Day 4 & Reaching Annapurna Base Camp
Letter #29: A feeling that will be hard to top, and celebrating with Snickers and french fries.
Guys—a quick welcome to the 20 new subscribers during the month of April! April has been packed with life-changing experiences for me, and it means a lot that I’m able to share with all of you. This newsletter and my connection with the readers enhances the journey so much, so thank you for being here. ❤️
4/3/23: Deurali
Today was the hardest trek yet. We are on Day 4 with the most elevation gain. It’s incredibly rewarding as we are now so much closer to the snow-capped peaks at around 3100 meters (10,000 feet). There are so many waterfalls pouring down the side of the mountains, the freshest, coldest water I’ve ever seen. Since we’ll be trekking in snow tomorrow, Nabaraj wanted to leave his backpack behind in Bamboo and carry only mine. But I KNEW there were items in my bag that I wouldn’t need in the higher elevations. So I cut my load in half and he threw his things into my bag so we could share just the one.
There are so many porters I see carrying 2 huge backpacks (I’m talking 45-90 lbs of weight), the load strapped across their foreheads. And while I am paying for the service, I know I should’ve packed less. If I wasn’t willing to carry it myself, how could I expect someone else to take on that burden? I considered both Abinta and Nabaraj my friends now, we keep an eye on each other to make sure everyone is comfortable, so I want to be mindful of what to expect from them. They treat me so well, take such good care of me. I’d love to do another 4 day trek with both of them…if anyone is interested. 🤭
I had a headache once we reached Deurali, the first signs of Acute Mountain Sickness. Abinta told me to drink as much water as possible, and I popped two Ibuprofen against her advice. I was feeling anti-social so I laid down for a nap. The trek that day was only 4.5 hours but it was straight up, all climbing. At least towards the end the sun was blazing, so close to us even amidst the snow, so we were kept warm. We ate our lunch on the patio of the lodge and I laid out all my sweaty clothes and my wet boots to dry in the sun. This was the first time my boots dried completely over the course of 4 days, so I was thrilled.
After the nap, I was feeling more like myself, so I met Abinta in the dining hall. We’re sitting under blankets, talking to some of the other trekkers that have come in, including Ginny and Judy from Michigan. 58 & 67, they’re work colleagues that travel around the world together. They had just spent 4 days in Bhutan and said it was the most amazing place they’ve ever been. Very restricted for tourism, the place hasn’t been modernized and maintains all of its old, beautiful traditions. Building architecture remains the same as it’s been for 100s of years, the entire country being closed off to foreign influence. There are only around 760,000 inhabitants, most of whom maintain the traditional dress of the old times. It costs foreigners $250 a day to be in Bhutan. This was the second time I had heard about people visiting Bhutan—this is not a country you hear about very much, which adds to the mystery and enchantment. Both accounts said it was one of their favorite places they’d ever been, so quiet and peaceful. Likewise, Bhutan’s international airport, Paro, is one of the most dangerous airports to land in, with only 8 pilots that are certified to do so. Ginny and Judy said their pilot happened to be the only woman that is one of those 8 pilots that can land in Paro. Most landing strips around the world have about 10 miles of visibility for the pilots—Paro has 1-2. Completely surrounded by mountains, they said the plane would tilt from side to side to land properly, something you would rarely experience in large jet airplane. There is no automatic landing, everything must be performed manually.
Somehow, this dining hall in Deurali was the warmest one I’d been in yet. There was no heat, but the place was packed with chattering trekkers, and the energy of it made that place my favorite lodge yet. There were 20 people this evening, the conversations and body heat keeping the cold at bay.
I cannot WAIT to get back to Pokhara. I booked a hotel for 5 nights and plan to go to the spa, go for a run around Phewa Lake, and all around just be lazy in my hotel room, catching up with friends and family. Maybe indulge in a pizza or two. Or three.
4/4/23: Annapurna Base Camp
We reached ABC at noon, after a 5 hour trek. I can’t tell if today was more difficult, or yesterday was more difficult, but either way, I was nearly sprinting to the top. I was so ready to be done. The anticipation of what conditions would be like every day hung over my head, and now I’d finally reached the end. We’d be turning around tomorrow—only 2 more nights in the mountains.
I was ahead of the group as I neared the end of our ascent. I began sobbing when I reached the ABC sign that read “Namaste, Annapurna Base Camp (ABC 4130 mtrs) Warmly Welcome to All Internal and External Visitors”. I had only ever seen images of this on others’ pages. I never through it would be something I would complete myself. All these emotions rushed in. To think how unhappy I was, feeling trapped, making the same walk to work every morning, putting up with shitty people, watching my friends being treated poorly, worrying day and night about mindless details that have nothing to do with life or death. And now here I was in Nepal, in the center of 8 of the world’s highest mountains. It was never a goal of mine to become some extreme outdoorsy person. But I seem bound to take this year and make it mean something, make up for all the lost hours staring at a computer screen, screaming inside that I couldn’t do it even one more day. (I was always like this on the slow nights when I worked at a bar too, so it’s definitely a common problem with me). I used to write over and over in my journal that I wanted the freedom to travel as I please (AKA taking leave from work), express my thoughts on the way of the world, no longer beholden to any man paying my checks.
And so I sobbed when I reached 4130m. One of the hardest challenges I’d ever experienced and on the brink of another altitude headache, I was re-committing to never go back to my old life. I can push my body to accomplish whatever I set my mind to. And if I say I’m going to do something, by now if you know me well enough, I 100% will keep my word and do it.
As we bundled up again in the lodge, Abinta and I talked about how neither of us feared death. She risks her life constantly, always a threat of landslides and avalanches, but it thrills her that she can continue to defy the laws of nature. I don’t think about aging and death often, but when I do I’m oddly not afraid. I don’t regret anything. The things I want to do in life, no matter how grand or minuscule they may be, I do them and enjoy the sh*t out of my life. I don’t hold back waiting for something to happen to me. My only regret before dying would be if I never fell in love again. Or if I didn’t find another soulmate Coogs to care for (or maybe she took care of me, the line is blurry).
But hell, I could fall off this mountain tomorrow and I would have had the most fulfilling life, packed with love and adventure.
I won’t, though, fall off the mountain, because I am too focused on daydreaming about a 2 hour trekker’s massage at Tranquility Spa back in Pokhara. And yeah I want to order pizza and eat it in the hotel bed while watching a movie on my laptop.
As I’m writing this out the song Revolution by the Heartless Bastards came on…
“Constantly being advertised a life commercialized and disguised as happiness in pills and potions, fancy threads and cars in motion. Hypnotized by gilded lies to line the pockets of so few while hungry politicians feed bullshit to the masses to ensure their statuses and further divide the classes.
You were born with a voice so open up and speak your mind. Raise consciousness and elevate how we all relate, don't hesitate. No need to be better or smarter than anybody else. Leave judgement at the door for others and yourself.”
A couple quick notes about ABC: You have to pass by some avalanche risk areas. That was wild. We’d hear a light crack, look up and see snow begin to trickle down the mountain, warmed from above by the sun. You can see where the snow falls day after day, as all the porters and trekkers precariously pass, praying today won’t be the day for the big drop. The path from 3200m to 4130m was covered in snow and icy in some parts. Abinta had convinced me to buy crampons, a series of chains and spikes that strap to your boots to provide traction to keep you from slipping on the trail. They were inexpensive and worked like a charm, so we were able to walk much faster despite the wet conditions. After seeing ABC just past a hill after Machhapuchhare Base Camp, we still had another 40 minutes of trekking until we reached it. I was counting down the moments until I could reach rest, dry clothes, and a hot meal.
There are only 5 lodges at ABC so Abinta booked us a room ahead of time. We’re sharing with another trekker, a Japanese woman who panicked mid trek that she’d lost her phone (she eventually found it, but can you imagine the headache that would’ve been for her guide?! How do you even begin to find a lost phone in the mountains?!).
Everyone is piled into the lodge, Abinta and I grabbed blankets from our room and staked out the corner benches. I put in my AirPods, turned on Spotify, and napped on and off for a half hour. There is no cell service or WiFi here—no one can even check what the temperature is. But it’s snowing hard outside and I’m having trouble warming up, even though I have every possible layer on, and in a room of 27 peoples’ collective body hear (plus 1 dog).
I just downed a Snickers bar followed by a plate of the crispiest french fries I’ve ever had, so I may even skip dinner. We will wake up to see the sun come up over the mountains around 6am, have breakfast, then set out for the 5 hour trek back to Bamboo. Another thing I’m daydreaming about? Clean laundry. And being back at my parent’s house, ordering our favorite local Chinese food, being lazy and watching movies, my mom giving me head massages while I lay on a pillow in her lap. That’s the life. Good thing I booked a month back home in June to get a big ole dose of love from my family and friends before heading back out to Italy in July. 😏❤️
Hey! Would you like to connect over creativity, self-growth, and problem-solving? Or just to have a virtual glass of wine or mocktail? Please book a time on my Calendly for us to chat! I can’t wait to see you. XOXO.
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Sooooo inspiring! Thanks for sharing all that beauty through your eyes, as well as your vulnerability, strength, determination and insights. I love the Heartless Bastard lyrics!