Poon Hill Trek, Nepal (Part 3 of 3)

Breakfast with a view

Poon Hill Trek Day 5: Tadapani to Ghandruk

The plan for the hike today was to descend and circle back to the checkpoint in Birethani.

The first part of it was really beautiful. Through forests we went, and it was the type of forests so quintessential in picture books that they looked like CGI: among the live trees were dead tree trunks covered with moss and lots of little plants; fern grew everywhere; mushrooms large and small stuck to the sides of trunks or grew from the moist forest floor. All this vegetation was due, of course, to the constantly bubbling water we heard as we trekked.

There was a downside to all this moisture. The combination of moisture with a rocky trail going downhill meant we had to watch for slippery surfaces. We learned quickly that the treads of both our boots appeared more worn than we would like. A few times we caught ourselves.

So it was just a matter of time when N., going down a series of wet stone steps, turned to take a picture, lost his balance and slid a couple of steps. Thankfully he got only some minor scrapes and would likely earn a bruise on his quads. What made my heart almost stop was the fact that he stumbled close to an edge that led to a drop into a very rocky river. This was exactly the type of situation that our porter B. had been describing. “Use both hands to mimic a slide…”

Today we kept trading the lead with the solo trekkers from Israel — and according to form, they peppered our guide with questions about how to get on a bus from Ghandruk to Pokhara. Except for them, we had the forest mostly to ourselves — it was quite a treat.

Compared to the other little villages we had passed in our hike, Ghandruk was quite a large settlement and it seemed quite prosperous. There was no question that the core of Ghandruk’s wealth was tourism: the only things we saw besides homes were hotels and hotels-to-be.

Our own hotel seems sturdily built and cheerily decorated with flower pots. By now it was our running joke: I asked A. to tell me about the mountain peaks hiding behind a thick blanket of clouds. From the hotel balcony, he mentioned Annapurna South, Himchuli, and Machapuchare or Fishtail. Yeah, right.

It was fascinating to learn during dinner that our host spoke Korean quite well. And no wonder — he said he worked in Incheon, Korea for 11 years. He had worked hard, saved money and come back to Nepal and built his hotel. It was a great story of sacrifice and success.

Although the trek today felt nowhere close to being arduous as that first day to Ulleri, both of us were feeling our calves burning with each step. N. complained more whinningly than I, so A. cheerfully gave him a massage.

Final thought of the day: a grateful shout-out to my white tracking shirt. I had always been thinking about donating it, but it has been an absolute lifesaver. I have used it as a shirt, as a rain jacket, as an sunbrella, as a towel to wipe off sweat... Currently it looks brownish, but I’ve grown to love it.

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Poon Hill Trek Day 6: Ghandruk to Pokhara

So it turned out that all this time A. had been telling the truth about the mountains.

We woke up at 5:40 this morning. The skies were not exactly blue but the wisps of clouds were high enough and thin enough that not only could we see Annapurna South, Himchuli and Fishtail, but we also saw Gangapurna and quite a few others. It view was so gorgeous that it was hard to believe the mountains were real.

It was an absolutely beautiful morning. B. brought us breakfast and we sat on the large balcony, enjoying the way that minute by minute the view changed with the light. We were grateful that we finished the hike on this gorgeous note — the trek, the falls and even the injuries were worth the view of these mountains.

After breakfast, we bid goodbye to Ghandruk and began our trek to Kilu.

The hike down took about 3 hours, longer than expected, but N. found beautiful views everywhere. On the descent, N. turned around often and still could see the peaks of this or that mountain. Not only that, he saw the ridges crisscrossing in layers, the terraced rice and soybean fields, the hillsides dotted with homes. He was a happy photographer.

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Poon Hill Trek Day 7: Flight to Kathmandu

As a final gift from the mountain gods, the clouds parted in Pokhara and on our drive to the airport we saw a long line of mountains that went on and on and on… Even from the airport lounge we caught glimpses of snowcapped peaks.