Views Views and More Views

Nice View Of Annapurna Range

Peace From Nepal

Dhaulagiri (7th Highest Mt in the World) with Prayer Flags

Donna Shopping For A New Hat

Carrying A Heavy Load

Starting from Poon Hill to our current location, Chhomrong, the views of the Annapurna Range have been spectacular. Everything is going great "up to now" as our guide Govinda would say. Tomorrow we start the difficult trek up into Annapurna Base Camp. For now we are just resting and getting ready to eat some Dal Bhat. Peace and Love From Nepal - Tom & Donna

Start Of The Trek

Trekking Crew On Poon Hill

So far everything is going great.  Up dating the blog from Ghorepani.
To start the trek we took a 1 hour taxi ride from Pokhara to Naya Pul.
We hiked about 3 hours to a little town, Hille.  Most of the trek was on a road so it did not have a real trek feel.
The next morning we hiked to Ghorepani.  This was about a 8 mile hike all up hill, very tough.  The hike was on a beautiful trail as we went through forest, wheat and rice fields, crossed suspension bridges and rivers.  Once arriving at our hotel, Hill Top Lodge, we rested and had dinner.  It was cloudy and we were not able to see any mountain views but, we did get a great view of a beautiful rainbow which seamed to last for about 15min.  Of course at night we played Farkel and Donna won all the games.
The next morning we hiked up to Poon Hill to catch some views of the Annapurna Range, we were not disappointed. We saw absolutely great views of Dhaulagiri, 8167m, Annapurna South, 7219m & Machhapuchhare, or just fish tail, 6993m.  So for the rest of today we will just relax and get ready for our trek to Annapurna Base Camp.

Made It To Nepal, Pokhara

Well we made it to Nepal!!
It took us about 40 hours of travel to get from my house to our hotel.
So far everything has gone well.  Just had dinner and I am really tired so, I am not sure how well my writing will be.  Our plan is to spend the night here in Pokhara, then drive to a town named Hile, which will be the start of our Annapurna Sanctuary trek. 
There is a large festival going on in Nepal - Dashai.  Goats, goats everywhere.  They all eat goat meat during this time and they all slaughter the goats at home.  I never saw so many goats.  Sort of like our thanksgiving with turkey but, I already buy my turkey packaged.
Well we are safe and ready for what tomorrow brings. 
Peace and Love, Tom & Donna

Donna and Govinda

Stopped for some banana's on the way to Pokhara

Donna with her first plate of Dal Bhat

View from our hotel window

Lake at Pokhara

Final Preparations for Nepal - The Annapurna Sanctuary

Many have asked, “are you ready for your trip?” For the last couple of weeks Tom and I have been going over and over on what we plan on taking. We have our plane tickets, passports, and visas. Tom has been in touch with our guide, Govinda, who already has our transportation arranged from Kathmandu to Pokhara , as well as, a porter to help carry our packs on the trek. Having a local guide and porter will insure that we get the most out of our trekking experience, from the culture, food, landmarks to the breath taking views.

I don’t have my suitcase packed yet, but have everything almost ready. I must pack fairly light, which is a challenge because the temperature will vary from warm in the towns to cold in the higher elevations. Layering is something to keep in mind, base, mid layers, outer shell to a down jacket is needed. Can‘t forget my Tilley hat, Merrell footwear, polarized sunglasses, and trekking poles. And, oh yah, toilet paper!

Map, Tilley Hat, Sunglasses, Passport & Trekking Poles

As far as my emotions, well that‘s another story. I go from excited, to nervous, to wanting to cry, to changing my mind, to looking forward to going. But, I AM GOING, so we will have to see how it goes. Hopefully we can keep the blog updated and I can report on how I feel.

Our plane departs Philadelphia on Saturday, October 20 at 6:10 PM, first stop Brussels. From Brussels we fly to New Delhi where we have a long layover - 9 hours. Already booked a hotel in the New Delhi airport so we’ll get to lie down and get a bit of sleep. Next morning it’s off to Kathmandu with an expected arrival time of 8:30AM , total travel time is 28hr and 30min. I think I’ll have time to get caught up on some reading, or simply watch a movie. That’s it for now. I’ll update when I can. Donna

Back To Nepal

I hear the winds whistling through the Himalayans calling my name.
My memory still fresh like my footprints which I left in the snow covered trails during my trek of 2011. During that trek I ventured to Annapurna and completed the Annapurna circuit. Then, flew off to Khumbu and traversed the three passes, Kongma La, Cho La, & Renjo La, as well as, Everest base camp.

The beauty and lure of Nepal is just to great for me to resist. I must return to that magical place.
I must seek the adventure of another trek. See another beautiful side of Nepal.

I depart, with my wife Donna, October 20 to travel into the Annapurna Sanctuary. A beautiful place that takes you deep inside the Annapurna range to see the most beautiful mountains on earth.

We fly into Kathmandu then take a car to Pokhara. After a few days in Pokhaha we’ll head off to the Annapurna range and start the trek.

Call me crazy to go back after only one year but, Nepal is like no place on earth: Never, Ending, Peace, And, Love.
My wife is both nervous and excited, as this will be her first time venturing outside the USA.
I think she is in for the adventure of her life!

Tom and Donna Freese