Wilderless: Trekking The Annapurna Circuit

The APC is neither Western nor Coastal nor your standard Remote Wilderness “Adventure”, but I couldn't find the blog for the Eastern Landlocked Trekkers Collective, so I'm publishing the trip report here.

Stats At A Glance*

Days trekking: 11

Kilometres trekked:155

Elevation gain/loss: 9,000 (Is that right?? See *)

Highest point: Thorung La Pass, 5416 m

Average daily spend (food+accommodation): $15

Map (route from right to left):

Map provided by maps.me.  If you do not already have this app, download it immediately.

TBH I'm not sure if this style of of trip would float the boats of many WCACers, lovers of the Pure-Wild-Leave-No-Trace adventures afforded by the vast expanses of the west coast.  But below I've outlined the types of people for whom Tea House Trekking (THT) is and is not well-suited.

People Who Should Avoid THT:

1. Badasses.  THT is not an extreme sport. There are virtually no threats to personal safety on route and the lauded “dangers” discussed in books and among NorthFace-clad trekking pole holders in Kathmandu would likely inspire eye rolls from WCACers. You are never more than four hours away from a hot meal and a bed.  Other than a few nights of altitude-induced insomnia, the only other potential discomforts (cold showers, no electricity, etc) are zero-to-few degrees removed from First World Problems.

2. Lone Wolves.**  If you’re trekking solo, the question you will be asked by 8/10 Nepali people is not “Where are you from?” or “Room for one?” or “Do you have a guide?” but “You have no friends?” Most people trek with local guides or in groups.  The quality of a WC adventure is usually measured in its remoteness from civilisation.  But in THT, you’re lucky to go two hours without seeing another person, and there are sections near the main hubs (trail head, Thorung base camp) where the trail feels like a theme park.  

This was one of the cozier rooms I stayed in, though all houses have beds, pillows and usually blankets.  Most under 3km even have dodgy wifi.

I trekked mostly solo, but met a crew of merry French/Slovenian/Chinese at Thorung La pass. Not pictured: the other French guys smoking cigarettes.

People Who Might Like THT:

1. Those Who Suck At Planning. If you've booked the plane ticket and bought/bummed the guidebook (mine’s up for grabs!), you can plan the whole trek on the flight to Kathmandu. You'll need one day in town to get the required permits (ACAP and TIMS, about $60 total) and any gear you may need knockoff versions of, but then you can head straight for the hills.

2. Speed Demons.  Due to the facts that A) you are not carrying food or shelter, B) obvious waymarks rid need for constant map checking, and C) most of the trail aims to accommodate Normies, there is a decent amount of ground that can be covered at a Hog, or even a Jun! Beyond the thrill of stretching the legs and feeling the mountain wind in your face, you are rewarded with the smug pride of absolutely smashing the estimated travel times on the signs and guidebooks.

3. History Buffs. The ACP is basically a high elevation museum, with each exhibit 5-10 kilometres apart. The entire route is dotted with stupas (shrines, sort of), mani walls (engraved stones), prayer wheels, Buddhist and Hindu gompas (monasteries), and pagodas (temples), some dating back to the 4th century BCE.  Nepal is a bottomless well of fascinating (and confusing) religions, languages, gods, festivals and customs -- plenty to keep the brain occupied for several hours a day on the trail!

Tibetan Buddhist prayer wheels. Walk on the left side, spinning each one clockwise with your right hand. The mantra “om mani padme hum” inscribed means “hail to the jewel in the lotus”

Now that you’ve determined whether or not THT is for you, here are some fun facts and photos about the ACP:   

Landscapes

• Nepal is home to 10 of the 14 highest peaks in the world (64% of Nepal is mountainous)
• The Indo-Australian plate on which it sits is still actively seismic (as seen in April 2015) and sliding at 27mm per year
• It's flipping hard to sleep over 3km of elevation (as also observed by Kelsey on Mt Whitney)

Kicho Tso (Ice Lake), 4620m, view of Annapurna Peak, 8091m

Kali Gandaki river and Dhaulagiri Peak, 8167m (under the far clouds)

Food: The Abridged Version (I could go on all day)

• Daal baht: rice served with lentil soup, curried vegetables or potatoes and spicy pickle, served for every meal and eaten with hands
• Seabuckthorn juice: made from the berries of a prickly shrub, with a vitamin content said to be higher than any other fruit or vegetable.  Used in Chinese medicine since the Tang Dynasty
• Yak cheese: salty, not great. Also a misnomer! Should be “nak cheese” as yaks are male.
• Apple Pie (a Thing on the APC.)
• Milk Tea (like Chai tea but somehow yummier)

People

The human element forms part of the landscape of the ACP, and is (in my opinion) just as striking.  Perhaps it's crass to call people “scenery”, but the reality is there is little opportunity to interact with locals on a much deeper level than observation as a trekker -- unless you learn Nepali and budget a few months (years?) to partially assimilate.

Some encounters are weird -- like when a gang of small children surrounded me with a rope and started chanting “Give me money!”-- but most, while brief, are really rewarding (a wee story about one such encounter here).  

* It should be noted that, as I was travelling without my Personal Stats Keeper, these numbers are rough estimations, based on poor recollection and potentially completely inaccurate.
**Bear in mind that even the Lonest of Wolves might occasionally enjoy playing cards with a few trail mates to pass the hours in the chilly evenings before bed.

For the full photo dump, see here.