Annapurnas Day 14: Wrong Way

After the J Day (Jacuzzi day), the three of us were more than ready to face the last obstacle before the glory. That morning we overslept half an hour, apparently my mobile phone decided that it was a good idea to give us some extra rest so the alarm just didn't go off. Now I realize that this malfunction was nothing but a premonition of the accidental day that was waiting for us outside our bedroom.

Satisfied after a pretty decent sweet breakfast, the trio took of by 9 o'clock. As usual, during the first hours of the trek we coursed a random talk. This time it was the 'Obama effect'. What we didn't know then was that this entertaining chat was (mis)leading our relaxed walk more than 5 km in the wrong direction! It was already 10 when we realized that we had moved downhill toward Beni instead of uphill to the massive ridge that flanks Poon Hill. We had to think fast. Our improvised plan was to take one of those Jeeps that we had hated so much until then and backup to Tatopani from where we would start over.

My mean phone displayed 10:40 when we started climbing the right path. That day's walking time was estimated to be more than eight hours which basically meant that we had no time for breaks if we wanted to reach Gorephani before sunset. Again I took the lead to set a vigorous pace which elicited several photo and water purifying breaks waiting for my team mates. After an exhausting 850 m climb that we completed in nearly 2 hours we caught up with another group of trekkers. This achievement facilitated a short break for lunch. When we thought that all our problems were over, the unexpected happened: it started raining! The rain wasn't very heavy but it was persistent and whereas Bodo and me had proper equipment, Benny didn't. This incident unleashed a small crisis within the team. Benny wanted to stop and spend the night in the middle of nowhere while Bodo and me thought that we should continue for two reasons: (1) we were already wet and (2) if we didn't make it to Ghorepani Bodo would miss his train to Delhi. Not without some grumbling, the team set off again. Luckily the rain stopped soon, which gave us some minutes of relaxation before running into the next problem: the fog. So far we had had sun, wind, snow, rain on the trek so I guess the fog didn't want to miss the show! Walking through a foggy forest is not a very safe thing to do but we didn't have a choice. A few hours later the fog cleared, leaving the steep climbs as the only enemy to beat.

After an overall climb of 1670 meters I reached Ghorepani (2870 m) at 17:23, the Germans did it by 17:45. That evening in Ghorepani we felt good, we had fought the mountain and we had won. It was the last night in the mountains and although it felt special I guess we were too tired to notice it. We went bed early again to dream about the glory that awaited us.

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Tras el dia de relajacion en Tatopani estabamos preparados para encarar los mas de 1600 metros de subida que representaban en ultimo escoyo a la gloria. Esa mañana mi despertador no sono, era como si el destino quisiera que no nos levantaramos de la cama. De manera estupida decidimos hacer caso omiso al destino y una vez desayunados emprendimos la etapa. Tras una hora de caminata estamos tranquilamente departiendo sobre la eleccion de Obama cuando de repente nos dimos cuenta de que estabamos 'bajando' en vez de 'subiendo'.
En efecto, habiamos tomado el camino equivocado y ahora teniamos que rectificar 5 km para empezar de nuevo. Eran casi las 10:30 cuando comenzamos la subida, cuya duracion estaba prevista en 8 horas. Esto significaba que si queriamos llegar a Ghorepani (2870 m) antes del anochecer no teniamos tiempo para descansos ni comida. Tras dos horas de mucho esfuerzo completamos 850 m. de subida y alcanzamos a otro grupo de trekkers. Esto nos permitio parar para comer rapido antes de volver al sendero. Cuando ya nos las dabamos felices ocurrio lo impredecible: empezo a llover.

La lluvia desato una pequeña crisis en el grupo. Benny, q no tenia ropa impermeable, queria parar y pasar la noche en un refugio en mitad de ninguna parte; Bodo y yo queriamos continuar. Habia dos argumentos: primero, ya estabamos mojados y segundo Bodo si parabamos alli Bodo yo alcanzaria su tren a Delhi a tiempo. No sin regañadients, el convoy sigio la marcha. Afortunadamente la lluvia ceso pronto, pero a ella le siguio la niebla que hacia el camino entre los bosques nepalis bastante inseguro. Asi, superando las condiciones climatologica y otros 750 metros de desnivel, alcanzamos Ghorepani alrededor de las 17:30.
Esa noche era la ultima que pasariamos en las montañas. Nos habria gustado poder celebrarlo pero estabamos demasiado cansados para hacerlo asi que nos fuimos a la cama a soñar con la gloria que nos aguardaba la mañana siguiente.