Hills Not Mountains

I was reminded often that I was climbing hills NOT mountains as I kept referring to them.

Day 1: Left Kathmandu on a very full tourist bus. So full that people sit on top of the bus and just hang on for dear life. I had the co-pilot seat....which I was happy to get...but only for the first 5 minutes. This seat caused me terror for the next 7 hours! Why? Because I got to see EVERYTHING on the road from my big big window. Four overturned bus accidents were the worst. The road is very dangerous and nail biting to the end. I was also very hot with the blazing sun frying me like a lizard. Bella not happy and a bit scared at this point. The hotel check in went fine. Hotel was not a real 'villa'...just in name....and it was not in front of the lake...just the address was.

Day 2: One hour taxi ride to Naya Pul to start the trek. This is where a lot of trekkers start. This is where you also have to get registered into the Annapurna Conversation Area. We started our trek at 9:45 am and we arrived in Tikehunga at 12:45 pm. It was hot and I was bitchy when we arrived. I had no idea this was going to be all rocks and stairs. AND................my backpack of only about 7 kgs weighed a lot. Whatever possessed me to do this is what I was thinking at this point. Especially when our lodge had one girl that is a triathlon just completing the ABC trek just for fun. Can one say that trekking is fun? I don't think so. Thank god she left me a book to read. There is absolutely NOTHING to at the lodge. You are STUCK in some village. No TV ....no nothing. You also have no power at night. Good thing I was so prepared and had NO flashlight. Ashok of course came to the rescue and lent me his. I'm pretty sure he was scared of me at this point. 500 meters in 3 hrs. 1,200 to 1,700 meters. Oh...I had 5 huge bites on the back of my left leg and a big scratch that bled on my right leg.....not sure what happened on both occassions.

Day 3: We left at 7:30 am and arrived at 1:00 pm. Tikehunga to Ghoripani. 1,100 meters in 5.5 hrs. 1,700 to 2,800 meters. My guide slipped while trying to save me from slipping. He just fell on his knee....no major injury. This is when Ashok started to get comfortable with me and all his honest comments were coming out. There were also tons of bees everywhere. The trees have flowers and it was spread the pollen time.

Day 4: Left the lodge at 4:45 am to climb up Poon Hill to see the sunset. 2,800 meters to 3,210 meters. Up and down..total of 800 meters. There were loads of other people doing the same thing. Too bad it wasn't a very clear morning to see all 14 mountains that one can see on a clear day. We then left Ghoripani at 7:30 am and arrived at Tadapani at 12:30 pm. 5 hrs to go 200 meters. 2,800 to 2,600 meters. It was a very long f*** day. Ashok had to hold my had most the way. This was also the place I had my own room with a bath. Hair washing day....yippeeee!!!

Day 5: Tadapani to Ghandrung. 7:45 to 10:15 am. 700 meters in 2.5 hrs. 2,600 to 1,900 meters.

Day 6: Ghandrung to Naya Pul. 8:00 to 12:00 pm. 700 meters in 4 hrs. 1,700 to 1,200 meters.

OOPS....I can't remember all the details of Day 5 and Day 6....this is what happens when you try to update the blog several weeks after your first posting!

Annapura 1 mountain: 7,216 meters
Mount Everest mountain: 8,848 meters

Compared to my mountains...........
Lake Louise: 3,272 meters
Cascade: 2,997 meters

Big difference!