days 5 & 6

this as the last of the shortish walking days i had. we set off in a slight drizzle and walked a mostly level path. though we gained a full 1000ft on the day. the scenery grew sparser as the day wore on. by lunchtime i was in manang, the site of the one and only scheduled rest day, in order to acclimatize before ascending the 17,000ft in crossing the throng-la pass 2 days later.

in manang i mostly ate well, rested, and scampered around the surrounding mountains flirting with landslides and seeking out wildlife. i nearly reached the 12,000ft gangapurna glacier before having to turn back, and i saw a herd of blue sheep bounding up the surrounding cliffs of the glacier like it was a flat road. they were amazing to watch as they easily scaled distances and heights it took us hours to cover.

from manang the trail grew steeper and certainly higher.

waking up at 6am this was the first view i had from my balcony.

me in front of the annapuranas.

making use of the macro setting on my camera to show the local flora.

a sparkling white stupa in manang.

a traditional ladder in manang.

the tibetans in manang were growing wheat at 11,614ft.

evidence of the massive erosion in the himalayas. it seemed
the mountains were falling apart under our feet.

annapurna IV and II, standing at 24,688ft and 26,040ft respectively.

the gangapurna, standing at 24,455ft.

the gangapurna glacier. i didn't get close enough to touch it,
but i nearly caused a landslide trying.