Nepal

Nepal 80: Magic Morning Light

Daniel 11 Comments

The morning after I saw the rainbow, I awoke before sunrise.

I had gone to bed early—around eight— so this wasn’t much of a surprise.

I was still shaken from my experience the day before; filled with a sense of satisfaction. I rose quietly, doing my best to let Saffron sleep. I ventured outside to relieve myself. The only toilet was occupied, so I walked a little ways off the property, and peed on the trail. It felt good; felt refreshing in the chill morning air.

I walked back to the lodge as the morning sky was beginning to fill with light. It was a clear, brisk morning. The valley was beautiful, quiet and peaceful. You could see for miles. Far off, in the distance, the distinctive silhouette of of the Fishtail poked out of the horizon. Although the real name is Machupuchre, the mountain has acquired the English nickname “Fishtail” because of its obvious resemblance, from certain angles, to a fish’s tail.

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Nepal 79: The Most Beautiful Moment of My Life

Daniel 20 Comments

In life, we remember moments.

We may spend long hours at our work, in the library studying for school, or pouring over our computers. But these are not the things we remember when we look back on our lives. All of that drudgery fades with time, and we are left with only a few, golden moments. A relationship that is stressful and ugly becomes, in memory: a flash of a her smile; a moonlit night under under the stars in a deep mountain canyon; a shooting star; his unexpected ‘I love you.’ These are what stick, not the long, shut-down stretches of black, or the quiet evenings spent in your own head.

Suile holds the most beautiful moment of my life.

Long after the rest of the journey, the rest of the relationship, the rest of the emotions have faded from my memory, I will remember this moment. I will remember it, in crystal clear detail, until the day I die.

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Nepal 77: Brooding

Daniel 12 Comments

After a long afternoon of trekking, we finally reached our destination: the settlement of Suile.

To call Suile a “village” would be a little misleading, as it seemed to be no more than a number of farms perched on a hill, with, as far as I could tell, only a singular trekking lodge. Most people, Anker said, either stopped earlier in the day, or stretched on to the major village of Chhomrong.

After 11 hours of trekking, I was happy Anker wasn’t making us stretch on. If he’d told me stopping a few hours earlier was an option, I might have lost the will to keep on. The final steps into Suile had been pure torture. In the end though, I’m glad Anker hadn’t suggested either option, because Suile ended up being a place I will remember for the rest of my life.

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Nepal 76: Tranquility on the Trail

Daniel 7 Comments
Guest Houses in Nepal

It was a beautiful day when we departed Ghorepani. Most of the clouds from the sunrise had cleared, and we were treated to awesome blue skies and miles-long views as we resumed our trekking.

A long day lay ahead of us, as we hoped to stretch from Ghorepani all the way through to the village of Suile—perched on the hills above the main route to Annapurna Base Camp. From our 4:45 a.m. start to when we finally reached Suile at 3:30, we trekked for 11 hours.

Despite the length, the day was not exhausting. My legs were beginning to grow used to the constant changes in elevation: the up-downs, and the long stretches of flat. My back felt stronger from carrying my heavy pack, and my lungs were beginning to grasp the intricacies of Anker’s command: “slowly, slowly.”

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