March 30th – A prelude of things to come
Blaine has been getting up early to take pictures of the sunrise. This usually happens to be the best part of the day for light and being able to take pictures in peace. I heard Blaine get up early this morning around 5:30AM and leave his room to go take more photographs. Since I am still a novice, I wanted to go with him to better learn how to take pictures from a professional like him. (Sidenote – Check out his sweet photography blog). He was already ready to go, so I hurried to throw on my clothes as quickly as possible and then head out to meet him. I was in such a rush to get out the door, that I didn’t notice until we were in the middle of the snow covered fields, that I had forgot to put on pants and was standing outside in just my long underwear. Fortunately I had a good pair and the morning was warm enough to be bearable.
The snowstorm of last night made everything beautiful and the sky was clear for the sunrise. It was nice being out in an unspoiled landscape since most people still hadn’t woken up yet – another reason why you head out early to take pictures. Blaine helped show me some new camera techniques as we photographed Annapurna III. There was plenty to photograph and I got some good pictures. The banner at the top of my website is actually a panorama I shot of the sunrise and Annapurna III. You can see the sun just starting to come up in the left of the banner. While out photographing we also managed to see three large avalanches high up on the mountain.
I headed back in around 7AM to get dressed and prepare for the day while Blaine stayed out to photograph some more. He does have a potential serious issue to address. For most of the trip so far, he has worn his Chaco sandals instead of hiking boots. This has left him with terrible blisters on his feet from wearing his boots which will hinder his hiking. We are spending an extra day in Braga for acclimatization. This involves hiking up to a higher elevation during the day, then returning to a lower altitude to sleep. As a group, we have decided to hike up to the ice lake to better prepare for crossing the Thorong La pass. This entails hiking up 3800 feet of vertical fun.
By the time we started the trip, the morning snow had started to melt and made the ascent tricky. The path to the top had started to turn to slick mud and that made the going slow and tiring. As we got higher, the ground became firmer as it was still frozen. Up closer to the top, there were still large snowdrifts to deal we walked along the mountain side.
I was happy to have both hiking poles to help with the steep cliffs to help me get the extra push and for balance. The entire walk is on exposed mountain sides, and the wind can be quite fierce. The entire group has gotten wind and sunburned on the trip and several of us are also suffering from digestive problems.
The hike to the top has a few false summits and you begin to wonder how much farther you have to go. I did my best to sing a song in my head to keep myself in a rhythm as I hiked higher. Finally, after about four hours of hiking, we arrived at the ice lake. My altitude watch showed 15,200 feet. Once we got there, everyone congratulated each other and we all spent some time resting and taking pictures. After the four hours of hell heading up, all I wanted to do was throw a big rock into the lake, which I successfully did. At the top, we found out that the ice lake hike was only the second time our guide had done in on his previous trips through the Annapurna circuit. This should hopefully set us up for an easier time crossing the pass.
The return trip from the top was also long, slow and tough on the knees. Fortunately I had hiking poles to lighten the load on my knees. Andrea took a different approach and would run stopping only to change direction. I unfortunately ran out of water on the trip due to sharing some with our porter Anish who was along for the ride as well. I had wore my mostly empty backpack to the top of the ice lake, which was an issue of contention for the group on the hike, since they all elected to hike up with nothing except a camera and a bottle of water. I wanted the ability to have some snacks, extra water, camera gear and some extra clothes in case I needed it. Despite the backpack, I still ran out of water, even though I was carrying over three liters worth. Mike shared some with me from his camel pack and Anish took my backpack despite my protests.
Anish and I hiked down together and I was happy to have my little buddy behind me as I took a misstep and slipped one foot over the side of the trail. Fortunately he was close enough to grab my shirt and prevent me from going any further over the side to about a fifteen foot drop to the next section of the ground below. The trip back down the mountain took about two and a half hours due to gravity helping out.
Once we were down, we had a chance to do some laundry and relax inside by a wood fired stove and once again enjoy some fantastic food. Andrea decided to order her veggie burger with museli as a side which gave us plenty of ammunition to tease her with for a couple of days. After dinner we shot the breeze with several Israelis who we had seen multiple times along the trail before heading to bed.