Annapurna: Higher and colder

Dec. 20, 2008

Everyday walking the Annapurna Circuit brings a complete change in scenery. From lower elevation Hindu villages, through rich river valleys and pine forests and into the stark Buddhist mountain towns, it is no wonder the path has been called one of the best treks in the world.

My Russian friend Alina and I ascended 800 meters on the day we joined up walking from Jagat (1,300 m) to Bagarchhap (2,160). We then had a comparatively relaxed fifth day of walking only about 10 kilometers but rising by 500 meters from Bagarchhap (2,082 m) to Chame (2,620 m).

The walk that day reminded Alina of autumn in the dark pine forests of Russia. Coming into view as we ascended were the peaks of Lamjung (6,931 m) and Annapurna II (7,937 m).

We could feel the cold as we rose higher each day. In the sunshine, we could walk in T-shirts, but any patch of shade made us shiver in our sweaty clothes. It was especially chilly at night and we knew it would only get colder as we climbed higher toward Thorung La, the highest elevation pass in the world. We went to bed early, sometimes as early as 7:30 if there was no electricity in the village. This walking everyday, up-at-dawn lifestyle was both invigorating and exhausting.

By Day 6, we had gained another trekking companion, Yannick, a French physiotherapist. Yann, who we called Yak the first few days when we couldn't quite remember his name, walked quicker than we did, but always started much later in the morning so we were constantly crossing paths.

Walking with the Frenchman and the Russian girl, I took a sort of strange pride in the fact that they could only communicate through my native tongue. Yannick said he found my flat New England way of speaking much easier to understand than a British or an Australian accent. Sometimes as the two stumbled through phrases, I felt like a referee of the English language.

If on the fifth day, we walked through Russia, on Day 6 we were in Yellowstone National Park. We passed by a massive unnamed rock formation curved like a bowl. We all walked in silence on the soft earth there. It was so quiet we could hear the flapping of crows wings.

Surrounded by such beauty, I started to feel at a loss of adjectives. The rivers ran ice blue, the sky was electric and clear and the air was fresh and crisp and getting thinner. I was starting to feel the altitude.

When the three of us stopped for lunch in lower Pisang (3,190 m), I smoked a cigarette that Yannick rolled for me. The thing hit me like a powerful drug. I was light-headed and laughing instantly.

The altitude was also doing something to all our appetites. Never before had I so appreciated sugar. I was devouring Snickers bars and heavily sweetening my tea. Alina went as far as to eat spoonfuls of sugar soaked in a little black tea straight from the spoon.

Around us, everything about the landscape was becoming bigger. The rivers and valleys were deeper, the mountains closer, colossal, the stars brighter. We were enraptured by everything around us, the beauty, beauty, beauty.