3/23 – To Gorapani

We left around 8:00 am and headed for Gorapani. Most people were either hanging out for another day, heading only halfway there or taking the shortcut out to the town of Beni to finish their trek. I couldn’t fathom people would stop now when the best view of the Himalayas is supposed to be from a morning trek to Poon Hill, only an hour up from Gorapani.

Once there, we didn't waste time and set the alarm for 2:20 hoping to get a night photograph of the mountain range. When I woke the skies were clear and I was excited for our dark ascent. I knocked on Padam’s door and he was ready to roll. A real trooper, he scolded me the night before not to go up by myself and that he would join me. We headed up to Poon Hill in the pitch black, climbing about 300m / 1,000’ in a half an hour. It was so dark, at first I set my camera up in the wrong direction. Once it was set up right, I programmed it for an hour exposure. Padam and I sat, waiting in the cold. We stared up at dimly lit sky, watching for falling stars dropping from the heavens.

The story continues...