And here finally resume from our first meeting with Himalayas! After relaxing in Gangtok, we were really excited about trekking! Everything was ready — our tent, sleeping bags, mattress, food, etc! We started late around 8AM from Yuksom with a lot of rain…
Day 1–2: Into the Clouds
We crossed the forest check post to get another permit. It looks like a million fees — for camera, for tent, etc. Let's drain maximum money from the tourists. It's a corrupted system… Anyway, let's not talk about that :-). The first day was very long and tough (around 1,500D+ / 600D-) under the rain. We didn't see so much thanks to the massive fog everywhere…
William was sick before leaving. So, second day he woke up even in worse conditions to reach 4,000 meters of altitude. However, we had 2 hours of nice view to feel better. Rain came back quickly, and we started our day. It was as difficult at the beginning, but we arrived earlier, around 3PM at Dzongri-La.
Days 3–4: Acclimatization at Dzongri
Then, we had 2 days of acclimatization at Dzongri. We tried to have fun and relax but the weather was not nice with us. We reached the pass of Dzongri (4,500 meters of altitude) and still no good weather to enjoy the white peaks (Pandim, 3 Sisters…)! Grrrr… But it's where we met 2 amazing and lovely women of 60 years old from South Africa. And you know what? Not sure you can keep up with them going up :-)
Day 5: Thanshing — Altitude Takes Its Toll
Our plan was to go directly to Lamuney Camp Site but we stopped just before in Thanshing for many reasons. Moreover, Augustina got sick this day… It was finally a good stop as we could breathe a bit, but William started to have sleep apnea. It's just horrible! After waking up at 5AM, we ascended a viewpoint and we were lucky — we had an amazing view of all the peaks, Kangchenjunga included :-)
Day 6: Lamuney and Football at 4,100m
We reached Lamuney very easily next day. We took our time and even played football with all the guides and cooks of the other groups. It was so hard to play and breathe at this altitude… And the view of the mountain until next morning was fantastic.
Day 7: 3AM — The Summit Push
Afterwards, it was the important day. Wake up at 2:30AM to start trekking at 3AM to reach the first view point of the Goecha-La Trek for the sunrise. We made it but we were not lucky — all the clouds were just stuck. Final altitude of 4,600 meters, not bad we could say! So, it was not worth to continue for the other viewpoints much higher with this weather.
The Lake and the Yaks
When we went down, the view of Lake Samiti with the Yaks was breathtaking! It was a nice end for the high mountains for us. We took our time as William had a big headache and slept in Kochurang (super beautiful place).
The Descent: 26km in One Day
The last day was super intense. We decided to go down directly to Yuksom. The need for good food and a shower motivated us :-). We achieved to do it — almost 26KM… We rested 2 days in our awesome homestay and said goodbye to our young guide!
Now we are disappearing for a while again… One more trek starts tomorrow ;)
May 24 – June 1, 2018