Life of Wry

Trip Day #12, Trek Day #6

Woke up in Machermo (14,649′) after a great night’s sleep.  It had snowed a little and it was cold, but the morning was relaxed and straight forward.  Laura and I had shared a room the night before and had woken up easily, had our 6:30 cup of hot tea, packed our bags and were at breakfast by 7:30.  We were all on the road by 8:30 for what was to be a fairly simple hike to Gokyo (15,715′).

I took a nice group shot early in the day: Rick, Leslie, Hom, Pradip, Karen and Laura.

Mmmm, toasty warm.

The hike today was only about 3.7 miles with a climb of 1100′.  We are leaving the foothills and entering the desolute tundra of the high mountains.  Here’s what it looked like looking up canyon.  You can see the trail on the left and the Dodh Kosi river, the same one we’ve followed all along, way below.  Again, this is the runoff from the Ngozumpa Glacier that sources from Cho Oyu, some 12 miles to the north.  Cho Oyu (26,864′ is the 6th highest mountain in the world) is visible all day and for the next few.  You can’t see it in my shot, due to clouds.  We are headed up to that gap, then will bear right to enter the Gokyo Lakes region.

Here is a very nice shot by a photographer, Mike Mellinger, whose work really captures the beauty of the area (goes to show what a REALLY nice camera can do).  It’s the very same view up the Dodh Kosi river canyon.  In his, you can see Cho Oyu in the background.

Looking down the valley, from where we’d come, looked like this.  It provided a nice view of Kantanga, 21,932′, a prominent part of our vista since day one.

Along the way, we passed the tiny settlement of Pangka, then climbed steeply up; here are a couple shots of the trail, taken by Rick. In the first, you can see, from left to right: Pradip, Laura, Karen, me and Leslie.  Hom must be somewhere out front, just out of view. It’s rocky.

These stone steps are steep and the drop precipitous, but not scary.  Pictured are Laura up front, Leslie then me.

We then crossed a stream that feeds the Dodh Kosi on a short iron bridge covered with kata and prayer flags and entered the lateral moraine of the Ngozumpa Glacier.  We were now in the Gokyo lakes region, where six lakes are wedged between a very steep mountain wall and the crumbling mounds and sandy, gravely remains of the receded glacier.  The lakes are spread over many miles; we’ll pass two and stay at the third.  Had we more time, perhaps another day, we’d have continued north to explore the other three.  Sorry we didn’t have time for this.  Shortly after crossing the bridge, we came upon the first lake:

Longponga Tsho was small and unremarkable, but it had a family of Brahminy ducks that were interesting looking.. Rick, above, crouching down, shot this one:

This lake was also surrounded by hundreds of cairns of various sizes.. here’s one that Rick shot:

Then we came to the second lake, Taboche Tsho, which looked like this, and was totally frozen:

And we took a group picture.. it was mighty cold, but hey, we’re at 15,500′!!

By noon, we’d reached the third lake, Dudh Pokhari (15,715′):

And came upon this sight and Rick couldn’t resist.  There are far, far fewer people on the trail and in the villages.  The Gokyo loop is well off the beaten path.  Fewer trekkers, for sure, but also much quieter village life (like, barely any).  It’s not a major road, saw no pack animals (we did see some yaks around Gokyo, but not in service), no farming, shopping or trade.  We’ll rejoin that activity later in the trek, when we reconnect to the main trail a day after crossing the Cho La Pass (assuming we are able to do that, given weather..).

Anyway.. came upon these women, practicing a little yoga besides the lake:

Karen joined them and they did a group warrior pose:

In the Gokyo settlement, along the lake, there were probably 6-10 teahouses.  Ours was the one at the top of the hill: Gokyo Resort.

As usual, as soon as we arrived, Hom went in, announced our arrival and came out with keys and our next instructions.  We found our rooms, unpacked a little, and headed to the dining room for lunch.  Then showers (story below), and some internet access. Finally, Rick taught us a new card game, “Oh Hell,” which we played for the rest of the afternoon while drinking hot tea and eating popcorn.  Here’s Reggy, the teacher from Germany whom we’d met for the first time in Dole and saw again in Machermo, who joined us for cards.  (So fun.)

So.. the resort…
Rick shot this view from his room (ours was next door and had the same view).  Very stunning:

Here’s the front of the place.  Rick’s window is bottom, far left, Laura’s and my room in the middle, and Karen’s and Leslie’s room on right.  Great rooms.

Looks all charming and Alpsian, doesn’t it?  In many ways, it was.  Bearing in mind, we’re now at at 15,739′ and all building materials come in on the backs of sherpas and pack animals.  Given the season is short… it’s amazing there’s anything there at all.

Our rooms looked like this… note curtains, blankets, carpet.. very cozy:

Here’s what the shower looked like:

Hot water comes from the kitchen (out of view to the right) and is poured into the blue bucket (by someone standing on a ladder).  The water fills a pipe that runs down a short flight of stairs to a shower stall, just out of view here, where the water comes out (hot) in a little more than a trickle. But it’s very nice because it’s a shower (the last we’d had was three days before).  The stall is more or less enclosed, but is open air. Snow blew in while I showered.  The whole operation is steps away from the dining room, so discretely undressing, showering and dressing again was a little challenging.  Still: glorious.

As I mentioned, they had internet access:

Here’s Laura and another couple trekkers sending email and/or Facebooking.  We paid rupees by the minute, but it was very reasonable and worth it.

Also on site were a book store and candy shop. Really.

The proprietor was someone who’d been there a very long time (maybe since it opened in 1991) and took pride in his operation, as did each and every proprietor we met.

At one point, one of us had purchased a Toblerone candy bar that had gone white and chalky and, after some initial resistance, he made good on it.  Life’s hard up there and you sort of never know when your next delivery of candy’s coming in on the yak, and you certainly can’t count on its freshness.  I really have no idea how he manages to run his place at all under those conditions, how he is able to offer such variety on the menu, how he even has the infrastructure and supplies to care for dozens of trekkers a night.

I was constantly at odds with the notion that I was a guest with guest needs. While trekkers are, for the most part, experienced international travelers, we are also hikers and environmentalists and chose to come to the remote mountain regions of a third world country to experience not just the highest peaks on the planet, but an ancient mountain culture that’s never seen a car, or even a bike.

My human instincts made me uncomfortable being waited on. While I appreciated every amenity and every kindness, I just wanted to be a gentle visitor who was there to observe a culture, help as needed, return the gestures, and contribute to their lives.

I felt uncomfortable being waited on by people who worked so hard with so little.  I do understand that once the English came to India and once Himalayan exploration became a thing, and especially once Hillary conquered Everest, that mountain climbing and trekking would transform the Sherpa culture and tourism would spur the growth of a service economy, turn subsistence farmers into business entrepreneurs, and provide new sources of income and wealth… and that that’s actually a welcomed thing that improves their quality of life.  I’m not completely naive about this, but part of me is saddened by the invasion of first world visitors and the westernizing of the Sherpa culture in order to adapt to our needs.

Anyway….

Most on our minds that day was the weather..  and what that meant for crossing Cho La Pass in two days.  If the pass were closed, we’d be forced to rethink our route, our itinerary, and potentially forgo Everest Base Camp.  I was already feeling like our trip thus far had been more than rewarding and anything else we might see or do was icing on the cake, but the cold and the snow and the wind made everything feel dramatic and foreboding. The sheer altitude, as well, made things feel surreal.  We were so high.  Such new territory… how would our bodies react?  It was all exciting, but there was also anxiety about what would happen next.