Day 4: Dharapani to Chame

Day 4 brought with it a deepening of the friendship that had begun to develop with my hiking companions, and the shift to a new Nepali district, Manang. Manang represents the high, Buddhist country, and is where we'd stay until the last day of the trek, when we entered Mustang upon crossing the pass. The higher and further north you go, the more remote it gets. For now, though, we had plenty of amenities, as Chame is the seat of Manang, and had several little shops. As the weather grew colder, I was glad to see plenty of gloves and hats, and purchased a balaclava for about two dollars, remembering the sting on my nose from previous trips. In retrospect, I can say that balaclavas are a bad idea, as recycling the air you breathe doesn't generally lend to easy high altitude hiking. The trail itself wound through mossy forests and then climbed well above the river we'd been following, taking a high route to avoid landslides. Late in the day, we got our first glimpse of Annapurna II, standing at just over 26,000 feet.

The crew: John (from Scotland), Andrea (New Zealand), Dante (Canada), Waylen (U.S.), me, and Rachael (new Zealand). They're all teachers in New Zealand, except for Waylen, a student in the U.S.

This boy enjoys breakfast with a view of passing trekkers.

This was the first legitimately cold day of the trek, and had us wondering what it would be like once we got closer to the pass. You can see the effect of the weather on this campsite -- might make for some slippery sleep.

We hit a bit of a traffic jam trying to cross the river, and chose to yield to the sturdier species.

John, a math teacher and head of the Outdoor Program at his school in New Zealand, originally organized the Annapurna trip for students. When the Board decided it was too risky, he took just teachers instead.

A group of monkeys laughs at us from the hillside above.

Bir (the guide), leads us up switchbacks away from the river.

More scenes, above and below, of typical village life.

Koto Qupar Monastery

Late on this day we rounded a bend in the trail and got our first glimpse of Annapurna II, a hulk of a mountain that dominated the landscape. Its shifting angles would highlight the trek for the next few days as we walked around it.

Finally, the gate to Chame, the district headquarters and our home for the night.