I had my early morning alarm call from Dalman with a cup of tea at 6am.
I had a difficult night with a return of the Himalayan stomach. I
had misplaced my medication but fortunately Russel, one the three
Americans we met at Kathmandu airport, was on hand with American
strength medication! I joined a number of guests from the tea house at 6:15am to see the moon set over one of the Himalayan giants.
We made an early start at 7:15am and made good progress throughout the
morning. We walked through pleasant Pine and Rhododendron forests with
Ama Dablam towering above us. It was here I got my first full glimpse
of Everest, whilst not as spectacular as Ama Dablam, it's triangular
peak sneaks out above closer mountains.
Bad, Bad Yak Man
Despite ongoing issues with my stomach and feeling dehydrated we made
good progress this morning. I have enjoyed walking to music on my
solo trek, and I am enjoying revisiting many of my favourite songs from the
last 25 years. We were about 3 hours into the walk, when I heard a
crash over The Stone Roses track I was listening to. I saw a large
rock falling in front of me. One of the rocks hit Delman, my guide/
porter!
We moved to the left of the path, and looked up at a 3m high dry stone
wall with a rogue yak pushing rocks from the wall onto the trail.
Fortunately, the rock hit my Exodus bag Delman carries on top of his own
rucksack. If it had hit him on the head the blow could have been
fatal. Delman quickly composed himself, and we both agreed that the yak
man in charge of the yaks was a "bad yak man" and we continued on our
way. It did bring to home to me, the hostile environment we are travelling
through. There were over 10 rescue helicopters this morning, making
journeys up and down the valley to take people suffering from Acute Mountain Sickness down the mountain. Exhaustion can stop many people, but the most
dangerous must be the yaks. The yaks are powerful animals, and carry
large loads. They have sharp piercing horns, and like all animals they
have a mind of their own. When passing a yak train, it is essential to
get out of their way and take the high ground away from the edge of
the trail.
Delman stopped for lunch at 11am, and we made good time walking above
the tree line into the dusty moonscape of Dingboche and arrived at
12:30pm.
I am now at the high point of 4360m. This is over four times the
height of Snowdon and I am coping well with the altitude. I have no
headache and I am feeling strong.
I am in Dingboche for a rest day, with my next stop Leboche.
No comments:
Post a Comment