Up at 6:00, -1C in tent, -5C outside, it lightly snowed again last night. Breakfast: fried eggs on pancake. Sun hit our camp at 8:20, left at 8:30. After the trek to Annapurna North Base Camp, I didn't think it could get worse, but it did. This morning's trek was worse. First of all, the snow covered the trail making it worse to walk. Secondly, where the snow had melted, it was slushy slippery mud. Thirdly, it was mostly downhill, steeply downhill. Add to that crossing raging streams, and a few falls (mine, that is), and by the time I arrived at our lunch stop at 11:50, I was both mentally and physically spent. After a lunch of French fries, pan-fried bread and yak cheese, we left at 13:25, arrived at the April 27 pass at 14:55, and down to the Shepherd’s Kharka camp at 16:15.