Insight Adventures

After returning from the rafting trip, I grabbed a quick mountain view flight from the bustling city of Kathmandu to the mellow lakeside town of Pokhara. One day of rest turned into three and I soon wondered if I would be able to pry myself away from the serenity of the lakeside cafes. Fortunately, I ran into Kasha Rigby, a professional mountaineer working for The North Face. Surely she would have some big plans up her sleeve. She did, an 8-day trek to the Annapurna Sanctuary. (4 days at her pace.) I’m in.

Two days later, on the trail after passing through luscious, riverside valleys, golden rice terraces and adorable little villages, we reached our first tea house rest stop. Looking out across the valley, waterfalls cascaded down steep banks into the river below, villagers plowed their fields, children herded their goats and local life continued on as we passed through the middle of it all, almost unnoticed. I can’t even tell you how many times I stopped in my tracks; arms stretched in front of me and yelled out loud “This is so beautiful!” I’m sure the farmers thought I was a bit loco.

Each day on the trail, we worked our way higher up the valley. The rice fields turned into gardens, the trees started to thin and the villages grew sparse. On the trail, children, goats, monkeys in the trees (and a brown bear walking side by side with four deer) were replaced by porters and mule trains carrying massive loads of fuel, food and cold beer to the high altitude tea houses set up for mountaineers and travelers. Hold on… yes, I said “a brown bear walking with four deer!” It’s a sign of the apocalypse, someone told me. Maybe he was just a vegetarian Hindu bear. Hmm?

Animals aside, lets talk teahouses. Ranging from simple buildings with cozy little beds to gourmet establishments with hot showers and mountain view decks, the Himalayan teahouse makes even the poshest tent camping set-up look embarrassingly uncivilized. Sorry North Face. Let me paint the picture:

After a long days journey, we arrived at our local teahouse just as the sun was dropping behind the mountains and air was starting to chill. I ordered up a warm beverage, jumped into a steaming hot shower, threw on my pj’s, slid into my sleeping bag and hopped out to the view deck. With my warm drink in hand, I watched the sun illuminate the glowing snow capped mountain peaks in the distance and slowly slip into darkness, filling the sky with stars. After a second round of warm drinks, our host informed us that it was time for dinner. Sitting around the table inside we devoured our freshly cooked meal, shared stories with fellow travelers and slipped off to bed for a long night’s sleep and another chance to do it all over again.

On day 3 we reached our goal; the 13,500ft Annapurna Sanctuary. We arrived alone and were treated to spectacular views and a truly divine moment of serenity, grandiosity, and reverence. Plaques in the sanctuary honored fallen mountaineering heroes. Prayer flags fluttered in the wind and we were surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the world. Hello God. Nice job. It’s beautiful.