Relative Something

I don’t actually remember it, but my journal indicates that I got a pretty good night’s sleep. Lhakpa came to check on us about 6 a.m. on Monday, 13 April. We packed our duffel bags for departure and head into the lodge where Gary orders their porridge for breakfast and I choose to snack on some granola cereal that I brought from home. I think Gary did a lot better job of eating than I did, despite our shared lack of appetite.

Then came a day of trekking that no one who felt ill would ever imagine being able to accomplish. The descent in the direction we were headed involved climbing up and over a high point that was above the elevation of Phortse, the place where Gary and I felt the necessity to break from the group. The fact that Gary was able to gut out the effort of this day is nothing short of heroic. It was strange for me to be having so much fun amidst so much misery. I was in a constant battle to watch where to place each step while also taking in the views of the snow-capped high peaks, wild goats, eagles, the ridges straight up overhead, and the clouds hanging right at eye level. Pictures just can’t do it justice, but I took some anyway. It was mind bogglingly beautiful.

At the high point of the day’s hike, it struck me that this would probably be the highest I would get from that point on and I had intended to leave a handkerchief of my mother’s to blow in the wind of the Himalayan Mountains. In what turned out to be an entirely unceremonious moment, which actually suits Mom’s nature in a lot of ways, I took advantage of a bend in the trail and tied up her kerchief in a branch of a bush looking out at, among others, the picturesque peak of Ama Dablam.

By about 1 p.m. we reach Kyang Juma and Lhakpa gives us an option of hiking another 3 hours down to Namche. Gary says he can’t do any more hiking and asks for the tent with the intention of taking a 1-hour nap. I didn’t hold him to that hour. Later, Lhakpa suggests food and I discover that I am getting my appetite back. I order egg fried rice from the lodge where we are staying and it tastes fantastic to me. We haven’t missed out on any amazing views this afternoon by stopping early, because the clouds have descended to just overhead and everything looks simply gray. I hoped that the rest of our group was getting clear skies at their elevation, especially when they get to the high point at Gokyo Ri, for the best views of Everest.

I start getting ready for sleep shortly after dark. I’ve had a wonderful day, despite the fact that my cough is still annoyingly with me.