice and it was all smiles from there!
The clinic ended on Wednesday and I was planning to head back to Kathmandu in the jeep with them but I was then told that Gerry (my friend who I am here to work for) would be coming straight from the airport to the camp that afternoon. Once again, change of plans and all for the better. Although I was becoming more and more comfortable in this country and with the people here, it was great to see a familiar face...especially my good friend Gerry who made this whole thing possible for me in the first place. We spent lots of time talking about what's been happening and what is going to happen in the coming weeks. Although he had some pretty bad jet lag, we went paddling Thursday morning higher up on the Sun Kosi than I had been and it was huge! By far the biggest water I've paddled in my short kayaking career...what a blast! Unfortunately, there weren't any photo opportunities but hope to get some of this amazing gorge that drains water from the Solu Khumbu(Everest Region) sometime soon.
I rode back to Kathmandu last night with Gerry and a few others and it was like coming home. It kind of felt like going back to Atlanta after a week in the woods. Thamel, the big tourist hub here in KTM, is packed right now with travelers from all over the world. The restaurants, cafes, and internet lounges are packed with people doing exactly what I'm doing...sharing with family and friends about adventures that have happened or are about to take place. Its fun to come back to the chaos of the city and be part of the energy in Thamel. I'm so grateful to the folks at the Holy Lodge for being so welcoming when I come back and allowing me to leave my extra luggage and gear in their storage room when I'm gone....good prices too!
Hanging with Gerry today in the city and then off for the next adventure in the morning on my own. The plan is to fly west from Kathmandu to Pokhara, bomb the trek to Annapurna Base Camp in 4 days, meet a group back in Pokhara on the 30th, and then spend 10 days on the Karnali River as a kayak safety before returning to Kathmandu on the 9th for 2 nights before starting the International River Guide Course(Oct. 11-31). That's the planned itinerary but we'll see what happens. I hope this blog post finds all readers happy and well!

Hit the Ground Running

I arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal on the morning of Sunday, Sept 12 after 18 hours of airplanes and 14 memorable hours in the Delhi airport. Needless to say, I wasn't feeling 100% when I got here. Fortunately, a ride from the airport to Thamel had been arranged for me, thanks to Equator Expeditions. My plan was to spend 3 or 4 days in the city getting "acclimated", caught up on rest, and used to the 9 1/2 hour time difference from Atlanta. Well, that was the plan before an offer was made I couldn't refuse.

I stopped by the Equator office Sunday evening and was told that a 3 day trip on the Trisuli River would be leaving in the morning and that I could tag along as a kayak safety. I met up with the other guides Monday morning around 6:00 and we headed west out of the city on one of Nepal's "major highways". The road was kind of like the Blue Ridge Parkway without as many guardrails and much longer drops from the side. We got to the put in after a couple hours of driving, met the group of rafters(19 Brits), and were on the water after lunch. The scenery was incredible and the water...that's a whole different story.

So, the monsoon usually ends in Nepal at the end of August. Well, its still going on and the Trisuli was a good reminder of this. We had to wait for the water level to come down the 2nd day from the rain that fell Monday night. The water looked like coffee and didn't smell quite as pleasant. Despite the look and smell, it was big. Having done all of my kayaking in the Southeastern US, big water boating is a totally new thing for me. I didn't think it would be much different...I was wrong. It's a blast, but it can be pretty challenging trying to negotiate the enormous eddy lines and whirlpools that form with these high volumes of water moving down a riverbed. The Trisuli is followed by that highway for the entire length we paddled and the trip was supported by a company bus, which made things a little easier. Fortunately, most of the rivers here are not roadside and almost none that I know of are damn released.

My justification for going on the trip in my condition was that if I was going to have jet lag, I might as well do it on the river. After all, that is why I came all the way to the other side of the world. Not only was the Trisuli a great introduction to Nepal's whitewater, but hanging with the Equator boys was an awesome way to experience the culture. One of the highlights of the trip was climbing a hillside to meet the bus and scout a big rapid from the roof as the driver drove us up and down the highway. Can't wait to get on some different rivers and see more of this incredible part of the world...