Annapurna Circuit Trek

We (Emily, Kirstin and Sandhya)have reached Nepal!!
Spending the past 4 days in the town of Pokhara organizing everything for our trip, meeting incredible mountaineers, and talking with fellow trekkers, we spent longer than we expected to in civilization. Excitedly, we plan on heading out onto the trail the day after tomorrow, May 31st! We will follow the classic Annapurna Circuit trek in the counter-clockwise direction (which is better for the steepest and highest portion of the treck, Thorung Pass). The trek will take approximately 18 days. Some people can finish it in 10, some take longer if the visit chortens, high altitude Buddhist temples along the way and what not. We plan on taking 18-20 days. You can follow our route the map from Besisahar to Bhithani. The Annapurna Circuit Trek is supposedly the most popular trek in Nepal, well travelled and established. Tea Houses and lodges can be found in most areas every couple of hours- which is great for us to go light-weight trekking (no tents or food loads). For this reason we have not planned exactly what villages we will be staying at each night, since there are so many options and our tiredeness or energy will vary day to day.

Monsoon season is almost starting here in Nepal and there are daily afternoon rain showers (today even a little hail), but then it subsides and we can be out and hiking again. We're supplied with rain jackets, pack covers, plastic trash bags lining our packs, and umbrellas! (Yes, we were advised by one of the best mountaineers in the world, Don Bowie who recently came off an expedition on Annapurna I South, to trek with umbrellas like Mary Poppins would!)

More to come soon, hopefully!!!