Eldest son Will tackles the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal

After teaching English in China for a year, and then spending a month in Thailand, eldest son William is continuing his “When Will It End World Tour” by heading to Nepal to hike the Annapurna Circuit with his college roommate, Tucker Triggs. The total route is around 145 miles, and typically takes 15-20 days to complete, and they're setting out tomorrow.

The trail passes along paddy fields and into subtropical forests, several waterfalls and gigantic cliffs, and various villages. Annapurna Circuit has often been voted as the "Best Long-Distance Trek in the World," as it combined a wide variety of climate zones from tropics (at an elevation of 1970 feet) to the arctic (at an elevation of 17,769 feet at the Thorong La Pass).

He told me that one of the places they're going to visit is Tilcho Lake. (Interesting sidebar: Tilcho Lake the site of one of the highest ever altitude scuba dives. A Russian diving team consisting of Andrei Andryushin, Denis Bakin and Maxim Gresko conducted a scuba dive in the lake in 2000.)

The typical itinerary goes something like this:

Day 1 - From Kathmandu, travel west to Besisahar via private vehicle or public bus, taking six to seven hours.

Day 2 - Trek to Khudi (790m)

Day 3 - Trek to Bahundanda (1310m)

Day 4 - Trek to Jagat (1290m)

Day 5 - Trek to Dharapani (1920m)

Day 6 - Trek to Chame (2630m)

Day 7 - Trek to Upper/Lower Pisang (3190m)

Day 8 - Trek to Manang (3520m)

Day 9 - Rest day in Manang (3520m)

Day 10 - Trek to Letdar (4250m)

Day 11 - Trek to Thorung Phedi (4500m)

Day 12 - Trek to Muktinath (3800m), crossing the Thorung La en route

Day 13 - Trek to Marpha (2665m)

Day 14 - Trek to Lete (2470m) (now often with car or mountain bike)

Day 15 - Trek to Tatopani (1160m) (now often with car or mountain bike, day 14)

Day 16 - Trek to Ghorepani (2775m)

Day 17 - Trek to Birethanti (1050m) and travel to Pokhara

Day 18 - Return to Kathmandu (1400m)

Wow.