Day 26 - Under the Stars Again

Sikhha to Ghorepani

The morning show is fascinating. The snowy peaks are glowing in the early sun and the green valley is slowly unfolding afterwards. Beautiful, astounding images. On top of that we enjoy breakfast on the rooftop with this scenery right in front of us.

We leave Sikhha only after 8 am and after I run around a bit for some more pictures. Do I ever get enough?

Dhaulagiri and Tukuche and the lot stay behind, always present though in the scenery. I can't help but turn around every so often to take one more look, to hopefully saturate my visual hunger. I don't think I'll ever get enough :-(

The trail at first is the slab-paved alley leading up and through the village. From the top of the col (the center of the village) it continues flatter through the green valley among vegetable fields, terraces of millet, houses and, eventually, through forest. From time to time we cross a little creek.

I am walking mostly with Gunhild and Johannes and we pass numerous lodges with lovely flowers in their gardens. Most of them have garden restaurants with awesome views.
The orange trees have disappeared a long time ago but the rhododndrons thrive here. They grow extremely big and I keep thinking how beautiful this all must look like in spring. A forest of red rhododendrons, big and shady, colourful and dark at the same time.

On the last stretch to Ghorepani we meet a group from Israel. Actually it's not quite clear it's a group. Most likely one or two families. The first thing I notice is a porter carrying one big backpack and four small ones which look more like schoolbags. Minutes later I understand the situation: six children, all less than 10 years old. The families are doing the week long trek to Jomosom, the shorter trek in the Annapurna Conservation Area. I'm impressed. They all seem to have a good time.

We reach Ghorepani shortly after noon. It looks pretty and somewhat familiar. It is located on a col at 2750m and centered around an open square. It is a major crossroad. The center is obviously made up by guesthouses, maybe 20 or more, all painted blue and with blue roofs. At their main floor there are restaurants and little shops. The lodge names are funny. They go from "Hungry Eye" to "Nice View", " Best View", "Panorama View", and there's a whole series of "View"s. However, "Bad View" and "No View" are missing. If the sky is clear you can also see Annapurna South and Hiunchuli on top of all the ones you could see from Sikhha.

From the plaza you also have a good view of the lodges as they sit higher and higher up the hill. As we come from Sikhha, straight ahead and on the other side of the col you can get to Birethanti and Pokhara. A lot of people actually come straight from there. To the right and up the hill you get on the famous Poon Hill with its postcard views of Dhaulagiri and the rest. To the left you get to Ghandruk, a beautiful village in the Annapurna Sanctuary.
There are a lot of people in the square. Trekkers watching and chatting, locals watching and chatting, an atmosphere very different from any other villages.

We stop at the "Hungry Eye" lodge which soon after gets full. By now the regular afternoon clouds have covered the views; a thick curtain over the scenery.

I am determined to go sleep on Poon Hill. I want to enjoy another night under the stars and be there early in the morning. Poon Hill is like a pilgrimage site for the Annapurna trekkers. Very early in the morning, by headlamp, people go up the hill to witness the sunrise from its vantage point. I would like to enjoy some more peaceful moments there.

I explain Pipi that he can use my room for the night, then I take a shower (hot! for a change) and go downstairs for lunch. I get convinced by the Germans to order spaghetti instead of the daily daalbhat. It is an excellent choice. There are fresh tomato slices, tasty yak cheese and some garlic and onions involved in the dish. The spaghetti have been also baked a little bit and the hot pan comes on a special wooden support. Fabulous! I don't remember having such delicious spaghetti ever before.

After lunch and some hanging around I finally go pack my stuff. I need to take the big backpack and so repack everything. On the way I stop in the plaza and buys ome yak cheese, a Snickers and 2 apples. I still have some cold tea in my Nalgene bottle and the big bottle is full with water as well. I'm prepared for the night. It is 3:45pm by now.

The sky by now is fully covered and dark grey clouds are continuously coming over the col from the South-East.
The trail at first passes past the lodges. The man I stop to ask whether I'm on the right track looks at me surprised. "No staying overnight. Not allowed. It i dangerous. Sometimes there are thieves. And wild animals. Bears and sometimes tiger. You must come back today". Sure. I leave him behind mumbling and keep going. The trail is basically another slab stairway meant to ease the effort of the trekker.

The trail goes mainly through jungle. Rhododendrons mainly, but also some other trees. There's high grass and some small brushes also. If you step off the trail you have to be careful as the terrain is not obvious under the dense vegetation. Except for an old man whom I meet coming down, ther's nobody else there, coming or going.

I reach the top of Poon Hill in less than 1 hour. On top of the hill there's an observation tower, a metal construction I find totally out of context. It's ugly. It is standing on a square platform made of slabs in the middle of the grassy terrain.
the views I can imagine being extremely impressive, but right now they're all concealed by the clouds.
I notice a faint narrow trail leading from here over the grassy ridge to another smaller connected hill. I follow the trail and soon I find a perfect spot. It is a little area protected on 3 sides by the rhododendron forest. That means that it is out of sight from the tower if I want to hide while at the same time extremely close to it and also flat. It is only 3 minutes walk from here to the top of Poon Hill. The reason why I think of hiding is that I don't know whether anybody comes to check the area and lock the gate I entered before reaching the hilltop.

I stop at this spot and set up camp. It is still early ( about 4:45pm) but I don't want to have to do anything in the dark. After that I eat some cheese, an apple and then stretch out on the bivvy sack and write in my diary.
It feels great. The sky is overcast but, except for a few birds, it is totally quiet. I am sheltered from any wind and I can watch the clouds continuously rising from the valley.
The sunset is not great. Impressive are the clouds and the many colours they change but the peaks are invisible.
Three people have come up for the sunset and leave late after the sun has set. As soon as they're gone the peacefulness returns.
I slip into my sleeping bag and bivvy and gaze at the starts for a while. Then I read some more from "Life of Pi" until I'm just about to fall asleep. I actually fall asleep staring at the stars again.

Sometime around midnight I wake up because of this light in my eyes. It is only a half moon but so bright that it feels like a flashlight pointing straight in your eyes. There's no light-switch anywhere, so I just turn to one side and go back to sleep. The sky, better not to stare at it much, otherwise you might fear of falling into it. It feels like you are suspended over this huge wide dark hole, rather than grounded.