Don't mess with a donkey! They own the track, this is the first rule you must learn for trekking to Annapurna Base Camp.
A couple of weeks ago I headed out to walk to ABC alone and spend about 14 days trekking around the Annapurna Sanctuary. Warnings from all the local guides that I would fall off the track, get lost, wouldn't get accommodation, starve, die, etc. fell on deaf ears. The track looked pretty easy to follow, there are hundreds of people trekking out there at any one time, and I figured that I wasn't a complete moron so I thought 'bugger it, I'll go it alone!'
The cab driver dropped me at the bottom of a stair case that just went straight up the side of the mountain. No zig-zags back and forth, just straight up! It climbed for about an hour or so and eventually got to rice farms, a village and the start of what would be two weeks of incredible views and respite from cars, crowds and touts.
I wasn't to be alone for long, however. Stopping at the trekking check-post I met a Welsh bloke by the name of Paul who was also trekking alone and heading in the same direction. We stopped for a bite of luncheon and continued trekking together.
The first night was spent in Tolka where Mali, our guest house host, basically ushered us in with a big stick to ensure we would stay the night. Hers is the first guest house in the village and she was determined not to let us get past and see the other lodges. A nice meal, a glass of raksi and it was time for bed, ready to be up early and do it all again the next day, and the next day, and the day after that.
The next day we came across the Toll Donkeys. Donkeys are used in these parts to haul supplies up and down the track for the various villages and guest houses. On this day we saw six donkeys lined up, blocking a narrow section of track near a steep slope. As Paul and I brushed past these sentries we joked to the people going in the opposite direction that they would have to pay 50rupees to the donkeys to get past. They didn't heed our advice and one girl was knocked from the track by a swing of the donkey's head and rolled down the steep slope only to be stopped by a tree. Can't say I didn't warn her!
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| Pay the Donkey Tax, you've been warned! |
Our trekking schedule was fairly relaxed. We watched swathes of Chinese tourists struggle up and down the track with their minuscule backpacks, enormous cameras, trekking poles, and designer trekking clothes whilst their porters lugged about 40kg each on their heads. Some of these trekking groups looked anything but relaxed with up to 15 in a group plus porters. They also had a schedule to keep whereas we could go at our own pace. The day usually started with getting up with the first light from about 6.30, having a brekky of boiled eggs and local bread and jam, all washed down with black coffee or a weak milky tea. Then it was time to load up the packs and hit the trail by about 8. Paul and I would walk at different paces so it was usually decided to meet up in a guest house along the way for morning tea. Morning tea at about 10am with milky tea, a muesli bar and a sit down in the sun for about three quarters of an hour. This was serious trekking! Not wanting to overdo it we would usually get to somewhere at about 2pm, sort out accommodation and, on most occassions despite my protestations, have a beer.
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| Time for morning tea and a bickie! |
Our schedule continued in this vain for the next few days as we passed through villages, past farms, over swing bridges, up stairs, down stairs, and dodged donkeys. As we ascended higher into the sanctuary several tracks converge to become one along a deep valley that eventually leads to Base Camp. From then on there were lots of trekkers going up and down the track all with their own stories to tell. In a place called Bamboo we met John and Sonya, a pommie couple on a belated honeymoon of sorts. The four of us got along quite well and continued trekking together for the next 7 or so nights.
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| A lesson in perspective: Paul struggles down the stairs with a 10kg pack whilst a 70 year old man struggles up them with a 40kg metal crate strapped to his head. |
The approach to base camp was pretty easy and we ascended at a decent pace, ignoring the warnings to go slow. We also ignored other warnings about consuming extra water and avoiding alcohol at altitude. Going to bed I felt fine but woke with a killer headache about midnight. The altitude was only about 4200m and no amount of diamox was making the headache go away. For some reason proper rehydration seemed to do the trick! A lesson learnt, only to be forgotten in about 9 days time.
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| Paul, Sonya, John, Jeremy and some French bird. |
ABC was just incredible. You are just surrounded by mountains. A glacial morraine runs to the right of you the real world feels very distant. Within half an hour of being there we witnessed two avalanches cascade down Annapurna South in the distance. In the afternoon the clouds rolled in and the temperature plummeted. We scrambled to put on every scrap of clothing we had and even then it was still biting through. I don't know the exact temperature, however, in Nepal they keep a bucket of water next to the squat toilet to use to flush the business down and in the morning these buckets were frozen solid! This made my morning post coffee ritual somewhat difficult to complete. In the morning chill, I dashed to the squat, bog roll in hand, and bared my buttocks to the cold morning air of the himilayas. After completing the deed I discovered the frozen bucket, looked around for some alternative to discover none, and just had to nudge my now snap-frozen log down the hole with a nearby stick.
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| Annapurna South |
After a night at ABC we commenced our descent back down the valley towards civilisation. We were in no hurry so had a few cruisy days walking, getting to camp early, having a late leisurely lunch and playing cards and board games for the evening. As we would often have lunch late we would try to take dinner as late as possible. Usually the guest house hosts would bug you from five and ask what time you would like dinner. We would tell them a time, such as 7pm and they would, reply 'ok' but then just bring it out at any time they wanted, usually about 5 past 6.
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| ABC |
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| Hard core explorer |
We eventually got back to a place called Chomrong where we arrived early and decided to indulge our appetites with a trip to a German Bakery. I don't recall the Germans being such prolific bakers but they seem to have invaded Nepal with baguettes and cinnamon rolls in hand. Not a pretzel to be found, however. At Chomrong, there are two such bakeries, situated on opposite sides of the trail. At the West German Bakery you can get lovely cakes, apple pies, chocolate croissants and many other goodies. On the opposite side of the divide at the East German Bakery you have to queue up to get a coupon for a piece of stale bread and cheese. Anyone caught trying to defect from the East to the West bakery is instantly shot. We did discover a tunnel connecting the two that had been dug by a resistance movement some time ago but that's a story for a different time. Till next time folks...Aufedersein!
We eventually got back to a place called Chomrong where we arrived early and decided to indulge our appetites with a trip to a German Bakery. I don't recall the Germans being such prolific bakers but they seem to have invaded Nepal with baguettes and cinnamon rolls in hand. Not a pretzel to be found, however. At Chomrong, there are two such bakeries, situated on opposite sides of the trail. At the West German Bakery you can get lovely cakes, apple pies, chocolate croissants and many other goodies. On the opposite side of the divide at the East German Bakery you have to queue up to get a coupon for a piece of stale bread and cheese. Anyone caught trying to defect from the East to the West bakery is instantly shot. We did discover a tunnel connecting the two that had been dug by a resistance movement some time ago but that's a story for a different time. Till next time folks...Aufedersein!
