For me and many others, hiking Nepal’s Annapurna Circuit is the dream trek of a lifetime. Winding through the Himalayas and connecting several remote villages, the Annapurna Circuit has some of the most stunning mountain views imaginable. Along with that, it’s far from an easy hike. It requires planning, permits and the ability to handle some pretty high elevations – the Thurong Pass that the Annapurna circuit crosses is at 17,770 feet of elevation. Of course you need a bit more than just that as no matter how hard you plan, things can still go sideways.
While this was the trip of a lifetime for me, it definitely had challenges that were totally out of my control like my hiking boots being stolen and the weather being unseasonably crazy. While this wasn’t the “perfect” trip, I feel it was even more valuable to me personally as a learning experience. The issues and challenges made me face my tricky relationship with expectations and the limits of my ability to control outcomes. Instead of having the “perfect” trip, I was able to take with me something more valuable with me- a better ability to let go of expectations which can really hamper me from truly appreciating the moments that count.
For this section I decided to publish my daily journal from each leg of the Annapurna circuit. You’ll notice that at day 4, things take a pretty big turn – we had to abandon our Annapurna Circuit plans due to unseasonably torrential snows and landslides and instead we “remixed” our plans completely. While this was a bit of a letdown I still feel it was the trip of a lifetime and I hope my journals help show what a magical place this is. I’ll create a separate post to talk about how you prepare for a trip like this. As in my previous post, I highly recommend getting a guide like mine – Tenzi Sherpa- who was invaluable when things went sideways hard. Any way you trek the Annapurna, I can guarantee you your in for a trek of a lifetime.
Day 1 of the Annapurna Circuit- Nadi to Jagat
Starting off with an epic vista 
The villages we passed clinging to the mountainside 
Me and Tenzi! 
Another epic bridge crossing 
We started our trip in the hamlet of Nadi and wound through some amazing terrain on the way to our next stop in Jagat. It was drizzly most of the day but it didn’t detract from the some of the stunning vistas, waterfalls and frequent traffic jams of goats and donkeys clogging up the road. There’s something otherworldly about coming around a corner and seeing a massive mountain staring you in the face – only to be brought back to earth by the bleating of a herd of goats.
The food has been damn tasty- I think I can eat this dal baht every meal no problem. The challenge in front of us though is that the weather is not looking so great and the pass in front of us is closed because of snow. Apparently this is the first time that’s happened this time of year in several decades – just my luck! 🤣 but regardless if we have to flip the script and make alternate plans, it’s been a gorgeous hike so far! Send good warm thoughts our way team!
Day 2 of the Annapurna Circuit- Jagat to Dharapani.
Tenzi showing me the flora 
Crossing the ridge 
So many waterfalls along the way 
Dharapani in sight 
One of the many vistas
The day started crisp and cold and we grabbed all of our gear and strapped on our boots. We wound our way up a gorge dotted with palm trees (who would have thought they’d be all the way up here?!!) and countless waterfalls cascading down into a surging river. Tenzi has some seriously eagle eyes and was able to point out a family of monkeys hiding in the cliffs along with some ginormous bee hives. Apparently locals rappel down the cliff face at night with a torch in hand to harvest them… which if you think about it (sheer cliff face + 1000 meter drop + just a rope to hold you + a lit torch In hand + millions of stinging bees)- sounds just about the craziest thing to do for a living- but who am I to judge!
We crossed several suspension bridges and traveled through countless little hamlets with their own bleating goat herds and donkey traffic jams. We were able to just avoid a snowstorm by ducking into a teahouse for some dhal baht for lunch. The sun finally broke through and we had a glorious end to the day hiking further up the gorge. We made it safely to our Tea House and Dharapani and met up with our merry band of traveling Germans for even more dhal baht. All in all a pretty epic day of hiking!
Day 3 of the Annapurna circuit – Dharapani to Chame
On the way to Chame 
Finally seeing some sun! 
A room with a view 😛
The sun finally came out for an entire day which was quite an exciting change from the rain and snow. We strapped our packs on and tromped through the frozen muddy trail towards Chame. We got about 2-3 km and had to come to a pretty tough realization. We knew that it had snowed a bunch over the past two days and the Thurong Pass was likely still to be closed but after meeting some guides who came back from Chame, we knew the pass wasn’t going to open for at least two weeks. Making matters worse, the day of sun was melting the snow and landslides began happening all over the place. Tenzi said that even if we went up to Chame and came back down, the descent would be far more challenging and treacherous due to slides and the worsening of trail conditions. We would find out later that 2 of the 5 hotels that support Annapurna Base camp were destroyed the same day by rock slides.
So, we made the decision to head back down the mountain. We got lucky and were able to flag down a dump truck which was easily the rockiest (pun intended) ride I’ve ever taken. One of the guys in the dump truck had a Jeep and was willing to take us to Bessisar for a fee- we jumped on it. We picked up another couple on the way who – while taking a picture of a waterfall – almost got hit by a landslide.
The Jeep ride was hands down the craziest trip I’ve ever taken. The “road” was pretty much a mud track with huge rocks strewn around for good measure. On the way down you could see places where landslides dumped mud and rocks all over the road. To make things more fun, most of the road had a sheer wall of rock on one side and a several hundred foot drop into a surging river on the other.
So there I was with Tenzi, crammed into the cab of a Jeep with 5 other people. I was riding in the middle spot in the front seat with the gearshift right between my legs and which left me trying to anticipate every shift this guy was making so he didn’t hit me in the nuts. A quarter of the way down the gearbox started making a crazy sound from the guys double clutching and you could just smell the clutch burning. So here we are, careening down a muddy road praying the driver doesn’t miss a turn or lose traction enough for us to slide off the side- all the while as the transmission is smoking. We stopped for lunch and the driver said he could fix the issue by dumping a bucket of water on what I assume the clutch?
In any case, he tapped out of driving responsibilities and the new driver was way better and cut the turns like he was playing Mario Kart for keeps. Somehow this didn’t make me feel better but at least the transmission was no longer on fire.
5 hours later we made it safe and sound to Bessisar and then got a ride to Pokhara. Quite the wild day of not trekking, but it was one hell of a memorable experience! We’re regrouping in Pokhara and will figure out how to best salvage the rest of the trek. Wish me luck!
Annapurna Remixed Trek: Day 4 Pokhara to Pothana
The verdant countryside outside of Pokhara 
Getting in the swing of things 
Ruling the roost 
Getting sideeye from these geese 
Mimoso n’ me 
Mimoso is quite happy to have made it to the ridgeline 
Like many houses we past, this one had corn drying from the rafters 
Annapurna take 2! We started our day in drizzly Pokhara to make our way to Paurdkot by one of those hilarious local busses I mentioned earlier. Our plan is to eventually make it to Ghorepani and Poon Hill- basically hitting the last 1/3 of the Annapurna circuit (minus Annapurna base camp which is closed right now due to avalanches 😣).
After jumping out of the bus we strapped on our packs and went at it again. Since switchback technology hasn’t made it to Nepal yet, we hiked basically 3 miles of straight up staircases. We were able to catch views of Pokhara below us and also these massive Rhododendron trees in full bloom. Since I downsized my pack in Pokhara due to our change in trek, it was definitely easier to make the ascent. It also made it easier to grab Mimoso for photo opportunities. Mimoso (Spanish for cuddly) is a little hedgehog friend Tiffany bought for me so I wouldn’t feel lonely as I trekked – and it’s actually working! He’s also pretty cute too.
We made it Pothana in super good time so now I’ve got the time to catch up on the rest of my reading. Here’s hoping the weather clears up tomorrow!
Day 5 of the Remixed Annapurna Trek- Pothana to Landruk
Coming around the bed 
We had a friendly pup be our trekking companion for the day 
Another traffic jam… 
A scene from Shivaratri 
Annapurna in the background 
We woke up today to see the gleaming peak of Annapurna South in the morning sunlight. This was super awesome as it’s been rainy and drizzly most mornings and the peaks have been hiding from us. We strapped on our packs and made our way to Landruk.
The way was a lot of straight up, straight down, straight up and little flat land thrown in for some diversity. The views were stunning today as we walked through countless rice terraces and navigated our way through wayward herds of goats, ox and water buffalo. The water buffalo definitely are hilarious as they make this kind of freeze pose and then stare at you which I think they feel makes them invisible. I’m not so sure about it but it’s funny to watch!
It’s an interesting experience walking through all of these villages that depend on eking out as much as they can from the soil and mountains as possible to make a living. Tenzi has been doing an awesome job introducing me to the many tribes that make up all of the villages throughout the trek. I’m definitely getting a deeper perspective of how life is here.
We made it to Landruk in good time with the sun still shining. The weather here is a bit bananas where just a few kilometers can mean the difference between warm sun and freezing snow. There seems to be an immovable wall of rain that’s just sitting outside of Landruk which is of course where we’re heading tomorrow. Please send sunny thoughts my way!
Day 6 of the Annapurna Remixed Trek- Landruk to Ghandruk
The awesome owner of our teahouse who convinced me to get into a Shivaratri dance-off 
At 7 am, I feel just like this dog 
Yes, this shirt is too tight but its the largest size they had in Kathmandu 
The Annapurna range in the distance 
We walked through gorgeous fields of rice throughout the day 
Me and Tenzi at (almost) the top of the hill 
I woke up to more sunshine this morning as I shook off the remnants of my Nepalese moonshine fueled Shivaratri danceathon. Our destination for today was the village of Ghandruk which we could see right across the gorge from our teahouse. Tenzi said it would take about 3-4 hours which seemed a bit much for something that looked so close. Well, I found out why shortly after I strapped on my pack and headed out of Landruk.
In order to get to Ghandruk we had to to go straight down, then straight up this deep gorge. When I mean straight down, the stairs pretty much went straight down with no switchbacks! The terrain was gorgeous as we saw Peach trees and rhododendrons in full bloom along with all sorts of birds and bees (seriously! Just look at the pic below where you can see the villagers actually build bee hives into their homes!). The stairs were made out of slate and chiseled rock – all fit together like some big puzzle or quilt.
Where things got real fun was when we go to the bottom and crossed the river and started our way straight up. Straight. Up. The. Mountain. It was unlike Ive ever hiked- basically one massively long staircase straight up. Even though it’s frigid outside, I still was able to drown in sweat lugging my pack up the daunting stairs. On the positive side, I got a new nickname today – “local” because I keep pace with the sherpas – and that made me feel pretty darn good😅.
As we continued our trek upwards we weaved through countless terraces of millet fields and dodged oxen meandering about. We even crossed paths with a roving family of monkeys that were moving through the trees with all the grace of a drunk leaving a Union Street bar at 2:03am. With storm clouds forming above, we quickened our pace.
We finally made it to Ghandruk and i looked at how far we came and was blown away. It was easily one of the most physically taxing ascents I’ve done in a while – clocking in at 197 flights of stairs according to Apple Health. Ghandruk was a little bit larger of a village than Landruk and had a quaint little museum focused on rural life and a Buddhist monastery. All of Ghandruk exists clinging to the steep hillsides which makes navigating its narrow streets similar to some of the hills and alleys of North Beach or Russian Hill- only with infinitely more donkeys. And with that we checked into our Teahouse and sat down for some well deserved dhal baht. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds!
Day 7 of the Remixed Annapurna Trek- Ghandruk to Tadapani
Clear skeis today! 
The donkeys here are decorated with all the finery 
This is how lumber is transported from village to village – impressive on every level 
Today started off far earlier than I would have liked – there was an entire class of Nepali high schoolers that started blasting Bhangra at 5am (who does that?!?!) and I almost went into full “old man Van Loan” mode and told em to git off my lawn! But it was too damn cold outside of my cozy sleeping bag to be bothered. The upside was I was wake up a little earlier and see the best views of the Annapurnas we’ve seen yet!
So we strapped on our packs and off we went! The path today was a welcome change from the straight up steps of yesterday, instead winding its way through rhododendron forests and gurgling brooks. We got to see how the Nepali’s do forestry management which was a lot more conservation focused than I was fearing. After they selectively cut a tree,they saw it into long, thick beams totally by hand. Then they get some Maniacs to balance the damn things on their heads and lug it down the mountain. It was an impressive and insane thing to watch happen.
Now that we’re climbing higher, we’re finally getting back into the snow and that foreshadows tomorrows snowy and icy trek to Ghorepani.
At our Teahouse I finally tried the Nepali tradition of eating dhal baht with your hands and it was a pretty fun if not messy thing. I felt like I was bussing around grains of rice around my plate a good amount of the time but Tenzi says I just need three more tries to master it. We also ran into an awesome group and got into a heated set of card games. These teahouses are incredible little micro communities where you can make friends easily and swap stories – all around a toasty little stove. They’re hands down one of my favorite parts of this trek.
Well, it’s time for me to leave the warm protective radius of this little stove and get ready for tomorrow’s icy trek. Please send warm thoughts my way!
Day 8 of the Remixed Annapurna trail- Tadapani to Ghorepani
Up and at em early 
A village cat 
We got into a fierce game of cards the night before with another trekking group 
The sunrises here are unreal 
No crampons needed- it was a slog up this icy hill 
We did make it though! 
Mimoso celebrating our making it to the ridgeline 
The gate to Ghorepani- our destination for the night 
A green canyon flush with snowmelt
Today was the big day. I knew it was going to be a slog but i was ready for it! I got up earlier hoping to catch the sunrise and I got rewarded by the jaw dropping spectacle of the Annapurna mountain range bathed in morning light. I ate the usual teahouse breakfast of eggs, home fries and toast (with a milk tea of course) and I was ready to roll.
Well, not quite actually. I was running low on clean clothes so I tried to take advantage of yesterdays sunny skies. On the good side, everything pretty much dried out. On the bad side? My underwear froze- like in a “U” shape as you can see in the attached pic. Unfortunately for me I was out of clean pairs so…..I got to put on frozen underwear for them first time. Let me tell you, NOTHING wakes you up faster than wearing frozen underwear, as a side effect I’m not sure I can ever have kids but I guess that’s for another post 🤣
Where the Landruk to Ghandruk trek was tough being straight down and then straight up, the trek to Ghorepani said “hold my beer” and then added iced over snow and luge like ascents and descents. To make matters more “fun”, we didn’t have crampons for our boots so today became a full body workout.
To get up the slippery ice trails we had to slam our poles into the icy ground and haul ourselves upwards and hope our boots didn’t slip. When It came to the downhill, we had to do a cross between skating down the hills and making sure we planted our feet in new snow on the edges of the trails. Most of the time it worked, sometimes ……. not so much and we would sink into waist deep snow.
It was a brutal slog but it had its moments.
The sunlight filtering through the Rhododendron forest have the woods a magical glow. All kinds of wildflowers were in bloom and we even spotted a few monkeys, content to sun themselves out on high up tree limbs. There was also a Small herd of horses we ran into mid trek.
After some amazing views, we finally wound our way down to Ghorepani and I couldn’t be happier. It was certainly the most physically taxing and technically challenging day we’ve had. Fortunately it was also the best tea house we’ve been at yet with a huge stove heater and awesome food. Along with some new friends we joined all the guides in a big dance circle before calling it a night. Tomorrow we reach Poon Hill and hopefully an amazing view!
Day 9 of the remixed Annapurna Trail- Ghorepani to Poon Hill
Trying to stay positive…at a 4am wakeup time 
The sun just about to peak over the Himalays 
The observation post at the top of Poon Hill 
Team no-crampon celebrating at the top of Poon hill 
The view was worth every step necessary to get there 
Well, this was it! The goal we’d been trudging up and down endless stairs and across icy passes for. Poon Hill is a place where you can see one of the most amazing panoramas I’ve ever seen- all of the Annapurna range plus a bunch of other mountains close by in almost a 360 degree setup. It is alpine mountain porn at its finest.
In order to get the most of out of it we got up at 4:30 AM to hike to the top to see Sunrise. Using our “no-crampon” pro skills we were able to make it to the top in 36 minutes flat and were one of the first to be able to stake out our real estate for the “show”. It did not disappoint. From the first rays of light illuminating the Annapurnas to the eventual morning sunshine glinting off the snow capped peaks, it’s was a sight I’ll never forget. Where the weather had foiled our plans to trek over the Thorong Pass and visit Annapurna Basecamp, it totally cooperated this morning and gave us clear skies.
The scene at the top became a little packed as hikers from countries across the globe arrrived and everyone jostled for a view -but it all worked out. We stayed for a few hours and I took literally hundreds of pictures but in an attempt to not be totally annoying, here are a few of the best.
With Poon Hill conquered, we went back to Ghorepani which was actually pretty damn fun. The icy trail that was a bit technical to climb turned into the best sledding run on the way down when you’re wearing snow pants. After happily sledding down on our butts, it was time to collect the rest of our gear in Ghorepani and make the trek down.
Day 10 of the remixed Annapurna Trek- The Journey Home(ish)
A donkey train delivering food and gas to Ghorepani 
With Poon Hill behind us, it was all downhill for us now-literally. Ghorepani is at a pretty high elevation and reachable only by trail so we had to walk all the way down through steep cliff sides, cross massive chasms and across gurgling brooks to make it to our final tea house where we would be whisked away by Jeep to Pokhara and some semblance of the modern world again.
All those steps I took to get to Ghorepani were deposits in a bank account that all seemed to get withdrawn in one day. According to my phone we hiked 11 1/2 miles and I’m guessing we descended ~4000-5000 ft with almost all of it straight down on stone stairs. Seriously, Nepal does not F around with its ups and downs and with no switchbacks it meant we were in for one hell of a leg workout. Just writing this down makes my ass just hurt 🤣
We were able to see amazing vistas throughout the day as we wound our way through forests of Rhododendron trees and terraces of rice, potatoes, millet, corn and garlic. Because of the strange weather everything was in bloom early and we were treated to plants in full bloom. Tenzi kept up his eagle eyed sightings of all sorts of things from flowers, monkeys and some massive bee hives. The bees here are HUGE! And they just hover a lot making them easy to spot but also a bit menacing considering their size and how many of their friends they have flying around 😅
We came across many donkey trains taking food and supplies to Ghorepani. Since there is no road there, everything has to be delivered by either donkey or porter. Apparently the elevation is so high in Ghorepani, the donkeys can’t stay for long. Beyond that elevation, yaks have to be used!
After many, many miles we finally made it to our Teahouse just in time. 5 minutes later the sky opened and dumped rain for hours which of course meant tons of new snow at higher elevations- we came down just in time!
Together with some of our new friends we made in Ghorepani we turned the tea houses common room into a 7 person dance club to celebrate the end of an amazing journey complete with headlamps set to blink mode for strobes and my speaker for sound. Over Nepali rum we danced, laughed and shared stories of our adventures. With all the changes and challenges, It wasn’t the trek I wanted but it definitely was the trek I needed. I’m grateful to have experienced it and hope to come back again sometime in the future.
I can say without hesitation that this was a trek of a lifetime ❤️
