The Annapurna Sanctuary Trek Part I (By: Triston)

J and I were naively gungho about hiking up around the Himalayas. What we didn't realize was that what we were about to do would push us to the limits of our physical strength and sanity! OK, so it wasn't exactly that tough, but we were exhausted on a daily basis and occasionally terrified (see video of Justyna crossing a river on a very shaky bridge above) The first day we woke up bright and early and got in the taxi which we had ordered the night before. Expecting a nice, relaxing drive up to the start of the trek from Pokhara, we were mortified to learn that the guy who runs the Hotel we were staying at was coming with us and was going to use the deserted, winding, extremely dangerous mountain roads leading up to the starting point as his "driving lesson." Suraj (the hotel guy) was a very very bad driver and he did not reassure us when he told us (between stalling and jerking the car on the edges of cliffs) that he was "really really bad at turning!" After the two-hour terror ride, the real taxi driver finally took over and we ended up in Nayapul, at the bottom of the path up to the "Sanctuary." We had a little bight to eat with Suraj and the taxi driver and then headed out on the hot, dusty path.

After the first hour, we realized we had started hiking up the wrong valley (a detour that would've have added five hours to our trek) and had to return all the way down to the starting point again! After that mishap, we were constantly asking the men and women we passed (men and women who were usually carrying ridiculously heavy loads of corrugated steal and wood up and down the mountain) if we were going the right way, as the numerous meandering paths were not marked. There were also numerous "fake towns" which were designed to make you think you had reached your destination for the day, only to find that the real town you were looking for was much higher up the mountain! Well, we got lost again, accidentally choosing a path that followed the river instead of going straight up the mountain (duh....). So we had to make a choice: completely change our plan and follow the river to this mysterious town known as "New Bridge" or backtrack and go straight up the mountain to the mythical (and Tolkien-esque) "Gandruk" high above in the clouds. We chose to stay the course and hopefully hit "New Bridge" before dark.

At first the day was pleasant. We saw local village boys attacking monkeys with rocks. We had to step to the side of the path as numerous water buffalo and mules made their way down the path at full speed carrying goods from the upper villages. We saw gorgeous waterfalls and terraced fields of corn and rice that seemed to defy gravity. But then the sun started getting low in the sky and, after 8 hours of hiking up painfully steep mountains, we started to become exhausted and panicky. It got to the point where every time we took a step we yelped in pain. I have never dropped the "f-bomb" more times in my life. Every time we made it up another ridge, it seemed there was another, even steeper ridge to climb. "F--k!!!" Just when we were about to give up, I spotted a tiny bridge over the river which seemed like about a mile below us. Could this be "New Bridge"?.... After 30 minutes more hiking, we found that our dreams had come true. That night, as we snuggled in to our bed in New Bridge village, were so thankful to be safe and with shelter that we ignored the fact that the sheets were riddled with rat droppings and the floor and walls looked like a barn. We were safe, and we had learned some valuable trekking lessons about time management and map-reading. We were on the beginning of a new and amazing adventure.


(below) T on a typical trail near the bottom