Berlin

Berlin marked the start of my 10 day summer vacation in Europe. Due to some flight faux pas I landed only around 8:30 pm and hence day 1 was pretty much over. I had kept only 2 nights for Berlin so I was a bit worried that I might have cut it too close. Thankfully that wasn't the case eventually.

To make most of my one and only whole day in Berlin I was out of the door by 9 am. As I usually do, I had chosen a hotel close to public transit (S+U+Bus). It was a beautiful day so I chose to take a bus to the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery).  Key attraction for me at the gallery was a temporary exhibit on Impressionism vs. Expressionism. I had booked a guided tour for it the previous evening that I missed due to flight issues but I was lucky enough to not encounter any queues to the exhibition.

Alte Nationalgalerie is one of the five museums on the Museum Island. This museum along with its stairway rises above the Museum Island. The model that inspired the architect Friedrich August Stiller was the Acropolis of Athens. The other four museums are Pergamon Museum, Bode Museum, Neues Museum and Altes Museum. The Berlin Cathedral is also on the island.

If I was doing only Berlin I would have gone to all 5 museums on the island but since I was short on time, I decided to attend only the ImEx exhibition. A combined ticket to all museums is cheaper but doesn't give one access to temporary exhibits. So I bought ticket only for Alte Nationalgalerie that included all exhibits - temp and permanent. After spending about 3 hours at ImEx exhibit, I headed to Reichstag Building only to find that one needs an online registration at www.bundestag.de which I didn't have!!! Having missed the chance to tour Riechstag Building, I went back to the museum island and enjoyed a long leisurely lunch by the river.

After lunch I took a train to East Side Gallery (erstwhile Berlin Wall). It was a hot day and may be I was a bit disappointed by the fiasco at Reichstag Building, but I didn't find the Berlin Wall as exciting as it was it hyped to be. After clicking a few photos, I took the train back to the hotel and called it a day. Before I settled for my evening date with Prosecco, I managed to get in a 5K run at the hotel gym and eventually wrapped up my day by 9 PM.

Next day my train to Prague was at 12:47 pm, so I decided to spend the morning walking around the hotel - there were three attractions within walking distance of the hotel. First one was Holocaust Memorial. As the name suggests it is the memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. It consists of around 5 acres site covered with 2711 concrete slabs of varying heights arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. There is also an information center located at the site's eastern edge that begins with a timeline that lays out the history from when the National Socialists took power in 1933 through the murder of 500,000 Soviet Jews in 1941.

After the memorial, I walked over to Brandenburg Gate. It is an 18th-century neoclassical triumphal arch. It is built on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin to the town of Brandenburg. The gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of linden trees. There was a big crowd gathered in the square next to the gate, some body was playing music, groups of tourists were hanging around and just having fun. There are lots of cafes and restaurants around to chill and relax. Overall a real neat place to sit and see the world go by!

Last stop, on way back to hotel, was Tiergarten (Animal Garden) - an urban public park in the city Centre. Thought it was a hot day, the garden felt quite nice and cool. There are lot of sculptures in the garden but mostly you see people hanging around with kids & pets and jogging. After about an hour, I was back in the hotel and took a bus to Hauptbahnhof to catch the train to Prague.

A quick word on the public transit system in Berlin. It's one of the best that I have experienced, I used both the bus and S+U trains. Just print the map of the transport system and find out the nearest station to your destination (through google maps) and you are good to go. Do not rely on google maps for giving you the best or correct route between two locations - you have to do that bit on your own. You can find everything about the Berlin transport system here. It's better to buy a 24/48 hour pass as single ride tickets are expensive and the same pass works across buses and S+U trains.

Berlin is a big city and has loads to offer to everyone, one should definitely consider it for a vacation when done with the more popular destinations like Paris and Rome.
 

Bode Museum

Altes Museum

Berlin Cathedral

Water body around the Museum Island

East Side Gallery

Holocaust Memorial



Unter den Linden



Brandenberg Gate

Everest Base Camp or Annapurna Base Camp

When I planned for EBC in Sep 2014, it was primarily because I wanted to see the tallest mountain. I knew it would be a tough trek and I also knew the altitude challenges that are a part of EBC hike. But I had not done any research on what other hiking trails are possible in the Himalayas through Nepal. On the way to EBC, I met many hikers who had done the Annapurna circuit and heard stories of the beautiful trail to ABC. As soon as I came back home, I planned and booked the trek to ABC for Apr 2015.

 

People around me had lots of questions - Why ABC so soon after EBC? Why a lower altitude trek after a really high one? Why see Annapurna range when I had already seen the Everest range? And I started to wonder myself, will ABC be really worth it? Will I experience anything new? Should I instead do the Inca trail? However, the bookings were all done and since this hike was shorter - 10 days including travel to Kathamandu and back so I decided to go ahead with it. 

And I am glad that I did. ABC was a totally different experience in many ways and I believe that anyone who loves to hike should do both trails. Here are the key differences, in my opinion, between EBC and ABC

 

Difficulty level:

Both trails are difficult but for different reasons. The key factor that makes EBC difficult is altitude. The only way to manage same is add acclimatization days and/or to take Diamox. The trails are steep but not everyday and not whole day.

 

ABC, by comparison to EBC is not that high in altitude but its still high enough. However we didn't need acclimatization days for the hike. The challenge with ABC though is steep trails EVERY SINGLE DAY and for hours at a stretch. The flat portions are very short and present themselves only occasionally.

 

If someone were to ask me which one was more difficult - I would say ABC! Surprising isn't it? :)

The Scenery:

The hike to EBC starts from Lukla (almost at 9000 ft.) and by 4th/5th day you have crossed  the tree line after which it's just barren rocks and the majestic white beauties around you. The mountains of the Everest region are unrivalled in terms of their majesty and sheer size. When getting close to base camp, you are literally surrounded by the mountains – they tower above you and their stark beauty takes your breath away. If you want to be immersed in the mountains good part of the hike, then this is the place to be. The base camp was amazing as it offers a great view of Khumbu ice fall but you really can't see the Everest very well from EBC.

 

ABC hike starts at much lower altitudes of 3000 ft. or so and the trail passes through terraced rice fields, then through oak and rhododendron forests. If you’re in the Annapurna region in April (which we were), the rhododendron trees are in full bloom - red at lower altitudes and pink as you ascend. The mountains form a spectacular backdrop, as do the lush terraces, dense jungle and farming communities. At the base camp, the entire range surrounds you up close and it's a breath taking experience, quite different from what I had experienced at EBC.

 

Accommodations:

EBC trail had rooms with attached bathrooms till 14000 ft. And we were able to secure twin occupancy room till the highest point (Gorakshep). The toilets were mostly western WC and were not that clean, especially the common ones. Indian toilets (or squatting toilets as some call it) were meant only for the crew and hence very dirty.

 

On ABC trail, the rooms with the attached toilets were possible only till Chomorong and after that we also couldn't procure twin occupancy rooms. However, the common toilets were surprisingly very clean (atleast at the lodges that we stayed in) and Indian/squatting toilets were available for guests as well. We also noticed campsites all along the route - it's fairly common to see folks staying in tents. These camp sites are attached to a lodge so that folks staying in the tents have access to kitchen etc.

 

 

In summary, if you can afford it (time, effort and money wise) then you must do both hikes. However if you can do only one, I would recommend EBC for two reasons - it's much easier on the knees and it has an aspirational ring to it!

ABC Trek: Key Learnings

As expected we had to make some changes to the itinerary as the trek progressed - something one must keep in mind because the high altitude treks come with their own challenges and mountain weather can play spoilsport. However, outside these uncontrollable circumstances, there were few things we could have done better had we taken time to know the region map better. 

Since our aim was to reach ABC and back and that we weren't interested in doing the whole Annapurna Circuit, in hindsight, I would have planned the itinerary the following way:

1. Take a bus/private vehicle from Pokhara to Siwai in the morning. You would reach by 10:30 am or so. Then hike to Kyume (lunch halt). Post lunch proceed to New Bridge and finally to Jhinu Danda. Enjoy the hot springs if you would like.
2. Jhinu Danda to Chomorong (tea halt) to upper Sinuwa (lunch halt) to Bamboo for the night
3. Bamboo to Doban (tea halt) to Himalayan (lunch halt) to Deurali for the night
4. Deurali to MBC (lunch halt) to ABC for the night
5. Enjoy the sunrise at ABC. Walk back to MBC, continue to Deurali (lunch halt). Proceed to Himalayan and stay the night at Doban
6. Doban to Bamboo, lower Sinuwa (lunch halt), to Chomorong and stay the night at Jhinu Danda. Again enjoy the hot springs in evening (if you want to take it easy - stay the night at Chomorong - Chomorong to Jhinu Danda is just 45 min - all downhill)
7. Jhinu Danda to New Bridge to Kyume to Siwai and take the bus back to Pokhara. (Lunch halt can be Kyume or Siwai depending on your start point - if you stayed at Chomorong previous night then stop at Kyume, else reach Siwai and have lunch)

This is also a 7 day itinerary from Pokhara to ABC and back to Pokhara but is better in many ways:

• One, there is no need to do the arduous climb to Ghandruk. Have no idea why was it there in our itinerary
• Two, you can enjoy hot springs twice.
• Three, you stay at ABC and avoid the early AM trudging through snow in dark.
• And lastly, none of the days are very long (we had a real long one from MBC to ABC and then  from ABC to Doban). Had we followed this itinerary, I am sure CD & PC would have not felt so tired after just two days of hiking. 

The following table tells you typical hiking time between the key stops except Siwai to New Bridge which is about 2.5-3 hours. And if you do the math, no onward day has hiking time longer than 5 hours in the itinerary that I am suggesting.
 

Return days may seem longer per this table but keep in mind that these timings are based on going up, while coming down is usually much faster. For instance, though we took 2 to 2.5 hours from MBC to ABC,  return was exactly half of the onward time. In addition, Here is the map of the region, you can also plan your own route if you don't like my suggested one :)

 

Another key information about this region - bottled water is banned and all places sell boiled and filtered water which is very safe. So if you carry hydration daypack like I do, please also carry one empty water bottle with you to buy water. 

Also have at least one metallic water bottle on you as MBC and ABC can be very cold at night and the metal bottle with hot water will help warm up the sleeping bag.

And if you still need more information, I am sure you know how to reach me :)   

ABC Trek: Day 8 - Back to Pokhara

Per original itinerary we were to stay at a place called Deurali tonight (we found there were 3 places named Deurali - this was ofcourse the one closer to Pokhara) and then hike to Phedi next day, drive to Pokhara and fly to Kathamandu. However, we had to change the plan as PC woke up with fever and we all decided that it would be best if we could reach Pokhara and seek medical help if needed.

Hence the plan for the day was changed - we decided to hike to Sauli Bazar- where we could take a jeep to Nayapul and then change to a better vehicle and continue the drive to Pokhara. The route was through Jhinu Danda, New Bridge and Kyume. Since CD & PC were taking time getting ready, IL & I left with one of the porters (Shambhu) at 7:40 am, we reached Jhinu at 8:20 am and continued our hike to New Bridge where we stopped for a tea break at about 9:15 am.

At 9:30 am we resumed the hike towards Kyume which was to be our lunch stop. We reached Kyume at 10:45 am - a little too early for lunch. Since it was a planned lunch halt where all of us were to meet and resume the hike post lunch, we decided to wait. But Pushkar (porter accompanying CD & PC) called and informed that they would have lunch at New Bridge as their progress was very slow. Now that we 6 were not having lunch together, IL & I felt it would be better to avoid two long stops - one at Kyume for lunch and other at Sauli while waiting for them to catch up with us. And despite protests from the lodge owner at Kyume, we continued towards Sauli Bazar which as per Shambhu was one hour away.

Guess there was some confusion because when I asked local folks on the trail, I was informed that Sauli Bazar is atleast 2 hours from Kyume. I didn't want the porter to walk in this heat with empty stomach for 2 more hours so I started to worry about him. But there was no way we could retrace our steps back to Kyume because he was so far ahead of me that I couldn't even see him. With heavy heart and sweaty forehead, I walked till I reached a place where I could see some jeeps. It was not yet noon so I assumed that folks on the trail were wrong and that I had reached Sauli Bazaar.

Well, that wasn't the case - the folks were right and I had just reached Siwai. But two good things happened - one, Shambhu had decided to stop at a restaurant there to wait for me and two, I found out that we don't need to hike towards Sauli Bazar as jeeps are available from Siwai to Nayapul. I have no idea why our porters wanted to hike till the next place as jeeps were available here. Anyways, all of us had lunch and started the long wait for the remaining half of our group to reach Siwai.

Shambhu decided to hike back to Kyume to help Pushkar with the load as slow progress is very tiring while carrying such heavy loads. IL & I found ourselves a spot to lie down and dozed off for a while. At around 3:30 pm CD & PC reached Siwai and by 4 pm we were on way to Nayapul in a jeep. It cost us NPR 2500 for the jeep which wasn't a bad deal at all given all 6 of us and our bags could fit into it.

At 5 pm we reached Nayapul (after checking out at the check post) and waited for the vehicle that would take us to Pokhara. By 6:30 pm we were back in Pokhara and checked ourselves into a plush hotel called Temple Tree. At such a short notice and this close to Nepali new year, our agency couldn't find cheaper hotels and they could get us a very good rate here so we didn't ask them to shop around much and settled on this plush hotel cum spa. In hindsight it was a good thing as after one night of comfortable rest and some spa treatments CD & PC were as good as new the next day :)

We requested our porters to join us for dinner and at 7:30 pm we walked to a Thakali cuisine place where we had some amazing local food. PC was still running fever so she had decided to order room service. After dinner, we handed them the tips and bid a fond farewell to our two member crew that had supported the four crazy girls, so well and without any complaints, throughout this arduous trek.

As I type this post, I wish there was some way I could reach them and check if they are safe in the aftermath of the earthquakes but phones are not reachable and I have no other way to connect with them. Hope I will get to see them again on my next hike in the Himalayas!

Morning view of the range just before we left Chomorong

(from left to right) IL, Shambhu, Pushkar and I

 

ABC Trek: Day 7 - Back to Chomorong

I woke with pain in my right arm and right leg - thanks to the fall I had suffered on way to ABC. I didn't pay much attention to it as I wrongly attributed the pain to the long hike of the previous day. The route back was just retracing the one onward - to Bamboo (tea halt), then to Sinuwa (lunch halt) and then Chomorong for the night (even same lodge as before)

We again started at 7:30 am and the hike to Bamboo was pretty easy, so we all made it in good time except for CD who was very weak due to her inability to eat. She reached Bamboo along with one porter and decided on taking some rest. Rest of us proceeded towards Sinuwa - the trail was going to be ups and downs till Sinuwa and last one hour to Chomorong was the sole long steep climb expected today.

IL was giving company to PC and CD was accompanied by a porter. I was walking at my own pace and enjoying the beautiful flora all around me. A fellow hiker offered to take my picture and soon we started chatting. We kept each other company till upper Sinuwa where he stopped for lunch and I continued to lower Sinuwa. I was there by 11:30 am and ordered myself some heavy lunch as I knew that it was only one more hour of hike from here to Chomorong and that the rest of the gang wouldn't get here before 1 pm.

As I was enjoying my lunch, I met this young lady who was backpacking alone - it was her first time hiking in Nepal and I was honestly impressed. She had lots of questions about the hike and places to stay en route to ABC and I was happy to oblige with all the information I had. By 12:30 pm I saw IL walk in alone, PC was just 10-15 min behind her and CD reached around 1:30 pm.

Since the remaining hike wasn't long, we all hung around chatting (and discovering the story behind IL being yelled at by K at MBC) This is where we decided the names given to everyone in the blog :) By 2:30 pm, we resumed the hike - going down to river was easy but last part was a steep hike of about 40 minutes where I realized that something was seriously wrong with my right leg.

As I reached earlier than others, I had the luxury of shower to myself and I took a long hot one and discovered that my right arm had serious swelling. Now the seriousness of the fall had started to dawn on me. Since there was obviously no fracture and because it was still fairly cold in evenings, I decided against the ice pack and popped in some NSAID. Some time later IL walked in with a black forest pastry from the bakery near by - place where I had stopped by to check if their menu was any good for us to have dinner. The food at the lodge we had chosen to stay wasn't good last time and I was in mood for some good dinner today.

All of us met in the dining hall, had some tea and pastry and decided on having dinner at the bakery. CD, however, wanted to rest so we promised to bring her something appetizing and proceeded for dinner. I can honestly say that it was best dinner on the trail - I celebrated the hike with a beer, IL with a pizza and PC with a black forest pastry. The pizza was served on the oven plate to keep it hot, was thin crust and super tasty. And then I decided to splurge even more and ordered a warm apple pie as well :)

Thus sated we started back for the lodge and realized it was quite a climb especially now that we were relaxed after a big dinner. I honestly don't remember much thereafter except taking one more NSAID and crashing on my bed!

Steep climbs that continued to make us breathless

Beautiful forest all around us

Red Rhododendrons

More of them

More flower strewn trails

View of range (as cloud parted) from the bakery at Chomorong

 

ABC Trek: Day 6 - to ABC and back to Doban

None of us could sleep well due to variety of reasons - cold, snoring and altitude sickness. So finally we all ditched attempts at it and got up by 3:30 am. PC, by now, was feeling a bit better and wanted to join IL & I to ABC. But CD had absolutely no energy due to the stomach upset that accompanies attitude sickness and she decided that she would rest for a while and start descending.

I would say that this is a very courageous decision. I saw KP take it at Gorakshep just 2 hours from EBC and CD did the same again just 2 hours from ABC. I remember being in tears on way to Gorakshep when someone told me that I will not to be allowed go to EBC unless my headache subsides. It takes real courage to walk away from something when it's almost within reach! 

At 4:30 am, we went into the dining hall where all the staff & crew were sleeping and woke Pushkar up. By 4:40 am 3 of us were on way to ABC - in multiple layers of clothing, gloves, two socks on each foot  and still cold to the core! The moon light was good but not enough so all of us (except Pushkar) had our headlamps on. Soon my headlamp started to show signs of dying, so we stopped to change the batteries and soon I found myself slipping on snow that had turned to ice due to us standing on it for long. I didn't realize that I will pay the price for this fall in days to come.

Pushkar checked me for signs of any fracture and once reassured that no serious damage had happened we resumed our hike to ABC. It was a slow progress due to snow, lack of light and bitter cold. By about 5:50 am, the sky started to show promise of a sunny morning and by 6 am we all switched off our lamps. Even though the weather had not really warmed up, just the visual impact of rising sun made us feel warmer!

Till the sunrise, Pushkar and I ensured that IL & PC were in our line of sight, but after that the path was straight and there was no chance of IL or PC getting lost, so we decided to walk at our own pace and reached the lodges at ABC by 6:45 am. I ordered a pot of masala tea and waited for the girls. By 7:10 am they also reached. After a few more minutes of rest, IL & I went to the flag point with Pushkar. PC was exhausted and she decided against joining us and continued to rest in the lodge.

It was a bright sunny morning and views of the range just took our breath away! IL & I tied the prayer flags and posed for a few pics and threw the "ceremonial" snow balls at each other :) We then picked PC up and started back at around 8 am. We stopped at the "Welcome to ABC" sign where all three of us tied the prayer flags and took more pictures. As we walked back we realized how much did we climb up on the way to ABC. About 430 m or 1400 feet - it was lot to climb in 2 hours at that altitude!

We all reached MBC around 9 am. CD had already left MBC with the other porter for Deurali - which was to be our lunch halt again. We all partook some breakfast and I left with Pushkar for Deurali at 10 am. IL had decided to keep PC company and they probably started 10-15 min later.

The trail between MBC & Deurali was crowded with folks on their way to ABC from Deurali. And the snow of previous day had started to melt creating more slippery portions. Given my fall in the morning I was more careful and I descended slowly. I reached Deurali at about noon where I found a tired and unwell CD. 

IL & PC turned up around 1 pm, we had lunch and by 2 pm started again as we had two more stops to go for the day. Pushkar went ahead with our bags and Shambhu continued to accompany CD who was still very unwell. 

As luck would have it, the clouds gathered and it started to drizzle. Pushkar and I reached Himalayan at about 2:45 pm where we had some tea but continued our hike towards Doban even though the drizzle was now a downpour. Downpour turned into sleet and sleet turned into hail...which pounded at us incessantly till we reached Doban around 4 pm. What a day - we experienced all forms of water - snow, rain, sleet and hail!

I immediately put my jacket, raincover and hiking pants to dry, took a hot shower and crashed - I was so tired I couldn't even drag myself to dining hall for some tea. By 6 pm everyone had arrived and it was good to see everyone safe and sound after the gruelling day.

It continued to rain well into the night but guess no one cared any more. We all were very tired, and post our dinner we all went to sleep in almost no time.

Sunrise over the range

 

Panoramic View of the range from ABC

Lodges at ABC

Walking back to MBC

Clouds gathering on the mountains

Hailstorm that pounded us for hours

 

 

ABC Trek: Day 5 - to MBC

Since we had stopped one stop short the previous day, today was expected to a be a long day for us. I, as usual, was up by 5:15 am and then after bothering the kitchen staff for some morning tea, I packed my bags, had my breakfast with R and waited for others to get ready.

While R left a few minutes ahead of our group, I soon caught up with him as he had slowed down to get rid of layers of warm clothing that the morning cold had demanded. A few more minutes into the hike, I was stripping down to my T-shirt as the trail was a little tough and weather had started to warm up a bit. We walked behind each other, mostly in silence, but pointing to each other the beautiful sceneries. This was a beautiful hike through forest - rhododendrons scattered at multiple places all over the trail...felt like I was in a fairytale movie set :)

We arrived at our first stop, Himalyan, in just over an hour and waited for rest of my group to catch up while sipping some hot tea. By 9 am, I saw IL & PC walk in but CD was still a little behind. IL & PC decided to wait for CD and I proceeded towards next stop and our lunch halt - Deurali. Trail again was not that tough (as compared to the previous days) but still had enough steep portions that left us breathless.

We also encountered a stretch of snow on the way to Deurali and I finally had to get my trekking poles out! I realized later how useful they are in snow and other kind of slippery conditions. R & I reached Deurali by 10:30 am...a bit too early for him as he was stopping here for the day. As I waited for the others to catch up, the weather started showing signs of rain.

IL & PC again arrived well before CD, and by the time we all finished lunch, the drizzle had become a downpour and temperatures plummeted so much that we all extracted an additional layer of warm clothing from our duffels before we resumed the hike. On top I wore a base layer, T-shirt and my wind/water proof 3-in-1 jacket. The fleece of 3-in-1 was kept in my backpack for later in case the need arose. At bottom, I didn't wear base layer but wore rain pants on top of my hiking pants that also helped provide additional warmth to my legs.

We secured rain covers on our backpacks and started the hike as the downpour reduced to drizzle. We crossed a river and after that the trail got extremely muddy. The porters had gone way ahead and I soon lost sight of them. Till the river crossing I could see IL behind me but a little while later I lost sign of IL also...PC & CD were not in my sight almost from the very beginning.

Our final destination for the day was Macchpuchhre Base Camp (MBC) and it was atleast 2 hours from Deurali. We had started at 2 pm, so I knew I wouldn't need to worry until 4 pm and if even then I didn't find any other human in sight, my plan was to just retrace my steps. Soon the mucky part was over and was replaced by clean sheets of snow. Now the drizzle had turned into snowfall and I soon forgot everyone and everything else. There was no one else in sight - just the mountains, the gentle breeze blowing snow in my face and silence. I stood transfixed for sometime and realized I should keep moving as my hands were almost frozen without gloves :) (I had taken them off as it didn't feel very cold while walking plus they get in the way of clicking pictures with phone)

Around 3:30 pm I met some folks going the other way and they told me I was still 60 min away from my destination. I wasn't worried about myself but knowing that the others were way behind, I wasn't sure how long will they take to reach MBC. At 3:50 pm I reached a lodge to find that its not the one I was looking for, I had to climb back down and walk another 20 minutes to get to the lodge our porters were at already. About 20 meters from the lodge I saw them walking towards me - they were now going to fetch PC & CD ( a practice that had started at lunch time today when CD hadn't turned up till 12:30 pm)

I took the keys from the lodge owner, changed into comfortable clothes, washed my dirty rain pants and put everything to dry -  raincover, jacket and rain pants. The snowfall had stopped and now weather had turned really cold.

IL & PC arrived together along with one porter, with PC in bad shape. She had all typical symptoms of altitude sickness - headache, nausea, fatigue...we gave her Diamox (she had had one after lunch also) but what was bothering her most was cold - she was shivering in 3-4 layers of clothing and 2 blankets. IL & I  were in the cold dining hall and the other porter was still out - to bring CD.

I went back to room to warm myself up in my sleeping bag and found a guide from another group waiting to have a "word" with us. I requested that since PC wasn't well, it would be great if we could do it later but his guest (K) apparently couldn't wait and started screaming at IL (who was standing at the door of our room) that we shouldn't have left CD alone and that he has had to risk lives of 3 of his team members to fetch CD. I was surprised, for two reasons - one, our porter was already bringing her back and two, I didn't encounter any life threatening conditions on the trail - so what risks was he talking about?

It was only the next day did we find out why was K so livid. Well the story goes like this - CD was walking slow and our porter hadn't yet reached her. K must have seen her walking alone and decided to wait for her to catch up with him. They both chatted for a while (C for Chatty) and maybe K felt that CD was a damsel in distress (D for Damsel) who needed rescuing - hence the rescue team. Though a bit sad that he didn't choose to rescue her himself :)

Soon after this firing, around 6 pm, we saw CD arrive. She wasn't in great shape either - she also had altitude sickness but she went to dining hall instead of coming to the room as the hall now had a kerosene heater.

Unlike EBC trail, lodges on ABC trail don't have dung powered heaters in dining room. And the only option is kerosene stove that is kept under the dining table with blankets hanging from the table. The people sitting in that area are expected to pay for  the heating. Thankfully, the owner here was kind enough and he lit one stove without asking anyone to pay. Soon PC was also brought to dining hall and made to sit next to stove.

While IL & I had good dinner, PC & CD were struggling to even finish a bowl of soup. After dinner, next item on agenda was the start time for ABC - we decided on a 4:30 am start based on recommendation from our porter, Pushkar (who was to be our guide to ABC) and the lodge owner.

Given 4:30 am start the next day, I was back in room by 7:00 pm and soon the others followed suit. PC was still very cold and sick, so IL gave PC an additional blanket and decided to sleep in just her sleeping bag - she had done the same at Doban the previous night as we were short one blanket there. I was shivering inside my sleeping bag while wearing base layer, gloves, cap and with blanket on top of my bag - and here was IL just in her sleeping bag. I had no confidence that IL would get any sleep in just her bag in this sub-freezing temperatures.

Views on way to Himlayan - check out the rainbow

Pink ones this part of the hike

Flower strewn paths for our walking

Views on way to Deurali

Views on way to MBC

MBC