Pokara and the Anapurna Sanctuary Trek

After our unbelievable trip through the Karnali river we headed to Pokara. This was the most relaxed town ever. It would be easy to hang out there for a month and not realize how much time you spent there. It is a long small town spread out along beautiful lake. You can hang out at one of the many cafes along the lake and just relax, or just cruse the lake in a paddle boat or sailboat. We ended up spending about a week here. We needed time to rest before we headed into the mountains.
Pokara is the starting point for any trek into the Annapurna range. This range is not as famous as Everest obviously, but it is actually supposed to be a better trek for scenery and views. You just don't get to claim that you conquered Everest. We decided that it would be a better more relaxed trip, and that I will do Everest in the future. It was the right decision. It was the most spectacular experiences of my life. Each day we would set out early in the cold cold morning and just start walking into the heart of these enormous mountains. Each day we got closer and closer to the snow capped peaks. At times we were climbing near vertical staircases for hours at a time, then we would have to go right back down the other side. We would cruse ledges just a foot and a half wide and on the other side a thousand meter drop. At times I was so tired I wanted to cry. We averaged about 6 hours a day. Not to mention that we had no proper equipment. Mainly in the shoe department. I had cheap ripoff Adidas and they were not comfortable. Every time something started hurting I would just look up at the peaks above and it would make it all go away.
After day 4 was when it really set in that I was in the middle of the Himalaya Mountains. We were very close to the base camp at that point and it just had a whole different feel to it. We were starting to get up around 3000 meters and seeing more and more snow. On the evening of day 5 we made it to base camp and the feeling was (besides being really tired) was awesome. It was a feeling of accomplishment. The actual views were not that great because of all the clouds. We were hoping that the morning would be different. We spent the evening hanging out with some of the other trekkers playing cards and drinking hot chocolate. In the morning I woke up at 5:30. It was so bright and everything was white. There was virtually no clouds around. In 360 degree span I was surrounded by mountains. Words can't describe it. I don't think there is another place like this on the planet. I mean it was amazing. Just huge mountains all around you. The views here alone were worth every bit of the trek. It is funny though. We spent about an hour or so checking it all out and taking photos, then we headed back down. It was all over so quick. On the way down we basically ran. It took 1 and 1/2 days to get down. So the whole trip was 6 1/2 days. Normally it is 10-12 days. I think that may be the reason we lost so much weight. All 3 of us lost a noticeable amount of weight.

I can't wait to get back and do Everest.