Day 6: Pisang to Manang

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joylani 130pxToday was a flat and easy day and we arrived in Manang at 1:30 after taking a long lunch just outside of town. (Matt and I tried a yak steak—it was delicious!) Manang is where we’ll take a rest day to help us acclimatize to the altitude. It is big in comparison with the other villages we’ve walked through and is built at the base of mountain leading up to a beautiful glacier.

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The scenery during our walk today got more and more spectacular as the plants thinned out and snow-capped peaks took their place. It is cold. Before it got dark tonight it started to snow. The wind was blowing so hard that it was coming in horizontally, and I’m definitely glad we had a warm spot inside the lodge before it started snowing. The first hour of snowfall it just melted, but now it is starting to stick; it will be interesting to see how much is on the ground when we wake up tomorrow morning. While the snowfall is beautiful to watch, I hope it won’t stick or snow too much. Melted snow=mud; snow drifts=cold feet. As for this lodge I speak of, it’s kind of interesting. It’s almost like a ski lodge, and since pretty much everyone takes a rest day in Manang, this guesthouse is bigger than the rest we’ve stayed at. A lot of the people we’ve seen along the way are staying at the same place as us, and we’re starting to meet some of them little by little.

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164_6445-4.JPGJoylani tells me that today was day six. We woke up pretty cold- Joylani’s alarm clock read 45 F. Unlike the past few days, it was drizzling this morning and rain clouds obscured Annapurna II above us. Despite the sunshine later in the day, the air remained cold. Most of the walk today was done wearing our fleeces. The one thing that did change a lot today was the landscape. The trees really thinned out and the mountains began looking much more deserty. But bright white snowy mountains were visible the entire day, so it was a really beautiful walk.

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We did stop for lunch in Bhraga, about 45 minutes before the day’s final destination of Manang. The only reason I mention that is because I ordered a delicious yak steak. We’re back in yak land again- saw a couple yak herds today, saw one yak being butchered, and a couple buildings had stuffed yak heads displayed on the walls. The hotel we’re at now is great and all the people we’ve met so far are staying here. Our room has an awesome view too. It began snowing in the evening, which isn’t too distressing because we’re taking a rest/acclimatization day tomorrow. Anyways, it was beautiful seeing the snow clouds slide down the mountains, while snow began to litter the sky and blanket the huge valley floor. We’ve spent the night mostly hanging out in this big, warm, cozy dining room hanging out with our friends and playing a traditional Nepali board game “Tigers and Goats.”

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