Nepal 1998

Journal Entry - October 31, 1998 - Return to Takna

My cough was horrible all night. All I could think about was getting to a lower altitude where I could breather easier. After breakfast, we packed up and headed away from our 2 year old goal. When it really comes down to it, it was an easy decision to make. I either had a bad case of bronchitus or HAPE. Either way the only sensible thing to do was to abandon Mera Peak. I can't say that I was really that surprised that it has come down to this. The whole trip has been full of illnesses for both of us. I just hope to make the best of the rest of trek.

On the way down today we took a little detour to look into the moraine lake that gave away to help make our trip more difficult. It is amazing how silty and gross looking the water is. My water bottle, which was filled with boiled water is far from clear. It is more translucent than transparent, I guess this is from the clacial silt. I suppose the filter would remove it but I would expect a shorter filter life. I am feeling quite a bit better as I sit here writing this. My coughing fits have decreased but I am still quite weak. I dread the trip out.

Journal Entry - November 1, 1998 - Return to Camp 3

Well, I definitely made the correct decision to give up on the peak. It is important to remember that part of mountaineering is known when the conditions are right and when it is time to throw in the towel. My lungs are still awful. A summit bid would have been impossible. I coughed almost all night long. I am sure Gary is growing tired of my hacking and spitting. My coughing has been so bad that all the muscles down my sides, stomach, and even hips hurt.

The next day of hiking is really rough. We have to climb almost 1000 meters. At this point I don't think my body is up to the task. We may need to rest here a day to get enough energy to go back up to Tuli Karka (Camp 2). I am really dreading the rest of the trip back to Lukla. It is annoying that the climbs I would usually love are sources of dread.

There was one point along the hike today where you have cross through the river or go way up and around through a terrible trail. On the way up, the guide had us go around, this time we insisted we go through the river. It was funny how inept the porters think we are. They were showing us where to step, trying to give us hands up, and so on. My lungs may be worth nothing but I do have good footwork. At least they want to be helpful, even if they laugh at us all the time.

It seems like I keep dwelling on the negatives. I see what "they" mean by "your health is everything". Really the view the last several days have been incredible. From where I sit right now I see a beautiful snow covered peak, a nice waterfall coming down the side of the mountain across the river, a little stream directly behind me and cool little bamboo-mat-huts. The fog is staying away right now but it is getting cold.

Journal Entry - November 2, 1998 - Camp 3 to 2.5

Gary spoke to Any last night and decided we would stop at the lunch spot between our day 2 and day 3 camps. My cough is still quite bad but it is better than yesterday. I am concerned about getting to Lukla and getting another course of Amoxicillian. I took an incomplete course to try to help me get over this. But I might have created a super-strain of whatever this is.

The hike was ok today. I gave my pack to Ang when we started the tough uphill portion. I would love to get out fast but I have to go slow so as to keep my energy level up and not get even sicker.

Tomorrow we plan on going to Camp II. I think it will be about 4 hours of tough uphill. I don't look forward to another night there. It is very high and cold. But I guess it is still better than pushing all the way over the pass.

Gary and I have decided to see if we can fly out of Lukla. We are both sick of this less than satisfactory trek. We might try to book a tour of the Terai so we can see some rhinos and tigers and such. I really don't want to spend another 9 or 10 days in Katmandu. I need to do a little shopping there but not for that long. Also the barking dogs will make sleep almost impossible. I suppose I could see if I could move my ticket up a few days but that would cost extra money and not achieve that much.

Journal Entry - November 3, 1998 - Camp 2.5 to Camp 2

Today was a much better day. I did not cough near as much as yesterday and the weather was nice and warm. We got to the top of the little ridge above the Hinku Valley and took a 270° panoramic montage. It is a fantastic view. We took our time as we hiked and enjoyed the warmth of the sun. Ang sent one of the porters to Lukla to fetch more food and meet us back at camp 1. Fearing my lungs were getting worse, I asked him to go to the medical clinic and get me some Amoxicillian. Considering how much better I feel today, I might not actually need it.

Ang also asked the porter to arrange airplane tickets to Katmandu. It would be very cool if we could get a flight out on the 6th. We asked him to try for the 6th, 7th, or 8th figuring that any later than that we would have to start walking out. We actually need to start walking out by the 7th unless the flight looks very promising. It is a 6 day walk out and one more day on the bus. After we got to Camp 2 we had lunch and I followed Gary around taking pictures. It is really cool to look at the details of the landscape, looking for textures, colors, and other small points of interest.

We had dinner early and hit the sack very early to escape the cold. We had frost by 5:00pm so we got cold early. The moon is either full or very close tonight so it will be very bright all night. It will be a long boring night; 12 hours in a sleeping bag can test your patience. I will finish Joseph Heller's "Good a Gold" tonight and start another book. I have read over 2000 pages maybe 3000 since this trip began.

Tomorrow we go back over the high pass and drop down towards Lukla. We asked for a sack lunch of chipates and peanut butter with jam. I think they thought we were weird but they agreed.

Journal Entry - November 4, 1998 - Camp 2 to Camp 1

It was a rather uneventful day. We had a long climb up the ridge that took about 2½ hours and descended for another 2 hours. I felt pretty crummy for the uphill portion since we were at an altitude of about 4600 meters. The way down was tedious. When we stopped to rest we were almost in a trance. It takes so much concentration to walk down such a steep rocky trail. We had said we didn't want a full lunch but they served us a full lunch anyway at about 3:00pm. Then we had dinner about 6:00pm. Tomorrow we hit Lukla and try to arrange a flight to Katmandu. It is really busy so a flight might be tough to get. I won't mind too much if we walk out. It will give me a chance to lose some weight and see the lowlands.

Journal Entry - November 5, 1998 - Camp 1 to Lukla

We got up this morning and headed out to Lukla. Breakfast was terrible: very greasy fried egg, a tiny bit of museli, and chipatis. No coffee. Ang is trying to talk to a friend about getting us a flight out tomorrow. I have not lost near the weight I had hoped I would. Too much fried food. One thing about walking out is we would get a chance to see new area and lose a bit more weight.

For my birthday today, I got a hot shower. Maybe I will have some Raksh; cheng or something as a little experiment. I think I will call Anne even though it costs a bunch and I will probably wake her up.