Annapurna Base Camp (Y2016 Summer XP2)
BASIC INFORMATION
Trek: Y2016 Summer XP2
Date: 25 July - 11 August 2016
Location: Annapurna Base Camp, Nepal
Elevation: 4,130m
Duration: 16D15N
BRIEF ITINERARY
Day 1
Flight to Nepal
Day 2
Day in Kathmandu
Day 3
Day in Kathmandu (waiting for skies to clear)
Day 4
Transport to Pokhara
Day 5
Start of trek
Trekked to Tikuedunga
Day 6
Trekked to Ghorepani
Day 7
Night hike up to Pune Hill
Back down to Ghorepani
Trekked to Ghurjong
Day 8
Pass through Chongrong
Trekked to Bamboo
Day 9
Trekked to Deurali
Day 10
Ascend to MBC and ABC
Day 11
Sunrise at ABC
Descend towards Lower Sinuwa
Day 12
Trekked up to Chongrong
Rapid descend to Jhinnu.
Day 13
Jhinu to Potana
Day 14
Sharp Descend to Pokhara
Day 15 and 16
RnR and back to SG
Introducing the team!
Day 1
Be prepared for anything and everything. The first day of our trip served as a timely warning for this theme that would prevail throughout our trip. From a member forgetting to bring his passport to having your plane diverted from your destination due to inclement weather. But despite all of these incidents, we safety reached Kathmandu, albeit 5 hours behind schedule. True to Nepal’s monsoon season, we entered the city under a barrage of rain and were immensely grateful to reach he comforts and warm hospitality of our 3 star hotel. We were also glad to have the services of our vendor, Suresh from Sunrise Adventure Trek who had graciously waited at the airport for the full 5 hours in order to pick us up. Fantastic.
Day 2
We have a prep and sightseeing day today, giving us time to do last minute shopping for our expedition while visiting several famous sites in Kathmandu. Of particular interest was being able to partially catch a funeral procession.
Day 3
The third day of our trip was a complete wash as we rotted away at the domestic airport. To reach Lukla, a transit point to Everest, we would need to fly from Kathmandu to Lukla. Unfortunately, the Lukla airport closes when there is cloudy weather. For fortunate teams, a short half an hour window of clear weather facilitates their transfer over to Lukla. We on the other hand had no such luck and thus had to waste a day waiting. On the bright side, we managed to finally try ‘Fire & Ice Pizzeria’ (pizza) as well as ‘Himalayan Java’ (coffee place).
Day 4
Day 4 was heart-breaking. We came agonisingly close to being able to reach Lukla with a window of clear weather seemingly having opened up for us. However, fate would not swing in our favour. Ultimately, we had to make the big decision to activate our alternate plan and switch to the Annapurna Trek. To this end, we closed the book on Expedition Everest and thus commenced Expedition Lost. To kick start Expedition Lost, we would take a 6 hour bus ride to Pokhara.
Day 5
After days of worry and frustration, we finally commenced our trek today. Rainy season is still in full swing as we encounter multiple river crossings and walked up paths that have turned into steams.
Fortunately, we are treated to great views of the surrounding hills and mountains. We spent 6 hours climbing up through various villages, increasing altitude from 700m to 2000m. The trek has revitalised our spirits as we happily chat and joke along the way.
TravelLizard :: Annapurna Dreaming (Expedition Lost) First rest point at Ulleri
Finally, we reach our rest stop for tonight, Tikuedunga. We settle down to enjoy tea and happily karaoke under the stars.
TravelLizard :: Annapurna Dreaming (Expedition Lost)
Day 6
We did a short trek today to Ghorepani, which stands at 2800m. Along the way, we were treated to numerous roaring rivers and streams, sights which are much more rare in peak season. The 3 hour trek was refreshing and the extra time would serve us well as would have a night trek portion later. Ghorepani is a beautiful town that overlooks the Himalayas. Unfortunately, the monsoon weather has brought a huge mass of crowds into the valley, blocking the vaunted scenery. For a quick 5 minutes, the clouds did clear and gave us a vantage view of a snow capped mountain. We arrived in the town at noon and were quick to do a little shopping. A few of us purchased books which would enjoy over tea and a fireplace. Certainly, life here is quaint.
Day 7
We woke at 3 plus in the morning to commence our night hike up to Pune Hill. Pune Hill is a famous tourist attraction that is beginner friendly and a part of the Annapurna trek. During the peak season, Pune Hill offers superior views of sunrises and a paranormal view of the Himalayan range. We trekked an hour or so in the dark to reach the top of the hill. Similar to the previous day, clouds surrounded the top of the hill, providing a diminished view. Fortunately, one side of the hill had significantly clearer weather, giving a picturesque landscape view, not unlike the paintings of foggy mountains.
TravelLizard :: Annapurna Dreaming (Expedition Lost)
After much picture taking and enjoying the scenery, we made our way back down to Ghorepani for breakfast. Today proved to the toughest day yet, as had to trekked 9 hours to Ghurjong. Along the way, we encountered many more waterfalls and steams which roared with great force.
TravelLizard :: Annapurna Dreaming (Expedition Lost)
We also started to meet our greatest foe on the trip, the blood-sucking leech. Today’s encounters would give the team minor panic and amusement, and serve as a warning for what was to come. At the last part of the day, we also came across our first valley of sorrow as we had to descend all the way to the bottom of a valley to cross a large river before ascending back to the altitude. Again, this served as a brief preview of what was to come in the trip. All in all, the 12 hour day had drained much of our strength, and we were glad to reach Ghurjong in the evening.
Day 8
Today, we trekked for 9 hours to Bamboo, which as its name suggests is an establishment found beside a river and surrounded by bamboo. For the first time in days, we had clear blue skies and even sunshine for a brief period in the afternoon.
We also had to pass through Chongrong, the hub of the Annapurna region and which contained a very tough climb of sorrow. Similar to the previous day, we had to descend from the top of the hill all the way to the bottom to cross yet another roaring river and thus ascend rapidly afterwards. The path to Bamboo was overflowing, with all paths turning into mini streams, providing a tricky slippery ground to trek on. Fortunately, we reached Bamboo with no issues and were glad for time to rest before we begin to gain major altitude the following day.
Day 9
It was a short but hard 5 hour trek today as we ascended 1000m in altitude from Bamboo to Deurali.
Along which, we encountered heavy rain and tricky waterfall crossings. Many of the bridges that we crossed were made purely from branches and stones, leading to interesting test of faith with each step taken. Deurali provided plenty of photo opportunities and we took a full hour to pose for photos over the vast valley.
TravelLizard :: Annapurna Dreaming (Expedition Lost)
Some of us even visited a nearby waterfall for an ice cold bath. Truly one with nature. That night, a mass amount of fog descends into the village, reducing visibility to a couple of meters.
This actually leaves us hopeful for clear weather the next day where we make our attempt at Annapurna Base Camp!!
Day 10
Today we made our ascend to MBC and ABC, an increase in another 1000m in altitude as we reach 4100m. For most of the day, mother nature blessed us with clear skies and brilliant sunshine.
We were treated to amazing sights as the Himalayas finally burst into life. The walk to MBC was filled with roaring streams, sunshine lit hills and beautiful blue skies. Furthermore, we had a clear view of Annapurna from distance. We took our time to acclimatise to the altitude while taking photos and taking in the sights and sounds of the trek.
TravelLizard :: Annapurna Dreaming (Expedition Lost)
TravelLizard :: Annapurna Dreaming (Expedition Lost)
However, just as before, mother nature’s volatile mood showed up. As afternoon approached, the weather would not hold up, menacing clouds and strong winds shifted a massive wall of fog into our path. Visibility dropped several notches leaving us feeling tired, drained and lower in morale. We had to continuously will ourselves forward through the fog, and were overjoyed to catch the shadow of ABC in the fog.
TravelLizard :: Annapurna Dreaming (Expedition Lost)
Finally at long last, we had reached the climax of our trip. After a hearty lunch at ABC, we took a few hours in the afternoon to climb a few small hills at ABC to catch better sights of the Annapurna range. At night, we caught a spectacular starry night sky.
TravelLizard :: Annapurna Dreaming (Expedition Lost)
TravelLizard :: Annapurna Dreaming (Expedition Lost)
Day 11
We woke up at 5am today to catch sunrise at ABC. Fortunately we again had clear skies and were able to catch the Annapurna range being lit up by the rising sun. After breakfast, we say our goodbyes to ABC and were in extremely good spirits as we left.
TravelLizard :: Annapurna Dreaming (Expedition Lost)
TravelLizard :: Annapurna Dreaming (Expedition Lost)
The trek today was challenging as we descended 2000m in altitude from ABC to lower Sinuwa, passing by Bamboo along the way. It took us a full entire day to reach lower Sinuwa. Along the way, we had very few breaks and we rushed relentlessly towards our target. As afternoon approached, we were hit by incessant and heavy rain while being stuck in the forest.
This turned an already muddy path into water logged obstacles. Yet, we pushed on and slowly but surely approached Sinuwa. Sore knees and screaming feet, but we were very happy to have completed the day and reached a lovely lodge in lower Sinuwa. We also got our first bath in 3 days!!
Day 12
It is the rest and recovery day of our trek!! We took a 2.5hour trek up to Chongrong before descending rapidly to Jhinnu. Even though it is a short day, we encounter a hill of sorrow and spend a seemingly never ending time climbing up.
Thankfully, Jhinnu is famous for its natural hot springs we take full advantage of to recover physically and mentally. At night, we have a celebratory dinner with our guides and happily party the night away.
Day 13
It is the toughest day of the trek as we make the extremely long journey from Jhinu to Potana. The trek is filled with many hills, slippery slopes and river crossings. Worse, we encounter multiple leech nests.
Up to this point, we had encounter several leeches and had gotten used to their presence on the trek. Yet none of this could prepare us for the leech nests that we encountered today. The multiple leech ambushes left us bloody, battered, frustrated and weary. At each rest point, we had to take off our shoes and inspect our legs to find these blood suckers. This day, we truly tested every possible method of eliminating leeches. This ranged from Febreeze to hand sanitiser to salt to even coke. For those who are interested, coke does not work!! Rain the afternoon made things worse and we had to truly rely on each other to push forward.
Finally when we reach Potanna in the evening, we breathed a great sigh of relief. We then promptly proceeded to do a final round up of the leeches and have a stomping fest.
Day 14
TravelLizard :: Annapurna Dreaming (Expedition Lost)
Today marked the end of our trekking expedition as we trekked 3 hours, descending sharply from Potana. As we had our final lunch on the trke, we bidded farewell to our fantastic team of porters who had done their all to support our team. A bus then took us back to Pokhara where we finally got a nice bath and rested for the day.
Day 15&16
We spent the final 2 days of our trip having our R&R activities and travelling back to Kathmandu. Of particular note was the meaningful visits to the International Mountain Museum and the Tibetan Refugee Camp. If you are ever in Pohkara, these are 2 attractions not to miss out on. Finally, we caught our night flight back from Nepal to Singapore via KL. We missed the mountains but were glad to come home. Expedition Lost has been a success in spite of the incessant barrage of obstacles and adversity. I’m tremendously proud of my team for having stuck together and completed the trek. Till future adventures, Nepal, we will be back!!
Written by Fabian Seow, OIC Photo credits to Fabian and Noel (TravelLizard)
