When we arrived in Pisang, we had the option of staying in Lower Pisang at the base of the valley or hiking a hundred to two hundred meters up the valley wall to Upper Pisang. The choice was easy. The higher location means better views and the absence of modern structures makes it more atmospheric. On the other hand, it's much smaller and we knew there were only three … [Read more...]
Chame to Pisang: Just Takin’ the Goat for a Walk
The next day of our little stroll through the hills of Nepal was dominated by a humongous slab of rock. At least that's the main thing I remember. That and the fact that we actually passed someone! Yes, it's true! But more on that later. The day was actually fairly long and for the first time, we covered just as much ground as many of the slower trekkers. It helped that there … [Read more...]
Tal to Chame: Falling into a Trekking Routine
As we were having breakfast the next morning, I realized my brilliant idea of ordering cornbread the night before to snack on throughout the day wasn't going to work out quite the way I'd hoped. I mentioned in the previous part of this series that the food at our guesthouse in Tal was the best of the whole trek and the cornbread was especially memorable. It was too good—I ended … [Read more...]
Jagat to Tal: Our First Real Day of Trekking
When I left off last time, we had just checked into our guesthouse in Jagat and were looking forward to a solar heated shower. Getting one would turn out to be a little more difficult than you might think. The little shower room looked like the boiler room of an aircraft carrier, with a maze of pipes covering the walls and ceiling and buttons and dials of all sizes dotted … [Read more...]
Trek to Jagat and a Rant Against Guides on the Annapurna Circuit
When we first got to our guesthouse in Bahundanda, we immediately noticed the beds. Comfortable mattresses are a rarity in Nepal and one of our goals upon entering any town where we planned to spend the night was to find the guesthouse with the softest beds. In many villages, the thickest mattress you could find was about as wide as a finger and Bahundanda turned out to be one … [Read more...]