Poon Hill

I couldn't leave Nepal without doing at least a little trek, so I set aside some time and went on a 5 day circuit to Poon Hill.  The Ghorepani/Poon Hill trek was rumored to have incredible Himalayan views and didn't disappoint.  The main attraction is sunrise at the 10,500' Poon Hill viewpoint.  I missed it, of course.  I'd already seen one Himalayan sunrise alongside 50 other tourists.  And maybe it's just me, but I find it hard to balance the color in sunrise photos.  What I did see, however, was a crystalline midnight sky over Annapurna South the night before.  A breathtaking view magnified by the dead quiet and stillness of the high pass.  Crawling out of my sleeping bag, the chilled air was also quite breathtaking.  The single pane windows provide terrible insulation, but since there is no indoor heating their only real purpose is to block the wind.  I threw on a jacket, popped open a window and set up my camera for a few shots.  The wide angle in this shot captures the buildings below and the starry host above but sacrifices the magnitude and the presence of the mountains.  Here they feel rather small and distant, but in person (and especially in the stillness of the night) they were quite impressive!

I did make it up to Poon Hill later in the morning and found it all the more delightful for having it all to myself...