Nepal

I'm pretty sure it's not really possible to give God a high five, but if it were I'd definitely have to give Him one for the beauty he allowed these eyes to behold over the last two weeks.

On summer break from school, Marshall and I headed to Kathmandu, Nepal a couple of weeks ago to beat the heat and see some cool sites while doing a bit of trekking in the Himalayas. From Kathmandu we took a 7 hour bus ride to Pokhara, the hub of the trekking world for the Annapurna region. From Pokhara we covered some 75 miles by foot over a 7 day period. We saw gorgeous valleys in Siklis and breathtaking snowcaps as we headed up the Modi Khola (river) to reach our goal of Annapurna Base Camp situated at roughly 12,500 feet. Our trekking guide, Ajaya, was awesome to have around. He knew so many people in the mountains we almost didn't feel like tourists as we stopped at guest houses to sleep each night. I snapped close to 250 pictures and wanted to share all of them with you on here, but...... these will have to do. Enjoy!

Our arrival in Pokhara was met with a beautiful sunset over the lake.

Look closely. That's us on TOP of the bus headed out of Pokhara to the place where there are no roads. We seemed to never find an open seat inside. Oh well. The breeze felt great.

Still fresh at this point. Ajaya does not seem to be impressed.

I'm still a little spunky at this point as well.

Our route up the Modi Khola before arriving at Annapurna Base Camp. The river was a lot bigger up close.... and fast.

Our guest house at Machapuchre (Fishtail) Base Camp (3,720m). Temps went from mid 80's earlier that day as we were still climbing to a nippy 35 degrees that night when we reached Base Camp. We didn't seem to have enough clothing but the guest house gave us extra blankets to wear around.

Machapuchre (Fishtail), 6,993m...taken from Annapurna Base Camp

Me, Ajaya, and Marshall at Annapurna Base Camp with the towering Annapurna I (8,091m) behind us

We made it! 4,130 meters, or about 12,500 feet above sea level. That's Annapurna South in the background standing at 7,219m.

Sunrise over the Gandharba Chuli giving nice light to Machapuchre

The walk down the Annapurna Glacier, with Machapuchre in the background, after leaving Annapurna Base Camp.

Trekking is over. We're back in Kathmandu. Just waiting patiently for dinner at our guide, Ajaya's, apartment. We finally got this little fella to warm up to us.

Daddy is tired. More steps. I thought trekking was over.