Nepal 2023 Blog
Down - Jay Sean ft Lil Wayne & Nepal 2023
By Jenna McCarthy
March 22, 2023
We woke up at 4:30 AM to meet in the lobby at 5:00 AM and depart for a sunrise hike up Poon Hill.
We left our hotel with our headlamps on and headed out back behind the hotel to walk up the stairs. The stars were out, and we were excited at the thought of a clear morning view of Annapurna.
We climbed for about 40 minutes and gained 350 meters in elevation. It was an intense hike because we were back in higher altitudes. Also, it was early and steep, and we had to walk quickly to catch the sunrise. This made for a chaotic morning hike as we all tried to stay together amidst hundreds of other tourists.
When we got to the top, I immediately climbed the tower. The tower gave us views of the sunrise over the snowy peaks of Annapurna. We watched as other tourists climbed the mountain with their headlamps on and took photographs of the sight. It was a morning I will never forget.
Then, we headed back down the hill to eat breakfast at the lodge. Breakfast today was very plain with oatmeal and white bread.
There was a lot of downhill today, folks. We saw a small, cute kitten, and Tenzin Sherpa picked it up. As we were walking, we ran into our other guide, Ajeet! We were so happy to see him again, and he gave Abigail Moone a flower!
Next, we had lunch. We had to wait awhile, but the views were really pretty. We ate roasted vegetable soup with tortillas and an orange for dessert.
We descended more downhill steps again after lunch and stopped for a Snickers break sponsored by Chondra. This also gave us a brief respite from the rain that had started to grow more intense. Here, we encountered none other than Eleanor Wefing and Marielle Matthews! We were so excited to see them both again.
When we picked it back, we started to experience more physical discomfort from all of the downhill steps. People’s knees were bothering them, and it was raining. However, Ben Jakubczak cheered us up by telling us to “twist the dagger,” which was his lacrosse team's slogan when he was 17 years old. Emelyn Harris also told us to “pound the stone,” quoting a previous soccer coach. Clearly, we were pulling out the crazy quotes from our athletic pasts to push through.
On another note. Craig Feist hasn’t showered yet, but he has finished two books. He forgot a towel…
“At the teahouse today, the game of hearts took another victim as Elizabeth Siminitus lost with a 22 point (out of a worst possible 26) accumulation. Eric Jamous has still yet to shoot the moon. This is despite his trying (many times).” - Will Kieger’s nightly sports announcement
We got cake after dinner too which was dummy yummy, and I beat Moose in a the world's most tired game of spite & malice.
Jenna (“With special guest Will Kieger”) McCarthy '23
