DAY EIGHT (Tuesday, March 12th): Manang to Yak Karka (4,050m)
9 kilometers, 4.5 hours
This day marks the part of our hike where our days were dictated more by elevation than how much energy we had to carry on. Given that you shouldn't sleep higher than 300-500 meters higher than the previous night, the hours spent on the trail became much shorter.
This day also marked the day where my notes in my journal became sparse:
"Muddy trails. No avoiding it. More yak. Walking slowly. Stunning views. Feel good as long as go slow. Pot of mint tea after walked to next village in search of safe drinking water (still frozen so no luck). Upstairs afternoon dining was so warm from the sun, all windows, corrugated roof--greenhouse-like. Nice. Dinner downstairs in heated dining room (yak dung stove) with Richard, a German couple and a South African/American couple who had been teachers in Korea. First night of small group where everyone was in one conversation. Talked about the trek, other trekkers, East/West Germany, Korea and Japan. Great night. Dal baht for dinner. In there until 8:45pm. Good times."
Yes, the trails were extremely muddy and the massive, long-haired and beautiful yak plentiful. I don't remember much about the day's hike, but this evening was one of the most enjoyable we'd had on the entire trek. Like I mentioned above, upon arriving to Yak Karka, we set our packs down and trudged on to the next village (150 meters higher) because there was supposed to be a Safe Drinking Water Station there. Turns out, it was still frozen so yet again, we pushed our bodies a little extra that day in the hopes of rewarding them with water, only to be let down. Again. However, we were constantly rewarded with near perfect weather, interesting sights and beautiful scenery, so really we can't complain.
Since we were again at the mercy of our chlorine pills that took four hours to purify our water, we drank the pot of mint tea in the warm dining room of our lodge. It's amazing how hot the sun is up at high altitude and how much it warms things up during the day.
Most evenings we were in bed by around 7:30pm, reading until we fell asleep (usually close to 8pm), so to be in the dining hall until 8:45pm socializing with the small group of trekkers in our lodge that night was a (welcome) surprise to all of us. You could sense the excitement and anticipation among us, as it was our second to last night before crossing... DUH DUH DUH... THE PASS.
DAY NINE (Wednesday, March 13th): Yak Karka to Thorong Pedi (4,450m)
6 kilometers, 3.5 hours
From my journal:
"Short day. Started very slowly, but once warmed up took it slow and steady and felt good. Landslide area. A few small-ish rocks fell in front and behind me. Mostly even or gradual trail. Last bit of trail narrow in snow. Lots of places on the trail today where it was narrow and very steep below."
By this time, it was pretty apparent that our energy had been zapped quite a bit from the altitude and many days on the trail. We knew we were crossing a landslide area where there were known to be falling rocks, so we spread ourselves out by about 10-20 meters and kept aware. Luckily, the one time rocks did start falling down within feet of me and my head, I was directly in front of a boulder large enough to hug with my body for protection. The first rock that fell sounded much bigger than it probably was (maybe the size of my two fists put together--certainly large enough to cause damage), the second two quite small. Scary nonetheless and shook me up a little as I had Tobias function as my eyes as I crossed back to safety.
This was our final night before the big day that everybody on this trek anticipates with a combination of nervousness and excitement. We had a great room that our friend Richard had gotten for us, as he arrived earlier than we did. It was a corner room, in the highest building of our lodge--which was the highest lodge in the village (there are only four). We had huge windows on two walls and got direct afternoon sunlight. We couldn't believe it, we were warm enough sitting in our room without huddling in our down jackets, sleeping bags, and 14 other layers. Amazing.
DAY TEN (Thursday, March 14th): Thorong Pedi to Muktinath (3,800m)
16 kilometers, 10 hours
From my journal (with a little help from Tobes):
"WE DID IT! Hardest hike ever. SO, we indulged ourselves in the following upon arrival to Muktinath: mushroom pizza, margarita pizza, Israeli salad, bean/veg/cheese burrito, mojitos and a few local beers. AND, we could have eaten more. Everyone at the table (two Austrian guys, two Russian guys and Richard---all of whom were our friends by this point in the trek), kept getting more and more food. I guess that's what a day like this calls for.
Woke up at 3:40am. Breakfast at 4am. On the trail just after 5am. At the pass by 10am. To Muktinath aroun d 3pm.
Surprisingly, no signs of AMS. But awful headache on the way down as I trudged through the snow on steep downhill slopes. Scary.
Way up: Began in the dark, so slowly step-by-step our way up a steep hillside toward High Camp, the last stop before the pass. Could see a line of headlamps above and below. To High Camp before 6:30am. Beautiful. Can't describe in words or stress it enough. Strange little pheasants or grouse up there digging around in the snow.
Maybe it's because everything I've read has hyped up the pass as being so difficult, or because I still wasn't certain (or confident) of how my body would deal with the altitude, but I didn't actually think the hike up was as hard as other parts of the hike. Though, the lack of oxygen was certainly felt and frequent rest stops were needed (especially by me). Maybe it just seemed shorter because I'd blown it up in my head, or maybe because we were just so excited about the whole thing.
Getting to the top was a great feeling, with people congratulating each other, hugging and high-fiving. All smiles up there.
The sign, normally about 2 meters high, was buried in snow (apparently a record high for this time of year).
We took our photos, a few group photos, ate a Snickers bar each, stood around in awe of ourselves and our surroundings, then came down off our high knowing we still had a long day ahead to Muktinath.
The way down was rough. Snow and ice, slippery as it melted under the intense sun at over 17,000 feet. No poles to help us along, like most other trekkers had. Falling on my ass more times than I want to remember (8? 10?). Headache started pounding. Not sure if AMS, migraine, dehydration, cold, sun, or what. Pounding. Throbbing. Falling.
Took until almost at Muktinath to get any easier. Crazy. BUT, we decided we'd 100% do it all over again. Snow on us (again!) for the last hour or so to Muktinath, but our spirits were once again high as we were mostly on level ground. Arrive to hotel to find some trekking friends (Austrian guys, Russian guys and Richard) already there and everyone was happy after such a feat.
I still don't think I've fully comprehended what we've just done in the past ten days..."
There's so much more to say about this day, but I wouldn't know where to start. It was long. It was both exhilarating and exhausting. It was calming (staring out at the views from so high up) and tense (staring down at the steep slopes of snow and ice below, where one mis-step on the narrow trail could have been trouble). It was emotional--both at the top and on the way up and down. A wave of emotion definitely came upon me when we reached the top, somewhat familiar to emotions I've felt before after winning a big game or race. On the way up, there were a few times where I just couldn't go any more, I had to stop, catch my breath and take a rest. I couldn't move. But those never lasted long and after a few minutes and a few drinks of water, we carried on. The way down brought out the worst emotions in me--frustration, anger and wanting to just give up. At first, falling in the snow was all fun and games. I laughed each time I gave into the snow and fell--there was even one part that we just sat down and slid down on our back sides like little kids. But after a while, after what seemed like hours of steep downhill where you had to focus intently on each and every step, falling lost its glamour to me. Then I just became angry and frustrated from the pain of the downhill, my throbbing headache and the fact that I couldn't keep myself from falling. But, after the headache went away and we came closer to the end of the day's hike, spirits were once again high--despite the looming bad weather.
From the pass we could see ahead a collection of dark grey clouds hovering over what we knew to be our final destination for the day. So, once up and over the pass--which until the way down had been nothing but sunny and clear blue skies, it was all grey, cold and windy from there. Luckily, by the time it started snowing on us we were in good spirits, so it didn't matter much.
We also had our first warm shower in what seemed like days--since Chame on day four, to be exact. The water itself was hot, but the shower stream was minimal and the broken window that let in the freezing air to the bathroom made for a mildly uncomfortable experience. But, alas, we were (relatively) clean and were able to dry our shoes and hair out by the electric heater in the dining hall.
9 kilometers, 4.5 hours
This day marks the part of our hike where our days were dictated more by elevation than how much energy we had to carry on. Given that you shouldn't sleep higher than 300-500 meters higher than the previous night, the hours spent on the trail became much shorter.
This day also marked the day where my notes in my journal became sparse:
"Muddy trails. No avoiding it. More yak. Walking slowly. Stunning views. Feel good as long as go slow. Pot of mint tea after walked to next village in search of safe drinking water (still frozen so no luck). Upstairs afternoon dining was so warm from the sun, all windows, corrugated roof--greenhouse-like. Nice. Dinner downstairs in heated dining room (yak dung stove) with Richard, a German couple and a South African/American couple who had been teachers in Korea. First night of small group where everyone was in one conversation. Talked about the trek, other trekkers, East/West Germany, Korea and Japan. Great night. Dal baht for dinner. In there until 8:45pm. Good times."
Yes, the trails were extremely muddy and the massive, long-haired and beautiful yak plentiful. I don't remember much about the day's hike, but this evening was one of the most enjoyable we'd had on the entire trek. Like I mentioned above, upon arriving to Yak Karka, we set our packs down and trudged on to the next village (150 meters higher) because there was supposed to be a Safe Drinking Water Station there. Turns out, it was still frozen so yet again, we pushed our bodies a little extra that day in the hopes of rewarding them with water, only to be let down. Again. However, we were constantly rewarded with near perfect weather, interesting sights and beautiful scenery, so really we can't complain.
Since we were again at the mercy of our chlorine pills that took four hours to purify our water, we drank the pot of mint tea in the warm dining room of our lodge. It's amazing how hot the sun is up at high altitude and how much it warms things up during the day.
Most evenings we were in bed by around 7:30pm, reading until we fell asleep (usually close to 8pm), so to be in the dining hall until 8:45pm socializing with the small group of trekkers in our lodge that night was a (welcome) surprise to all of us. You could sense the excitement and anticipation among us, as it was our second to last night before crossing... DUH DUH DUH... THE PASS.
DAY NINE (Wednesday, March 13th): Yak Karka to Thorong Pedi (4,450m)
6 kilometers, 3.5 hours
From my journal:
"Short day. Started very slowly, but once warmed up took it slow and steady and felt good. Landslide area. A few small-ish rocks fell in front and behind me. Mostly even or gradual trail. Last bit of trail narrow in snow. Lots of places on the trail today where it was narrow and very steep below."
By this time, it was pretty apparent that our energy had been zapped quite a bit from the altitude and many days on the trail. We knew we were crossing a landslide area where there were known to be falling rocks, so we spread ourselves out by about 10-20 meters and kept aware. Luckily, the one time rocks did start falling down within feet of me and my head, I was directly in front of a boulder large enough to hug with my body for protection. The first rock that fell sounded much bigger than it probably was (maybe the size of my two fists put together--certainly large enough to cause damage), the second two quite small. Scary nonetheless and shook me up a little as I had Tobias function as my eyes as I crossed back to safety.
This was our final night before the big day that everybody on this trek anticipates with a combination of nervousness and excitement. We had a great room that our friend Richard had gotten for us, as he arrived earlier than we did. It was a corner room, in the highest building of our lodge--which was the highest lodge in the village (there are only four). We had huge windows on two walls and got direct afternoon sunlight. We couldn't believe it, we were warm enough sitting in our room without huddling in our down jackets, sleeping bags, and 14 other layers. Amazing.
DAY TEN (Thursday, March 14th): Thorong Pedi to Muktinath (3,800m)
16 kilometers, 10 hours
From my journal (with a little help from Tobes):
"WE DID IT! Hardest hike ever. SO, we indulged ourselves in the following upon arrival to Muktinath: mushroom pizza, margarita pizza, Israeli salad, bean/veg/cheese burrito, mojitos and a few local beers. AND, we could have eaten more. Everyone at the table (two Austrian guys, two Russian guys and Richard---all of whom were our friends by this point in the trek), kept getting more and more food. I guess that's what a day like this calls for.
Woke up at 3:40am. Breakfast at 4am. On the trail just after 5am. At the pass by 10am. To Muktinath aroun d 3pm.
Surprisingly, no signs of AMS. But awful headache on the way down as I trudged through the snow on steep downhill slopes. Scary.
Way up: Began in the dark, so slowly step-by-step our way up a steep hillside toward High Camp, the last stop before the pass. Could see a line of headlamps above and below. To High Camp before 6:30am. Beautiful. Can't describe in words or stress it enough. Strange little pheasants or grouse up there digging around in the snow.
Maybe it's because everything I've read has hyped up the pass as being so difficult, or because I still wasn't certain (or confident) of how my body would deal with the altitude, but I didn't actually think the hike up was as hard as other parts of the hike. Though, the lack of oxygen was certainly felt and frequent rest stops were needed (especially by me). Maybe it just seemed shorter because I'd blown it up in my head, or maybe because we were just so excited about the whole thing.
Getting to the top was a great feeling, with people congratulating each other, hugging and high-fiving. All smiles up there.
The sign, normally about 2 meters high, was buried in snow (apparently a record high for this time of year).
We took our photos, a few group photos, ate a Snickers bar each, stood around in awe of ourselves and our surroundings, then came down off our high knowing we still had a long day ahead to Muktinath.
The way down was rough. Snow and ice, slippery as it melted under the intense sun at over 17,000 feet. No poles to help us along, like most other trekkers had. Falling on my ass more times than I want to remember (8? 10?). Headache started pounding. Not sure if AMS, migraine, dehydration, cold, sun, or what. Pounding. Throbbing. Falling.
Took until almost at Muktinath to get any easier. Crazy. BUT, we decided we'd 100% do it all over again. Snow on us (again!) for the last hour or so to Muktinath, but our spirits were once again high as we were mostly on level ground. Arrive to hotel to find some trekking friends (Austrian guys, Russian guys and Richard) already there and everyone was happy after such a feat.
I still don't think I've fully comprehended what we've just done in the past ten days..."
There's so much more to say about this day, but I wouldn't know where to start. It was long. It was both exhilarating and exhausting. It was calming (staring out at the views from so high up) and tense (staring down at the steep slopes of snow and ice below, where one mis-step on the narrow trail could have been trouble). It was emotional--both at the top and on the way up and down. A wave of emotion definitely came upon me when we reached the top, somewhat familiar to emotions I've felt before after winning a big game or race. On the way up, there were a few times where I just couldn't go any more, I had to stop, catch my breath and take a rest. I couldn't move. But those never lasted long and after a few minutes and a few drinks of water, we carried on. The way down brought out the worst emotions in me--frustration, anger and wanting to just give up. At first, falling in the snow was all fun and games. I laughed each time I gave into the snow and fell--there was even one part that we just sat down and slid down on our back sides like little kids. But after a while, after what seemed like hours of steep downhill where you had to focus intently on each and every step, falling lost its glamour to me. Then I just became angry and frustrated from the pain of the downhill, my throbbing headache and the fact that I couldn't keep myself from falling. But, after the headache went away and we came closer to the end of the day's hike, spirits were once again high--despite the looming bad weather.
From the pass we could see ahead a collection of dark grey clouds hovering over what we knew to be our final destination for the day. So, once up and over the pass--which until the way down had been nothing but sunny and clear blue skies, it was all grey, cold and windy from there. Luckily, by the time it started snowing on us we were in good spirits, so it didn't matter much.
We also had our first warm shower in what seemed like days--since Chame on day four, to be exact. The water itself was hot, but the shower stream was minimal and the broken window that let in the freezing air to the bathroom made for a mildly uncomfortable experience. But, alas, we were (relatively) clean and were able to dry our shoes and hair out by the electric heater in the dining hall.
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