Michael Tyler

Guy in the hotel tells me ‘all down-hill’.

What relieving words to hear!

True as well. Apart from a few river valleys, it was all downhill.

Poon Hill

Very cloudy in the morning.

Didn’t bother with it. Some people come specifically for this, but I’ve seen enough.

I can’t believe the views of Annapurna and ‘Fish Tail’ mountain can be beaten by the ones I got from my hotel in Chhomrong.

As for the panorama, it was covered in cloud.

Had some breakfast at around 7, and hit the trail.

Easy mode.

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Ghorepani is the root of the ‘Poon Hill’ trek. A short trek which gives you a vantage point to some of the mountains I visited more closely on the ABC journey.

For this reason, I wasn’t really too bothered about it. Which was a good thing.

Tadapani -> Ghorepani was a straightforward affair, a few ups and downs’, nothing spectacular.

Easy walk comparatively.

Here’s some pictures from the day.

As you may be able to detect from the photo’s, it was a cloudy day.

All the better for making progress.

Obligatory mission up to the highest point in the park without mountaineering kit. Annapurna Base Camp, or ABC, as they call it.

What they don’t tell you is that it gets pretty snowy and treacherous, cold and wet. Though there may be lodges on the way, once you get into the sanctuary, wood burning is not allowed, having the knock on effect that any heat going to be provided is either going to be a) from the sun b) from you.

When the sun disappears, it gets pretty cold.

Gave it a go. I knew it was always going to be a question of weather.

Here’s a little map of where I travelled in the last 2 days.

Day 3: Jihnudanda -> Sinuwa

The hot springs up to Sinuwa. A day taking you through the last permanent settlement, Chomrong and up, and down, a lot of steps.

Jihn at 1780 to Sinuwa at 2360. After reaching Sinuwa, most of the climbing had been done. Gave it some rest time.

Sinuwa is a smelly type of place. With a few lodges. …

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Tolka to Jihnudanda

There are hot springs in Jihnudanda and a couple of the hotels accept Mastercard which means I don’t have to dip into my cash balance.

Stocked, up fed myself and re-charged my batteries.

Mardi Himal

Was talking to a girl who went on a ridge walk called Mardi Himal. Kind of an alternative to base camp. They stopped at one of the viewpoints. Some of the members of her party decided to continue to the next viewpoint and one of them stumbled and fell off the edge.

1,000ft drop. Helicopter came and picked the rest of the party up to take them home.

Here’s some photo’s from the trip.