We are currently in Dingboche, about 15000 feet up. Only two more stops before base camp! I am just hoping, hoping hoping that I can make it. everything is 10x harder, breathing in particular. i am out of breath just moving around my little room.
It's funny what you miss in a place like this... and what you're grateful for back home. things like a toilet you can sit on (that isn't a hole in the ground in a shack), real flat roads (not "mountain flat" which just means UP), being able to drive places... no yak poop all over the place... taking a decent shower every day... a slice of fresh pineapple. Nepal is a beautiful place but dangerous and hard to live in.
The hiking is very difficult for me... y'all know i am NOT a hiker and i don't know why i thought this was a good idea!! after this i am staying home for a loooooong time. i counted yesterday and it takes me about 4 seconds to take each step when hiking. think about that. and i absolutely cannot go any faster, or else i will probably pass out! the pace is a snail's pace and that is the only way i am going to make it.
the weather is odd... it's freezing and then the second you start walking you roast. the clouds roll in and block out the sun, making it quite chilly. we are nearly above them, here at 15,000 feet.
the biggest thing keeping me going is knowing that we are nearly there. Angela, if you are reading this, your hiking poles are saving my life!!!! I couldn't have made it this far without them and they will be even more useful on the way back down. they have kept me from falling down a hill more than once!
the trails here are the hard part... nothing is really flat. it's all hilly with many rough stone staircases, covered in little rolly rocks and dirt. not like hiking in the US at all i don't think. the trails all are covered in yak poop so you have to watch out for that too! i actually like it when the yaks come by because then you have to stop and wait. it's a nice chance to catch your breath. i know now why they call them "breathers" because I have to have one about every 15 min or so while hiking. you just have to breathe and let your heart slow down. just the thought of being back at sea level - or even back at 10,000 feet - gives me thoughts of joy.
alright, i better run. it's 20 rupees/minute for internet up here, 20x what they charge in kathmadu. crazy! everything is so expensive up here. i paid 220 rupees for a roll of toilet paper (yeah, you have to provide your own!) which is about $4. geez!!! Cokes are only 250 rupees so you see which are the really valuable items. but i figure i need to have a happy rear end up here so it's worth it.
Love to you all!!!
Lindsey
Tuesday, Dingboche, 9:12am
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4 comments:
Please be sure to leave the yak poo behind. I don't think that you'll want that on your shoes when you are flying home!
Take you time and breathe. Right now, you are the most important thing on that mountain.
WOW.... Continue to love your updates! This is going to make a great journal of your adventure when you get home!!
Love reading your updates. You are inspiring me to do it in 2010 with my hiking group. Keep taking those baby steps and before you know it it will be over. You swear that you will never hike again....then two weeks later after you get home you begin rethinking things.
You can do it girlie...you are stronger than most. I'm loving the updates...it's the highlight of my mornings.
Don't forget to stop every now and again to take pics...I mean breathe.
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