Porters: Annapurna Trek, Nepal

While trekkers happily wonder the Annapurna range, hired porters can be seen carrying back-breaking loads along grueling tracks. For centuries, low-skilled laborers have been paid pitiful wages to lug sacks of food, mattresses, beer, tin roofing, and so on. Donkey trains are much more common these days. Bells clanking and ears twitching, the donkeys are a fun addition to the mountain scene, crossing suspension bridges and narrow paths with ease. Unfortunately, many animals are overloaded and ill-treated, with open sores and worn hooves.