All articles filed in solo annapurna sanctuary trekking

The End. Fin. Cue: We are the Champions. Follow with “Closing Time.” In what seems like a blink of an eye (if blinking were really hard and took ten days of going up and down hills) my trek has come to an end. Immediately after exiting the trail, and seeing my taxi waiting to take…

The four hour trek from Jhinu to Tolka felt like a walk in the park. If, let’s say, that park was actually a jungle with waterfalls, old suspension bridges with missing wooden planks, and oxen running through it. I don’t mean to brag, but my room in Tolka had an outlet and real walls and…

I noticed the further I go downhill, so does the quality of my writing. You’re probably thinking that someone who has nothing but time on their hands and is just walking for hours on end has all the time in the word to think about deep and profound life things. Alas, that is not the…

I hopped out of the icebox called a bedroom that I shared with a Thai and Taiwanese girl, and caught the sunrise over basecamp to say goodbye to the glorious view of Annapurna. I sat silently looking at the view that I had pushed so hard to reach, and started reflecting on my own life…

Today was the big day: Annapurna Basecamp. It was the highest peak of my trek (13,650 ft or 4,130 meters), and the goal I had set for myself. Gambu and I started from Deurali and ripped through Machhapuchhre Basecamp to Annapurna Basecamp in 3 hours. Although the trail itself was easier today, the altitude made…

I basically floated today. My legs no longer shake when I stand, and I propel myself up steps even when they’re up to my hips. My new baseline is uncomfortable and slightly sore, and I’ve learned to be happy with that. Granted, I’m fueled by coffee and Advil- but I also think my body is…

I bid adieu to my French friends, laced up my boots and headed towards Sinuwa with Gambu. By now, I felt used to the Nepali flat (constantly going either uphill or downhill) and was starting to feel stronger. I even started to appreciate how the steep inclines would naturally stretch my calves out while I…

I write in my journal every day, and Gambu, my guide, always asks “what are you writing about?” Every day I give him the same answer, “I’m finding different ways to say: everything is beautiful and everything hurts.” This morning was particularly hard. Imagine going up a flight of stairs carrying a small child. You…

I’m currently warming myself up in front of a single space heater (okay, it’s actually just metal barrel with a fire lit inside it) in the main room of a small lodge in Ghorepani, while John Mayer’s greatest hits play in the background. My legs are tired from another uphill day, but it’s a good…