The sky was clear that morning, so I made an early start into the sanctuary. The Annapurna Sanctuary is an open shelf at the top of the Modi Khola valley. IT is surrounded on all side by massive peaks including Annapurna South, Khangsar Khang, Tare Khang, Gangapurna, Gandharwa Chuli, Machhapuchhre, and of course Annapurna I, the tenth highest mountain in the world. I was glad I decided to come back on a clear day, because it was a different world from the prior day. What was only a big rock the day before became a red wedge between two glacial canyons. The poking peak of Machhapuchhre towered from the top of the valley's steep walls.
After the Machhapuchhre Base Camp, the real sanctuary began. The ground is a sea of tan shrubs, little globes that cover the ground, with large rocks sticking out. Bhara Chuli got closer with each meter in. The walls rose so quick, I got vertigo looking up at them, which was a new experience. The stroll to Annapurna Base Camp was an easy walk. The most difficult part was looking forward and not at the scenery.
From the ABC, the trail ended, but a rock forest continued on up to the South Annapurna glacier. I stopped for some biscuits on top of a ridge looking to the morraine and up to Annapurna I, which wasn't all that beautiful honestly. After three weeks of viewing such amazing peaks, the flat ridge of the 10th highest mountain was not so special. It is hard to believe that this was the world's deadliest mountain. Looking at the topographic map though, I didn't really see any way up that didn't involve scaling glaciers.
The clouds were slowly closing in, obscuring the views. Annapurna South was gone completely and barely got to glimpse the Northern peaks. Machhapuchhre was still clear, making the walk down even more spectacular than the way up. The beauty of the sanctuary is indescribable, photos look nice, but the feeling of being surrounded on all sides by 7000m peaks, rising right from where you stand is an experience well worth the work.
I wanted to linger longer, but I needed to head down and the weather was changing for the worse. I snapped countless photos, hoping a couple would do the place some justice.
I was sad heading down; this was the final "destination" of my trek. The rest was just returning to Pokhara, which I assume is still beautiful, but this was an end of sorts. I stopped for some noodle soup in Deurali and picked up my backpack, then headed for my goal of Bamboo.
The hike back to Himalaya was as bad as the way up, being stone steps nearly the whole way. The clouds were getting dark after Himalaya and a little later, it started to mist. Dovan was empty when I got there. I told myself that'd I'd stop in Dovan if it was empty. Since it is an easy, week-long trek from Pokhara, which only reaches to a maximum altitude of 4200m, the trek to the sanctuary is a common destination for the organized groups. All the groups seemed to move in large masses, stopping at the same villages, leaving the others empty. I figured that since Dovan was empty, Bamboo would certainly be full. I ignored my own advice and moved on, figuring it was too early to stop for the day.
After Dovan, the mist grew to a steady rain, mkaing the hour to Bamboo a slippery, muddy affair. My rain jacket was soaked after the hour. As I predicted, every lodge in Bamboo was full. It was an hour and half to Sinuwa and I would reach there right after dark, but I detest rain. This trek was reminding more and more of the Overland Track in Tasmania, not just in scenery, but all with the rain. Once of the lodges offered me a spot in the dining room, my first such experience. I figured no tea house trek would be complete without one night in a dining room, so I took it.
The hotel housed a group of ten from England and Colorado who were all friends somehow. The dal bhat was lackluster; the tarkari was mostly cabbage, which after a month hiking in Nepal, I learned to at least tolerate.
It was warm and the dining room was surprisingly comfortable. I shared it with the guides and porters, some even slept on the floor even though there was still some bench room left. The whole place, though, woke up at 4AM when the kitchen staff started prepping for breakfast. My dreams centered around chopping vegetables for the last 45 minutes of light sleep.
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