Day 8 – Waiting For The Sun

At first flash of eden, we race down to the sea. Standing there on freedom's shore. Waiting for the sun. Can you feel it now that spring has come. And it's time to live in the scattered sun. Waiting for the sun. Waiting…

…This is the strangest life I've ever known. — The Doors

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

3:20 pm – Ghorepani – Elev. 2,860 meters

In the morning, the view was foggy. We left Tadapani at 8am. I felt full of energy, while Gela had tape on her blistered feet and an Ace bandage around one knee. She felt and looked quite tired. It reminded me that I made the right decision, however it's still hard to let go of my chance to reach ABC. I guess it's not the end of the world.

As we walked to Deurali, we passed through gorgeous rhododendron forests with pink and white flowers. The forest felt magical – almost like “Lord of the Rings.” After we descended the valley, we walked up along a stream past some cute goats and dogs.

We ate lunch in Deurali at an elevation of 3,000 meters! And we continued upward to about 3,200 meters at the top of the Deurali Pass (which was basically a forest along a mountain ridge). We stopped at a clearing and could see the lookout tower on Poon Hill on the mountain across from us.

We walked down to Ghorepani, reaching the “big” village just before it rained. The guest house is one of many, and the hall on the second floor is padded to ease the burden of blisters and walking after long treks. I took a lot of photos again, and will need to either delete some or be more judicious the last two days and nights.

The corn bread is really good. I bought Gela a small bracelet to help lift her spirits. I'll miss being able to spend time with her. She is always smiling and laughing.

The Evening

We had another nice night at Ghorepani, though we knocked off around 9pm as we had to wake at 4:45am to ascend Poon Hill for sunrise.

Estimated Distance = 6km