September 7th, 2010

Lungden to Gokyo—over Renjo La. Snowcocks.



Our luck doesn’t hold. We wake to rain. Cloudy and grey. So much for sun and an early start. We try waiting it out for a bit, but give up and head out by 7 am. One of the Aussies has a bad headache and their guide is debating the wisdom of going higher.



Today is our first big day. We’re combining what had been two separate days on our itinerary. We’ll head from Lungden over Renjo La (Renjo pass, app. 17,600 feet) and on to Gokyo Lake. So we’ve got about 4,000 vertical feet up and then back down.



So off we go. Up, at a fairly steady pace and grade. When we reach our first major rise we run into a group of 12 Aussie trekkers, pass them, and head on. There are small alpine lakes everywhere and the hills are populated with yak herds. We also flush two Tibetan Snowcock, beautiful birds about the size of pheasant, which run ahead of us.



We continue on. I’m starting to get nauseous, as I did on Kili, and am expecting to vomit. But since I’ve done this before it’s far less alarming. The higher we go, the shorter our breath is, but we pace ourselves and keep moving steadily. The path has turned into a stairway, built with large rocks and boulders by the Sherpas. Ni and I are sucking wind and resort to the old, walk 30 steps, stop and breathe. Rinse and repeat. Lisa forges a bit ahead. The rain turns to sleet. We put our heads down and keep on. And then, we’re there. Atop the pass.



We’re surrounded by prayer flags, but can see nothing but clouds from the top, and a steep drop is our only true sign we’ve made it. I have not thrown up. And surprisingly we’re all ready to eat some of the lunch that was packed for us, and Dawa pulls out a thermos of hot lemonade, a welcome treat.



We share our lunches with the porters, take a break and then head on down.



The trail down takes more concentration than up. It’s steep and built of loose scree. The sleet makes steps tricky. We pretty much stare at our feet for an hour, so it’s a surprise to look up and see a huge green-blue lake in front of us—Gokyo. It’s fed by glacial melt and has that peculiar and special color of a glacial lake.



We flush a huge covey of snowcock, at least 15, but I have yet to time a good picture. Dawa tries to convince me that Tibetan Snowcock are omnivorous and will, in fact, scavenge a dead yak. Since they look like pheasants, I’m not buying it, but who knows. Maybe things are different in Nepal.



So our entire hike has taken us 6 ½ hours. We’ve made very good time and surprised Pala I think—certainly surprised ourselves.



We have soup and tea, and Ni and Lisa go to lie down. The weather is clear, so I take off and wander, eventually heading up to a small ridge. And the clouds lift for a bit. Long enough to see the mountains around, though I don’t know what I’m looking at.



Tonight for dinner, Gara has prepared a special treat. Banana pie. Not a cream pie, but a baked banana pie. The crust is not like ours, it’s not as sweet, and it’s drier and thicker. And it’s awesome.



Then we separate our gear. Tsering tells us that tomorrow the dzos will leave us—with the bulk of the gear--as we’re heading into territory that they can’t go into. This thrills us, because for once we’ll be ‘stronger than a yak’. Pala laughs at us for being so excited about this and stronger than a yak quickly catches on among us all as the call to arms.



Tomorrow will be a short day, but the most challenging will be after that. So we crash and get some sleep. Good day.


Pictures


Top of Renjo La, Pala.

Top of Renjo La, The Azhi Melwa

Me on the way up

Wildflower on the way

Gokyo Lake

Our Teahouse in Gokyo

Kungde

Cho Oyu