DAY 7 – Bratang to Pisang
Mules in Pisang
Last night was interesting. Around 1am we were awakened by what sounded like 2 rifle shots in succession. Naturally, my husband the life member of “conspiracy theorists anonymous”, immediately went into Army Ranger mode. Issuing me orders such as “no more white light”. Referring of course to the headlamp I was preparing to use to guide my way to the outhouse. That man has a sense of humor I tell ya. Except he wasn’t kidding.
Contingency planning began and of course massive speculation as to what, where, and who were behind the shots. Possible avenues of escape were marked on the map, and possible weapons were inventoried. He became convinced that the rebels were in the area.*see note below
I could go on, but I’ll just say that we never went back to sleep. We spoke with Raj this morning and he says he never heard anything and has no clue what it could have been. He asked the cook, Sham, and they began to postulate theories. What is it with men and theories?
We left for Pisang, it was only about a 6 to 7 km walk, but it was steep for almost half the way. Pisang is a small Tibetan village perched on a high cliff in the valley. Very windy. We made good time and arrived by noon.
Pisang
We saw the Himalayan peaks for the first time. Annapurna 4 and Himulchi Peak were so close I felt I could touch them. We begin to circle the Annapurna massif now. It was very sunny but the wind was chilly thanks to the glaciers near us.
Annapurna Himal 26,000 Ft
We’re going to rest here all day today before heading out to the higher altitude of Manang village tomorrow. It’s approximately 9,800 ft, however, the altitude here is different on every map. We don’t seem to be experiencing any altitude symptoms so far, but my sinuses are feeling a bit of pressure.
I already had a tan so I felt comfortable sitting out in the sun while I write in my journal… Fifteen minutes later I was sunburned.
Our Porters with Billy in the back
* Additional notes upon our return to the USA:
We found out after the trek, from media reports, that the Maoist and the Royal Nepal Army had been engaged in a fire fight in this particular area during the time we were there. Dozens of Maoists were killed.
