The AC Series: day 8

Date: Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Location: Base Camp
Elevation: 4925m

Last night was so cold that the yak blankets didn't keep us warm. Tonight will be worse. I naturally woke up at the oh-so-late hour of 6:30 this morning and dozed off in half hour intervals until Peter decided to roll out. The blister on my toe is worrisome but all I can do is add Neosporin and a BandAid before shoving it into my boots again.

It took two hours to get from Ledar to Thorong Phedi, where many hikers stop before going over the pass. We refilled our water bottles at the safe drinking station, hung out with Stephen and Alex for a while, then headed out before our European friends did. The "90 minute" trek up to Base Camp took me only 60 minutes and P about 45. It was straight up a mountain with many switchbacks. I was breathing hard, but nowhere near as hard as on the Tilicho trek. Tomorrow is the big day and I think it'll be just fune, if not a little painful. Now we have all afternoon to nap, play cards, and read.

Why such a short hike today? When trekking in mountainous regions, it's not the distance that one should worry about - it's the change in altitude. To keep your body from getting acute mountain sickness, you should only sleep 300 to 500 meters higher than the night before (only true after ~3500m) in order to acclimatize to the altitude. It's okay to hike to higher elevations so long as you come back down to sleep. We're now gaining a lot of elevation in very short distances.

base camp

I think I'll take another Diamox tonight. We've been taking one pill each morning for the last six days but the dosage can be doubled. We're sleeping at the highest elevation that people have ever settled in the world - going higher than this line is definitely in need of some help from pharmaceuticals.

Oh, and at 4925m right now we're higher than anything in the continental US!!

Past journal entries:

Day 1, start to Bahundanda

Day 6, attempt at Tilicho Base Camp, end at Khangsar

Day 7, end at Ledar