Day 73 - Day 3 Of Our Annapurna Trek

Finally, the day we've been waiting for - Poon Hill! Our alarm goes off at 4am & we are out the door by 4.15am. Very ambitious & regretful, our legs are stiff & still asleep as we start the 45 minute climb up to Poon Hill to watch the sun rise above the Annapurna's. Poon Hill is 3210 meters above sea level, the highest point in our trek. We can already feel the difference in the altitude, our breathing is hard, the steps feel ridiculously steep & fatigue is unavoidable. It was a 336 meter climb in about 45 minutes. Like all things in Nepal, the effort of the climb was well worth it for the view. The sun came up over Machhapuchhre Peak, scattering clouds & reflecting sun beams off the ice. We also got views of Gangapurna, Hiunchuli, Annapurna South, Annapurna & Dhaulagiri.

It was a very special morning & one of the most memorable sunrises we will ever witness.

The descent down was easier but perilously steep. Tom took a few sneaky photos of my concentration face as I navigated my way down. After breakfast we were off again, this time our trek would consist of 2 hours climbing up rock steps & then a few hours climbing down more rock steps. Today we would travel through the thickest parts of rain forest, trees & rocks covered in thick moss, lots of ferns, waterfalls, mud & water obscuring the path.

At one point our guide fills our water bottle up from a small stream running over a moss covered rock. He explains the moss is a filter & this high up in the mountains, contamination is rare. The water is crystal clear, cold & delicious!

Its easy to see how landslides happen, everything is so vertical & after winter when the snow melts, everything gets so wet. It's a relief to reach our guest house in Tadapani. A gorgeous little area with flowers growing everywhere & a view of the snowy Anapurnas from the hotel common room. We reach the guest house just as the sky opens up & heavy rain saturates anything not already wet. Its colder again & we are grateful for the gas powered hot water system & our thermals. Once clean & warm we eat Dahl Bat in the common room around the fireplace, as the chimney heats up we can hear the ice on the roof cracking & falling off. The noise is tremendous & the first few seconds I worry it's a landslide. After dinner we are introduced to Nepalese white wine, similar to Japanese Sake, made in the local village from millet. It's very strong & warms you right up. After being told the next day is easy, We buy a large pot of it to share with our guide & get pretty sloshed staying up past 10pm talking.

-Alli