 Ed Sill Trek DiaryTHE TREK by Ed Sill
After the aborted May trek, the revised September trek was all systems go!
The trek was the brain child of Andrew Gartside, son of our former Chairman, Phil. Andrew had been diagnosed with leukemia in December 2004 and having made a full recovery, decided to set up a foundation aimed at improving facilities at various cancer treatment sites; hence the evolution of CANtreat!
Twenty intrepid (or foolhardy) trekkers made their way to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. With seventeen ‘poms’ and three ‘Aussies’ (Bryce Mclean from Melbourne and Cory Kopp from Sydney and yours truly), it promised to be a great trip!
Kathmandu proved to be an interesting city. Extreme poverty everywhere, except for the Kings residence which was opulent. It wasn’t hard to work out why there had been civil unrest in recent times.
The first morning proved to be disappointing as our scheduled flight to Lukla was cancelled due to poor weather. Unfortunately, this proved to be the taste of things to come as we experienced the same thing for the next two mornings. The Lukla airport services the Everest Base Camp expeditions however it was becoming clear that the opportunity to land there was lessening everyday. Decisions were needed and thankfully we were able to transfer our planned trek to Annapurna.
Annapurna is the tenth highest peak in the world (8,091m) with the added attraction being that the range includes seven other peaks over 7,000m. The aim was to reach Annapurna Base Camp (ABC). Whilst this was lower (4,300m) than our original target of Everest Base Camp, we were reliably informed that the actual trekking was significantly harder. Hmmmm?
It was with great excitement that we boarded the 24 seater to Pokhara, Nepal’s second biggest city and the starting point for the Annapurna trek. After three days of ensuring hydration levels were high, we were keen to get into it.
After the squalor of Kathmandu, the beauty of Pokhara was overwhelming. It is actually a resort village, based around the most magnificent lake that was the end point for the Kali Gandaki River,the river that snaked its way through the Annapurna range. After one more night of hydrating and carbo loading, we took off on a two hour bus trip to our starting point.
At last we were walking! The first day was fairly light, ambling our way up the river, mixing with the locals along the way. We were the first trekkers of the season, hence were greeted fondly by various traders along the way. Soft drinks, potato chips and chocolate bars were on offer at various huts along the way with a Snickers bar costing around $0.20c. A Snickers ‘shout’ cost all of $4!
After about 5 hours trekking, we arrived at our first camp site for the night. Our guides included about 20 porters, whose job it was to carry our luggage (we carried a day pack that contained our daily requirements such as water etc), had arrived about an hour earlier and set up the two man tents on a flat piece of ground at the foot of a Tea House. The Tea Houses are guest lodges that typically have about 10-15 rooms, a dining room and some ‘toilets’. The program was that we would camp out in the fields and then have dinner in the dining room. I am trying to come up with a way of describing a Tea House. Using the age old method of allocating ‘stars’ as a hotel measurement, I am not sure that the Tea houses would necessarily score a star!
|  | As a non-camper, the first night in the tent proved to be interesting. Sleep didn’t arrive easily, partly because of the noises (including my co-share, Phil Gartside’s various bodily noises), cramped conditions (non-camper remember) and huge downpours that arrived every 20 minutes or so.
The next morning, and subsequent 8 mornings, we were awoken with the call of ‘black tea?’ by our Sherpa’s. The Sherpa’s are the leaders of the trek, helping everyone on the walk whilst the porters carry all the gear and the cooks cook! It was evident early who were campers and who weren’t. About 13-14 of the trekkers ‘were’ whilst the other 5-6 weren’t. The campers jumped out of bed whilst the ‘nons’ spent the first 30 minutes each day grumbling about the cruel hand the world had dealt them. My recurring thought that morning was ‘bloody hell, nine more nights to go!’
Day two proved to be incredibly hard. The first four hours were taken up negotiating 4,500 steps. To compound it, the steps were uneven, often meaning that some steps were over two feet high. I started at a cracking pace and managed to handle the first 50 steps easily. Only 4,450 to go! My pace slowed and I was soon at the back of the group. After the 4 hour slog, we reached a lunch site for the day (once again in a Tea House). I sat there for the first 30 minutes, incapable of talking (a good thing I hear a few say). Was it unreasonable for a grown man to cry? Thankfully, lunch was served! |
| | All meals proved to be significantly better than what I had expected. Although very basic, there was plenty of it. Just how many ways can you serve potatoes? By the end of it, we had seen them all! The potato pizza was my personnel favourite! Also plenty of eggs, local vegetables and yak cheese! Interestingly enough, I didn’t notice the mould on the bread until about day 8. Hunger does funny things! I did lose interest in the Chicken soup one night however. Made the mistake of walking past the cook’s area just as the chicken was meeting its maker!
Another major decision was made on the evening of day 2 when Phil and I discussed the interesting odour that had developed in our tent. As we couldn’t beat it, we joined it, pledging not to wash for the next 8 days.
Days 3 and 4 were slightly easier than day 2 however still hard work. The routine was now set, up at 6am, do the teeth and wash up (not Phil and me of course), breakfast at 7am before setting off at about 8am. Trek til about 1pm, lunch for an hour then another 4 hours before arrival at our destination by about 5pm. Plenty of ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ each day and weary bodies upon arrival.
One of the more frequently asked questions was pertaining to toilet facilities. Less information is best here; suffice to say the squat toilets took a bit of getting used to. To compound the problem, the weather was around 30 degrees each day. This led to a commando style ‘hit and run’ (I have cleaned that up slightly) approach. One of the greatest joys of my life was to come across a western styled toilet at Chomrong, where we stayed on day 4. Heaven!
Days 5 and 6 were hard again. Just a plain slog all the way although thankfully the temperature was now dropping to the more comfortable mid 20’s. Plenty of minor tumbles as well as I found the going tough. We were now starting to see some of the 8 peaks and the views were truly breathtaking! One of these peaks is Machupuchare, also known as ‘Fishtail’ as a result of its two peaks. The mountain has never been climbed and this is forbidden by the Government. Alcohol and sex were also not allowed whilst on the mountain. No dramas as I was abstaining from the first and if anyone had enough energy for the second; unbelievable!
The evening of day 5 also saw a significant decision taken. The Gartside/Sill tent decided that showers were required! This decision was aided by the fact that we saw some solar powered hotshowers behind the tea house. This fact was not obvious to the other trekkers and thus we were able to enjoy almost warm showers. We passed on the information re these showers to the other trekkers upon completion but alas, they had gone cold.
|  | I managed to get leeched on day 8. Leeches had become a common distraction during the trek with legs being the normal target. One had managed to attach itself to the side of my head. Once it had feasted (unbeknown to me off course), it quietly fell off. Whilst feasting, they release an anti-coagulant to thin your blood. This, mixed with the sweat, caused me to look like I had gone a few rounds in the boxing ring!
Day 9 and I was done with camping! Trekking was fine but what I would have done for a soft bed and hot shower! We arrived at what we assumed was our camping point for the night to be told that if we walked for another 20 minutes, we would be able to catch the bus back to Pokhara. Get on with it!
Again slightly emotional as we bid farewell to out Sherpa’s, porters and cooks. Lovely people,
wonderful spirits. |
|  The Final StagesDay 7 was exciting as we were due to reach ABC. Altitude sicknessbecame an issue at this point although not in a big way. We walked for two hours at an incredibly slow pace as our guides were trying to acclimatise us. One of the Aussie contingent, who will remain nameless, and it wasn’t Cory or I, was frustrated by the slow pace and took off ahead. This decision was paid for later with a violent headache overcoming him!
We reached Base Camp in what was a surprisingly emotional time. Those close to Phil and Andrew had seen the impact of his illness firsthand and this in some way marked closure for them both. I must admit it was strange. The satisfaction of reaching our destination was soon overcome by this bubbling up of emotions. I couldn’t stop sooking for about 15 minutes.
We awoke the next morning to scenery that couldn’t be believed. We were surrounded by the other peaks in a back drop that one experienced trekker described as ‘unchallenged in its beauty’.
Day 8 and we were on our way back down. The mood was slightly somber. Going up was hard, going down was dangerous! I would have slipped at least 30 times but thankfully only onto a wellpadded part of my body. One of our team actually fell from the path and was incredibly lucky that a row of trees were only 3-4 metres down. A bit further down the path and the drop would have been 500 metres!
A quick bus trip (in heavy fog, at night, downhill, sweeping bends, too tired to care). Slightly back into my comfort zone as we hit the bars of Pokhara for a celebratory drink. Watched with
amusement as Phil shouted round after round of various cocktails for the weary trekkers. I quietly fed mine to the pot plant whilst watching a few of the novices becoming increasingly unsteady. An hour later and it was fair to say it was messy. I had to wake one of the Aussies who had fallen asleep at the bar (no names again, but of course it wasn’t Cory or I) and walk him back to the hotel.
Big night!
Last day we made our way via another 24 seater to Kathmandu. The plane bounced around all the way, a fact that didn’t help some of the trekkers still recovering from the night before. The wild cheering that greeted the bumpy but safe landing was no doubt in response to both the plane trip and also the effective end of the adventure.
One more night at Kathmandu (no sight of a few of the campers late night in the hotel bar although Cory and I were there), before we wished our English friend’s farewell and made our way to our wonderful home.
What a great adventure! Plenty of times I found myself questioning my sanity as to why? Upon
arrival home, this had become why not?
The main purpose of the trip, fundraising, was accomplished with over 100k raised. The camaraderie generated was great and plenty of fellow trekkers have become mates. (Our house will be hosting a number of UK visitors in the New Year). A few people have described it as being a life changing experience. I am not sure I can, but can certainly say it was one of the best adventures of my life and just reaffirm how lucky we are.
Would I do something like it again? Absolutely! Will I ever like camping? No way! |
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