Mardi Himal 7 : Low Camp to Sidhing – Trek Day 5

Low Camp to Sidhing : ~12 KM; ~ 3 Hours

I am extremely grumpy this morning. I did not get any sleep last night. The cold dinner, the stinking duvet and the echoing snores coming from other sides of the teahouse kept me up all night long. It was also a very long day yesterday – that with no sleep added to a lot of exhaustion. My stomach doesn’t like it either. The morning business decides to take a break. Plus, it's cloudy this morning. So, no sunrise! Everything seems to add to my grumpiness. I put on a puffy face with lips pulling out and walk around the foggy grey campsite with a proper sulk.

Icicles...

My friend is being cautious and shows me a bunch of roots covered in solid ice. It’s like icicles around the roots and grass. This makes me a little happy. The view of Machhapuchhre is completely cut off today by the fog. Maniram points it out to me. ‘A broken Machhapuchhre’, I say. This seems to set him off and he keeps laughing about it the whole day.

Fishtail has disappeared in the grey cloud !

We start our hike. It’s all the way down today. We walk through forests and fog. En route, we get to a teahouse which does a lot of farming. There are raya saag, radish, tree tomatoes and cauliflower  exactly the vegetables we have been having every night so far.

Near Shiding...

A much shorter day today as we climb down. Downward trail is always a relief to the lungs, but the brain works harder to focus. To me, it often feels like a form of meditation. Within a few hours, we reach a place called Shiding. And this marks the end of the trek.

We wait here for a while and then get a shared taxi from here, all the way down to Pokhara. 

End of The Mardi Himal Trek (1700m)

Mardi Himal Trek will always have a special place in my heart. In the daily mist of chaos and uncertainty with the heart-wrenching longing for the touch of the mountains, this trek happened. Annapurna is such a blessing, and I am just ever so grateful for the same. Every time the mountains touch, I feel like a better person. You can’t beat that…

And I say bye for now...

Mardi Himal 6 : Upper Viewpoint – Trek Day 4

High Camp to Upper Viewpoint, back to High Camp & then down to Low Camp – Trek Day 4 : ~13 KM; ~ 7 Hours

To the 'rush of the rarest red'; To the tsunami in the breathwork; To the restless thrill in every conscious cell of the body; And yet, to the calm in the nerves...To the roar of my lion dreams and the quivering of my chicken heart, I count my blessings.

Ah! To Life!

Robert Frost says, ‘You can’t get too much winter in the winter’. This line has always given me a fuzzy feeling of warm boots and mugs full of hot chocolate. But at 4 o'clock in the morning in the High Camp, when I put on my freaking cold t-shirt and it sends a chilling shock to my skin, I feel this is a tad too much winter for me!

I have no words !

I got about seven layers of clothes on me, two pairs of trousers, two pairs of hats. My toes feel bitterly stiff as I start the trek on the cold winter night.

And we climb up...

Mardi Viewpoint (4200m)

The trail starts off with a gradual ascent, winding its way around two mountains and then it climbs up through a series of stony steps. There are no tall trees here, just valley grass and short stubs going down the slopes. The exposure to the elements is real. The current lack of wind as we walk along is a blessing.

Leaving behind the teahouses at High Camp...

As we get halfway through the climb, the darkness seems to fade off. As the dawn peels through dim lights, the mountain folds get more prominent. Suddenly, a sharp orange light tears through the dark horizon and sets the sky on fire!

Gosh ! How do I put this feeling in words !

I take a turn from behind the mountain wall, a big boulder possibly; my head down, focussed on the troubled footsteps. I breathe hard. I look up to gauge the gradient of the slope ahead. And like a flick of a magic, a golden dome shines brightly at me! The massive white majestic peak of the Annapurna South appears out of the cold darkness. An orangish golden radiance of the rising Sun floods the valley. The peak shines like the queen it is! My heart skips a beat; a foolish smile rests on my lips as I climb up the steps to bask in the mountain glow.

Mama Nature does her Magic and I am all smiles !

You know the feeling when the heart bursts into a thousand pieces because it fails to contain the myriads of emotions! Well…my lion dreams roar and my chicken heart quivers. I am in love with Annapurna…all of them!

Such amazing contrasts !

I continue the climb through the rough steps and its many deceiving turns. As it gets nearer to the top, the climb gets harder. And the harder it gets, the more alluring it becomes. It softly announces the proximity of the summit and the possibility of something magical. Maniram suddenly looks excited as he spots a Himalayan Monal on the climb. It’s a very shy bird and rarely spotted. and my first time ever seeing this bird outside of television! Its gorgeous! Its feathers are a celebration of colours.

Himalayan Monal ^.^

We trudge along. Every steep climb seems to be the last climb before the viewpoint, only to find further steps in front. My legs and glutes ache, my breathing gets harder. But I do not feel tired. There is a magical energy around. Slowly and steadily, we get to the top in due time.

At the Viewpoint !

Words fail me now!

All the majestic peaks that have been our companions all along for the last three days, suddenly launch themselves into a surreal scale of grandeur! They appear so much bigger, so much bolder, so much more beautiful and so very close! Hiunchuli, which appeared to be smaller than Annapurna South all this way, is suddenly so huge! You can see the glaciers in their folds too.

Hiunchuli looks so much bigger now !

Machhapuchhre has never seemed more taller and prouder. And in between Hiunchuli and Machhapuchhare, from behind a set of brown hilly wrinkles, shines the pristine Annapurna massif. The wide-spread milky snowy top of Annapurna I brings a wave of nostalgia from my days of ABC trek.

Annapurna I !

A series of other peaks like Gangapurna, Annapurna III, Gandharba Chull and of course, Mardi Himal have also unfolded themselves, making the picture complete.

We started late so we experienced the sunrise halfway up. I can only imagine what it must have been like to experience the same up top! Nonetheless, it's mind blowing.

Machhapuchhre or Fishtail !

The lovely blue sky, the white snowclad queens, the earthy mountain creases, the plunging yellow-mossy valleys and I stand amidst them, completely soaked in the over-pouring beauty of the Annapurna range. You know that physical touch of emotions? an overwhelming gush of gratitude and love? Somehow, it's all there. Unexplainable. And I know I repeat myself when I say, its Magic. It is Magic.

With The Queens...

We fuel ourselves with a handful of dry fruits, apples, protein bars, chocolates and a very costly mug of black tea. We spend a good amount of time there taking pictures, marveling at the splendor and just sitting in silence. After an hour or so, we slowly start the descent. We come back to the High Camp just before midday and help ourselves with another little meal of omelette and fries.

An Apple On the D-Day!

We rest for a bit and then start to climb down to Low Camp – our destination for the day. We expected Low Camp to feel warmer after the freezing cold conditions in the High Camp, but the Sun decides otherwise. It gets a lot cloudy on the way down. And it feels equally cold, if not more at Low Camp today.

Back at the High Camp in the afternoon.

Low Camp (3050m)

We are at a different teahouse at Low Camp this time. The owner is very old and seems to be fumbling. He offers us Wi-Fi at a cost. When we say, we are okay without Wi-Fi, he offers it to us for free! He says he is too old to ask for money anyway. A sweet generosity coming from this lonely man at the top of the mountain.

On the way to Low Camp; Leaving the peaks behind...

We do our usual routine of changing to warmer clothes, pottering around the campsite, drinking some hot ginger lemon tea and finally settling in front of the burning stove. We get served a cold dinner today, courtesy of the struggling old host. You can’t really blame him though. He is just old. Whilst having dinner, we meet another couple from Bangladesh today. They will be on their way up to the High Camp the next day. We chat for a bit, then I wish them luck and call it a night.

That first glimpse of the golden Annapurna lingers as I shut my eyes...

Mardi Himal 5 : Low Camp to High Camp – Trek Day 3

Low Camp to High Camp : ~6 KM; ~ 5 Hours

It's 6:45 am. Did we miss the sunrise? As we go up the altitude and more into the winter, the Sun gets lazy too. So, at 6:45 in the morning, the Sun has only just started to wake up. We hurry out of the rooms and go up a few steps in the campsite to get a better view.

Sunrise at Low Camp

A bit later, a sumptuous breakfast of the usual Nepali bread and potato and egg set us off for the day. 

The Usual Breakie
Gurung (Tibetan) bread with potatoes and egg

After an hour and a half of climbing through the forest trail, we get to an opening with a tea shop perched on the slope. And suddenly, a cinematic view opens in front of us!

The joy when this wide view suddenly unfolds after a thick forest trail !

Nange Danda

Starting from the left, Annapurna South followed by Hiunchuli, Annapurna and then the towering Machhapuchhre to the right, a marvellous panorama of royal peaks emerges against the bright blue sky! This is the first viewpoint in the trek where we see all the peaks in one frame. The area is called Nange Danda. (Danda meaning Hill)

Can't get enough of this!

A woman in her mid-40s crosses us in steady steps, carrying a basket full of chickens. It weighs about 30 kilos – she says with a blessed smile. She rests with us for a bit in that tea shop. Our guide offers her a handful of mumfali-s (peanuts).

Big Fat Chicken makes me chuckle :D

From Nange Danda, we can see our next few stops or viewpoints and the tiny houses where we would spend the night at the far end of a mountain top. It’s all pretty much uphill from here.

Our next stop - those blue cluster of houses in the distance at Badal Danda

Badal Danda (3300m)

We, then, cross a few other scattered teahouses of Nange Danda, a volleyball court and march on to the next climb. We follow the path with a series of steps going up.

Approaching Badal Danda
Machhapuchhre makes my heart swell !

A few mules bray and a few chickens cluck as we get to the next viewpoint i.e. Bandal Danda.

So Pretty & Proud ! :D

It’s midday now and the fog has started climbing up the valleys. It's almost a race against the cloud to get to the top of this mountain i.e. Badal Danda to experience the view before it gets all fogged up.

Racing the Cloud !

Well, you can’t really win against Nature. We are just able to catch a little glimpse of the queenly peaks before the soft clouds start brushing against them. Bandal Danda, literally translating to Cloud Hill, holds true to its name!

Cloud Creeping up at Badal Danda

The rest of the afternoon trail is a game of hide-and-seek with the wandering clouds, the enigmatic mountains and the playful valleys.

Just a happy me !

High Camp (3500m)

We reach High Camp in the afternoon. It’s extremely cold here! We are out of network, so can’t really check the temperature. It’s expected to be -17 degrees Celsius at night, but my body is already shaking. The teahouse owner here has a big brown chicken which seems to be shaking as well. Every chance it gets, the chicken gets into a comfortably warm corner inside the toilet! I prefer the dining area though.

On the way to High Camp, near Badal Danda...

We quickly change, do a little walk around the campsite and then glue ourselves to the seats closest to the burning stove inside the dining room. It’s still not enough! My right side of the body is closer to the burner and my left side of the body complains about it!

Cairns on the way...

Its amazing how the hosts always manage to serve steaming hot food in this bitter cold weather. A hot plate of dal-bhat appears at about 7PM in the evening and I hoover it up like a greedy buffoon. Like the Nepali saying goes - Dal bhat power – 24 hour!

At High Camp - cold Me, thick Cloud & lofty Machhapuchhre..!

Our guide, Maniram advises to sip water through the night to reduce the chances of AMS. It obviously has the downside of the evident toilet trips at night. But I do follow the advice.

As The Sun kisses goodnight to The Queen...

And when in the middle of my sleep, I get out of the warm duvet and go out into the chilling cold night, a huge white mass of Annapurna South and Hiunchuli and the sky-scraping Machhapuchhre tower over me against the black night sky. It is serene. It is seductive. It is dangerously beautiful.

Mardi Himal 4 : Gauda to Low Camp – Trek Day 2

Gauda to Low Camp : ~11 KM; ~7 Hours

The beauty of Sunrise and Sunsets is known to us all. Yet, it fascinates me every single time I witness the same. The Sun spotlights the two peaks (Annapurna South and Hiunchuli) as it rises and then gradually spreads its golden warmth across the mountain ranges. And, thus it announces the arrival of yet another sunny day. Lucky!

Sun rises on Annapurna South

Forest Camp (2900m)

Today's path is a forest trail. The beauty of this is, just when you start getting used to the dark green cosiness around you, a sudden wide view opens up and makes you gasp at the wonder! That's exactly what happens when we get to a random teahouse out of nowhere. This pretty cottage seems to have been built here to soak in the Sun and the mountain view alike.

Picture doesn't do any justice to those towering peaks at the back!

We continue our climb through the forest trails full of mossy trees, tall rhododendron trees with red skins, bamboo shrubs and so on. In due time, we reach a spot called Forest Camp.

Forest Trail leading to Forest Camp

A sleepy dog with thick furry black coat comes to sniff my shoes. I like her right away. A table tennis board lies in front of the teahouse here, along with a ping pong ball and two battered bats. You can't not make justice to such a sporty arrangement in this beautiful setting. So we indulge for a while.

Forest full of tall Rhododendrons

This teahouse face an opening in the valley through which our constant snowy-companions peek through. We sit in the sun, facing the valley and slurp from our hot bowl of thukpa.

A pony on the way!

We then leave the campsite by climbing up a few steep stairs on which sits another furry friend with his golden yellow coat on. She sits right in the middle of the steps, as if guarding the way. I pat her and I think she likes me as she shakes her fur off and starts following.

Maniram blessing the dog...

Rest Camp

As we get deeper into the trail and the day rolls into the afternoon, the Sun seems to play tricks. Thick foggy clouds start floating up from the valley, engulfing the mountains and the peaks.

The majestic Machhapuchhre before the puffy clouds cover it all

By the time we get to the next site – Rest Camp, we see nothing but grey clouds around us. The whole scenery seems to be wiped off. Our guide had told us, the Rest Camp offers a gorgeous view otherwise. Hence, the fog here makes me a bit upset. Making the most of what we got, we then push off to the next campsite.

Rest Camp - Scene shut; Courtesy : Cloud.

Low Camp (3050m)

We walk through dense rhododendron forest and get to the Low Camp after a couple of hours. The tall trees start getting shorter as we go higher up the altitude. It’s still foggy and feels colder without the Sun. Once we reach the teahouses in the Low Camp, we quickly change into dry clothes and get to the dining area to get ourselves warmed up against the burning stove. I find a dhol (a double-sided barrel drum) here. Expert or not, I start playing. Time flies by with incompetent dhol beats, out of tune songs and rolls of laughter.

At the Low Camp

At Sunset, the cloud starts fading off again. The towering Machhapuchhre (or the Fishtail peak) appears big in the sky. Feels like, it is standing right behind the Low Camp, supervising us, the puny humans.

The little green lights inside the teahouses and their blue rooftops, with the golden Machhapuchhre at the backdrop against a pinkish sky create an enchanting few moments of colours! Then, it all falls into a quiet darkness and a million sparkling stars take over. Can it get any richer than this!

To The Queen...Goodnight!

Mardi Himal 3 : Kande to Gauda – Trek Day 1

Kande to Gauda : ~5 KM; ~5 Hours

I take a few steps down a little alley way and then up through a couple of houses where three little chickens sat warming themselves inside the feathers of their big chicken mama, their tiny heads popping out to say ‘hello’! Before I know, the steps start getting steeper and we lose the houses and get deeper into lush trees and bushes.

Starting the Hike, Kande

Australian Camp

In due time we reach our first stop – the Australian camp. Apparently, the name comes from the time when a group of Australians had come over and camped in that area. That must have taken some creativity naming the place, eh!

As soon as we reach the village, the view takes our breath away! The distant sky is crowned with Annapurna South, looking so bright and massive that we can’t contain our excitement. The white jewel against the backdrop of blue is picture-perfect, to say the least.

Australian Camp
Annapurna South, Hiunchuli and Annapurna III at the backdrop

Mardi Himal seems to be one such trek where you get awarded with brilliant views right from the first day, first hour of your hiking journey!

Pretty Village, Pretty View

A few shops in this village sell handmade clothes, jewelleries and stones. We browse through the shops as we walk along to our next stop i.e. Pothana.

Pothana (1980m)

Pothana is another beautiful village against the backdrop of Annapurna and is also the ACAP checkpoint for this trek. I meet a couple from Bangladesh here and exchange pleasantries. We get our permit checked, sit for a while soaking in the environment and then continue our journey.

Getting permit done at Pothana

The landscape changes into farms and forests. As we get deeper into the forests and start going up and down the mountains, the trees get more unruly with their trunks dancing freeform and roots shooting out in unrestrained joy. We cross three or four mountains, also Pitam Deurali (the usual choice for trekkers to spend their first night in this village) before reaching the village – Gauda. This is where we stay tonight.

Heading towards Gauda

Gauda (2350m)

Gauda is a cosy little area with only two tea houses tucked in a slope. Out of the two tea houses, one is operational as December is off-season. Only a couple of other people (foreigners, can’t place which country they are from) are staying in this teahouse.

Teahouse at Gauda

The view is lovely from Gauda. Annapurna South seems to have turned bigger now and Hiunchuli sits beside her in its own comfortable glory. The two peaks seem to be joined by a straight ridge from where I am looking. If I just jump and do a double vault over the two mountains in front, I might as well sit on top of that ridge…

Cloud creeping up Annapurna South and Hiunchuli in the afternoon

The Sun sets at 6PM painting the horizon and the snowy peaks orange. The dining area has its wood burning stove on. The warmth inside is in a sharp contrast with the temperature outside that seems to be dropping every minute. A lavish dal-bhat thali arrives shortly after. Maniram makes us try a paste called dhido that’s made with millets. I don’t like the taste of it but the next morning he makes a bread out of the same dhido and I am in love with the dhido bread!

Sunset from Gauda teahouse

Cold mountains demand early sleep. Hesitantly, I leave the warmth of the dining area and hurry to my room. Even within those short 50 metres of the way, the cold snaps through my skin. But as my eyes find the sky above, I stand there shivering and yet not moving. The dark night sky is studded with tiny specs of jewels all over. It looks so crowded up there; the stars seem to be fighting each other for space!

I make a couple of trips down to the toilet at night too, hating my bladder and trembling in the cold but every time, those thousand stars seem to hold my feet back. 

Gosh, there is so much power in Nature!

Nighty Night...