One of the first serious books I can remember reading as a kid was the book "Annapurna" by Maurice Herzog, which is an account of his quest and success in climbing the world's first 8000 meter peak. So when I heard about the circuit around that peak in high school, it was immediately on my "to do" list. The other book I remember reading at an early age was "The Snow Leopard" by Peter Matthison. With the trekking season being October during the middle of my school years, I had resigned myself to waiting until retirement to do the Circuit. Well, my job in India requires two visa leaves out of the country. I requested October as one, and have completed the Annapurna Circuit. Hopefully, my friends in Ladakh are correct and can direct me to a December hike with a likelihood of seeing a snow leopard!

So, this post will give details about the Annapurna Circuit hike by topic, followed by a condensed highlights from my journal.

MAPS AND GUIDES. The most common maps are the Nepa maps, of which are available in Kathmandu bookstores for virtually any trek here in Nepal. But, while I have the set for my upcoming Everest area trek, I prefer the Schneider Maps for Annapurna due to their 1:100,000 scale, which is better than Nepa. But, these are around but harder to come by. Most people here are using the Lonely Planet guide. But, I like the Trailblazer guide, which has a much more narrow focus and better descriptions and detailed maps. The most recent edition is the 2001 edition, which can be found both in Kathmandu and America.

ACCOMODATION. This trek is great! No need for a tent, although I was glad for a sleeping bag. Nights were spent in hotels or lodges or guesthouses the entire way. It is rare that you go more than 2 hours walking distance without passing at least a few, and rare that you go more than 1 hour without water. And, hotels are cheap. I got prices as low as 40 rupees (55 cents). But, the money is actually made for the hotels on meals. It is against ediquette to stay one place and eat at another. So, I usually checked the menu rather than the price when checking out hotels! Menu prices were rarely more than $2 for a big meal. I stayed in 12 places, and used the guidebook's recommendation only 3 times. And in 4 villages I lucked out and got the most happening place! The low end of the scale was a 6 foot by 6 foot pit that I stayed in due to a fantastic view. The fanciest place was spacious with soft beds and a superb menu.

FOOD. Dal baaht (rice, veggies, dal, salad). This is the staple. Boring, but an all-you-can-eat meal. Also had things like fried rice (with eggs and or veg), fried noodles, Swiss rosty, eggs, pancakes, soups, yak steak in 1 place, pizza if you are lucky, others. Expect primarily vegetarian items, except possibly some tuna (canned) items. If you are lucky, you can get chicken items, or the yak steak. But, expect good portions of veggie items mainly. Drinks are teas of different kinds, possibly juice, soft drinks and beer. I drank soft drinks for lunch and dinner until I got high enough that the price went over a dollar, then switched over to kool-aid that I brought. Beer is triple the price of soft drinks. All items have to be brought into these places by porter or horse, so the further from roadheads, the more expensive things are.

TERRAIN. Rough!!! I am not one to train before an upcoming hike. If you are, though, I recommend 50 percent of your time be spent on a stairmaster going up and down. The other 50 percent should be spent on some kind of machine like a steep-sloped treadmill to stretch your tendons. My altimeter totaled the entire route at more than 30,000 feet of overall elevation gain and loss. Mostly it was either steep up or down, or there were rock stairs! The worst was on my last day, where the guidebook did me a favor by counting the 3318 stairs I had to descend. But, there were many level places as well, and quite a few gentle slopes.

VEGETATION. One of the most striking aspects of the trail were shifting abruptly from one zone to another. The first day was sub-tropical. It was warm and very humid, and there were rice paddies, banana trees and even monkeys. Day 2 into day 3 were still warm and humid, but with broadleaf forests resembling the central part of the eastern seaboard of America. Around lunch of day 3, it suddenly changed to pine forest and the humidity dropped suddenly. For about 2 days, I felt I was back in Colorado. Then, everything went sub-alpine and alpine on me, and it was like Ladakh in India. On the other side of Thorong La, the pass, it was pretty much the reverse. The only difference was the spectacular views of these huge, glaciated peaks at close range. I saw 3 of these peaks: Manislu, Annapurna, and Dhaulagiri.

HAZARDS 1: Altitude. This trek goes up to 5400 meters, which is 17,700 feet or so. Having lived at 3500 meters, I wasn't too concerned with the altitude gains. My only gains of 3000 feet a day were before I got high. I then camped at 3600 meters, 3900 meters, and 4400 meters before going over the top. My porter did have a headache at the pass. After descending an hour and 1500 feet, he still had it, so I gave him a diamox pill. Within 15 minutes, he had to take a leak. And, within a half hour, he was singing to himself again. It worked!

HAZARDS 2: Maoists. The Maoists (communists) in Nepal are continually targeting the government. While they have pledged not to harm tourists, they do hit them up for money under threat of hand grenade. It didn't happen to me, nor on any main trekking route. But, I met an Austrian who got robbed. His party of 8 was going around Dhaulagiri, and each had to pay 1000 rupees. But, they all got receipts from the communist party of Nepal! I met a teacher in a school in a small village who told me the Maoists came in there last December and demanded 15 days' pay from each teacher there!!!

HAZARDS 3: Bridges. These are actually pretty good lately. Across the main rivers of the Marsyandi and Kali Gandaki Rivers, they are suspension bridges made of strips of strong metal that can support horse trains. But, you can see between these strips of metal to the river a hundred or more feet below. So, it is better to look straight ahead at the end of the bridge. I looked down, however, not for the thrill but to avoid tripping on a bolt. Or, to avoid stepping where there was a missing bolt! All of these suspension bridges had natural movement to them. Most common was a gentle up and down sway. More nerve-racking were those with a side to side sway. The worst were the two bridges that had a tilt left/tilt right motion. But these were all safer than the bamboo or logs that crossed side streams, often near or above waterfalls. I refused to cross the one that was a wet log 20 feet above a waterfall. I took the steep horse trail and forded where the horses cross.

PORTERS. I hired a porter, not as a guide and not to primarily carry my pack. I could have carried it myself. I hired the porter to walk WITH me in case of Maoists or robbers, and to give a local person a job for two weeks. I made it clear from the start that this was my purpose. I did not hire him in Kathmandu where a percent would never leave the city. And, I refused to pay the 50 percent to the hotel manager who arranged things. I gave money directly to the porter, and he gave a small amount to that hotel manager (not 50%. Good call. My porter spoke little English, but was great, knew the route, and even learned some card games I taught him. If you hire a porter, don't agree to pay for his meals. Pay a higher daily rate. Because he gets his meals free or very cheap from places he takes you to, sort of like a commission. He wasn't allowed to eat until I wrote down my order, so made a point to order dinner when arriving at my hotel in the evening. Found this out the first day.

TIMETABLE. Most people do the circuit in 16-20 days, and I'd recommend 16 or 17 days. I didn't have the luxury of time, however, and did it in 12, plus 1 layover day. I don't like to walk fast, so to do this I walked 8 hour days instead of the usual 5 or 6 hours. The guidebook mentioned earlier gives times, which were very accurate for me. Now for a brief day by day highlights.

OCTOBER 12. Flew to Delhi from Ladakh. Hit the beginning of the big Dasain Hindu festival in India (biggest of the year). At midnight, I was watching Hindi dramas and watching dance in the blocked-off street in Paharganj.

OCTOBER 13. Time in Delhi. Saw Mahatma Ghandi's cremation site, Indira Ghandi's house and assassination site, Qutib Minor monument, and the Bahai Lotus Temple. Also about 8 shops and emporiums that my driver took me to. Bought 3 books and one letter opener, and maybe a t-shirt or two.

OCTOBER 14. Flew to Kathmandu. Secured a hotel and explored a little around the Thamel area.

OCTOBER 15. Dasain is also here. Could not get a trekking permit for that reason. Found a travel agency that could pull strings and get the permit tomorrow at 10:00 when the office opened without standing in queue. But, that was after the last bus to the trailhead at Besisahar, so I arranged for a driver and car. Paid too much. Looked at shops around Thamel and didn't buy anything other than books to read along the trail. Bought "The Climb" which told things from the Russian guy's point of view. Krakauer was inaccurate in his book "Into Thin Air" about a few things.

October 16. Spent the day riding to Besisahar, where I got a hotel and a porter. On the way there, the car's battery broke, and the driver had to pop the clutch a few times after stopping. On there way there also, the brakes started to go, and made for a tense last hour there. Opened the window at the village of Bhote Odar (no kidding) to see if the name held true.

October 17. Started the hike at 7:30AM. Shirt was soaked in the humidity by the first village 2 hours and no climbing later. Crossed to the right side of the river and signed in at the first police checkpost. Lunch at Ngadi and a 1200 foot climb at the end of the day to Bahundanda. Stayed at the Tibetan Hotel and visited the school there. Room was dusty and the balcony was supported by beams that felt ready to collapse.

October 18. Steep descent to the river, crossed to the left side. Two horrible side streams to cross, and a steep uphill to Chamje, where we had lunch. In the afternoon, 2 Israeli girls asked if I was happy. I said yes, and they asked if I wanted to get happy again. I looked and found they were picking wild marijuana! I crssed to the right side of the river, and ascended steeply to Tal, which is on an old lakebed in a flat valley. Neat place with a European feel to it and a waterfall above. I really felt like I was in Ouray, Colorado here, or maybe Switzerland. Stayed at the Manislu Hotel. The sign "Fosters on tap" was in error.

October 19. Crossed left, then right, then left, and had breakfast in Dharapani. River curved west, and immediately we were in the rain shadow. Humidity dropped and pine trees came in. Many impressive waterfalls today. Had lunch in Latamrang, and got to Chame in the evening. Tibetan festival was going on, and men in full costume were horse racing. Stayed at the New Tibetan Hotel and spent 2 hours in the nearby hot spring looking at snow-capped Annapurna II above me. Hotel was fairly nice.

October 20. More pine forest, and a switch from Hindu culture to Buddhist. Don't know where this happened. Crossed to right side of the river until shortly before Pisang, where I had lunch. After lunch, left the main route and crossed right and climbed 1500 feet to the Tibetan Village of Ghyaru. Small, dusty rooms at the Annapurna "hotel" but great views of the full moon reflected off of Annapurna II, Annapurna IV, Gangapurna and Annapurna III from the picnic table on the roof of the building just outside my room. Eating dinner was eating with the host family, the only place where I really got to know my host. Toilet was down two flights of stairs and 50 feet along a narrow ledge that seemed narrower after dark. After avoiding horse droppings for that 50 feet there were six ladder steps and then a slope to climb to the toilet. In the morning, there was ice on those six ladder steps.

October 21. Took the high route to Ngawal and then descended and met the main trail before Manang, where I had lunch. Also got food for the day on the pass: pringles, bread, jam, cookies, chocolates. Climbed steeply to Gunsang, where I had a room with a great view, and visited with an Israeli couple and a Belgian couple. Stayed at the Chullu West Lodge. First cold evening, and they had a kerosene stove going under the table keeping our legs nice and warm. Before bed, I walked 2 kilometers with great moonlight views of the same peaks as yesterday.

October 22. Shortest day of the trek. Ascended to base camp lodge at 4400 meters (14,600 feet), arriving at 1:00. Kicked back and visited with other trekkers. By now, I was ahead of everyone who I started with on the 17th, except for a group that included 3 French and 2 English people. Had a spring roll (huge) for dinner.

October 23. Steep, long climb over the Thorong La pass. 3,300 foot climb, and I did it in 3 hours and 10 minutes. Slow and steady with few stops and well acclimitized was good for me. Those that pushed fast got winded and had to stop for long breaks, and I eventually passed them all. Those who got altitude sick either turned back, rested for a day, or hired a horse to ride to the top. Some of these riders looked really out of it! Descent to Multinath was harder than the climb on the legs. Stayed there at the Moonlight Hotel. Went and looked at the Hindu and Buddhist Temples at Multinath. Those looking for a hip place stayed at the Bob Marley Hotel!

October 24. Descent to Jharkot and a good gompa, though not as good as those in Ladakh. Had lunch at Kagbeni and had a veggie burger (all they had) at the Midwestern Cafe. Afternoon was spent in horrible wind going down a wide river bottom to Jomsom. Stayed at the Mona Lisa Hotel and had the yak steak. Nice rooms! Got a kick out of the painting on the wall of a Tibetan lady holding a prayer wheel with a Mona Lisa smile on her face!

October 25. Down valley through Marpha and Tukuche. Bought apples at a cheap price from an ancient Tibetan lady. Lunch at Larjung. Stayed at Kokhethanti at the Dhaulagiri Ice Fall Lodge.

October 26. My layover day, and the toughest day of the trip. My porter and I climbed up to the Dhaulagiri Ice Fall, a climb of more than 4000 feet. On the way up, met a herd of yaks being driven downhill. Their horns point forward, and they don't have a good temper. I could see the discussion at my class reunion next year. "I KNEW we should have had a category when we were seniors predicting 'most likely to be gored by a yak'" one would say. The next would answer "Yeah, but would we have voted Keith into that category back then?" End of discussion. The ice fall was constantly shifting, and we heard avalanches and ice falling. Very dangerous.

October 27. Went to Kalopani, Lete, Ghasa, Rupse, Dana and Tatopani. Stayed at the Dhaulagiri Lodge in Tatopani by another hot spring. This was a huge place with hot water and fun visiting with other trekkers. Caught up with the Hungarian ladies I met 2 days ago, as well as the French/English group who had passed me. They are the only ones from the first day that I saw. Had a great visit with a German couple, as well that are in their 50's. Dhaulagiri Lodge is the only place on the trek with gourmet food. I had chicken schnitzel and chocolate-rum cake!

October 28. The biggest uphill of the trek; even more than the pass and the ice fall. 5000 feet uphill steeply to Ghorepani through beautiful rhododendron forest, which is starting to turn red. Stayed at the Tukuche Lodge.

October 29. Last day of the trek. Got up at 5 AM, and climbed Poon Hill for the good views of the Annapurna range at sunrise. Then, had the largest DOWNHILL of the entire trek. From Poon Hill, I descended 7,000 feet. It was on this downhill that I went down those 3318 steps in one place. Spent the day hiking out with my porter, the 2 Germans, and their porter. We all got out at the same time and hired a car taxi together and got to Pokhara. I had a steak for the first time since June and watch the movie "A Beautiful Mind." Showing videos is a prime way restaurants get clients in in that city.

October 30. Spent all day returning to Kathmandu. Ate a 12-inch pepperoni pizza by myself. First one since June!

October 31. Spent today as a tourist in Kathmandu. Bought a bunch of items, including Everest maps, 2 sweaters for Ladakh's colder temperatures, which are wool, post cards, and a few other things. Also got a haircut. Had Thai curry for dinner. Tomorrow, I have a city tour in the morning and fly back to Delhi in the afternoon.