Around-the-World with Drew & Erin: Nepal

Join The Blogging Post as we head around-the-world with our friends Drew & Erin. They’ll be sending us regular dispatches and updates from all over the globe. This is their fourth post — from the rugged Annapurna Sanctuary in Nepal:

Trekking in the Annapurna Sanctuary

We just returned from a 12-day trek into Annapurna Sanctuary. It sounds like a long time in terms of backpacking, but for Nepal, it is actually quite a short time.

First of all, trekking in Nepal is not a wilderness experience. Although the Himalayan scenery is amazing, you are never far away from a village. In fact, you walk from village to village, usually no more than 2 hours apart, and you can stop and have lunch or stay the night where you please. The trails are pretty busy, both with trekkers and with people that are carrying goods from other villages. They usually have a basket that they carry with a band around their forehead, and they can haul an incredible amount of weight. So, although we were away from cars and walked everywhere, we were never away from other people.

Poon Hill

We were blessed with great weather. Every day it was clear in the morning and at sunset. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky when we were in the sanctuary. The temps got cold as soon as the sun went down, but while it was shining, we could hike in shorts (a skirt for me).

The views were incredible each day, and one of the highlights was waking up before dawn one day (a major feat for us), walking up Poon Hill, and watching the sun rise on the Himalaya. First the mountains turned pink in alpenglow, then golden, then whitish blue as the sun rose completely. It was magnificent!

When we got into the Sanctuary it was picture perfect. Annapurna Base Camp is in a natural amphitheater surrounded by huge 7,000 and 8,000 meter peaks. The mountains almost seem stunted by the immense size of everything. Drew and I both read a book about Chris Bonington’s expedition up the south face of Annapurna. It seems crazy. It’s incredibly steep and you can constantly hear rockfall and avalanches coming down. Plus, there are huge glaciers to cross, and unbearably cold weather. I think I’ll just stick to looking up at the mountains!

Annapurna Animals

We also saw some cool flora and fauna along the trek. There are forests of rhodadendron in Nepal. I grew up with bushes in Seattle, but these are huge trees! I’m sure it’s absolutely beautiful in the spring when they bloom.

In the trees, we spotted langurs, which are white monkeys with black faces. We watched them for a long time as our guide, Ganesh, waited patiently. In Nepal, they aren’t very excited about monkeys, since they see them all of the time. We also saw a strange animal called a tahr, which is like a mountain goat.

People of Nepal

Besides the obvious glory of the Himalaya, we both very much enjoyed the cultural experience of the trek. We learned a lot about the country and the people. In some ways, it makes me feel very lucky to be American, because we have opportunities that many people in the world don’t. The people who live in the countryside of Nepal are quite poor, living mostly by farming for themselves, selling what they can to buy a few things that they can’t grow.

There is something beautiful about the simplicity of their lives, living hand to mouth, and a happiness that shines through sometimes bleak conditions. The people who are doing the best make money from the tourists, which makes us a target. Sometimes I am bothered by this, and yet I understand that everyone wants to make a living. I think I can learn a lot about simplifying my own life from these people, and to remember that happiness can exist with very little.

Erin