June 4th:
Good morning, USA. I'm back, I'm really back. Today is day 65 away from my Quincy home, but I'll be there tonight. My body doesn't know what the heck is going on. Or maybe it does. I was awake and hungry by 05:00, so I got up and finished my fish tacos from last night's dinner. I really do need to tame my appetite: I gained 10 pounds on this trip, and they weren't muscle. I tried to sleep again, but it was no use. Instead, I started getting things ready to go and decided to join my mom for a Zoom yoga class in our living room at 09:00. An hour of yoga was a lot for me but, at the same time, a good reminder that I need to stretch more. It was reggae yoga. By 10:00, I was hungry again, and Mami steamed three homemade tamales for me. I made some Nepal Black loose-leaf tea. (I wasn't sure if I should choose that tea because I'm somewhere between missing Nepal and needing a break from it.) Jenn showed up for a visit with a scale, a children's book, and some cookies. The scale was for me to use to weigh my duffel bags: I had to leave 30lbs of stuff with my parents because my luggage was over the weight limit. The children's book was one I'd inscribed for her back in 2006 before leaving for the Peace Corps: Rosalie and Truffle. She was in turn inscribing for me. ❤️ And the cookies, well, they were cookies from the Hawaiian restaurant we used to eat at. Mmmmm. It was SO GOOD to see her. I did put her to work helping me fold my laundry, but what are best friends for?! Time to go to the airport to go (to my other) home. My mom drove me, and I got lucky finding a free cart for all my bags. (No way was I paying $7 to move my bags from the curb to drop-off. Highway robbery!) Check-in and security went flawlessly. I got to the gate about 10 min early, did some burpees, and boarded on time. I finally got my window seat: 23A! Reno is always such a gusty city to fly into. Every time I arrive or leave I question my ability to still handle roller coasters... Today was no exception. In fact, the pilot had to do a go-around because he wasn't going to have a pretty landing otherwise. It was weird being able to tune into all the English conversations around me. Hung out at the Reno airport for a couple of hours waiting for Jarrod's flight to land. Got good news, though: South Africa in the fall, (maybe) here I come! I think I would like to do K2 next, so I responded to the email I received this morning about the climb. I hope I have the necessary experience... K2 is considered one of the most dangerous mountains out there and is the second highest in the world. It is in Pakistan. One thing I keep thinking about is that after summit, and before leaving EBC, I didn't make my three final laps around the lapsu. I was extra diligent passing all the prayer stones and wheels on the whole trek out, and I did give a mini prayer of thanks to the mountain for sharing herself with me, but I didn't complete my turns around our lapsu, like we did before we left on our summit push. I hope Miyolangsangma forgives me. Google research: Miyolangsangma is the Tibetan Buddhist goddess who lives at the top of Chomolungma (= Mount Everest). She started out as a malevolent demoness, and following her conversion to Buddhism, she became the Goddess of Inexhaustible Giving, Everest, and the Khumbu area in general. The local Tibetan name for Mount Everest is Chomolungma, also spelled Qomolangma, meaning "Goddess Mother of the World." The Nepali name for Mount Everest is Sagarmatha, meaning "Godess of the Sky." Mt. Everest is in Sagarmatha National Park. Mariscos Las Islitas for dinner!!!!! So good. Wanted to stop and get ice cream on the way home, but we missed our opportunity. However, we did stop at Safeway in Quincy and got some Ben & Jerry's. Everything But The... is so good! Nancy, my wonderful neighbor-mom, had my house ready for me when we arrived. The lights were on and there was food in the fridge. And she'd had my house cleaned. I definitely felt like things were out of place, but that's to be expected when a stranger's been in it. We ate our ice cream and sat around a bit. I started going through my mail and found some cards I'm excited to read tomorrow. ❤️ I came across the "High Country Life" magazine I'm featured in - on the front cover. ;) That was really cool to see and read. Thanks Debra Moore!!! Then it was shower and bed time. So tired. Today is the last day of the Everest blog, as the expedition is officially over. Thank you for all the support in all the forms in which it came. 🤗❤️ June 3rd:
I woke up on the floor of the Qatar airport just as the light was starting to come through the window. My flight wasn't until 07:50, so I had time. I did 20 of my 50 daily burpees plus the last 10 from yesterday, stuffed my sleeping bag, and made a couple of trips to the bathroom for nature calls, baby wipe baths, and teeth brushing, before making my way to the gate. I had to wait in a second security line before boarding the plane. Again, the practical joke: my "window seat" was a floating exit-row seat, so though it had good leg room, it not only was not by the window, but it wasn't even by the wall, so all benefits of the window seat were moot. Therefore, sleep on the 16:30 flight to LAX was out and movies were in. Movies: Yellow Rose A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood The Sun Is Also A Star - Deus Ex Machina The Life Of The Party Hop Epic Meals were not very good, which was disappointing. Normally I rather enjoy airplane food. Made it to LAX without getting more than 100 evil looks for my cough. #Win So good to be back. My mom picked me up from the airport. I hadn't been in my parents' house for about a year and a half because of COVID, so I took the tour of the grounds and house. Sunflowers. Figs. Monarchs. New collage featuring Roger taking care of me when I had my annual New Years cold in 2019. Quilts. Bird feeders. Cool succulents. Tortuga in his summer home. Ricardo, Abuelita's husband, got back from the hospital today. He had another heart attack. Apparently he doesn't want anything else done and is going on hospice. I fully support hospice - I think it is a great service - but I don't think it's his time yet. I got to talk to him only for a moment as his oxygen was being delivered. Hopefully he's still around in July when I visit again for Abuelita's 94th birthday. I took a wonderful shower. Washed the massage oil out of my hair. Fell asleep backwards in my towel on the bed in the back room. Started laundry. Sat on the couch too tired to do anything. Finished my burpees. Sat down for some Mexican food takeout with my parents. Recounted the days surrounding my Everest summit. Brushed my teeth for like 15 minutes. Went to sleep. June 2nd:
My last night in a good bed, in a cool room, before an epic set of travel days, and my cough was off the hook. I was out of cough medicine and was afraid to take a second NyQuil so late into the night. It was a completely restless night. And my cough was quite violent. It crossed my mind that I might break some ribs. I hope the walls were soundproof. To ease myself into the day, I made a bath. Why not? Then I met Siggi, Heimir, and Rawan for breakfast. I still needed to pick up my negative COVID test results and get my check-out time extended. Was locked out of my room when I went to get the $50, and once I got the check out-time extended, Nims and his crew had arrived. Quite the royal welcome. I went to congratulate them and got invited to sit for a while. Two gin & tonics later, and I was planning my next expedition with Nims to K2. How rad would that be. I migrated over to Kim's table and joined them for lunch - my last buffet for a while. I've got to get away from this lifestyle of just going from one meal to the next, without much in between. I also need to stop my new habit of adding salt to everything. At least I didn't get withdrawals following the rapid cessation of Nutella intake... I had wanted to head to, and was dressed for, the pool, but I ran out of time and was sunned-out, so I went to my room to pack. Siggi stopped by to say see-ya-later, I tried to nap a bit, almost finished my 50 burpees, and then it was time to go. I paid my $50 to Gobinda and "was allowed" to get on the van to the airport. A few farewells and off we went. The check in and security processes actually went pretty smoothly, all things considered. My bags were too heavy, so I had to pay an extra $65 and still had to remove my sleeping bag and carry it separately with my two other carry-ons. Then, at security, they wanted to confiscate my wine opener and blunt-tipped toiletry scissors. Both have sentimental and practical value, so I wasn't ready to part with them. (I guess Nepal doesn't allow scissors of any shape or size.) I was sent back downstairs to have them added to my checked luggage, which was long gone. BUT, the guy found my bag, so crisis was averted. We were all scattered in the pre-boarding seating area. We only had about a 40-min wait. I drank some water, wrote in my journal, realized I'd forgotten my headphones - darn, and minded my own business. I was finally feeling relatively ready to go, but mostly because I think everyone else was fed up with me. The first flight was about 4:30. I think it was part of a grand practical joke - not seriously - that the window seat I requested was the only windowless window seat on the plane. But that's OK, I just tried to sleep the whole time. We made it to Doha, Qatar. To be out of Nepal after 63 days was a weird feeling. No way to keep real life at bay any longer. Some people had quick connections and the others had access to fancy lounges, so I made my way to the same "Quiet Room" for women that I rested in on my way to Nepal. It is just a large enclosed space with a huge window and rows of reclined chairs. I can't sleep on my back, or without a good headrest, so I soon moved to the floor. Shocking, I know, but the floor was quite hard. Eventually I broke out my sleeping bag and fell asleep. My layover was 8 hours, and I slept maybe 1-2 hours. Better than nothing. June 1st:
First thing when I woke up, I had a message from Caroline, Mike's wife, about what I wrote yesterday. I still stand by it and will respond to her when I get home. She handled the situation brilliantly. I slept so-so, but better than the night before, I think. I dressed in the same shorts and tank I've been wearing since I got to Kathmandu and headed to breakfast. We all trailed in and out at different times this morning. We took a breakfast buffet break to get our COVID tests done. Now they are suddenly charging us $50 for the test, but this was only announced to a few people and maybe includes our entry test. Wtf. Who knows. And when we asked about going to the hospital for it directly, because it's only $15 there, Gobinda said he'd then charge to drive us there. Seriously, what the heck?! Rules are changing by the financial minute out here. Frustrating and distancing all of us further from the mothership as it feels like petty nickeling and diming. Anyways, I went back to breakfast and sat with Damian. He ordered a double espresso, so I thought, "Why not?! Order one for me too!" The last time I had one was in college and I fell right to sleep, but I think it's because my body couldn't handle it. A sip of tea after 14:00 will keep me awake all night... But I drank it and it went fine. Tasted ok too. I'm still stuffed up, though, so my fancy taste buds aren't so reliable these days. From there I went to sit outside with Asma and Remy for a bit. Just chatted. Good company. Good space. Eventually I made my way to the gym. I am embarrassed of what I have lost in terms of my figure and my strength. I know I'll get it back, but still. It's a significant loss. Everest really takes a lot out of a person - she demands a steep toll. Money, time, relationships, physicality, injuries, you name it! I just started slowly: I did two rounds of core, biceps, triceps, and my daily 50 burpees that I just decided to resume today. Doing 10 was difficult. I've got a long way to go to get back to where I was. At the gym, I met Kim. She's a recently retired maxillofacial surgeon from D.C. who attempted Everest with IMG this year. (IMG was who I was supposed to go with, but they dropped me in a bad way due to insurance money.) We immediately hit it off lamenting about our physical changes and mountain experiences. Bah humbug. We decided to meet later for lunch and drinks and dinner. Lunch was good. I didn't overly eat too much. I met another couple of her teammates, Hanady (UAE) and Rawan (Tanzania), and a couple of guys from Iceland, Heimir and Siggi. Seem like a fun group. I had to run off to my massage. They did short me 15 min, but otherwise, it was glorious. Thanks Ron!!!!!!! And thanks again, Hoki, for my pre-Everest massage. The woman put oil in my hair and gave a great scalp massage. I never think they do enough with the knots in my back and do too much with my arms and ticklish legs. But, it was one of the best I've had. She did comment on how knotted my back was and suggested I put a mixture of olive oil and lotion on my back and then, I think, cover it with a hot towel. Sounds good, but I might need a second person to apply... I went by the pool for a bit. Overcast and a bit cool, but the usual gang was there: Meghan, Scott, Derek, and Taylor. I enjoy hanging out with them. Had a couple of shots of proseco before the rain droplets started. We packed up and decided to head to the pharmacy in half an hour. I went back to hang out with my new crew. One of the gals, Rawan - the first Tanzanian to summit Everest - bought a whole bottle of Monkey Shoulder. I sipped on that between trips to the pharmacy, which finally yielded, on the second trip, some Z-paks and change. I hope my old antibiotics kick in soon. We eventually moved inside for dinner because the mosquitoes were bad. Hanad said I smelled like bug spray, ha. Probably the massage oil. Still, it didn't spare me from the mosquitoes. I did over eat again at dinner. I think it doesn't take much these days. Had a White Rhino pale ale from India that wasn't bad. Siggi wants to buy property in Slovenia, which is amazing. I love that place. He also wants to sail around Greece in the fall and set up a boat to study and raise awareness of climate change as it goes from Greenland to the South Pole. Pretty cool. But it was late and everyone had gone, so we said goodnight and I trudged up the stairs to the 7th floor. I made myself another bath to get some of the oil off. I didn't bother with my hair - that'll be tomorrow's problem. Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep because my cough was incredibly awful. I thought I might break a rib. Finally, around 03:00, I took something for it. Bleh. I hate lingering coughs. At least I got verbal confirmation that my COVID was negative. Phew! "Most people live in a box. That's caged life. I don't want to live in a zoo. I want to live with freedom to roam." Me What's the difference between a piano and a fish? You can't tuna fish. (Courtesy of Jake.) May 31st:
Slept relatively well. Some weird dreams. Used but 1/4 of the bed. Goal for tonight is to use the whole bed! Woke up around 05:00 and got out of bed before 07:00. Figured I'd get my eat on early - the free breakfast lasts five hours. And I was there four of those hours. I "tried" to go up to my room around 11:30, but I got side-tracked by Asma, Akash, the owner of the Marriott, and a couple members of the Bahraini team, who were the first to summit this year. One of them had gone to the kitchen and made Bahraini food, so I just couldn't pass that up. Asma started talking about how she was going to train for her second attempt. It was eye-opening for me. A lot of people paid for trainers or training programs. A lot of people had life coaches. All of that was more than I had, but at least those concepts were familiar. What Asma was planning was completely foreign to me. She was talking about getting an MRI scan to measure everything in her body and having special clothes made and specific trainers to interpret the data and guide her training. Monitoring and measuring body metrics constantly. She talked of getting chambers or tents to sleep in to acclimatize ahead of time. (That's what the speed ascenders, Akash and Francisco, used.) Sounded intense but like cool technology. I sincerely wish everyone the best shot next time, and if one has the resources for such tailored training, more power to them. I'm sure I didn't "do it right..." I didn't measure my heart rate once, let alone bother tracking it. I just worked as hard as I could for as long as I had, and it did the trick. Eventually I excused myself and went to my room. I needed to poop quite suddenly. But, of course, I'd been locked out of my room. I thought about knocking on Damian's door, but there's no privacy in the bathroom and I didn't want to soil his toilet. So, back down seven flights I went. I made it in time. Phew. Then, I got my room sorted and headed to lunch. Still full from my last breakfast, 60 min prior, I couldn't eat much and headed to the pool. The audience grew rapidly, and I was too embarrassed of my new figure to take my clothes off, so I went in, all in. I stayed by the pool most of the afternoon, chatting and sharing proseco and rosé with some of the Western-guided team. It was nice. One lives in Minneapolis and knows BRF, and another will hopefully visit in June on his PCT journey. I actually felt more comfortable and less judged with them than I did my group of self-designated misfits. I think I forgot to write that on one of my hikes with Damian, he called us "runts," which I think is hilarious considering he is over 6' tall and an ex-pro rugby player. He obviously meant it in the sense that no one paid attention to us and we weren't the "favored" climbers, but it still made me laugh. I know a little of my old self is coming back because I insisted all day on taking the stairs to and from the 7th floor. I gotta start somewhere... After the pool, I washed my hair for the second time in two months and then headed to the lobby to meet folks for a drink. We all had a Campari Spritz except for British Jessica, who got the one Aperol Spritz before they ran out. It was her treat - so kind. I still was quite full, so I only had four plates of food at dinner. We shared a bottle of wine - a Bordeaux. It was nice. Smaller group for dinner tonight. Back at the room, I decided to start antibiotics. It has been over two weeks and I'm starting to get worse. Argh. Because people keep asking me, I'm still stuck in Nepal due to the lockdown. The lockdown is secondary to increasing COVID numbers in the country. My flight on the 3rd was canceled. I'm hoping to be able to get out on the 2nd or 4th by catching a chartered (really expensive) humanitarian flight. The flight only takes me to a hub city in the U.S.: Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, or Newark. I will then need to book my own flight to Reno. And by lockdown, I mean the whole country is shut down. So, I can't explore the country or the countryside or the city. There are no cars on the streets. It is quiet. There are also no people out. There are no taxis. No restaurants or shops are open. Lockdown means lockdown. Gunna crash now. Feeling like a sickie May 30th:
This morning was probably the clearest and most beautiful morning ever in Lukla. So much for "getting stuck" in Lukla due to the weather. Damn. I decided that if I have any abs left, they're from all my coughing. Argh. I didn't need to set an alarm because I could hear them stomping around in the kitchen above me. Walking down the hallway to breakfast, I heard a "thump" that accompanied a shadow. I turned around and saw that a large spider had fallen/jumped from the ceiling. Wth. Breakfast was prompt at 05:30. They rushed us like crazy. I didn't get to finish my food. I ordered hot water with mint, but I had to get up three times before they actually brought it. Damian ordered a coffee, and they brought it out, but they almost wouldn't even give it to him because they said he didn't have time to drink it. It was a bit overboard. Got to the airport early just to wait for hours. I kept imagining my half-eaten breakfast. We saw Francesco, Malu, and Dawa Sherpa at the airport! Good to see their friendly and familiar faces. They filled us in on some EBC updates. Moral of the story is that Mike Hammil, the owner of CTSS, has lost just about all of us as future clients. His lack of professionalism and just general ability to conduct himself with maturity at times of stress or conflict, is shocking. Finally we flew out. Red and blue roofs dotting the green landscape. Waterfalls from the sky to the deep valleys below. We were picked up from the airport and delivered to the Marriott Hotel, where we get one night covered. It is a really nice hotel, and I got my own room! I was in 723, which made my heart squeeze. I had been in 721, but the bath was grimy with hair and there were nail clippings on the couch and floor. Ick. I tried taking a bath, but I'm not good at baths. Still, I attempted three times today. I also attempted push-ups. I think I've become skinny-fat. I've lost so much strength and muscle mass. I could do only half the push-ups I could before. Bleh. My flight home was canceled. Of course. Nothing has been easy about this trip. What a stressful mess. Lori, you are my savior. Thank you. And Jarrod, it's all going to work out. Mami and Daddy, maybe I'll see you for that layover after all. I spent the rest of the day stressing, I'm ashamed to say. Stopped by the pool. Chatted with folks on the terrace. I didn't want to spend money on food so I ate my snacks in the room. The chartered humanitarian flight is going to cost over $2k. Bleh. I need a vacation. Ha. We have a good crew here, though. I'm grateful for their company. Felt a little weird climbing into such a big bed alone. I think five people could fit. Ha. So much space. Put down the black out veil. We'll see what happens tomorrow. May 29th:
I awoke to no rain! What's that?! It's been days without rain or snow constantly falling. AND there was hot water in the sink when I went to wash my face. I slept hot and sweaty, but I couldn't bring myself to turn down or off the mattress heater. I warmed and dried a few clothing items with me in my bed as well. I was late all morning. Late to breakfast, late to be ready, late to leave. 😬 I don't like being late: it stresses me out. That said, I had shit to get done and when am I ever going to be back in Namche, right?! Breakfast was yummy. I had a veggie egg white omelet, veggie pakodas, Tibetan bread with butter and jam, and mint tea. I'm really going to miss the fresh mint tea - just mint leaves and hot water. We sat by the heater. I signed the Ho-Chunk flag and put all of the names of my team with summit dates and all of those from CTSS who summitted. I put Damian's summit date as 2020's, so he's got 8.5 years to come back and do this. :) He signed it as well. When I was ready to hang it, the hotel guy didn't have any tacks. He said he could hang it later, but I wanted to see it hung, so I went out to buy tacks. I got a little side-tracked and stopped at the jewelry shop where I'd bought my nose ring. It was open! I bargained for the gold ring I'd seen and liked the last time I was there. However, apparently it was custom made and already sold, so he told me to come back in 30 min and he'd make me one. Oh dear. Already late, but how could I refuse?! When will I ever be back in Namche? So, I went to get the tacks and went back to the hotel. Damian had to help me hang it because I was too short, even standing on the table. But we got it. It looks good. I tried to dilly dally a bit and finished packing my bag. Twenty minutes later I went back to the jewelry shop. He finished the ring almost within the deadline he gave himself. I didn't really like it. I wanted the old one. Argh. I bought it anyway. We finally left around 09:45. Only two hours late. 😬 Today was a beautiful day. No rain. Warm. A bit of a break in the clouds here and there. This was more what I expected for the trek. Humid. I actually had beads of sweat on my forehead. That was a first since the trek in. I had gotten used to the cold body sweats instead of the hot head sweats. I kept up a bit better today. Yesterday I literally had to track Damian by his shoe prints. As we descended, we actually started to see bugs again. Turns out I didn't miss them. So much green! So much color! I've always wanted to find a four-leaf clover. Today wasn't my day. I expected more flowers along the route. I think there were actually more on the way in. I've gotten a bit better at spitting, which is good. I took an ibuprofen this morning, and I did fine all day. Damian struggled with his knees today. So many bridges. I miss kissing on bridges. And with red and green. And lots of things. Lunch was DELICIOUS! Some of the best food in a while. I got fried rice with tuna, veggie momos, cabbage and carrot salad, apple pie, masala tea, and two mint teas. Definitely the best apple pie thus far. The first mint tea was with "sontsu" mint. That is the type of mint tea that the owners prefer. I tried chewing on the leaves, though, and they had no flavor, so I asked for the other kind of mint. It was much better, in my opinion: it just actually tasted like mint. I saw a really cool flower growing from a tree, but I couldn't get a good picture of it. I figured I'd see it again, but I kept a good look out and never did. Not long after lunch I had a very urgent need to defecate. Unfortunately, everything was closed. There also wasn't a great place to get off the trail. I had to stop and stand still several times to keep it inside. Finally, by a bridge, there was a little place for me to be a bit inconspicuous. I barely got my pants off in time, stepped on my ear bud... Phew. VERY close call. Too close. I was visible to the trail on either side, so I took off my bright red buff so I'd blend in a little if needed. Damn. I don't know what's wrong with my guts. And then, of course, I ran into Damian and Pasang two minutes later at a cafe with a toilet... Sigh. I almost got knocked over or smashed against a metal bridge by a horse. I noticed a bunch of badminton-type rackets being sold, but no badminton courts. Volleyball courts, yes, but with volleyballs. Women and kids would just be walking around or sitting holding the rackets. I thought maybe they were using them as fly or bug swatters, but as Buddhists, they can't harm living things... So confused! Well, we eventually arrived in Lukla, eight hours later. Can't trust Pasang's time estimates. Ha. So much for 4-5 hours, six at the most! That said, it really was a lovely day, and I thoroughly enjoyed the trek. It really was beautiful. We thought we were staying at Paradise Lodge, but just as we were getting there, Pasang got a call that we were to stay at Everest Kitchen instead. Everest Kitchen is also called Everest Mountain Home, and it is the home of some of the most unfriendly and unwelcoming and inhospitable and COVID-obsessed (rightfully so) people. We put in our dinner orders, and for the first time, I felt worried about what to order. We learned at lunch that we are no longer allowed, for the first time since we landed in Kathmandu two months ago, to order dessert as part of the included meals (WTF). I was thinking about ordering dessert for dinner - lemon crepes - but was too afraid. While awaiting dinner, I went out with Pasang to try to find a certain t-shirt for Lori. COVID had pretty much shut down the whole town, and it was late/dark. We were unsuccessful. Maybe in Kathmandu, but things are still shut everywhere... Back at the room, I took a lukewarm shower and then went down to dinner. Lots of bugs in the room and the trash hadn't been emptied from the prior guest(s). Dinner was not good. I ordered a pizza and left half of it. Damian and I tried to then order fries to split, and they told us since we didn't tell them sooner, we'd have to wait until they finished the meals for everyone else - about 25 min. Well, that turned into almost 45 min. Sigh. Anyway, if the weather is clear, we are having breakfast at 05:30, so off to bed I go. Cheers! May 28th:
Awoke to the sounds of torrential downpour. It was so loud and so consistent, I wasn't sure if it was a roaring river instead. I didn't want to go out into the rain, because we'd be soaked and freezing within the hour, I was starting to feel sick again, and this was supposed to be fun! Also, the time to walk to Namche somehow increased from 6 hours to 9 hours, and 9 hours under the rain sounded awful. Damian and I were on the same page; Akash was a bit caught in the middle. While awaiting answers from Mike and Little Tendi - about tea houses open mid-way and whether they'd cover the cost - Akash decided to just pay for a helicopter. And then there were two... Breakfast was a veggie egg white omelet and some Tibetan bread with ghee and jam. I was still full from yesterday. I also had a flavorless green tea and hot water. It was so cold just sitting inside: I didn't want to think about outside. I shouldn't have left my parka in my duffel bag... So, we decided to just start walking. No way around it, it seemed. It was still raining, but it had gotten a little better. As expected, Pasang and Damian disappeared pretty quickly. He said once he turned around to make sure I was still there and noticed my feet moving in overtime. I think I take twice as many steps as he does, and I still can't keep up. Sigh. I just hate going down. It hurts so much. I tried not thinking about the pain. I tried listening to music. I tried paying extra attention to nature, stopping to take photos. But the pain was just too much. My feet, my knees, my hips, my shoulders, my right clavicle. I almost cried walking down. Why was this so much more painful than descending from the top of the world? Of course, being damp/wet under my hardshells didn't help. Just a gross feeling to top it all off. I do think we missed the worst of the rain this morning. I listened to Sara Bareilles' new live album from the Hollywood Bowl. It was the first time I was doing nothing other than listen to it, and I heard whole songs I didn't remember hearing before. One of the songs made me miss some good jazz music. After her album, I moved on to the mix Benson made me. I don't normally listen to music while I'm hiking, but I was alone most the day, and I'd hoped it would serve as a good distraction. Damien said he looked back several times to keep an eye on me. We stopped for lunch - THANK GOODNESS because I couldn't go any farther - in a little town called Funggathangga. I had gotten hungry earlier on the trail because my breakfast was so small, and I ate the 50-day old Snickers bar Ryan had gotten me on the way to EBC. It was a bit worn and beaten: it had, after all, made it to the top of Everest and back. So, by lunch time, I just wanted soup: I ordered a tomato soup with garlic and a spicy ramen noodle soup. I couldn't quite finish the tomato soup, but they were both good. Damian gave me a paracetamol for my aches and pains. Only two small rocks were added to my collection today. I ate a Pulparindo! The last two hours to Namche were a better mix of terrain: less steep down and plenty of up. I actually mostly kept up with Pasang and Damian for this part...other than for my picture-taking. I was a bit too much in my own world as we approached Namche, though, because I totally missed the turn and Pasang had to come after me. I think Namche should be named "Dog City." One can hear them pretty much 24 hours a day, and the streets are just overcome with them in places. Three dogs sleeping per bench... They are 100% of the homeless population here, it seems. We stayed in the same place we stayed on the way here: Namche Hotel. We got situated in our rooms and took deliciously hot showers. While I was in my shower, someone walked all the way in my room and put the bag the porter was carrying on my bed - just a change of shoes, snacks, flasks, and my toiletries. I had two beds in my room, and I immediately turned on both electric mattress warmers. I even put some of my wet clothes between the warmer and the comforter to dry them. Worked like a charm! Back upstairs, Damian and I headed to the Irish pub. I thought it was pretty cool to go to an Irish pub with an Irishman, granted, it was in Namche, Nepal... Ha. We each had a Guinness, and then we split two local beers: the Sherpa Red Ale and the Gyorka. Damian's treat - really sweet of him. The bar tender was happy to see us, as he hadn't had a customer in days. He spoke English really well, so we chatted about Everest and our lives. I think I might be the only one this year to have summitted and walked out. The bar tender was flattering. He called me a "tough woman," and after I'd told him a little about my summit experience, he said I could survive anything in life now. That was nice to hear. Back at the hotel, we had dinner sitting by the heater. It is so nice to be able to order what I want to eat instead of just getting served whatever. We split a mushroom pizza and veggie momos, and then I had a veggie salad, mint tea, and hot water. After dinner we shared chocolate pudding, apple slices, and rice pudding. I also had a glass of the local "whiskey," or millet, made here in Namche. It basically tasted like fermented dirty water, but it was worth a try. Poor Pasang is suffering from itchy and watery eyes...allergies vs. bacterial conjunctivitis. Before heading to bed, I spoke with the owners of the hotel about leaving the Ho-Chunk flag here. They said that was fine. So, we'll sign it tomorrow and put it on the ceiling. Yay!!!! Goodnight, folks! May 27th:
Good morning. I slept well. I didn't want to get up - felt so good. But I knew lying there wouldn't somehow make the morning last longer. My last morning in EBC. Bittersweet. I started the final packing process while I waited for breakfast. I found Remy and asked her to pay me for my gloves that she left at Camp 2. She and Asma were off to make their final arrangements to switch companies in order to get another summit attempt in this year. Gelbo actually brought me a big serving of egg whites. It was delightful. I didn't even have to eat the pancake to fill myself up. We had a good breakfast group. I am going to miss them and I'm going to miss meals with company. After breakfast, I took a shower. I was careful not to request it in front of Big Tendi, because he probably would have forbidden it. It was quite overcast and snowing. I don’t think he likes people taking showers in cold weather. However, I knew I wouldn’t get to take one tonight, so I went for it. Just after it started, the water went cold, but I stood there naked, cold, and wet, troubleshooting the system until it went right again. Close call. I was ready about 5-10 min late, but nothing else was ready...had to go find Mike and wait for tags, a marker, a porter, our Sherpa guide, etc. Gave me some time to say my goodbyes. Damian was itching to go. He kindly carried my duffels to the drop off point. We finally left at 10:55. Our Sherpa, Pasang*, walks really fast. Too fast. I wanted to enjoy the walk. Albeit, the bad weather affected that some. Over the first hour or two, he would stop and wait every once in a while, but soon this stopped. I had been walking in the middle but felt Akash on my heels, so I asked to walk at the back. Akash, at least, kept an eye out for me, and we walked together at times. It's kinda neat that I walked up with the other three members of my original team, and now I'm walking out with the two I didn't walk in with. And it's just us. *Any Sherpa born on a Friday is "Pasang." We had constant cold weather with blowing rain or snow. Maybe not the most dangerous weather of the trip, but certainly the worst. We all got soaked. I was still glad I was walking, but I wasn't getting the views I'd hoped for. There was a little green... I had worn my hardshell jacket but only my softshell pants. By the time the water was dripping through my pants and into my boots, I'd had enough. I caught up with Akash and Damian, who had stopped to tie his shoe, and changed my pants. I was surprised they didn't walk away in embarrassment, but I was glad they didn't, because my balance sucks. I untied my boots, off with one boot and one leg at a time. Then on with one leg and boot at a time. I almost fell over twice, but Damian had his arm out for me to grab. My legs got a bit wet in the process, so that didn't feel great against the bare hardshells, but oh well. Overall it was better. We stopped at Oxygen Restaurant in Lobuche for lunch around 14:15, and we were there until 16:00. We all undressed to some degree and put all of our clothes around the wood stove. We just made ourselves at home, pulling chairs around the stove for our clothes and ourselves. Eventually the wet and the chill faded. I had gotten soaked through all my layers, so my bra, shirt, jacket, pants, socks, and gloves were all around the stove. I burned tiny little holes in my buff and my bra, getting them too close to the stove. Akash was trying to help me dry and got the back of one of my gloves completely melted. It was a cold day...even my urine stream in their bathroom had notable steam. I ate two tuna and cheese sandwiches and some dahl soup for lunch. When it was time to go, I put my wet softshell pants over my now-dry hardshell pants. Tried something new. Worked ok. I had a little but if yak stool envy - so well formed. Damian was impressed with the speed and efficiency of my P-style skillz. Be proud: I only collected four rocks today. Chatted with Akash about financial stuff the last 30 min or so. He is an investment banker for Chase. I'm so clueless. We arrived to the Edelweiss in Pheriche around 17:45. I was more sore after today than any other day. I've become soft and mushy. I got my own room! And it's on the ground floor instead of in the basement, which is good. No electric bed heater. The sink doesn't work. My hands froze trying to wash them. Like that painful almost-to-numb freeze. We all congregated upstairs. Again, I brought all my clothes to dry. For dinner, I had my favorites: two fried veggie plates, cheese roll, apple turnover, and hot water with fresh mint. Damian tried to continue the Team 1 tradition of ordering (and eating) a fried Mars or Snickers bar, but they were OUT OF CHOCOLATE?!!! Wth. Then some dawdling before bed. Some explosive diarrhea. Some journaling. Then lights out! Went to sleep to the sounds of torrential downpour. |