Day one trekking

Carol and I got up at 6:50, although we didn’t have to get up until 7:30. I had to pee (again) and she had to as well, so we braved the cold and found out way to the “Loo with a View,” the Tibetan toilet at camp. We have our own toilet, but some of the locals stole the support wires to our pit toilet tent so we used the Tibetan one. No roof, hence the name.
My situation continues to go from the comical to the absurd. I got rid of my sore throat, but have a deep chest cold with the hack that goes along with it. Not only that, but Pink Eye is rampant in the valley and you can get it so easily, guess who got it.
Manoj, that walking drug store, had some medicine and has provided me with some more medicine. I’m like a walking pharmaceutical at this point.
Anyway, I had to get up 4 times during the night to pee. Manoj keeps talking about the dangers of dehydration to us all, and we are supposed to drink a gallon of water each day. Okay, that’s fine, but what goes in has to come out somewhere, sometime. We asked him if we had to drink at ‘s coping as well as they can, with me the one with the smallest bladder. How’s all that for more information than you need to know?
We were supposed to leave early for our first day of trekking, but there was a problem with the yaks. They didn’t arrive. That left us in a real bind.
Finally at about 10 a.m. our yaks showed up and we left camp at 11:30 for what they said should be a 3-4 hour walk. We took 4, so we’re moving a little slower than the norm. No big. Manoj is about as sick as I am so he’s struggling as well. He keeps insisting that the most important thing is to get there, not to rush.
The walk was really magical, hard but glorious. We started at 12,514 feet elevation and ended tonight at 14,562. after about 8 kms, or 5 miles. It was a slow go, with the exception of Dave who went off ahead since he’s the most fit. We climbed the Kharta Valley up out of the river bed, which means that it was very, very rocky. We entered the first of the rhododendron forests. Springtime is just coming to the higher elevations where plants still grow. They have just started to bloom and we should see a splash of color tomorrow when we pass through an area with many of the plants.
We started off in bright sunshine and got quite sweaty with the noon sun beating down on us in the thin air. Then as the clouds obscured the sun and the wind blew off the snow, it made for very cold temps and we quickly went to sweatshirts and thermals.
Mountains appeared as we turned corners and then darted back again behind a bank of clouds which moved in and out of the area. These mountains are just teasers. The big dogs are still hidden behind these. Manoj just dismisses these as being nothing more than “White Hills” with no names. Still impressive, we know that if it’s this good now, it’s only going to get better. It spurs us on.

Upon our arrival here at camp it began to snow, a biting wind-driven ice pellet type of snow rather than the soft, flaky bit we usually think of in snow storms. We got all the tents up and started arranging all the gear. It takes almost an hour to get settled in. They bring a small basin of hot water, which by the time you get ready to use it, is lukewarm. Not the best bathing conditions in cold weather.
There are no washing facilities as such other than your tent. So with the basin containing only about a half gallon of water, we have to wash as best as we can. Feet and pits, and general orifices being the most necessary. Everything else gets placed on hold. My hair looks like it hasn’t been washed in a week, (that analysis comes from my best friend) even though it’s only been two days. But who knows it may be a week before relief is found.
We had a tough night sleeping. I had mentioned that we don’t like mummy bags, and that was reinforced last night. The “dog blanket,” which is actually a sewn bag, was placed inside the bag, and during the tossing, turning, getting out of bed, etc. it got quite tangled inside the bag and was more of a hindrance than a help.
Tonight I’ll try plan B and put the bag inside the dog blanket. There must be a better way than last night.
We passed several villages on our walk today. Manoj pointed out the family house of Tenzing Norgay. This area has been part of both Tibet and Nepal and at the time he was born, it was Nepalese territory. The families here are mostly Sherpa and just born climbers. Kids scamper amongst the rocks shouting and calling as we struggle for breath. We’re only at 15,000 feet and still have another 3,000 to go. Don’t know where that air is going to come from for the lungs, yet. Just have to believe that we will continue to acclimatize as we go. I’m not really sure if that’s a belief or a hope.
Water crashes down the mountainside flooding the way, and we pick our way across streams. Gore Tex is a wonderful invention. The snow-melt must be working in earnest up high, because there are streams and rivulets everywhere. The Kharta River continues to grow smaller as we walk giving graphic testimony to the amount of water that literally hundreds of small streams can actually carry. Each seems so insignificant, but in total add up. Must be a parable in there somewhere.
We have ten yaks which carry all the camp gear, from food, tents, cooking utensils, our bags, etc. Somebody remarked that they didn’t really understand the “It takes a village,” phrase, until they saw how much it took to move just the five of us, Manoj, and the three cooks from point A to point B. The three “Yak Pa’s continually call, sing, whistle to their animals. It makes for a quite lyrical walk. We started out before them, but soon the sound of the yak bells, and the calls of the yak pas filled the air and they passed us on the trail. We just sat down, what a good excuse, to let them pass, and soon realized that we were close to camp so we arrived not too much after they did, hence we were able to help with camp set up.
But we’re on our way!! It’s exciting to know that even though we won’t see the big mountains for a few days, that we’re making our way, albeit very slowly, towards them.
If these are only white hills, the mountains must be really something.
Just know that we share these visual scenes with you in our minds, even though you are not aware of how many times we think of you as something triggers memories or thoughts how a certain view would be special to one of you for various reasons. So we’re far away, but really in our hearts and minds, you’re no further away than a beautiful moment.
We love you all,
Carol and Jim