Poon Hill here we come! Unfortunately, the rain did not stop overnight - it started once again right as we went to sleep, at the same time the power that kept trying to out all night, did!  Our 4:30 wakeup call was delayed until 5:30, why get up and race to the top of Poon Hill if it is in the clouds.  The rain finally subsided, and some light came through, and we headed up to see the view.  What also came out with the rains are the leeches, so in preparation for our short trek we did what we could to save our legs.  Duct tape has a new use.  (See picture in slide show)

The trek from the hotel was about 45 minutes and 1500 feet of climbing, ALL STAIRS AGAIN.  We are convinced we have walked up 7000 feet of stone made stairs.  Amazing.  Even with the cloud cover, the views were unbelievable.  We saw the peaks through the clouds fog and rain, and now it’s time to climb back down for breakfast.  The Hill Top Inn in Ghorenpani is unanimously our favorite.  But it was time to leave.

Our trek to Hile would take us back through the rain forest, and down the stairs we have been climbing for the past few days.  There were a lot of happy trekkers today…no climbing.  It was also the first day we ran into other trekkers.  The great thing about choosing to trek in the June is we have had the place to ourselves. 

Leeches: yes we saw them, yes one person was bit.  After all the stories, preparing and fears, it was almost anticlimactic….and in a GOOD way.  They are tiny and we only saw them in the wetter areas.  Alisa got two bites, and today there are no reminders…just the stories.

The porters are amazing, running, yes running down the stairs with all our stuff on their backs, one was only flip flops.  (He hurt his toe, and couldn’t put on shoes, but it didn’t seem to matter as he was still the first to the bottom.)   Joshua and Alisa both attempted to be porters, and tried to carry one bag – they retired quickly and went back to trekking.   Our guides where amazing as well.  The new guide, Narayan was tasked with carrying Joshua’s much too heavy pack (filled with camera gear,) and never missed a step.  Though, we are wondering if he’ll continue to be a trekking guide. Tendi was a true leader, never letting anyone worry about anything but enjoying where we were in this moment.  He is a true professional!

The day ended with a full Nepalese feast.  All meals until today have been eaten separately, as they eat a true Nepalese meal and we eat a westernized version.  Tonight we all dined Nepalese style, and enjoyed a home baked cake by Nima – yummy. We ended the night with a little dancing…Nepalese of course.
Tomorrow we head to Pokhara and fly to Kathmandu.  The end of a great week, more than any one of us could have imagined.

Thank you Peak Promotion, we’ll be back.