The ground is covered with snow. I wonder how much we will get. If the weather is bad tomorrow we will stay here. We are two days a head of schedule. So if we aren't feeling well we can rest here or at the next stop. After that is where we have to do Thorung Pass which will bring us to the highest elevation that we will do on this trek, which is 17,769 feet.
Well I went to dinner and sat at the table with the karosene heater. I didn't catch fire or die of fumes and I really enjoyed the heat.
After dinner I played cards with Elsa and Manu. I taught them to play hearts, I went to bed about 9:00. It was too cold to read so I just went to sleep.
April 29, 2003
I woke up last night about 2:00. I finally took asprin for my headache. I was trying to get through one day without it. Headaches are a common symptom for the beginning of AMS. I don't have the other beginning signs which are loss of appetite and not able to sleep.
We were on the trail about 7:30. We didn't eat breakfast, we were going to wait. There was about 1 1/2" of new snow. It looked very pretty.
My legs felt weak and tired. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. We were going up, then we had a steep descent. It was muddy, narrow, and steep. Made it down without slipping. I waited for Laurie and Nar. Nar told me this next section we would have to be careful because of rock falls. He said if we hear "see rocks" we have to run. It made me nervous and a lot of the trail was very narrow with a drop. I was happy to get through it because when I was done we were at the village Thorung Pedi which is at 14,600 feet. I arrived there about 11:00. The only thing I wanted to do was go to sleep and get warm. I felt tired, weak, and I still have a headache. I felt better after my nap. I had been thinking that I would like to take a day off here just because I am worried about getting sick. We have to go up 3000 feet tomorrow. I just hope I am ready. I had a good lunch, then played cards with Elsa and Manu. It is pretty much all you can do to keep busy. It was snowing and I was hoping it would keep snowing because Nar wanted to do an acclimatization hike. I really wasn't up to it. It stopped snowing and Nar came looking for me to hike. So Laurie, Pratik, Nar, and I hiked up toward the pass. We let Laurie set the pace because she has to go slow due to her breathing. Actually it is much better for me because I don't tire as easily. I do worry sometimes about Laurie. She is very determined to do it. I felt very good after the hike.
I am now sitting in the dining room. There are a bunch of people sitting here talking and writing. We are all anticipating what tomorrow will bring. It is the toughest part of the whole circuit. It is at the highest elevation and the weather could be bad.
I have to skip cards tonight because we are getting up at 3:45 and plan on hiking at 4:30.
April 30, 2003
With the anticipation of todays climb along with the barking dogs and the Dutch people getting up at 2:00, I had difficulty sleeping. I did sleep through my alarm, but woke up a couple minutes after it went off. Laurie and I went into the dining room at 4:00. We weren't the only ones there getting fuel before our hike. I had ordered French toast, but didn't like it much. A lot of their food has the same taste. I don't know if it is because it is cooked on wood or not.
We started our climb at 4:45. Laurie had her headlight on. Her light was bright enough and the day light was starting to break so I didn't need my lamp. It was warm enough just to wear my fleece, but my hands were cold enough to wear my mittens. I let Laurie set the pace whcih was good for me so that I didn't tire out too quickly.
It was a long climb up. We had to ascend 3,169 feet up to the hightest point of this trek at 17,769 feet. We started getting some beautiful views of the sun shining on the mountain. The sky was very blue. After an hour and a half of hiking we passed the High Camp. There was no activity there so we moved on. We had to hike on a narrow ledge of snow on a steep side. It got windy and cold here so I put on my raincoat to break the wind. Shortly after that Nar thought maybe we should go back to High Camp. I though it was still too early to think about turning around, but Nar was worried about the weather and going down on the other side because we were slow.
I told Nar that maybe we could walk to the next teahouse and decide there. All of these little places are called teahouses because they serve tea to all the trekkers, for a fee, of course. To get to the teahouse we had to walk along a rock fall area. We saw and heard rocks coming, most were small but we were worried that large ones would come down.
We got to the teahouse. It was dark and smoky inside so I didn't go in. I asked Laurie for 1/2 of a Diamox. That's what you take for high altitude sickness. My headache was still there after taking three asprin. I just want to make sure I didn't get worse. I didn't want to have to turn around and do the rock fall area again and then again the next day.
Nar said we could continue. Breathing was getting more difficult and I felt a little dizzy. My legs were tired and weak, my stomach queasy and my head still hurt. It stopped being real steep, but I could feel any incline. The clouds had covered the sky. Nar told us that Thorung La was just around the bend. I saw Elsa waving to us. WE MADE IT!! There was one area that was clear and we could see Khatung Kang which is 21,286 feet. I wish I felt well enough to enjoy being there. We took our pictures at the top, but that was about all we did before we started down. At the top we ran into the two American guys that we met at the airport eleven days ago.
The down didn't look bad. It was pretty easy, but we had to go down 5,000 feet. About an hour and a half, Laurie got sick. She rested and tried walking and after a while she was sick again. Nar called Singa and Pratik. He wanted one of them to carry Laurie down. She felt guilty for being sick and having Pratik take her down. She refused at first, but gave in. They had a sheet that they made into a loop. Laurie sat in the sheet and got on Pratik's back and the sheet was wrapped around his head. It was steep and there was snow on the ground. I was afraid they would both fall. Pratik was fast and very steady on his feet. Nar and Singa split up the rest of the gear. It is a good thing Laurie went with
