Trek: Day 7 of 11 - Annapurna Base Camp reached!

Hike start: MBC (Machhapuchhare Base Camp) (3.750 m)
Hike end: ABC (Annapurna Base Camp) (4.130 m)
Length: 3 km
Ascent: 410 m
Descent: 0 m
Trekked so far: 60 km

Panorama view: https://img.mcdowell.si/Nepal-2022/2022-10-17-Hike-Day-7/trek-day-7-panorama.jpg (28 MB)

This one was the shortest hiking day by length and time. Only 3km but the altitude we would reach would be the highest, hence the careful and slow ascent. Most of us only had mild or no symptoms at all. The lead guide was already regularly checking and documenting symptoms or lack of them together with blood perfusion checks.

The place we stayed at was Annapurna Guest house and Restaurant.

Feeling so close to these mountain giants all around us is difficult to put into words. There was a very moving moment I experienced while looking into the sky and watching the clouds forming and reforming by the strong winds coming over the Annapurna range … and then hearing a beautiful and mesmerizing song by our assistant guide Subash Rai. It brought me to tears. I also thought about where I was and this experience I would keep with me forever. It would also be likely the last time I would be here. Not that I couldn’t come back, don’t get me wrong. But there would be new adventures to have and coming back to a place I already experienced and enjoyed seemed pointless when there are so many other beautiful places in the world I could still see.

The views we saw above the ABC also showed the devastating affects of global warming. The large wide “river-like” structure was a basically a dying glacier. Its covered with stones and rocks so at this time does not even look like a glacier. However it used to be much higher and now as its collapsing the sides of the mountain around it are collapsing into the space where the glacier volume used to be.

For tonight we were advised not to shower to avoid hypothermia. Not that the temperatures were really low but they could drop further during the night and also coupled with the affect of the altitude could be an issue.