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Annapurna Circuit - Day 8

Thu 17th Sep 2009 — drew
image(s): 
another beautiful sunrise from our window
Gangapurna
back down the valley towards Manang
looks like Scotland?
prayer stones at the base of Chulu East
mountain goat
Yak Kharka in the evening
Day 8
Start Manang (3540m)
End Yak Kharka (4018m)
Distance (day) 9km
Distance (cumulative) 99km
Height climbed 478m

Yet more amazing views of the mountains out of our bedroom windows early this morning – not bored of them yet! Tsampa porridge again at 7, and this time we were packed and ready to leave straight after. We climbed very, very slowly out of Manang, stopping frequently to enjoy the great views back down the valley. We took it very steady and climbed through scenery which looked a bit like the west coast of Britain at times for about 3 hours. Some big herds of mountain goats (which really must have been the inspiration behind the Ewoks!) provided entertainment with their different hair-styles and horns making it easy to imagine a variety of personalities. They do smell a bit though (like goat's cheese surprisingly). We also spotted a few cute Himalayan guinea pig-type furry beasties (Mussa?) foraging in the shrubs - a lot quicker than guinea pigs if you startle them though.

We arrived at our destination before lunch again and we weren't too hot, sweaty or shattered – a rare occasion. Yak Kharka is pretty small and it looks like the path we are on just continues up the hill (what we have in store tomorrow). We stayed in a very pink chalet-cottage and it got quite cold as the sun went down but thankfully we got plenty of warm blankets.

As you get further along the trail, the food gets gradually more expensive (longer distance for it to be portered) so our dal bhat was getting quite pricey (was about £3 each!); however, it is proving to be great marching food so well worth it. We had a nice evening, all gathered round a table which had thick, yak blankets over the sides and a heater hidden underneath making it all very cosy. Unfortunately, some of the others picked up a stomach bug so have not been feeling full strength; thankfully we were fine although both had slight colds. There was no safe water drinking station in Yak Kharka and when we made up some iodine water it turned very cloudy and did not look appealing at all so we drank gallons of tea and boiled water instead. We also discovered that our metal water bottles doubled as excellent hot water bottles if filled with boiled water just before bed!

Dal Bhat for dinner; 8 out of 10 - fried potatoes and cabbage, warming stuff on a cold night