Manang - mountain grandeur, horses trotting down the main street, ambiance of a Hollywood movie set. We expected to get a Clint Eastwood movie but got Into the Wild in the world's highest movie theatre with popcorn and sweet tea. Perfect place to acclimatize. Engaged in a practice hike to Gangapurna Lake that involved snowball fights, jumping shots and building of snow creatures at 3800m. This was our rest day.
The day began early with another delicious breakfast of porridge, Tibetan bread, chapati and omelets. The walk to Yak Kharka was one of our favourites. It was warm, and sunny (while walking), and we had stunning mountain views, saw lots of yaks, vultures, eagles, blue sheep and mountain goats. Crossed yet another suspension bridge to a higher plateau that took us into colder weather. When we reached Yak Kharka at 4050m the sun was still shining but it was cccccold. We huddled into a 'sun' room at the lodge where we spent the time playing rounds and rounds of cards. Zena and Liz dozed in the sunlight that shone into the room. Our rooms were freezing by bedtime at 8:00pm.
Woke to frozen water bottles and toilets, making morning ablutions a challenge. We started walking to what would be our highest altitude before crossing the pass. Garlic soup and ginger became the meals of choice as we climbed to Throng Phedi at 4450m. Karma pulled out the Toblerone at just the right time! We landed at base camp by noon and after a filling lunch decided to continue on to high camp 4850m to sleep (???). The walk was steep but surprisingly okay. We got there as the sun sunk below the jagged horizon. There was NO heat, the water in the toilet already frozen, even talking was exhausting!
The day began early with another delicious breakfast of porridge, Tibetan bread, chapati and omelets. The walk to Yak Kharka was one of our favourites. It was warm, and sunny (while walking), and we had stunning mountain views, saw lots of yaks, vultures, eagles, blue sheep and mountain goats. Crossed yet another suspension bridge to a higher plateau that took us into colder weather. When we reached Yak Kharka at 4050m the sun was still shining but it was cccccold. We huddled into a 'sun' room at the lodge where we spent the time playing rounds and rounds of cards. Zena and Liz dozed in the sunlight that shone into the room. Our rooms were freezing by bedtime at 8:00pm.
Woke to frozen water bottles and toilets, making morning ablutions a challenge. We started walking to what would be our highest altitude before crossing the pass. Garlic soup and ginger became the meals of choice as we climbed to Throng Phedi at 4450m. Karma pulled out the Toblerone at just the right time! We landed at base camp by noon and after a filling lunch decided to continue on to high camp 4850m to sleep (???). The walk was steep but surprisingly okay. We got there as the sun sunk below the jagged horizon. There was NO heat, the water in the toilet already frozen, even talking was exhausting!
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