Advice for Nepal, Annapurna Circuit

[David M]

I need some advice for Nepal. I am going to do the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal and would like to hear any advice you have including equipment choices. I will have a porter so I will only be carrying a day pack. I have to get the porter a pack and was just thinking of a basic cheap one (which would also have to be my travel bag for the rest of the trip). I don't think my regular AARN pack would be suitable, I have enough trouble adjusting it myself. I would be carrying a day pack. The trek would be in November. I will be stating in guest houses. I will also need to carry my own power for charging camera and possible other devices. I was thinking of a couple of 10,000 or 20,000 mAH USB battery packs and charge those whenever I can. Also, for my GPS I was thinking of taking a bulk pack of 30 AA alkaline batteries which I would use 2 at a time. Do you think these batteries and packs would cause any issues for air travel or through security checks? I was going to carry a good supply of water purification tabs.

[Drew]

You'll be able to charge things in guesthouses for a small fee. I considered buying a solar charger to take to Nepal but I'm glad I didn't.

Most porters I saw on the 3 Passes last year didn't carry packs with the hip belt done up - they prefer the traditional Nepali way, using a strap across the forehead. So it might not matter much what pack it is.

I doubt you'll need a GPS on the Annapurna Circuit, unless you just want it to log your trip.

Water purification tablets are a good option. Or a steripen (and plenty of batteries for it - they won't last as long in the cold). I used a Sawyer Mini which was not a good choice for high altitude - they are almost useless above 3500m. You can buy water purification tablets much cheaper in Kathmandu than here but I've read that there are fakes ones out there so you mightn't want to risk it. Whatever you do though, take some sort of purification - don't contribute to the mountains of plastic bottles.

[Mechanic-AL]

How fortunate you are! Nepal is an awesome place to visit and any trek through the Himalayas is a rewarding experience. The Annapurna circuit is one of the best.

My advice would be to drink lots of water, when you have done this drink some more, and when you think your about to burst....drink some more water. The reason for this is that some ridiculous percentage of moisture our bodies obtain at sea level is derived from the moisture content of the air we breath. The air at altitude is much drier than the air at sea level and so it is much more important to drink heaps in order to stay hydrated. Lots of people stumble around up there with cracking head aches thinking it is the onset of altitude sickness when it could well be the early symptoms of dehydration.

And with regard to altitude sickness, don't treat this risk lightly. Everybody reacts to altitude changes differently and it is possible for the early symptoms of a pulmonary or cerebal oedema to occur as early as 3000mts. Just be aware of this and if in doubt descend to a lower altitude as soon as possible and see how that effects how you are feeling.
In 2005 on the trek to Everest Base Camp I had a particular dodgy meal in a bhati in Digboche ( 4410mts). The following day I began to feel nauseous and had a bad head ache. As I had previously been much higher than this without any problems I put my sickness down to some bug in what I had eaten. As I continued up to Gorak Shep ( 5140mts ) over the next couple of days I continued to feel progressively worse. I woke up in the middle of the night feeling as though someone had planted an axe in my skull and my need to vomit was only held in check by the fact that I hadn't been eating for 2 days. The danger of my situation became pretty obvious and I hastily threw my gear into my pack and chose to head down the track immediately. Thankfully there was a startlingly bright full moon that night and the experience of walking alone through the himalyan mountains surrounded by the brightest stars imaginable and a giant moon is about the closest thing to an out of body experience I could ever expect to have!!
To cut a long story short I was evacuated from Tengboche by helicopter 2 days later and ended up spending a week in hospital in Kathmandu and that is one experience I wouldn't wish on anybody!! I was diagnosed as having suffered a pulmonary oedema. I'm not telling you any of this to scare you. I just would like you to be aware of the risks. I had previously done the Annapurna Circuit and reached an altitude of around 5300 mts without experiencing any difficulties and yet I suffered a serious case of altitude sickness at a much lower level much later on. Being aware of what is happening to your body is way better than finding out the hard way!!

I have visited Nepal 4 times, walked in different regions each time and just loved it.
I'm hope you have an awesome trip and manage to avoid some of the problems I was fairly ignorant of.

AL

[under10kg]

I would suggest to just pack your gear in a duffle bag. Easy to buy in thamil. This protects your aarn pack from the rough treatment the porters will give it on the trail. They prefer this too. I usually leave some gear in the hotel at Kathmandu.
The suggestion in the above post is relevant. I suggest you follow the acclimatization rest days recommended. I actually add a day or two to the usual and this makes the walking much easier and MUCH more enjoyable. There are so many side trips and it is great to get away from the crowds.
Many guided trips just do the minimum especially in the Everest region and you hear helicopters each morning every day. Some guided trips to the trekking peaks only have 20% summit with the rest ill from the altitude.

[RonK]

Yes, a duffel is the way to go. You can buy gear cheaply in Thamel or rent it from Shona's.
Most hotels can store anything you don't need on the trek, so don't make the porter carry unnecessary load.
If you are using a porter, be aware that you are responsible for his welfare and may need to provide warm clothing for him also.
A porter/guide will probably have his own stuff but willl charge more and carry less.

[lorrainey100]

You can leave all the things you will not be using on the Anapurna circuit at the porter's Kathmandu head office in a backpack. Just don't leave anything valuable inside. When I did the Anapurna circuit, I gave my guide/porter about 4kg consisting of my sleeping bag and some clothes (thermals and one change of clothes) which he just fitted into his own backpack.It was more convenient for him to carry. I really feel sorry for some of the porters who have to carry multiple super heavy backpacks at once, some which must be at least 15kg or more. They have a short career as a porter due to the heavy loads and have later health problems. For myself, I carried a laptop and camera in a day pack.

I also gave my porter/guide use of a second digital camera which he was happy with. I had to teach him how to take snaps with it. It is amazing that many porters and guides do the Anapurna circuit many times with their clients but will never have any memories of it after they retire. I then burnt the pictures on a disc for them in an internet cafe when we got back to Kathmandu so later they can show their families.

It is useful to at least have a small battery pack to keep your camera charged. There usually is a long line up of trekkers at each guest house stop wanting to charge their cameras and your wait could be a very long one.

My advice on walking is to not walk too fast up the mountain. My companion was a marathon runner whereas I was the complete opposite, totally unfit after having a desk job for a number of years. But the unfit turtle won the race since she was a very slow walker and thus acclimatized to the altitude while the fast marathon hare experienced worsening symptoms of altitude sickness since he had a compulsion to be faster than the others on the way up. Even our Nepali guide told him to follow my pace. We had to force him to stay 2 days in Manang to acclimatise. Guess who enjoyed their trek more?

[keithy]

David

For your GPS, it might be better for you to take some lithium disposable batteries instead. There has been some discussion previously about lithium AAs in Garmin handhelds viewtopic.php?f=21&t=18428.

I usually use NiMH rechargeables on my GPS units, but I've bought some Lithium AAs recently to test out. They are more expensive than alkalines, but have longer life (almost doubling the usage life compared with alkalines), weigh about 1/3 less than the equivalent alkaline AA (about 29g for 2 Lithiums vs around 50g for 2 alkalines), and work better in extreme temperatures.

When I went to Nepal, I used NiMHs and a solar panel charger coupled with either a USB AA battery charger or 5000mAh powerbank. The solar panel worked nicely on rest/acclimatisation days. I also used a Steripen and ran it from NiMH rechargeables, but for my next trip, I might try the lithium AAs instead.

Also for your GPS, if you are using a Garmin, I used these free maps: http://www.nepal-trilogy.de/index.php/e ... s-gps.html and found them pretty good for distances to the next stop, although most of the markings are in German.

As posted, you might not need the GPS for navigation, but I found it handy as one part coming out of the rhododendron forests, I took the wrong fork and walked about 20 minutes before looking at the map and realising I was walking the wrong way. I didn't think it was easy to get that lost but I was off with the pixies. And it did happen to someone else this year as well: viewtopic.php?f=32&t=19803 http://www.sardogsnepal.asia/missing-tr ... -thian-poh . Sadly they have not been found.

[David M]

I am wondering if I need a porter at all. I would expect to carry about what I would normally carry for a day walk in the Australian bush in a small back pack and the only extras I think I would need to carry are toiletries, clothes to sleep in, chargers and battery packs, maybe some shoes or thongs to use at the guest houses and a few others odds and ends. I don't imagine those "extras" would weigh much. Am I missing something? Do I in fact need a porter? I will be able to leave gear I don't need at the guest house in Kathmandu.

[horsecat]

I am wondering if I need a porter at all

I'd take a porter. Their local knowledge (weather, tracks, the best guest houses, etc) can be handy. I enjoy interacting with the locals and have some great memories from spending many many hours walking with them and learning about their lives and their country; much more rewarding than walking with westerners. Plus you have someone about if you get ill, have an accident, get stuck in bad weather...or get caught in an earthquake. Don't be fooled by the fact you can drive much of the circuit now and that there are plenty of tea houses, people die there all the time.

I would expect to carry about what I would normally carry for a day walk in the Australian bush in a small back pack

. It's the Himalaya! I don't want to be rude but there has been a recent trend of underestimating those hills and how bad things can go . Remember you'll need a sleeping bag, emergency bivy and all those other survival things. My two duffle bags when I go over there always have a combined weight of thirty kilos (10kg of which is climbing gear) and I feel as though I have perfected what I need over there now.

Remember if you hire a porter you'll be helping them, their family and the general economy of Nepal all for a very, very small cost to you. They have had a hard time of it over there recently. Your call though.

Also, the porter will probably expect to keep the pack you provide so I'd pick up a cheapi in KTM or Pokhara and I can't see why a North Face rip off duffle wont do, should cost you about AU$20 over there.