Trailgunner Blogs

 Lukla to Home Early morning around 07.00, I checked out of the hotel. Flight was at 09.30 so I had plenty of time for security and other protocols as the airport was just across the street. There was a joke from the previous night that the airport and flights ran on ''Nepali'' time and your tickets weren't a guarantee. We were too drunk to discuss that further. The Lukla airport was a small landing strip carved into the side of a mountain in the Himalayas. It is considered one of the most dangerous airport as there was literally no room for error during landing and take-offs due to the air pockets created by the surrounding mountains and a runway which leads right off a steep cliff.  The airport was tiny with a small lobby, check-in area, security check and a ''waiting area'' gate area. It wasn't bigger than your average McDonald's and the runway/taxi area not bigger than a parking lot. The airport was packed well beyond capacity with hundre...

 Thame to Lukla The previous night was difficult to sleep only because I was thinking constantly about the last few weeks. I had to admit that I was a little homesick since I didn't have any target in front of me anymore. It was just about getting back to Kathmandu. I wanted to speak to my wife with whom I hadn't spoken since Day 3 of  this journey. I looked at my itinerary and budget was well within the expenses. For the first time, I decided to get a Wi-Fi card as it was quite cheaper in Thame than some of the higher altitude located villages. I called her and spoke deliriously for the next 30 mins. She was relieved to hear my voice and see that I was physically alright. There wasn't enough data limit to explain my experience in detail but I promised to share as many pictures as possible. We discussed about the flight from Kathmandu and I had to book a flight from Lukla if I had to make the KTM flight back home. She decided to book my tickets for the next day as my flight...

 Gokyo to Thame The rest seemed to have really helped my sleep. I felt energised and eager to begin and finish the last leg of the journey. I left the lodge at 05.30 and pretty much followed the same trail as the one I took on day 1 here. The trail branched off steeply to a relatively flat area which resembled a crater. This was quite a beautiful trail with the Gokyo lake growing more picturesque as you went higher.  As I moved ahead on what I was fairly certain was the moon, breathing became very pretty heavy. Maybe, the body wasn't used to the long rest I had the previous day, it probably need a reset. This was the most lethargic I had felt for no apparent reason. Eventually, I could make out the prayer flags marking the pass. It was a lot farther than what I had expected. The trail remained gradual until it reached directly below Renjo La. Then it was just as steep as anything I had come across during any part of the past few weeks. It was a tough climb, however, I had fall...

 Rest Day After two grueling weeks, I finally had a rest day. My knee and ankle were definitely calling for it. My ankle was still swollen but hanging on with proper precautions and support. I was almost out of those miracle painkillers I was given earlier in the trek. I visited a local coffee shop which had one of the best views one could find in the world. I spent most of the time there resting my leg, updating my diary and enjoying the sun. Later in the day, I relaxed around the Gokyo lake with it's stunning views and used the lake water for some cold therapy for my feet. The rest of the evening was spent in the cosy dining hall prepping for the final pass of Renjo La, the next day.

 Tagnag to Gokyo Despite being one of the best lodges so far, the previous night was one of the coldest yet. The windows were etched in frost when I woke up. The owner as usual gave visiting cards for their sister concern lodges at Gokyo and gave some churpi for the day. The hike from Tagnag to Gokyo took me through the Ngozumba glacial moraine. It was a huge stretch that I didn't expect that early in the day. Up and down and around slopes of rocks and boulders was the only way to make progress. I followed the myriad of cairns and trails as best as possible while ensuring that I avoided all icy water bodies.  Eventually this terrain opened up to a grassy hillside with a view of Gokyo. One of the best village settings in the Himalayas, Gokyo (15,580ft) sat along the eastern bank of a beautiful, gleaming turquoise lake. You could see Gokyo Ri along the northern side of the lake, the trail climbing up to it's peak looked steep and stiff from distance. The lake, Dudh Pokhari, was ...

 Dzonghla to Tagnag over Cho La The day to cross Cho La was upon me. My handy map offered no fewer warnings than ''cramp-ons recommended, glacier crossing, keep to left, danger of crevasses, rockfall area, slippery patches, Good luck!'' Apparently, in good weather conditions, no special equipment was required and good weather is exactly what I had through this trek. I was carrying my micro-spikes in any case. I set out just after 06.00, picking up the trail heading northwest just behind the lodge. The morning was cold and crusty frost covered the grass. After a short uphill, the trail curved left along a slope following a wide valley. It eventually lowered into a rocky meadow which led into a valley. Then a steep gravel trail led you over boulders and a river which further climbed onward to a long rock scramble. I was well aware to not assume that the Pass would be at the top of this scramble after learning this hard lesson at Kongma La. I learnt on this trip that mount...

 Gorakshep to Dzonghla The previous night was cold and restless, one of the consequences of sleeping at high altitude being shitty sleep. Post breakfast, I packed up and headed back down the trail towards Lobuche. Luckily, the sections that had been bottlenecked on my way weren't too clogged today. Further down the trail, the valley flattened as I gradually descended into Lobuche. The trail towards Dzonghla lead through wide rocky valley floor. I had to cross that to join an exposed trail that ascended south-westward along the mountain before levelling out as it curved along the mountainside, making for a very pleasant flat hike with great view of the valley and surrounding mountains.  The trail rounded the the mountainside heading back towards the northeast, passing a Yak skull on a rock and a beautiful turquoise lake far below, eventually descending across a muddy plain before climbing back up the slope on the other side of the field. It was at this point, I realised that I ...

Lobuche to Gorakshep (Kala Pathar & EBC) Had an excellent previous day, mostly relaxed and narrated the Kongma La adventure to the teahouse staff. I was well rested for another exciting day ahead. The trail towards Gorakshep was full of groups and porters and were busy for the entire way. I had to bob and weave past the groups to make any progress, The trail gradually got steeper and curved through a moraine on route to Gorakshep. Around some of the narrow curving trails through the rock fields, bottlenecks of trekkers formed, everyone was headed towards the same destination. EBC and Kala Pathar was on top of everyone's mind. Finally, I made way past the crowds, I descended into Gorakshep. Took shelter in a small teahouse, dumped my bags and made my way towards the trail up Kala Pathar.  I had to walk across a large open sandy field to the trailhead. The trail was up in down in nature which was as expected as you were gaining height. There was boulder scramble that you had to d...

 Kongma La to Lobuche After enjoying my moment in the sun, it was now time to descend and head to Lobuche. What started as nice trail quickly turned into a boulder scramble from cairn to cairn which eventually gave way to steep loose-gravel switchbacks before descending along a more reasonable downhill slope to Kumbhu glacier. On this trail, I was probably one of the last to come down from the top. There was this old hiker who crossed me a couple of times and vice-versa. He looked a little lethargic, however, gave me a thumbs up when I checked on him. He barely spoke any English and both of us were slow but he was much better at going down the steep sections.  Ideally, one should get to Lobuche before 15.00 as the light faded very fast and crossing the glacier wasn't a joke as people mentioned in the previous days. I was a little behind, however, I was confident of getting to the destination well in time. About 30 mins later, I saw this man frantically rubbing his eyes and bre...

 Chukung to Lobuche  It wasn't the best of sleep as I was thinking of the last 24 hours and also about the huge task ahead. Had my breakfast at 05.30 and headed out at 06.00. Just about on time and now it was time to find the trail in the morning haze. The lodge owner informed me to follow the initial Chukung Ri trail before the diversion would be visible. The first hour of the trail included something which I had experienced earlier, some rock scrambling, steep climbs, switchbacks before the path opened up to a broad alpine meadow. Further along, the trail continued to wind it's way up very steep rocky switchbacks. I was confident that the pass was on top of this misery as I trudged my way slowly up the brutal incline. My ankle pain was again flared up with an additional dose of some knee pain for a bonus. Much to my anguish, the steep switchback did not top out at the pass. The trail dropped down and crossed over a small slope to a marshy bog area. I walked around the far si...

 Island Peak Experience I had barely slept and got up late as well. I caught up with Elena & Jens in the dining room sipping on their morning tea along with Dorji. They had a weird wry smile on their faces and admittedly, I was almost hoping for the excursion to be called off for some dubious reasons. I informed Dorji about my ankle situation and he reassured me that the boots and cramp-ons would provide adequate support and he had adequate medical equipment to deal with any issues. We started off around 10.00 as the base camp wasn't far off. We got there pretty quickly and met the rest of Dorji's team who had our tents set up. The rest of the required gear was on it's way. The plan was to launch from BC at midnight, summit at sunrise and return by late morning. Dorji's team-mate arrived soon with our gear and quickly segregated them along with passing on the penalty information if we lose anything. We got a demo of how to use some of the equipment and a practice se...

 Chukung Ri Acclimatization The day was all about fighting the elements and pushing yourself beyond the pain barrier. My ankle was still swollen and in the back of my mind, was my itinerary, schedule and making up time. I popped one painkiller I got the previous night, triple layered my ankle with bandage, socks and a compression sleeve. The acclimatization was essential for Kongma La and other passes in the upcoming days. What didn't help the situation was the freezing temperature through the night and still prevalent in the morning. The three worst parts of the day are: Getting out of your warm sleeping bag Leaving the cozy dining room to head to your freezing room The bathroom trip in the middle of the night into the freezing abyss of the bathroom Today, I had to get up to the highest point of my entire trek (at least that's what was in my plan), a lofty 18,191ft. To access the trail up to the peak, I hiked through the village, over a rocky field crossing 3 very slippery sem...

 Pangboche to Chukung I was heading towards Chukung which wasn't a big journey with gradual ascent with fantastic views of the 8000ers. It was another clear sky and I headed out around 08.00. The sun was out but it was still pretty cold. Had my base layer and my jacket on pretty much for the first time while trekking during the trip so far. The trail was fairly flat and gentle for most parts until towards the end. As usual, the trail led to a valley floor to cross a river before leading up again to the rocky slopes along the other side of the valley. The Yak trains on this trail provided a soothing background score with their bells which clung like small gongs. It just added another element to your overall experience. In about 30 mins, Ama Dablam was barely distinguishable, however, the snow capped summits of Island peak and Lhotse took center stage now. The further I hiked, came around a bend and got the view of Dingboche, a conglomeration of lodges, homes and Yak pastures, all se...

 Ama Dablam Base Camp The next morning was very refreshing even with the lack of sleep. Probably, the excitement of the day ahead was the adrenaline I needed. The trail towards Ama Dablam Base Camp veered off from the main trail through the village at the far end of Pangboche. You had to descend to a dusty path to a metal bridge over Dudh Kosi. Beyond the river, the trail made a very steep ascent through loose sandy switchbacks which already had me worried for the downhill return. Though steep and slippery, this section was relatively short emerging upon a large rock-strewn meadow. From there, you had to hike across a boulder laden hillside, where a myriad of loosely defined trails allowed the trekkers to choose their own path to the top.  At the top of the spine, a number of trails led the way along the ridge to the northeast, all heading in the same direction at different levels along the slope. To the other side of this ridge was a deep valley with the thin Cholunge Khola r...

 Namche Bazaar to Dingboche/Pangboche Today was the day where I started to leave the EBC trekkers behind and moved on to the 3 high passes. What I heard so far was, it was going to be a mad rush till the two trails separated respectively. Woke up early, grabbed a quick breakfast of Tibetan bread with cheese. Didn't realise the bread would be dense and stodgy, the hard cheese didn't help so gulped half of it with some tea and saved the rest for the trail. Leaving the lodge, the owner gave references and visiting card of his cousin's place in Dingboche promising discounts.  Once you climbed out of Namche, the trail was relatively flat as it snaked around that eastern edge of the plateau offering dramatic views of the mountains to come. Passed through Chorkung with ascents and descents overseeing the rushing Dudh Kosi flowed below with it's perceptible even from above. The next village in the trail was Kyangjuma which was filled with trekkers and all it had was one lodge. ...