Monday, July 13, 2009

July 1, 2009



We get up at 6:20am and get ready. We will be hiking 7-8 hours today. We leave 8:30am after breakfast of eggs, porridge, and toast. My tummy is hurting so I eat very little. Our first 2 hours of hiking are tough and we are all breathing hard. We finally ask about our day pack porter availability and they tell us that tomorrow it is possible to find someone to carry the day packs for the girls. We finally see the junction to Lava tower and Baranco wall. Lava tower will take us to 4100m where we will acclimatize. We have a pack lunch at the junction. (We were given lunch in the morning but most of us decide to eat cliff bars and the likes. The pack lunch consists of a pastry/muffin, chocolate bar, pineapple juice, and a boiled egg)













We start our ascent to Lava tower. We see three glaciers including Arrow and Heim. Heim is the largest glacier on the mountain but it changes practically every week. Almost 75% of the glaciers have receded. We move towards Lava Tower but Hashim decides to help me with my pack (my tummy is still hurting). I think the dust is getting to me and my lungs. It hurts to inhale. We spend about 30 minutes at Lava Tower and eat more cliff bars.



We descend downwards after a nice rest. We go down rocks and a very steep path. Since we are feeling good and have no acclimatize issues, we will skip 4th camp and go to 5th camp. As we descend, we see the SENSIA tree and the White Neck Raven. As we descend, Sonal and Pradeep have run out of water. Sonal has run out 2 hours away from the camp and Pradeep about 1 hour away. Dhaval runs out about 20 mins away. I have about 20 ounces left when i get to camp.



It has started to get cold, so we will change quickly and take a wipe bath. We now find out that we could have rented our own porta-potty for $400 for the whole week! OMG!!


We are all famished. Dinner is soup, paratha (pancake) and bland macaroni. Pradeep and Sonal head off to bed. They both are dehydrated and need rest. Sonal actually has nausea and vomiting which is concerning.

Dhaval, Ranjana and I steripen at 8pm and finish 26L. We will all keep our battery operated stuff in the sleeping bags to keep it all warm.

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