I don't think either of us realized exactly what we were in for. The hiking we did in the first 6 days of this trip has been by far the most strenuous physical challenge I've ever undertaken day in and day out. These 6 days were supposed to be a sort of "training and acclimatization" pre-trip, which I think we assumed would mean "gradual warm-up" but turned out to be more like, "if you can do this, the rest will be a piece of cake". Serves me right for not checking out the elevation gains and trail details in advance.
In short, those first 6 days were grueling. Both physically and mentally. We walked an average of between 7 and 10 hours each day, starting early and often arriving at our destination as it was getting dark. During that time, we climbed and descended between 700 and 1200 meters (not feet!) each day. I don't know if I've ever climbed 3000 feet in a day prior to this trip, and we did it at least three times, often on back to back days. For a point of reference (for those who live in the Bay Area), Mt. Diablo is 1,178 meters high.
Day 3 was the most challenging. After it was over, Audra and I marched ourselves down to the freezing cold mountain stream to soak our legs up to the hips, chanting songs back and forth to distract us from the pain of freezing limbs. That night, I hit a personal emotional low. Feeling overwhelmed by what was ahead of us and a strong pang of homesickness, I took control of the situation by rifling through my pack and separating anything that could be considered a "nice to have" from the "must haves". Goodbye book (that I was 3/4 of the way through!), goodbye hair conditioner! goodbye lotion! goodbye Afterbite (no mosquitoes this high anyways), goodbye extra black tank top! goodbye forever and good riddance. Though Audge and I pride ourselves on light packing, the term "light" takes on new weight (so to speak) when you have to carry all your stuff (or "S" as we call it) on your back up and down a few mountains.
Things improved from that point on. We've taken precautions to be very careful and kind with our bodies, as they are our only mode of transportation at this point. It's interesting how you pay attention to little aches and pains differently when you know you're 2 days' walk from the nearest medical care. We made it to the first major landmark in our journey, Namche Bazaar, the day before yesterday and were able to take a day to rest and acclimatize (we're at 3,400 meters here) before moving on. The altitude has been an interesting factor as well...both of us felt pretty strange (light headed, short of breath) going over a pass at about 3700 meters earlier on the trip, and Namche is just a bit below that. I developed a pretty uncomfortable headache our first night here (despite massive hydration) and started taking Diamox (acclimatization meds) on a preventative basis that evening. Interesting, but normal, side-effects include tingly fingers and lips. But the headache's gone! Pick your poison :)
Today we're hitting the trail again for a longer stint, about 2 weeks in total. The plan is to head up toward Everest Base Camp, following a group of doctors taking a wilderness medicine course (moms, dads, and relatives, that should make you feel good). After base camp, we'll split off to see the view from Kala Pattar before heading over the Cho La pass towards Gokyo and coming back down to Namche Bazaar via the Gokyo route. This is all assuming good acclimatization and healthy joints. Expect to hear from us on or around the 15th of May!
If you're curious where we're headed, you can see a simple map here: http://vic.com/nepal/map1.html
Check out the Lonely Planet website if you want more details. See you on the other side!
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