Our Trek From Kathmandu to Humde

Hi, this is Brad writing from Humde, Nepal on the 14th of September. We left Kathmandu five days ago, and it has been a busy five days! From Kathmandu we drove north to the town of Besi Sahar, and from this small outpost we began hiking to our present location of Humde. We have been hiking about 10 hours per day over the last four days, following the amazing Marsyangdi River Valley. We have passed through a wide array of climate zones, from the lower rice and corn fields, up to the rain forest, and into the sub alpine zone. The monsoon is in full force and we have enjoyed periods of wonderful, heavy rains everyday. The monsoon should begin to subside soon, bringing drier, cooler, and clearer weather.

We have decided to take a rest day here in Humde, at an elevation of 3,650 meters (12,000 feet), to allow our bodies to begin adjusting to the lower levels of oxygen found at high altitudes. We began on the eastern side of the immense Annapurna mountain range and have now passed over to the northern side of the range. We are very close to the border between Nepal and Tibet.

Tomorrow we will continue up towards base camp, leaving trails behind and following the Sabje Khola river along a steep glacial moraine that cuts between two giant mountains, Annapurna III and Annapurna IV. It will take two more days to reach our base camp for Annapurna IV, located at 4,270 meters (14,000 feet). From there we will begin our climb and adventures onto the snow, rock, and ice of this beautiful peak.

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Postcards from the Field: Annapurna