Vignettes of Nepal: On the Trail - Day 3

In the pre-dawn darkness, I can hear the shuffle of my companions' feet on stone and my own heavy breathing. The air has the slightest touch of chill, but R., our guide told me not to wear a jacket as I will be too hot from exertion soon. My flashlight illuminates a wide circle around my feet. Then it touches on an eerie metal object. Rusted and weathered a cattle guard lies before us. It squeaks slightly as we pass through and continue walking up the dirt path.

I look up at the stars above, remembering for the first time in a while just how many there are. Below us the village of Ghorepani lies in a still slumber, except for the few fellow trekkers and guides who are also hiking up Poon Hill this morning. The dirt path zigzags back and forth giving way to a series of stairs.

The ebony of night lightens to a charcoal color and we turn off our flashlights. I climb one step at a time as has been necessary so often on this journey. My body feels sluggish and my feet blistered, but there is a wild anticipation in my heart. Several times, we step to the side of the path to let others pass. Some of them we've seen before on the trail - the svelte Japanese woman, the man with the broken arm and his heavyset guide in tow, the laughing Israeli friends, and the two German women who looked like they could have been models for an outdoor clothing company. Others we had never seen before, but here we all are, looking for something.

As the charcoal grey gives way to heather grey, the peak of Annapurna South comes into view. Framed by pine trees, the snow-adorned beauty stands proudly, magnificently. It is a reminder of why we go outdoors in the first place - to rediscover our wonder. We dally a few minutes, but the impending sunrise urges us on.

We continue climbing. Finally, we summit the 10,500 foot "hill." An observation tower, hot drink stand, and some benches are permanent fixtures.  Shivering crowds in windbreakers chat and laugh merrily as they wait for dawn. On the far side of the crowd is an area full of wildflowers decorated with multicolored prayer flags blowing in the wind. As the first rays of golden light warm the morning, we can see the bodies of the mountains eclipsed by bluish-clouds, their peaks hovering shockingly white just above. R. apologizes that the view is not so good, what with it being the rainy season and all. He's wrong though, maybe the view is even more stunning on a clear day, but maybe that wasn't the point after all.