Lal knocked at my door at 5:40 AM so we could climb Poon Hill for sunrise. He had been sleeping downstairs in the dining room. Many people were getting up at this time for the best views before the clouds came. The climb seemed very easy after the 18,000 foot hills in the Khumbu region, and we reached the top by 6:20, in half the time the guide book said. Poon Hill is only 9450 feet high, which is about the elevation of Lukla, where I began the last trek. Most of the way up, there were good views of the Annapurnas and Dhalaghiri. The sky was orange where the sun would later appear. We passed many people on the way up, even though I stopped three times to set up my min-tripod to take pictures in the changing light.
On top, we found a panorama of mountains. A lot of people came to see the sunrise. There is an observation platform on top of Poon Hill, with picnic tables around the edge of the hilltop. Hot drinks were being sold from thermos bottles, and Lal brought me a hot chocolate while I sat at a frosty picnic table setting up my mini-tripod to photograph Dhalaghiri. The sun slowly illuminated more and more peaks, and I took numerous pictures. Annapurna South was especially impressive in the warm side-light from the rising sun.
![[Poon Hill View]](../images/icons/annapurna_small.gif){kind=icon}
It was very cold on top, and shortly after the sun had fully risen, we headed down. I had a tomato omelet and a pancake with jam for breakfast. Today's trail started up a hill in the opposite direction (east) from Poon Hill. This hill was just a little smaller than Poon Hill and had a similar view. The German I met in the New Delhi airport said he preferred the view here, but I would rate Poon Hill's view slightly higher. By the time we got to the top, clouds were already forming, but there were still good views in all directions. Lal pointed out the way to Jomsom, a popular trekking route I was once considering, which is part of the Annapurna Circuit, and can be done one-way in about a week.
We followed a forested ridge for a while, with views to both sides. Young bamboo grew beneath the trees, and Machhapuchhare was visible to our left, but otherwise it reminded me of walking on the Appalachian Trail in the Smokies. There were small patches of snow and ice on the ground. Then we descended a steep, muddy slope to a tea house and stopped for tea. We continued down a narrow, muddy gorge which was heavily forested. The trail followed a stream, and sometimes went right down it. There were patches of snow and ice as well as mud, and we had to be careful to keep from slipping.
Eventually, the gorge widened, and we came to another town called Banthanti. We stopped for lunch. My fried vegetable noodles were saturated with soybean oil. They were the worst I've had yet. Chickens tried to climb on the table while we were eating. Lal grabbed them and gave an armful of chickens to the hostess, who carried them away across the river. A porter carrying chairs stopped for lunch at the next table. He was an older man with no shoes.
After lunch, the trail entered an open area with a view down a bigger valley back to Ulleri, a town we passed through yesterday afternoon. We stopped briefly at a tea shop overlooking the valley so Lal could hear the 1:00 news on the radio. I turned out that the Nepalese Congress Party, who previously controlled parliament, got 80 seats, and the Nepal Communist Party (U.M.L.) got 86 seats, so it was close.
We descended steeply to a stream, then climbed through dense forest to Tadapani, where we would spend the night. Lal thought the final climb would take 45 minutes, but it only took 20. We were moving fast today. Tadapani is known for its great views, but while the town was sunny this afternoon, clouds had settled over the mountains, and we could not see them. We did have a nice view down the valley, into the distance. The lodges here were nice, and we got a private room in one. It was decorated with educational posters of children having diarrhea, but was otherwise very pleasant.
I walked around town a while. One of the lodges up on the hill had an observation tower. Another had a brightly painted sign showing all the trails in the area, and the distances between towns. Such signs turned out to be common in this region. Lal found me, and pointed out the trail down in the valley where we would be walking tomorrow. He pointed out a white house where the trail went around a distant corner into a larger valley, and said we would be stopping in Chhomrong a short distance beyond that. I could see a large waterfall in the distance.
As the sun went over the hill, it got cold. Lal wanted to share a beer, so he bought one and we drank it. Lal practiced reading tourist posters on the wall, and I helped him. There was no stove here, because we were in the Annapurna Conservation Region, and lodges are not allowed to burn wood. Ghorepani was a temporary exception, because kerosene was not yet available there, although this would change soon. There was a kerosene heater under the table. It was lit just before sunset, but was not very warm.
As the sun set, I could see the clouds lift from the mountains through the windows which surrounded the dining room, giving it a panoramic view. I went outside with my cameras as the mountains briefly turned a beautiful reddish color. Annapurna South was high above the town, and Machhapuchhare was visible across the valley.
It was getting colder after dark, and Lal ordered a bottle of rum for us to drink with tea. For dinner, I had garlic-cheese soup and fried noodles with vegetable, egg, and cheese. The lodges in the Annapurna Conservation Region form committees to set standard menus and prices, but there is some variation in quality, and most lodges have a page of specialties in the menu. The cooking here was very good.
A sixty year old porter sat across the large square table. He was wearing a traditional knee-length skirt made of a white cloth. There was also an Australian family, with a five year old and two year old girl. The younger girl was carried most of the way in a basket on the back of a porter. It turned out that the Australians were staying in the room next to ours. The girls were noisy, and cried a lot before reluctantly going to sleep. The rooms were separated only by a thin wall of wooden boards.
Scott A. Yost, 1994. All rights reserved.