Nepal

Nepal 93: Equivalencies

Daniel 5 Comments

Our final day was destined to be a short one. It was only a few hours from Deurali to Annapurna Base Camp — nothing like the 8 or 10 hour days we were used to by this point.

[this is an ongoing series – 93 chapters deep by now – click here for chapter one]

We made a leisurely beginning, taking the better part of an hour to finally leave Deurali after breakfast. Temperatures were scorching in the upper valley. A facet of the lightened atmosphere, or simply the weather joining in on our ‘summit day?’ Impossible to say, but I found myself cursing my choice of pants every step, all morning, as we negotiated our way up the snow-covered trail.

Continue reading →

Nepal 92: Insignificance

Daniel 4 Comments

[This is a chapter from my travel book. There are lots more chapters posted on the blog, but if you’d prefer to read them all at once, sign up for my e-mail newsletter and I’ll be sure to let you know when they’re available in a condensed form!]

We woke up the next morning to blue skies and crisp morning air — by now an expectation, not a surprise.

I brushed my teeth in the brisk dawn, standing outside and taking in the vista while doing so. The mountains in front of us, here, were wonderfully staggered, creating an illusion of movement. Probably the movement of the glacier caused that, I though, before realizing that I really had no idea how glaciers worked. The shape of the mountains could have been the result of anything.

It was true, I didn’t really know much.

Continue reading →

Nepal 90: Deurali

Daniel 4 Comments

We rolled into Deurali late in the afternoon, just as a moody fog was settling into the Annapurna valley. We had finally reached the elevation at which trees stopped growing, which gave the landscape an ethereal, stony feel. With no vegetation besides small shrubs and bushes, the towering rock formations around us took on a new, more formidable dimension.

Continue reading →