Chameleon Chapter 14 - "I'm Yelping the shit out of Poon Hill!" - Robert

Part of our trip to Nepal was a five-day hike with the female-owned trekking company, Three Sisters.  We hiked a trek called Poon Hill in the Annapurna region of the Himalayas – the climax of the hike was getting up to see the mountain range in all of its glory at sunrise on top of the aforementioned hill.  It was day three. 

Stepping back two days to the day one of the hike in our first guest house: this is where we met Sarah and Robert, a couple who lived in DC.  I used to ask myself, ‘what are the chances?’ when something like this happened.  Well I can confirm now that the chances are pretty good.  I’m much less surprised now to run into people halfway across the world.  It’s also good proof how important being kind is, no matter where you are.  We tentatively befriended Robert and Sarah that night and spent the next three days hiking with them.

The next day it started raining as we walked through the rhododendron forest. The water was hitting the trees overhead and eventually landing on the moss covering the ground all around us.  The moss provided a slight give as the precipitation landed, making a sound I had never heard before.  When it started to hail, the trees above us felt like a protective layer, at least slowing down the flight of the pellets.  Plus, I’m a sucker for a good rainstorm, even if it’s cold (as long as I’m not biking without waterproof gloves on – if that’s the case I’m a huge baby).  Once we made to the guest house, we paid a little extra to take a hot shower and then we curled up on the couch with hot tea and splurged on some very expensive red wine (expensive because of the import of course, it came all the way from South America!).  Robert and Sarah walked with us toward the end of the hike and we met to hang on the couch for the rest of the night.  We brought up sleeping bags and used them like two big blankets, told stories, people watched, and shared our meals. The next morning we woke up early to hike for sunrise. 

The sunrise hike wasn’t ideal.  It was incredibly crowded and there were a lot of people with walking sticks on a narrow path that was mainly stairs with a railing.  It took about 45 minutes to reach the top and of course, it was also crowded once we were up there.  I was obviously unprepared with gear for the cold, so I was wearing Sara’s extra hat and Robert’s extra gloves.  Sara and I ended up sitting next to a group of rude tourists who were talking and singing the entire time while Robert and Sarah were up on a structure taking photos on Robert’s fancy camera.  The sunrise itself was stunning.  We were lucky because there were no clouds blocking the view of the Himalayas that morning.  It was cold and clear.  The reflection of the first rays were lighting up little pieces of the mountains opposite and their harsh rocky peaks partially covered in snow looked magical – they were literally being sun kissed with the gentlest orange hue.  We sat until the sun came up and then went to meet up with Robert and Sarah.  Sara and I had accidentally left our cash at the guesthouse so Sarah treated us to hot coffee and we took some photos of the four of us.  We lamented about how many people were there and then quickly countered that with comments on how good the crowds were for the Nepali tourist economy – attempting to keep our privilege in check.  It just wasn’t as easy to feel peaceful in such a beautiful place with so many people around. 

The best view we had was actually on another hilltop after hiking down and grabbing our things.  When we hiked up and out of the valley, we reached the top of another hill.  It was isolated and beautiful and the views were just as nice.  During lunch later that day, we were doing some griping about the crowds when Roberts uttered, “I’m going to Yelp the shit out of Poon Hill!” After we pointed out the important balance of encouraging tourism in Nepal, he softened slightly to say, “Maybe they could be more honest in their review to Three Sisters so they can prepare peoples’ expectations better, or come up with some alternate routes.” We all agreed this may be the better option.

That was the last hike we did as a foursome – S&R were heading to Annapurna basecamp and we were heading back to Pokhara.  That day we had a beautiful walk, the weather was consistently clear and warm, and we hiked through forests, across streams and around passes with valleys below.  It felt dreamlike in the scenery and I kept stopping to try and capture the feeling – the sound of running water, the cool breeze, warm sun, the murmurs of pleasant conversation between our guides and us, the sounds of feet on the path, the stillness and movements of the expansive place.