Wednesday December 11th 2024, Pokhara, Nepal

Today marks the end of the 11-day Annapurna Circuit Trek. The total distance trekked was about 150 km (93 miles), and the total elevation gain was about 4,116 m (13,504 ft).

The past week and a half has been one of the craziest experiences of my life. Trekking through the Himalayas, tea house to tea house, gave me new perspectives and a deep appreciation for life. It will be really difficult to encapsulate the entire experience in words, but I will try.

Each morning, Zach and I woke up around 7 AM and had breakfast. We enjoyed Tibetan bread and ginger-lemon-honey tea. We would trek for about four hours in the morning through dramatic landscapes and mountain towns. Around noon, we ate lunch and rested before trekking another 2–3 hours in the afternoon. Each night, we stayed in local mountain towns and tea houses. It was the off-season, so we were typically the only people there. We spent our evenings playing cards, laughing, and relaxing.

Each day of the trek became progressively harder with the increasing altitude. For so many hours of the day, I was alone with my thoughts. The silence of the mountains was deafening. I thought about the future, the present, and occasionally the past.

The entire trek climaxed on the last day, crossing the Thorong La Pass, with a maximum elevation of 5,416 m (17,769 ft). I will give a full recap of the last day in a later post.

During the first few days, I wrote these takeaways:

One shift in your mindset changes your whole perspective. Patience is key. You can't rush to the top; "slowly, slowly" is the mantra for acclimatization. You can have everything—just not all at once. There are infinite ways to reach the top. I love the sound of running water. Nothing beats fresh air. Fire, a hot shower, AC, and toilet paper are incredible inventions. Find a balance between the present and the future. Tea culture is wonderful. Overall, it was an unforgettable experience. It was painful and uncomfortable at times, but incredibly rewarding. I'm not jumping with excitement to do another intense trek anytime soon, but I believe it will call me again in the future.