We spent some time prepping and buying stuff in Pokhara before we left. I woke up at 430am the morning we were leaving because I didn't think Craig had enough warm clothes. So 30 min before we left, we went and bought him a jacket and I felt better. Huge credit to him for not resisting even though I know he thought he would be just fine. Anyway, after some packing gymnastics, we went down to meet our Sherpas. Imagine my surprise when two 22 year old young guys who were 120lb soaking wet stood before us! I had some old guy named Tenzin in mind, someone who had tons of experience and would save our asses if anything went wrong. I had to remind myself that we hired guys to carry our bags, not to be our personal guides and saviours! Little pep talk with myself and we got in the jeep and we're off!
Day 1: a bit of a crazy drive into the drop off point, which I learned was the last point cars could go. Abby looked terrified at one point and I did my best to lie to her and tell her I wasn't worried at all. At one point, a bunch of cars were pulled over checking out a car that had gone off the road. Amazing. Anyway, we made it to the drop off point and we were off! The scenery was beautiful. We saw white capped mountains in the background a few times and the kids were blown away, as were we. We trekked for just over 3 hours which we learned may have been a tad fast if we were to keep going for 8 more days. Our guides told us to slowly, slowly, slowly so we agreed that day 2 we would suppress the Tyndall speed and focus on endurance. Arrived at the guesthouse around 3pm or so and I was exhausted...all I wanted was a hot shower and we didn't have any hot water. I knew that was a likely scenario but a basic room, with shared bathroom and freezing mountain water was NOT making me happy. I washed to the best of my ability, sat down for a bit and then needed a short nap. After basically sitting on my ass for the past 2+ weeks in India, the exercise was a little shock to my system. Got up, played some cards, had dinner (dal bhat) and then hit the sack with everyone. We were asleep by 8pm.
Day 2: Wide awake at 6am! Beautiful views this morning. Everyone got up early and checked out the mountains. We had a hearty breakfast and then headed out for a tough walk. We walked about 5 hours and there were some really tough spots! We had a great spot for lunch, gobbled up some more fried rice and soaked in the sun. Once we had had enough rest, we were off. Our goal was Bamboo with maybe an additional hour to Dovan if we were feeling okay. The kids were amazing. I spent the morning back a bit with Robin who coached me through the hundreds of steps. She was an incredible leader. So positive and even though she struggled through spots, she focused on setting us small goals and keeping us motivated. In the afternoon, we switched. Not by design, but that is how it happened. Abby and I chatted and made our "what we miss about home" lists and "what we will miss about the trip" list...passed the time well. She was strong and steady all day. No complaining. At Bamboo, despite everyone feeling tired, we decided to push for one more hour so day 3 would be easier. Robin really didn't want to but she totally rallied. The look on their faces when we arrived in Dovan was priceless. They were so proud of themselves. High fives all around! We were so incredibly proud of their perseverance and it made the day so enjoyable. We celebrated with popcorn and tea and hot showers. Probably the best hot shower I've had in my life! We felt amazing. Hung out for a bit, then joined others in th dining room for a chat. Met two fabulous girls from Belgium and Holland and the kids enjoyed talking to them. Both were solo travellers in their early twenties and very engaging. The six of us shared stories of south east Asia etc and traded suggestions. Then hit the sack after some cards and dancing around the room like crazy people. All four of us were in such a great mood and agreed that this was one of our best days on the whole trip!
Day 3: this was supposed to be easy but I found it quite challenging despite being about 3 hours of walking. Lots of ups as we climbed 600-700m. We took off around 8am...spirits were pretty good as we were on a high from yesterday. Few points of wavering and nervousness about the altitude and whether we would feel the effects. A couple of families we have run into have had some problems so we have agreed to take the ascent pretty slow and not stay at ABC camp, but at the lower MBC camp. Fingers crossed no one will be sick. We arrived at our destination (Deurali) around 11:45 or so and convinced the guesthouse owner to let us have the room that fits six so we could spread out. We promised to pay the extra and eat and drink lots! It's damn cold up here and of course I'm fretting that we don't have enough warm clothes etc. Nothing we can do about it now as we are about 2-3 days walk from civilization. I'm looking out of the window at a huge landslide that is freaking me out a bit. A visual reminder of how high up we are and that nature rules here. We decided to take a preventative diamox for altitude sickness. Dr Wise suggested we could do that or just take if we got symptoms. We have enough so took our first. Abby has a slight headache but may be psychosomatic. Will watch her carefully. Cloudy outside so you can't see any view which I find creepy. Reminds me of being snowed into Jomson in 97 and having to play about 12 hours of cards. Robin is worried she will hold us all back from the destination but we have reassured her that if we don't go all the way, it's no big deal. The journey thus far has already been a great bonding experience for us and I don't need to get to a finale point to appreciate what we have.
Day 4: Today was a pretty easy day for me, although tough for the girls, especially Abby. The altitude is 3700m and it took us about 2.5 hours to get to MBC from Deurali. Abby cried a little at the end because her breathing was challenged, but within 15 min, she was all smiles. We took a Diamox last night and again this morning in the hopes that any altitude sickness would be prevented. I felt great today and as the pace was very slow, didn't have any trouble. Craig was fine too, as was Robin. One option that was tempting (for me) was to push on and head to ABC to avoid an early start and long day tomorrow, but as Abby wasn't 100%, we decided to stay lower and acclimatize. Enjoyed a fun lunch talking to a father-son duo from Israel, two girls from Belgium and two sisters from Korea that were with us yesterday. Abby is reading, Craig is sleeping and Robin has convinced the 19 year old Korean sister to play cards with her. The kids (and us) enjoy meeting and talking to all the international Trekkers here. We all eat as a group and its fun to swap stories and encourage each other to the next stop. The view here is spectacular but once afternoon hits, like yesterday, it's completely clouded over. Cold as hell but we are doing our best to stay bundled. We have a tiny room with 4 little beds that we hope to push together tonight to use body heat. Everyone is in good spirits and excited to see what we hear is paradise tomorrow. We are really hoping all goes well as it would be an amazing accomplishment for the girls. No wifi since the first day and likely not again until Chomrong for the 6th night.
Day 5: fitful sleep last night. Not sure if it was nerves or the diamox or just another night in the mountains crammed into a little room. We squished 4 make shift cots together and basically all slept in one big bed. Listened to Foo Fighters and all sang ourselves to sleep. Up bright and early at 3:50am to make the hike to Annapurna base camp. The kids were less than thrilled and the first hour or so was a struggle for Robin. Tears and thoughts that she wouldn't be able to do it, and would let us down etc. said she had a headache but then realized it was her head lamp that was too tight. Abby also struggled. Cold and uncomfortable and couldn't see the destination. Seemed like we were walking forever in the dark and while it wasn't a challenging walk compared to previous day's, the cold and time of day made it pretty tough. The sun started to peak out at the top of the mountains and Igot pretty emotional. I was so proud of the girls for accomplishing the toughest mental and physical challenge they've probably come up against. The reward was stunning beauty and the most amazing natural landscape I've ever seen. We took tons of photos and took in the sun rise. The girls looked so happy with themselves! Once we were done, we ate a hearty breakfast and headed down to MBC to get our stuff and trek to Dovan. Clocked over 32,500 steps on my Fitbit today...a personal record! Walked around 5 hours I'm guessing and feeling exhausted. Most of it downhill thankfully. Just woke up from a good nap, and left Craig still sleeping. Came out to the common area in the tea house and found Abby and Robin talking to a bunch of kids in their twenties, and sharing travel stories. Awesome.
Day 6: had a hard time sleeping. This time due to the pain in my hips! Advil and was better but still sore. Every single muscle in my legs hurts. Every one. But still feeling strong and was ready for another day. Was tough today with maybe 4-5 hours of trekking up and down. Spectacular weather with no clouds which made the ups in the heat very tough. We had a nice long lunch stop today but then it was hard to get moving again. Chomrong was the destination and it has a German Bakery so that kept us going. A few struggles for Robin but she managed very well, and most importantly on her own! Now relaxing with the first wifi connection in 5 or 6 days so sent an update to the family which felt good. Craig was hoping to get some blogs posted but the connection isn't strong enough so will need to wait a bit. Suresh and Keshab have been great. Feel like part of our extended family. We tease each other and sing up the mountains. They have taken excellent care of us and have been great company and encouragement for the kids when needed. Enjoying a few hours on the beautiful patio with th most incredible views, admiring the most disgusting blister on my toe!
Day 7: woke up after a decent sleep with Robin last night. First time we had separate rooms so we had to split up. Luxury of having a toilet in our room was excitement for both of us as we are up in the night about 3 times! At least we are staying hydrated. Stayed at Heaven View tea house and views lived up to its name. Everyone was chipper at breakfast but our guides had a a bit too much rum the night before so we're feeling it! The walk today was tough...lots of down and then a huge up. Seemed to take forever but the time passed quickly with Abby and I planning details for Auntie Melly's baby shower and Auntie Kristine's bridal shower. You get Abby chatting about decorations, food menu, creative ideas and she doesn't stop talking! Robin and Craig were behind us today and Rob did really well...a few cracks at the beginning of the day but quickly pulled herself into positive mode as she can, and I turned around at one point to see how she was doing and got a huge smile and a "hell ya!!!" Lol. We beat the porters to lunch and clapped when they arrived. Their sheepish grins were cute. Long lunch stop making it tough to start again but the afternoon climb was much easier and shorter than the morning. Think we managed about 3.5 hours or so today and then stopped at our destination called Mountain View tea house. Another highly original name but one that has stunning views and we lucked out with perfectly clear weather on the way down from ABC. The girls hung out together while I had an awesome leg and foot massage! Big international group in for dinner so the dining hall had a lot of energy. We played cards with our guides and hit the sack around 9pm. Easy day tomorrow and then we are done. Will be sad to see this adventure behind us, like so many others we've had on this trip. The family time has been incredible. We are lucky people.
Day 8: sad but true that we are at the end of our trek! We had a late start by design and made it to our destination by noon. Everyone feeling good and marvelling at the unbelievable views of the full Annapurna range this morning. Made the call to get picked up today rather than tomorrow as Nepal continues to struggle with the fuel embargo with India and we didn't want to get caught without transportation the same day as our flight. So, with a few tears in my eyes, we agreed that we should get back to Pokhara today. Crazy drive back to the city and spent some time re jigging Bags and dropped off about 10kg of laundry! The girls wanted to chill, so Craig and I walked down the street to see some of our new store owner friends and have a drink on a patio. It's such a friendly community and we had a few chats about our treks with people we had met along the way. Had my first glass of wine in I don't know how long and then picked the girls up for a nice fancy dinner to celebrate our trek. The hotels and restaurants are struggling as they can't get a lot of food delivered and many flights with tourists have been cancelled. People seem so appreciative that we are here and hopeful that tourism will pick up soon. We are all missing Keshab and Suresh who were such wonderful company on our trek and we're happy to see them on our way to dinner. Who knew that we'd have so much fun with two guys in their early twenties but I suppose they are the perfect in between us and the girls.
Am certain Craig will post more interesting details and beautiful photos once he finds bandwidth that is strong enough. Until then, will hope that I can hold the memories of the girls accomplishments and all the fun and funny moments we've had this past week. Leaving Pokhara on a high and heading to Kathmandu tomorrow.
P.S. Craig never did wear that jacket I made him buy so we've donated it plus all the other stuff we bought to our to our porters. Figures. Lol. 
What an incredible experience! You guys are amazing!
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