Sometimes you wake up with a gut feeling, and thankfully this morning Josh and I both shared one. We woke up realizing we did not want to rush our way around the Annapurna circuit and back to Pokhara before then rushing to Kathmandu to arrive at Kopan Monastery. We are here for slow travel after all. It would have been nice to see the Annapurna mountains up close, but at this time of year, nothing is guaranteed. We spoke to Mayla and thankfully he shared our viewpoint, one of the other guides had checked the forecast and it wasn’t looking great. Cue a huge sigh of relief on all accounts!! We had breakfast and packed our bags, and before we even really realized it, our Manaslu journey was over.

It was a five minute walk through town to the jeep, where we all piled in for the journey out of the valley. First stop was Dharopani for our final permit check, and from here it was another five or so hours out to Besisahar. In classic Nepalese fashion, there were some dodgy road moments, and of course amazing views. I will never get over the sheer scale of the valleys here. When you see the road carved into the side of the cliff and the roaring river below energized by summer snow melt with waterfalls crashing down on either side, it’s just awe inspiring. 

It was a bit of a shock to the system finishing so quickly, it was like we blinked on the pass and it was over! When we got into the heat of Besisahar and onto the cramped minivan back to Pokhara I felt like I was in a fever dream. Getting news of wee Arthur Warburton joining the world on our way out was also a highlight, I had been telling Mayla for days how I was about to be an Aunty to a baby boy!! Another nice part about getting back down was the prices, they are so inflated on the circuit, to the point where you are paying up to 350 rupee for a cup of instant coffee with milk (even a flat white from a fancy place here in Pokhara wouldn’t cost you that much), so our budget was very thankful to be back down to regular priced elevation!

The last twelve days have gone so insanely fast, and being grounded in the routine of walking and the goal of completing the circuit was really centering and peaceful. Physically and mentally it was a challenge, but at the same time it was the best feeling in the world being outside moving our bodies all day and being surrounded by mountains. Mayla’s care, compassion and positive attitude also helped to make this such a memorable experience. Last time I was in Nepal my experience with our guide was fine but not great, and seeing the difference with a guide you love is so huge. I spent a bit of time on this trek going back to the fact that this wasn’t our original plan, we thought we would be in Pakistan right now with our friends exploring the Karakoram mountains. I was so grateful that we were still having such an amazing experience even though it wasn’t part of our original plan. When I come back to Nepal next time it won’t be in monsoon, but I’m really stoked with how we managed to absolutely make the most of it. I still have a real attachment between joy/happiness and good/clear weather. I’m 100% sure that’s normal and also 100% sure I’ll be able to dissect that next week at Kopan. 

If you’ve ever sat around a dinner table with me, I’m sure you’ve had the pleasure of being a part of a “pit peak lesson” summary of a day. I thought it would be a nice way to end this series too, summarizing a selection of the highlights, lowlights and lessons of the journey from each of us:

🪏Pit - Having the shits anywhere kinda sucks, but having an upset stomach at 4000m+ above sea level with only squat toilets is a different level. It was never major (thankfully), but I was not a fan of the low level uncomfort the altitude or diet decided to inflict on my gut for a bit of the upper section of the walk. 

🏔️Peak - A bit in the feels but my peak was seeing my own strength (mental and physical) develop over the twelve days! I really proved to myself that I am resilient and tough, and able to have fun at the same time. Climbing up to the Tibet border the first time we reached 5000m was such a cool moment, especially as I had spent the morning telling the boys I would probably wait for them down by the river as I wasn’t sure I would be strong enough. But, I raced up just behind Josh and loved every minute of it. 

🧐Lesson - You are in control of where you find joy. Stuck in a river valley for two days? What cool animals and bugs you can see everywhere, and all the shades of green! Clouded in on summit day? How amazing are the small slices of mountains you do see through the clouds, feels like perfect territory for dragons. Six hour descent in front of you? Sharing AirPods with your partner in crime and brainstorming your future while listening to Taylor Swift helps to pass the time like a dream.  

🪏Pit - Having a horrible sleep is hard when it’s the day before you walk 17km over a 5000m pass. The descent from Larke Pass down to Bhimtang felt like it would never end and I was struggling to keep my eyes open. Alice was struggling with the altitude giving her an upset stomach and I was so tired it felt hard to support her.

🏔️Peak - I absolutely loved how lush the valley was at this time of year. The early days walking up the lower valley were so beautiful, with endless shades of green, alpine flowers blooming, and an ecosystem teeming with life. As we gradually climbed, we watched the surroundings change but consistently there were beautiful colours of green. I heard that many people like to rush through the lower valley to reach the big mountains by driving as far as possible. This makes no sense to me as the lower parts of the valley are so beautiful. Also a massive highlight was seeing my first 8000m+ mountain up close and personal.

🧐Lesson - For us, trekking into these high mountains felt like a wild expedition into a remote and intimidating place. For the hardy locals that live in the villages under these mountains, this is their life. They grow up here, go to school here, and live almost self-sufficiently from farming. There are limited hospitals near many of these villages, constant powercuts, and anything they need must be carried in by porters or mules. It is undoubtedly a hard life for these people. They know they have to work hard to survive up here, and it was a stark reminder for me of how easy my life is in comparison.

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This is our last “daily” blog for a while, and from here we’ll go back to our usual one blog per location rhythm. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading these updates in nearly real time. Please please leave a comment if you have liked this series, we absolutely love hearing from you!!!