Day 135 - 5416 Metres Elevation. Thorung Phedi to Muktineth

Thorung La is one of, if not the, highest passes in the world. At 5,416 metres (Nearly 18,000 feet), it is about two-thirds the height of Everest. It is known both for its views over the Annapurna range, and the wind that hurtles through it beginning around 11 AM. For this reason, it is important to summit early in the day, and to be well on one's way down the other side before the wind kicks up.

We woke up at 4:00, ate breakfast at 4:30, and were on our way up the mountain by 5:30. At that hour it is still dark, and each one of us wore headlamps to pick out the path. The Annapurna Circuit is one of the of the most popular treks in Nepal, so we were far from alone in our attempt on the pass. It was quite a sight to look up the mountain and to see the trails of tiny lights as all the trekkers made their way up in the pre-dawn dark.

Dawn broke within an hour of our setting out. We paused often for breath, and to watch the day slowly creep its way over the ridges. This high up, light comes early and strong, and bounces off the white snow.

After a short rest in High Camp, we continued on our way. The trail after High Camp should have been an easy transverse across the side of the mountain, but someone had left a water line out overnight in the snow, and transformed the route into a narrow icy ledge. We managed to pick our way across, and began the slow ascent up to Thorung La. The path often went through snow or over loose rock, but it never felt dangerous, only somewhat difficult (you will get a different opinion from Cz on this matter).

We finally reached Thorung La at about 10AM. This is a place where the bones of the world come through, the mountain ridges like knobs of spine jutting into the sky. We stood on the backbone of the world with nothing separating us from the infinite blue arc of the sky. I have never seen anything like the blue of the sky on the top of the world. It is a vibrating cobalt, so intense it almost hurts to look at it; such a deep colour that it falls out of the register of our combined cameras.

We sat together in the cold, sandwiched between snow and sky, and each felt the weight of the journey behind. More than a physical feat, this pass felt almost like a continuation of the Camino. Furthermore, this whole journey is a pilgrimage of sorts. But rather than a pilgrimage with a set goal (ie Santiago or Thorung La), it is a pilgrimmage of multiple points. Each point is like a star in a constellation. Each is bright and complete in and of itself, but each is part of a larger whole, and none is an end to itself. I am realising that the whole of these points are framing not just this journey alone, but the whole of our lives. More than before (and I have experienced some pretty great stuff) I am realizing that what points we make for ourselves now are the constellations that will define the shape of who or what we are, and that the final star, the last piece of the puzzle will be the one that signs us out of this world.

Enough naval-gazing. Gravity and mountains agree that what goes up, must come down. And so it is. After a half our at the peak, we began to feel the altitude a little, and knew it was time to descend. The path down was similar to the one up - switchbacks through snow and loose stone down the other side of the mountain.

Muktineth lies a full 1600 metres down from the pass, so the path was quite steep at times. The steepness did have the advantage of extraordinary views over the valley. It also meant that we rapidly went from no plants at all near the pass to low alpine grasses amd flowers (blue trumpet-shaped ones that hugs the ground and looked like little glasses full of sky wedged between the rocks), to shrubs, even some trees in Muktineth.

Above Muktineth a methane vent in the moutain creates a natural eternal flame over a point where a stream bubbles out of the ground. This meeting of earth, fire, and water makes Muktineth an important pilgrimage site for Hindus, Bhuddists, and Animists. We, however, were too tired and footsore by the time we arrived to take our way to the shrine housing the famous phenomenon.

We staggered into town where one of UW girl's friends (the German who is a very fast hiker) had reserved a room for us in the hotel next to theirs. Unfortunately, the woman who ran the place was so nasty that we gave up the room and tried to find other accomodation. If any of you plan to do the Annapurna Circuit or the Jomsom Trek, do NOT stay at the Monalisa Guest house in Muktineth. The woman who runs it is absolutely hateful. We soon discovered that there was no room in town. We thought our options were camping (I found someone willing to rent us a tent), or crashing on the floor of someone else's room. We broached the subject of floor-crashing with UW and her two friends. Turns out Fast Hiker had an extra bed in his room.

Knowing we had a place to sleep, we feasted and made merry to the late hour of 8:30PM, then crashed in that welcome extra bed.