Travel Footprints

Trek the Himalayas Day #6: Phortse, Dole, Machermo
Pit Stop: Machhermo
Elevation: 4,410 m
Relative Oxygen Rate: 57% (assuming sea level at 100%)
Price of Mineral Water Bottle: 250 rupees/USD 3.57

We are seated comfortably at the dining hall of Yeti Inn in Machhermo when we took this shot of Mt. Thamserku under the setting sun. Thank God, we’ve covered what we needed to trek today successfully! From Phortse (3,810-m) to Machhermo (4,410-m) in one day was not easy but we did it!

There are two other group of trekkers in the lodge where we are staying – a mother-and-son team from Montreal, Canada (who we will call Team Canada, hereafter) and a gentleman from Paris, France travelling with his monk guide (who we will call the Funny Frenchman, hereafter). We were all doing our own thing, Team Canada playing their version of card game and us reading our books while Funny Frenchman rests.

We had dinner of mixed pizza and hot tea, not the most fitting combination but which we’re glad to have in this God-awful cold weather of the Himalayas. As in other nights, we’ve grown accustomed to spending more time in the dining hall during evenings because this is where a ‘heater’ is provided.

It’s actually a makeshift stove placed in a dining hall. They would typically put a kettle on top to make the most out of the heat generated fuelled by…guess what?…yak shit (yes, that’s yak shit he is placing inside the ‘heater’ ). When the Funny Frenchman learned what it was he said in his thick French accent, ‘Thank you, Yak!’ which cracked everybody up including the Sherpas. This Funny Frenchman is having a hard time expressing himself in English all evening, he would even say ‘it’s difficult for me and difficult for you to understand.’ He then shared that they don’t have yaks in France, only cows, which prompted the discussions of cows being sacred in Nepal.

While all this is happening, Mr. Rono is laying on the other side of the room daydreaming about the sunny lifestyle of the Philippines (we both agreed we need to pay homage to the beach when we arrive from the trek!). We would talk about our favorite food that we haven’t eaten the past week – from KFC to yoghurt! Ah, daydreaming about the Philippines was bliss!

Our trek is also becoming more dramatic as we got higher up the mountain, what with everyone (including me) having colds already. Mr. Rono insists that he has it worse since he has cough AND altitude sickness. He even suspects he may have water in his lungs already (such a drama king!) similar to High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema. Of course, at that point in the trek, that will never be verified. This night, I took a Diamox pill for the very first time while lying down on my sleeping bag because I found it hard to sleep already. I tried to hold out with the medication for as long as I can, but this is how far I can take it without medical help.

But we do agree on one thing – we were glad to have yak shits in our evenings in the Himalayas!

Trek the Himalayas Day #6: Phortse, Dole, Machermo
Pit Stop: Machermo
Elevation: 4,410 m
Relative Oxygen Rate: 57% (assuming sea level at 100%)
Price of Mineral Water Bottle: 250 rupees/USD 3.57

Lucky for our group, the Diamox pills seem to be taking a positive effect on Mr. Rono and Chin. So, on this early morning, we set out once again to our trek towards Dole and Machhermo after a breakfast of sweet rice porridge, boiled eggs and honey pancake. Once again, we went down to the Dudh Kosi river and up again in another mountain.

It was a good 2 hours of trekking until we finally saw other trekkers on the trail – a couple, Dutch by their accent, and they had neither a guide nor a porter. They were actually carrying their 30-kg bag while they trek! Goodness gracious!

It was getting colder and harder to breathe as we slowly made our way up the hill from Phortse towards Dole. Knowing fully well that today was Good Friday, I spent time while doing the trek to pray the Holy Rosary and remember the Passion of Christ through Stations of the Cross. We might not be in a church praying right now for the Holy Week, but this might just be the longest pasion we have ever done in our entire lives!

Although the sun was up, the wind was chilly! All the lakes and waterfalls on our way were frozen solid –

We had our lunch in Dole (4,200 m) where we met an Australian fellow who was travelling on his own, but who also seemed to be a seasoned trekker, on his way down to Namche Bazar from Gokyo. We had a nice chat with him and he was excited for us when we said we were heading to Gokyo Ri. ‘I’ve forgotten how beautiful it was up there til I came back,’ he would say. He has already been to Gokyo Ri twice and Everest Base Camp 5 TIMES! He said the panoramic view of Everest Base Camp does not even compare with that of Gokyo Ri. We were thrilled with his affirmation. Over our lunch of chicken noodle soup and boiled eggs, we talked about the Philippines (us basically convincing him to come visit since he’s been to Indonesia and Thailand already), trekking in Nepal and altitude sickness. He explained to us that Diamox was originally intended as medication for glaucoma but people eventually found out that one of its side effects is to help cope with altitude sickness. From Gokyo, he would meet his group in Namche Bazar and proceed to Everest Base Camp from there. Such a cool guy! He even has solar-power charger for his iTouch

From our lunch break, however, it was all ‘suffer-fest’ of uphill climbing in high elevation.

Remember that we were supposed to be coming from Dole today trekking towards Machhermo. But because we decided to take a rest in Phortse, we were catching up on lost time of trekking to be able to stick with our schedule.

If you don’t see the video, click here!

We did arrive in Machhermo super-exhausted with the long day a little before 5pm. Because the sun is already setting, we were really freezing our arses off already by the time we reach Yeti Lodge. Oh by the way, on our way up, I noticed that one of my Columbia trekking shoes has a gaping hole on it. I was very disappointed with that discovery. I’m not sure how I get the tear from my Pagora trekking shoes but we’ve barely reached the goal of the trek and my shoes is already conking out on me!

In the end, I was also just grateful that the only thing that needed stitching on the entire duration of the trek was my shoe

Trek the Himalayas Day #5: Tengboche, Phortse
Pit Stop: Phortse
Elevation: 3,840 m
Relative Oxygen Rate: 60% (assuming sea level at 100%)
Price of Mineral Water Bottle: 200 rupees/USD 2.86

Early morning breakfast was a far cry from the high-spirited conversation in the Trekker’s Inn last night. We gave a warm hug to our Brazilian-American friend who had to trek back down from Tengboche and asked about conditions of people who had various degrees of altitude sickness overnight. Mr. Rono and Chin was really officially down with altitude sickness already but there was one last hope for recovery – take Diamox pills! Desperate times call for desperate measures

After a breakfast of rice porridge and boiled eggs, our Sherpa suggested we pay a visit to Tengboche monastery first before we proceed with our trek towards Dole (4,200 m).

The Tengboche monastery was very pretty! Inside the monastery, I was taught by our Sherpa, Ang Dawa Rai, how to pray the Buddhist way. So I got down on my knees and laid my palms flat while bending my head down towards the floor. All I prayed for on that brief moment inside the monastery were – safety and health! I knew this day will not be easy for our group. And so the trek begins…

From Tengboche, we have to go all the way back down to the Dudh Kosi river again. And then climb back up again! I swear, I lost count how many times we had to do this over and over again the past days already. To trek downhill and cross a bridge…

…just to climb back up again!

At one point, our Sherpa was telling us look over the other side of the mountain –

He was pointing to us where we came from because Tengboche is now on the other mountain from where we were standing!

It was hard for me to trek this leg from Tengboche to Phortse, but I can imagine how much harder it is for Mr. Rono and Chin to do this too considering they have already sought medication to address their altitude sickness. They told me over lunch that they were feeling extremely dizzy already. That’s not a good thing especially if one wrong move on the trail could be fatal –

After more than 3 hours of trekking, we finally saw civilization and we actually met the first persons on the trail. That was how secluded we felt during the trek not seeing any other trekker except for a wild goat that crossed our path near the river.

We finally stopped for lunch in Phortse (3,840 m) and decided to stay there for the rest of the day so Mr. Rono and Chin can cope with their condition. Ang Dawa Rai was also suggesting that some may go ahead (me and a porter) while the rest can stay. But we all agreed that we didn’t want to break our group. I also did not mind an extra day of rest. While the others were sleeping, I caught up with reading the book I bought from Namche Bazar – Eat, Pray, Love. It was really quiet and peaceful in Phortse. There were no other guests in the lodge but us and you barely see anyone passing by. Mainly because this was really not a main trail for trekkers. It was just a quaint, sleepy town located in a valley of Phortse.

We had dinner of hash brown potato and buffalo momo which wasn’t such a good idea. Remembering the stomach cramps of the Brazilian-American lady, we decided to avoid oily food for the rest of the trek. I was fascinated by the food our Sherpa and porters were eating – millet! Ang Dawa Rai jokingly refer to it as ‘yak shit’ because it really does look like one. I mentioned in my previous post that I’ve always felt some resemblance between Nepal and Uganda. This is probably one of the things they have in common. Millet is also a staple food for Ugandans, which they commonly refer to as posho

Trek the Himalayas Day #4: Namche Bazar, Tashinga, Tengboche
Pit Stop: Tengboche
Elevation: 3,860 m
Relative Oxygen Rate: 60% (assuming sea level at 100%)
Price of Mineral Water Bottle: 150 rupees/USD 2.15

Due to the flash snowfall the day before, we were actually rewarded with clear blue skies as we head from Namche Bazar (3,440m) to Tengboche (3,860m).

If you would check our original trekking itinerary, you will notice that we were supposed to go to Dole (4,200m) today. But because Mr. Rono has already started exhibiting some sort of vulnerability to altitude sickness, our Sherpa decided we go to a lesser altitude than Dole first. So, off to Tengboche we go. Along with so many other trekkers because apparently, this is the the pit stop for those heading on to Everest Base Camp as shared by our German friend from the lodge in Namche Bazar.

As we were trekking towards Tengboche, here’s the view that greeted us ‘GOOD MORNING!’

We were rewarded with a majestic view of Mt. Ama Dablam and Mt. Everest very early in the morning! The snow cleared the skies and we were given a rare view of the towering mountains over cloudless skies.

We were such in a positive mood that when we came across a Sherpa who was asking for donations from tourists to help them fix the trail (e.g., smoothing stones and placing them on foot-paths for trekking trails), we gladly gave them a little something from our pocket money. It was fascinating to look at their log book and see the various nationalities that have donated so far – on that page, we’re the only one from Asia!

But our joy was short-lived because the trek today was physically-demanding. It seems like the trekking are getting more complicated (and definitely steeper!) in each day we spend in the Himalayas! After having lunch in Tashinga (3,450m), all we trekked was going up, up, up! These signs along the way aren’t comforting, either –

Two hours? For the locals maybe – it took us 4 freakin’ hours to get to the top of Tengboche!

And finally, a view of Tengboche monastery!

Yey! We stayed in Trekker’s Inn in Tengboche, very near the monastery. We rewarded ourselves with a can of Pringles (300 rupees) and a bottle of Coca-Cola (250 rupees). We arrived at Trekker’s Inn and met with the people already in the lodge. This will turn out to be the night we would all enjoy among all other nights during the trek because of the people we met. There was this Brazilian lady who has now migrated to the US and says she knew we were Filipinos because we have the same ‘aura’ as her neighbors in San Diego, California. We met her in one of her lowest point during the trek because she was afflicted with altitude sickness AND stomach cramps. She would go back down the next day and then straight to Lukla for her flight to Kathmandu. But it’s ok, she says, she can always go back to do the trek again. She was actually expecting (and hoping!) either 3 of us to be medical professionals! ‘My neighbors are both doctors,’ she would share.

Over the fireplace in the dining area, we also had a very long chat with a Spanish fellow who have long wanted to visit the Philippines ‘because of the long history we shared!,’ he says. There was this other couple who we first met drinking whiskey! We were not surprised to eventually learn that they were Russians but we were fascinated that they actually brought their dog with them! ‘She flew all the way from Moscow,’ the Russian gentleman would say. I asked if the dog ever has altitude sickness, and the Russian lady said the dog was actually losing appetite already. And they both agreed that if they see the dog could not make it all the way, they would go back down for its sake. Naks!

There were also this Malaysian fellow, based in India now, who had to leave his wife at Namche Bazar to rest because of altitude sickness. Their group actually started with 6 people on the team but the Canadian couple they were with were too fast so they let them go ahead and the others just started to fall from ranks as they went higher. There were 2 German families as well. All of them were bound for Everest Base Camp. We were the only ones headed for Gokyo Ri, but that’s not surprising since Tengboche was really a detour for us to address altitude sickness issues of our group.

Despite the warm and cozy evening we shared with this happy group of trekkers in Tengboche, we sadly did not enjoy the sleeping time. The temperature in the evenings drop to a freezing 0 degrees celsius and lodges here do not have any heaters! Although I was feeling a bit fine and adjusting well to the altitude, Mr. Rono did not sleep a wink during the night. The altitude sickness has turned from bad to worse while we were in Tengboche.