Dalama Adventures Tale of two corporate types ditching their jobs and traveling the world for 14 months... check out all photos, blogs & interesting tid bits at http://www.dalama.net

Freezing cold at 5:00 am, we are on the trail heading a very steep incline, far too steep for this hour of the morning and we're gasping for oxygen. Headlamps strapped to the head, gloves and new woolen hat, we're ready for the short 1.5K hike to Poon Hill (3193M) for sunrise over the Annapurna and Dhaulaguiri Ranges. Damn... the Chinese gang beat us to the trail, and we could see their queue of headlamps trodding up the path just past our guest house. The trail was tough to see, and slick from the frozen rain and piles of hail still stacked on the path. We're half asleep, but somehow we make it to the top, pushed along by the bumper-to-bumper people log jam, making the pilgrimage. We were well rewarded with a clear view of the Himalayan panorama, spanning from Dhaulagiri (8167M- world's 7th highest peak) to Manasiu (8156M- world's 8th highest peak), and the majestic Annapurna range in between them. Poon hill sits at 3193M, the highest altitude we've been at to date. The rest of the day we spend again, on the relentless stair-master. Trekking through forest of rhododendron in full bloom, then through jungle, we reach a painful uphill climb to Tadapani, where we kicked it at the Grandview Guesthouse. This was a bit of a shit-hole place, but luck for us, it had hot showers. So we sudz'ed up and did laundry. We're learning to take showers with all our clothes on- this technique is especially important for being able to wash our clothes- as many of the places don't have a sink or bucket to wash anything, including face and teeth. We washed up, hung out our little clothes line (one of Darrin's favorite purchases, and most used item on the trip, second only to our underwear). Minutes later the sky opened and poured sheets of monsoon rains, keeping our finely washed clothes forever wet and cold. We went through our nightly ritual of getting the sleeping bags set out, headlamps and torches ready for the power outage that regularly occur by 4:00 pm, and winter clothing ready for bed... not to forget the almighty roll of butt-wipe freshly stacked up by the headlamp for the late night excursion down two sets of stairs to the outhouse. We spent the evening in the communal hall where there was a big long table with picnic benches around the perimeter. The table was lined on the sides with thick, hanging wool blankets and wool rungs covering the bench tops. Under the table was a large metal pot for hot coals which the owner kept stoking and shoveling in new batches. With the coals, warm blankets covering our laps, and legs close to the pit, we were toasty warm. We met a couple from Vermont who were there visiting their "sponsored children" whom they pay $650/year to send to school. A noble organization "Hands in Outreach," they have 100 people from the states sponsoring Nepali girls from impoverished, remote areas of the country. They pay for their boarding school fees in Kathmandu.