Woke at 0100 for a pee and nearly started in pee bottle until I suddenly though better - short dash down the hallway in undies and sneakers for the first of two diarrhoea attacks. Imodium and Gastrolyte both times seems to have beaten it. The lodge at Lobuche was cold. Herwin and I made a NZ and koru in stones behind the lodge.
The team was in pretty good spirits. Set off on a steady walk out of Lobuche over the hill for a morning tea break at Dughla and then down the valley for lunch at Pheriche. Whole team back together!
Further walk down to Pangboche. It almost seems that with every few steps, everyone gains more energy as the air contains more oxygen. We saw quite a few hikers and groups heading up - I wonder if we looked as apprehensive and tired as them as we went up ...
We met two guys who had been adopted by a dog at Namche and was following them up the valley. We also saw the little girl in Tsuro Og heading down the hill with her mother to pick up water. She was carrying her 5 litre container and fell flat on her face. Darryl picked her up.
Life for the Sherpa people in the Khumbu valley is so bare, tough and basic. The Sherpa people have such humility, humour and strength. We saw loads of plywood and corrugated steel being carried up the hill by bent backed porters - I could barely fathom carrying such a load across flat ground let alone up a mountain in altitudes over 16,000 feet. Many of the guys wear only rubber sandals!
I've still got the hacking chest cough as do a few others. Otherwise I'm in very good health. There's still a couple of big days trekking left to get us to Lukla, but I've been very lucky. The altitude affected me no more than some shortness of breath, my fitness has held and other than a brief skirmish, the guts have held.
It was in Pangboche that I first felt the altitude - tonight I barely notice the rareness of the air. It is such an indiscriminate leveller. Walking up steps or any sudden exertion still causes shortness of breath at 3,950 metres, but resting or walking at this altitude now seems comfortable as we're on our way down.
Toilets: The 'squat' at Pangboche with its bucket and tin was our first encounter on the way up and freaked a lot of people out - after what we expereienced on the way up it is positively palatial.
Further walk down to Pangboche. It almost seems that with every few steps, everyone gains more energy as the air contains more oxygen. We saw quite a few hikers and groups heading up - I wonder if we looked as apprehensive and tired as them as we went up ...
We met two guys who had been adopted by a dog at Namche and was following them up the valley. We also saw the little girl in Tsuro Og heading down the hill with her mother to pick up water. She was carrying her 5 litre container and fell flat on her face. Darryl picked her up.
Life for the Sherpa people in the Khumbu valley is so bare, tough and basic. The Sherpa people have such humility, humour and strength. We saw loads of plywood and corrugated steel being carried up the hill by bent backed porters - I could barely fathom carrying such a load across flat ground let alone up a mountain in altitudes over 16,000 feet. Many of the guys wear only rubber sandals!
It was in Pangboche that I first felt the altitude - tonight I barely notice the rareness of the air. It is such an indiscriminate leveller. Walking up steps or any sudden exertion still causes shortness of breath at 3,950 metres, but resting or walking at this altitude now seems comfortable as we're on our way down.
Toilets: The 'squat' at Pangboche with its bucket and tin was our first encounter on the way up and freaked a lot of people out - after what we expereienced on the way up it is positively palatial.
No comments:
Post a Comment