Annapurna Mini Circuit Trek - Day 12

Day 12 Today was supposed to be an easy 4 and 1/2 hrs. of trek from Muktinath to Jomsom. Got up a bit later than most days and after breakfast left the lodge just after 8 am. Had two folks for company - Will from Alaska and Elran from Israel. They had stayed with me at the same lodge. Today's trek was a mostly downhill trek. It was a gradual decline and hence was not bad on the knees and toes. At the start we got a glimpse of Dhaulagiri (8200 mts) and Annapurna III (7700 mts) before they were shrouded by clouds.

For the first couple of hours it was a very easy and scenic trek. On our right we could see the desert of Mustang and upper Mustang. There were mountains and hills with pretty much no vegetation. Only the mountains of upper Mustang had some snow on the top. Otherwise it was brown sand and gravel. They looked beautiful. On the left were sandy hills of Mustang and behind them the snowcapped mountains (Annapurna range, Nilgiri range and Dhaulagiri range). It was different scenery from what we were used to but it was very scenic.

The wind was very very strong and after a couple of hours we had descended the huge valley and were inside a HUGE river basin. The river was at this point a very narrow stream and most of the approx. 300 ft. of the river basin was sand and stones. The strong wind was tunneled in this valley and it felt like we were pounded with hurricane force winds. It was so windy sometimes that my legs would go sideways when I was trying to walk straight. After my skydiving experience this was the windiest experience that I have experienced. Apparently it is always this windy in this valley. After another 90 mins of this wind pounding, we could see the town of Jomsom.

Our lodge was towards the other end of the town and so we traversed the whole town. The lodge was right next to Jomsom airport. It was extremely windy in the open patio. However we were at 2800 mts and hence it wasn't very cold. We were very dusty since the trail coincided with the dirt road most of the time. After a very delicious lunch I went to take a hot shower. However the water had not heated up at all and I had to contend with a very cold water shower. My room was the usual 8X10 room with just 2 single beds. Afternoon was spent in reading a book and talking with family. Later on we played some cards. After dinner I went to my room and tried to sleep early. I had a very early morning flight to Pokhra the next day and so had to get up at 4:30 am the next day. I bid goodbye to Shiva, my porter and gave him a "thank you" tip. He was going to go by bus to Kathmandu. I tried to sleep, but it was very noisy outside with the TV on and people chatting. Finally, I must have fallen asleep around 10:30 pm.

 Random Facts

Altitude - 2720 mts