My sleep was interrupted by people getting up to go to ABC in the dark so that they could catch the sunrise. I am not motivated enough to do this, especially with my extremities numb from the cold.
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| Starting the final leg to the base camp |
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| ABC in the distance |
However, today is a triumph, as we get to ABC after an hour and a quarter. Well, I should say that I made it in that time – the guidance time being either 1.5 hours or two hours depending on what map you believe. To her credit, Laurie follows not too long after. We have made it in less than four days. It seems silly to think about it now, but I almost cry at the sign welcoming us to our trek’s peak destination.
It strikes me while waiting for Laurie that I don’t think I could indulge in a sport which has a starting line marked by memorials and graves, and Annapurna Base Camp has its fair share of these just beyond the lodges.
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| Sunrise from MBC |
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| ABC overflow tents |
We have spoken to a few people who have done the Everest circuit, the more popular trek of the two, and an American couple on honeymoon we meet today have just come from there. Like the others, they say that Annapurna is the actually the more difficult terrain of the two as there is more up and down. Other UK to Ozzers have taken the ‘easy’ route, but the Everest trek goes to higher altitudes and is longer, so you are much more likely to get sick there (as I learn Dave and Belgian Sam have found out when we meet up in Kathmandu). The American couple mention that they saw some people get evacuated there too. There are no medical centres on the Annapurna circuit though, so I am not sure what would happen if someone had to be evacuated here. I guess they would be carried down by a porter with a sling balanced on his head, just as they carry any other weighty objects.
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| never do a sport where the start line is marked by memorials... |
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| starting the way back down |
Feeling exalted, I feel like I could fly down the valley. I jog part of the way down between the Machapuchare BC and Deurali (the next station down) in imitation of the porters, although they are generally carrying a lot more than I am. Going uphill between these two points took over two hours, but downhill took me just over an hour. I deduce that jogging is the path of least resistance, although I do fall down once. As I have 10kg of padding on my back I don’t get hurt though.
Having started the UK to Oz journey with a 36 inch waist, which went down to 34” after my spell of abstinence in Iran, it must now be 32” and I need extra holes in my belt as my trousers are now slung ‘gansta’ style.
I see a monkey hiding in the trees on the trail approaching the Himalaya Lodge. It’s a grey haired one with a black face, which I think is a Langur monkey. I have seen a lot of monkeys on this trip, but this one seems so much in its element and is also much warier of humans than those found in populous areas. It scarpers away out of vision when it catches me looking at him.
The lodges at the ‘Himalaya’ stop are full, so we end up hiking all the way down to Doban until it is nearly dark.
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