Everest Region Hike Day 5

Today I was a much hardier trekker and I think I have Tang to thank.

Last night as I lay in bed, I pondered why I felt so wiped after a hike: I have hiked at altitude before. On the day we arrived in Namche, I even had a bout of the chills, and had to lay inside my sleeping bag until I stopped shivering. I had a flash back to cycling decades ago on a hot summer day. I had shivers then too. I found out later that I had an electrolyte deficiency. My veggie-only diet and a dearth of bananas has sapped my system.

At dawn this morning I searched the few grocery shops for Gatorade or equivalent. The best I could get was powdered Tang, so I gave it a try.

We set out this morning for a six-hour hike to Thyangboche, the next village up the Everest Trail. After a 50-meter climb out of Namche, we followed a more-or-less horizontal trail. It hugged the mountain at the tree line. The even ground provided a great opportunity to watch the scenery instead of focusing on my plodding feet. Everest was visible.

Shrine pointing to Lhotse  with Everest on the left.

After 2 hours we headed down a steep, rocky trail through forests of birch, pine and fir. In one rocky pass by a stream stands a forest of rhododendrons and birch with dangling lichen.

Lichen in birch

We stopped at the trail bottom at a lodge at Phunkitenga (3250 meters). We are near the eighth and last suspension bridge over the swirling white waters of Dudh Kosi. The water comes from the melting ice of the Khumba glacier at Everest.

We had lunch at the lodge and rested for an hour. The climb to Thyangboche (3877 meters) is 627 meters up with no flat spots, the longest climb of the adventure.

Everest Trail

By the time I started the climb, I was on my second liter of mango Tang. I kept up a steady pace, with just short rests, for 100 minutes to the summit. I left my hiking mates behind. At the top, I did not feel flat. Tang Power!

Last suspension bridge

We are bunked in the Himalayan View Lodge. The rooms are like a low-rent hostel: small, only two tiny beds, no water and no heat. Like most lodges on the trail, the only heat comes from wood stoves in the dining room. Little warmth gets to the upstairs. (Another reality of most  lodges I have visited is than none have a second exit. There is just one way out in case of fire.)

This high, most of the draft animals are yaks.

A cloud rolled in as we arrived. It is damp and chilly. I am glad Peregrine loaned us down jackets.

Thyangboche is the furthest along the Everest Trail we will go. It is still a four day hike to the Everest base camp. The dining room is crowded with trekkers seeking heat. As in other places, some are heading up and others down. The room hums with many languages and accents. It reminds me of the bar scene from Star Wars.