Day 5
In the morning we said goodbye to Ian and Lisa who had decided to spend a day relaxing and resting in Chame, and hit the trail by ourselves for the first time. It was a long, slow, uphill trek to Upper Pisang (3,300m/10,827ft). En route we passed the Swargadwari Danda, a vast, bare, rock bowl that reminded us a little of a scene from Yosemite.
Day 6
This might have been the first truly “awesome” day of the hike. We took the challenging and scenic Upper Pisang route to Braka (3,470m/11,385ft). After a flat start, there is a strenuous 350 meter climb to the tiny village of Ghyaru at 3,670m, which offers commanding views of Annapurna II, Annapurna III (7,555m/24,787ft), and Annapurna IV (7,525m/24,688ft). Much to the chagrin of our legs, the trail continued up to about 3,760m (12,336ft) before beginning a long, slow descent into Braka. During the day the landscape changed dramatically, becoming increasingly arid and barren. Gone were the last vestiges of the forests and trees we had been hiking through and the trail became really hot, dry, and dusty.
Day 7
At altitudes above 3,500m (about 11,500ft), Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is a real concern for all trekkers. As such, it is recommended that hikers take a rest/acclimatization day in Braka or nearby Manang. We enjoyed sleeping in a little bit, and then explored the old village of Braka and hiked to a viewpoint for the Gangapurna Glacier. We were a little surprised that the trail to the viewpoint was a long steep ascent of about 350m, but we enjoyed the views when we got there.
Day 8
We took another rest and acclimatization day in Braka, hiking to Milarepa’s Cave and ascending another long, steep trail to the religious site. The mountains and glaciers looked so close that we could touch them, so Patrick set out to reach a high vantage point that didn’t look farther than fifteen minutes away. One heart-pounding and breathless hour later, he reached the high point, right at the foot of a glacier and at the base of the steep cliffs of the Annapurna Massif. Looking down on clouds rolling up the Marsyangdi Valley, the views were astounding.
Day 9
Since we were thoroughly enjoying our time in this corner of the world, we decided to avoid the crowds and take a scenic, less-travelled side route as we continued toward Thorung La pass. It took us part of the way up the Khangsar Khola valley to Shree Kharka (4,076m/13,373ft), where we spent the afternoon enjoying a great view of the “Grand Barrier,” a huge, 7,000m-high, rock wall that blocks access to Annapurna I through this valley.
Day 10
Shree Kharka marked our first night above 4,000m and it was really cold and sleeping was a little difficult (for some reason the lack of oxygen was more noticeable when sleeping). We doubled back from here and passed over a ridge and headed down to rejoin the main trail at Yak Kharka (4,018m/13,182ft), where, again, sleeping wasn’t easy.
Day 11
Our day consisted of a short hike to Thorung Phedi (4,540m/14,895ft), the last stop before our big push over the pass. The hike continued to the head of the valley across some incredible barren scenery. We arrived at Thorung Phedi by 10:45 am, where the rest of the day passed really slowly as we ate, drank tea, and played cards. We were some of the last to bed (at 7:45 p.m) for our early start the next morning.
Day 12
This was an amazing and exhausting day. We set out around 5:15 a.m. for the 976m (3,202ft) ascent to Thorung La pass under the light of the moon and the stars, which was enough to guide us without a headlamp. We made the very steep ascent to High Camp (4,830m/15,846ft) in about one hour, at which point the sun started to rise. Watching the sunrise as we hiked and seeing the peaks progressively light up around us was an experience neither of us will ever forget. From High Camp, the trail continued at a moderate grade toward the pass, but the real deterrent to progress was the lack of oxygen. After a few trials of hiking at a normal pace and then stopping to gasp for air, we stepped in behind a few of the porters and learned that slow (really, really slow) and steady wins this race. Along the way, we did see more than a few hikers falling to the wayside, turning a sickly shade of gray, breaking down and paying an exorbitant amount of money to have a horse carry them to the pass, or just heading back down.
After a few false summits, we came to Thorung La pass at 5,416m (17,769ft) at about 9:15 a.m. It was a bit surreal at first, and then it was actually a bit emotional when it hit us that we had really made it there. We saw a few acquaintances from our journey at the top and we shared hugs and high-fives. We spent about forty-five minutes at the top admiring the incredible views and even hiking a few more meters uphill to a higher viewpoint that we had to ourselves.
Despite a real feeling of accomplishment at the pass, we had a four-hour, 1,656m descent (more than a mile!) to Muktinath (3,760m/12,336ft) ahead of us!
Click on the photo below to view our Annapurna Circuit Part 3 photo album.
In the morning we said goodbye to Ian and Lisa who had decided to spend a day relaxing and resting in Chame, and hit the trail by ourselves for the first time. It was a long, slow, uphill trek to Upper Pisang (3,300m/10,827ft). En route we passed the Swargadwari Danda, a vast, bare, rock bowl that reminded us a little of a scene from Yosemite.
Day 6
This might have been the first truly “awesome” day of the hike. We took the challenging and scenic Upper Pisang route to Braka (3,470m/11,385ft). After a flat start, there is a strenuous 350 meter climb to the tiny village of Ghyaru at 3,670m, which offers commanding views of Annapurna II, Annapurna III (7,555m/24,787ft), and Annapurna IV (7,525m/24,688ft). Much to the chagrin of our legs, the trail continued up to about 3,760m (12,336ft) before beginning a long, slow descent into Braka. During the day the landscape changed dramatically, becoming increasingly arid and barren. Gone were the last vestiges of the forests and trees we had been hiking through and the trail became really hot, dry, and dusty.
Day 7
At altitudes above 3,500m (about 11,500ft), Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is a real concern for all trekkers. As such, it is recommended that hikers take a rest/acclimatization day in Braka or nearby Manang. We enjoyed sleeping in a little bit, and then explored the old village of Braka and hiked to a viewpoint for the Gangapurna Glacier. We were a little surprised that the trail to the viewpoint was a long steep ascent of about 350m, but we enjoyed the views when we got there.
Day 8
We took another rest and acclimatization day in Braka, hiking to Milarepa’s Cave and ascending another long, steep trail to the religious site. The mountains and glaciers looked so close that we could touch them, so Patrick set out to reach a high vantage point that didn’t look farther than fifteen minutes away. One heart-pounding and breathless hour later, he reached the high point, right at the foot of a glacier and at the base of the steep cliffs of the Annapurna Massif. Looking down on clouds rolling up the Marsyangdi Valley, the views were astounding.
Day 9
Since we were thoroughly enjoying our time in this corner of the world, we decided to avoid the crowds and take a scenic, less-travelled side route as we continued toward Thorung La pass. It took us part of the way up the Khangsar Khola valley to Shree Kharka (4,076m/13,373ft), where we spent the afternoon enjoying a great view of the “Grand Barrier,” a huge, 7,000m-high, rock wall that blocks access to Annapurna I through this valley.
Day 10
Shree Kharka marked our first night above 4,000m and it was really cold and sleeping was a little difficult (for some reason the lack of oxygen was more noticeable when sleeping). We doubled back from here and passed over a ridge and headed down to rejoin the main trail at Yak Kharka (4,018m/13,182ft), where, again, sleeping wasn’t easy.
Day 11
Our day consisted of a short hike to Thorung Phedi (4,540m/14,895ft), the last stop before our big push over the pass. The hike continued to the head of the valley across some incredible barren scenery. We arrived at Thorung Phedi by 10:45 am, where the rest of the day passed really slowly as we ate, drank tea, and played cards. We were some of the last to bed (at 7:45 p.m) for our early start the next morning.
Day 12
This was an amazing and exhausting day. We set out around 5:15 a.m. for the 976m (3,202ft) ascent to Thorung La pass under the light of the moon and the stars, which was enough to guide us without a headlamp. We made the very steep ascent to High Camp (4,830m/15,846ft) in about one hour, at which point the sun started to rise. Watching the sunrise as we hiked and seeing the peaks progressively light up around us was an experience neither of us will ever forget. From High Camp, the trail continued at a moderate grade toward the pass, but the real deterrent to progress was the lack of oxygen. After a few trials of hiking at a normal pace and then stopping to gasp for air, we stepped in behind a few of the porters and learned that slow (really, really slow) and steady wins this race. Along the way, we did see more than a few hikers falling to the wayside, turning a sickly shade of gray, breaking down and paying an exorbitant amount of money to have a horse carry them to the pass, or just heading back down.
After a few false summits, we came to Thorung La pass at 5,416m (17,769ft) at about 9:15 a.m. It was a bit surreal at first, and then it was actually a bit emotional when it hit us that we had really made it there. We saw a few acquaintances from our journey at the top and we shared hugs and high-fives. We spent about forty-five minutes at the top admiring the incredible views and even hiking a few more meters uphill to a higher viewpoint that we had to ourselves.
Despite a real feeling of accomplishment at the pass, we had a four-hour, 1,656m descent (more than a mile!) to Muktinath (3,760m/12,336ft) ahead of us!
Click on the photo below to view our Annapurna Circuit Part 3 photo album.
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