Hiking the Annapurna Circuit Made Me a Mountain Person

How I fell in the love with the mountains at 17,769 feet

Hello friend,

Somewhere on the Annapurna Circuit, I fall in love with the mountains.

On day one of the 10-day hike, love for the mountains is not on my mind. I’m hot. Pollution and May mugginess hang in the air. The waist strap of my borrowed backpack chafes against my stomach and my shoulders are numb.

Andrea from Colorado and Ben from New Hampshire, fellow Peace Corps Volunteers and experienced hikers, had convinced me to hike the Annapurna Circuit. They’d done multi-day hikes before.

I had not. A Midwest city kid, I knew about skyscrapers and playing in the alleys behind the flat, windy Chicago streets. Mountains were mysterious, far away places for families with skis and shiny camping gear.

To prepare for moving to Nepal, I read Jon Krakaeur’s “Into Thin Air,” his account of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. I wondered what, exactly, it was about mountains that called people to climb them despite the dangers.

I slide my fingers under the shoulder straps to relieve the pressure on my shoulders. “Do you want help re-fitting your backpack?” Ben asks, glancing over. “Yes, please,” I reply, relieved to drop my backpack on the ground for a moment. Ben adjusts the bag straps and once satisfied, settles it on my back again. Yanking the waist strap tight, my pack feels lighter.

We walk through lush forests hot enough to rival the tropics. My shirt, one of two I brought, is soaked through with sweat. We hike for hours on switchbacks. Turn right, hike up. Turn left, hike up. Repeat. Ben and Andrea stop to chat with hikers headed down. I nod and keep hiking up, afraid that if I stop walking I won’t start again.

The trees drop away and the air sharpens, the white mountains so stark against the sky my brain clocks them as fake. Movie green screen. An image of Christian Bale hiking through waist deep snow to the monastery in Batman Begins pops into my mind.

My hands turn prayer wheels as I walk through towns of gray stone houses. I drink cups of chiya at one tea house, then the next one. One night, a family takes us in. We feast on fresh, oily yak milk at a home that could double for the bar in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I feel the presence of the mountains. The air stills as we hike closer and closer to Thorong La. I forget the low grade headache I’ve sported since waking up covered in cold sweat in Manang, the last tea house before the pass. I’m breathless.

We walk slowly to the pile of stones and prayer flags that mark Thorong La. 5,416 meters. 17,769 feet. The highest I’ve hiked in my life. Higher than twelve Empire State Buildings standing on top of one another.

I drop my butt on a rock and rip open my half-frozen victory Snickers.

Two Nepalese traders come up the pass from the steeper side, light up Surya Reds and lean against their pack horses. “Namaskaar!” they yell at us between drags.

We shout back out of breath greetings. My headache is creeping back in.

“Too high for you?” the men say back.

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Welcome to An Adventurous Life, I’m Julia Atkinson. I write travel stories and interview adventurers. I wrote about road tripping 4,000 miles solo across the United States for Business Insider and about National Park Cities for Trails Magazine.

I share stories, tips and tricks, and interviews for readers looking for more adventure in their lives.

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Until my next adventure,

Julia