This is my last quick entry before heading off for the trek. Lauren and I arrived in Pokhara day before yesterday and have been frantically stocking up on trekking gear (headlamps, fleece, iodine tablets, socks, rental boots, sunglasses). I got sick last night after eating a tomato, onion and yak cheese salad and still don't feel so hot. Given Lauren's and my tempermental health, we opted to skip the longest and most difficult trek in the area (Annapurna Circuit, which encircles the entire Annapurna mountain range) and are instead connecting together some shorter treks to suit us. We'll carrying our own packs (most people hire porters and/or guides) and we'll reach altitude of over 4000 meters so it won't be easy!

Yesterday we sat in a small local restaurant eating momos (Nepal's answer to potstickers or gyoza) and watched the biggest hail storm in 30 years. For nearly an hour, marble-sized hail and rain drove down in torrents. The temperature dropped to near freezing, the streets flooded and the locals went nuts. When it stopped, the streets, sidewalks and gutters were laden with huge piles of accumulated hail, which people collected in buckets for hail-ball fights. Lauren and I immediately went and bought matching rain ponchos for the trek, though in a storm like that one they wouldn't do much good.

There's no internet on the trail so you'll hear from me when we return to Pokhara (around May 7?). I've also been having trouble accessing my email since I left Kathmandu, so I apologize if I owe you a reply.

Wish us luck. I'll miss you, my blog faithfuls!