Day 7 Annapurna Circuit-Rest Day

Zero Day at Ghyaru

We stayed in Ghyaru all day freezing and watching it snow.  Though we could have walked on, after 6 days of constant movement, it was a good time to take a break.  This is why I advocate freestyle tramping, to be able to make decisions that make sense in real time, in actuality.  Even a non hiker can see that on a 300km 14 day trip attending altitudes of over 17,000 feet, one would need a break, but no amount of planning in the world can predict when it will snow.

Ghyaru after 2 inches of snow, early in the morning.  Sun didn't hit this area until after 9:00, shaded by the massive mountains surrounding us.  You can see Yak Man leaning against the wood pile where I found it.

There was another issue, which had to do with finding the trail.  Because of the snow and the fact that we were on the 'trail' side of the river (road, jeeps, donkeys and people all using the road side) left us wondering if we'd be able to follow the trail okay.  The reality is there are lots of trails in these foot hills going all over the place with only one continuing up river.  Having gotten a bit turned around and disoriented  earlier while freestyle tramping (picking our own way) we wanted to avoid getting lost in this frigid land, at least until some of the snow melted.

Yessi, Brad Man and dbYak with our TuTwo Hats

We used our reasoning ability today and our EFV (Executive Freestyle Veto) to alter our plans.  Instead of trekking we sat tight for the day.  All day.  It was snowing outside, cold, grey and we were both quite tired.  We were also at 3600m now and had both been experiencing mild headaches recently.  It seemed like a great day to sit tight and acclimate

Ho Ho Ho, Green Giant!!
Enjoy world peace and eat your Peas Please, Piece by piece. Chinese people have trouble enunciating some English words, and then there's the weirdness of the English Language.  As Yessi and I spoke, I would come up with these funny sayings to help distinguish meaning and enunciation of Homonyms.

We amused ourselves, rather I amused us both, by singing Yak Man, Yak Man, while we shivered.  Yak Man, Yak Man is some sort of song I made up after getting tired of 'Ho Ho Ho, Green Giant' as seen on Saturday morning TV in a futile effort to get kids to eat their peas and corn!!  Now apparently, Swedish children are the market since corn starch has replaced veggies on American menus!

Yak Man rescued from a wood pile, horns not included!  I tried to purchase this for my mom.  A very original hand made piece, but the young man who carved it wanted to photograph it first.  Some day in the future, when he gets a phone or a camera, someone will be able to purchase this in Ghyaru, for about 3000 rupees or 40 bucks, including with the horns!

Yessi took a nap while I went downstairs and hung out with the son of the woman who owned and ran this humble Tea House.  He lived in a little room off to one side of the main building.  He had a TV, a power strip where I could charge my phone, and a little charcoal stove giving off just enough heat to keep one's fingers from freezing!

A common scene.  An egg and flour cake with some veggies on a clean plate with silverwhere which they don't typically use.  

Off to the other side was the kitchen was his mom's room.  Westerners typically aren't allowed in the kitchen spaces which are for locals only.  It's not uncommon to see six or more people in a kitchen just hanging out.  This was the first time I'd been invited into the kitchen area to drink tea, be warm by the fire, and to see exactly how simple and basic these kitchens were.  And to experience how dark and smokey they were too.  And, how wonderful they smelled.

Traditional Nepalese kitchen scene.  Several people, no furniture or table, one small window and a stove in the middle. Usually the stoves are rock and mud, here they have a metal stove, a luxury.
Photo borrowed from National Geographic.

 When you get your food, it always comes out hot and fresh and all at the same time.  I, for the life of me, can't figure out how since they cook with one pan, a couple of pots and a fireplace made of stacked rocks and mud.

Two things about this I find awesome.  First, that this Nepalese kid's toy is dbBrad ingenioius. Incredibly simple made from materials laying around in every town and how awesome is this wheel that can be steered down the path.  Second, that this tough little kid was in the same cold I was, but with flip flops and no gloves.  I felt encouragement that Yessi and I could survive with all our fancy gear!!

Thank goodness I brought a stove.  Most circuit trekkers in Nepal do not pack stoves but I always take comfort in having a stove knowing I can boil water for tea or soup, melt snow if needed and my favorite trick, to fill up a hot water bottle and use it in my jacket or sleeping bag to be warm.  Yessi and I were grateful to have a stove.  I totally recommend anyone hiking in the Himalayas during off season to have a stove for these reasons.

Here is a dbVideo of Yessi discussing in Chinese the merits of hot water bottles for warmth when it's very cold outside.  In Nepal, with no heaters at all, it's the same temperature inside too.