Day 9 - Learning To Fly

Well I started out down a dirty road. Started out all alone. And the sun went down, as I cross the hill. And the town lit up, the world got still. I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings. Coming down is the hardest thing. -- Tom Petty

Thursday, April 10, 2008

4:07 pm - Hile - Elev. 1,430 meters

The 45-minute walk, 300-meter climb up Poon Hill (3,193 meters / 10,500 feet) was a bit tiring however I was motivated by the view so I made some speedy spurts along the way. Once on top, we saw a good sized crowd of people preparing to take photos. And we were doing the same thing. The sun slowly crept up over the mountains in the east, casting rays from below the mountains. It was quite a spectacle.

We could see all the big mountains like Annapurna South, Macchapucchre, Hiun Chuli, and ones I hadn't seen yet - Annapurna I (8,091 meters/ 11th highest peak in world) and the mighty Dhaulagiri (8,167 meters / 7th highest peak in world). Dhaulagiri was easier to film as the sun was farther away. We took lots of photos and returned to the guest house for breakfast.

We departed for Hile which was a day of descents - first through a bit more of the rhododendron forest, then after lunch, 3,280 wide stone steps in the sweltering hot sun. It was murder on our knees, and we all felt tired by the time we reached Hile.

Thankfully we had the guest house to ourself. It was on a farm with fantastic views of the terraces and valley.

We all ate Dal Bhat (rice and lentils) for dinner, and I drank an Everest (beer). We danced for awhile which was fun and silly. Gela and I spoke for awhile before turning the lights out. I really enjoyed it.

Back to the steps. I was cursing them. Hot...manure filled...endless stone stairs. The devil's work. *expletive*

We did pass a robust patch of marijuana though.

Estimated Distance = 12km