Friday, July 30, 2010

Markha Valley Trek Day 5 - Markha to Thachungtse

Markha 30 July 2010 7:30am 3850m
I definitely have diarrhoea - I was up several times during the night. A late start today because of the river crossings between Markha and Techa. The Markha River has a daily variation in flow caused by snow melt. If it is a cloudy day there is less snow melt and the river stays lower. However it takes a while for the water to flow down to Markha. At 7pm last night the river was much higher than at 2pm. Similarly Pema expects the flow to drop after 8am. The bad news is that there was the rain the night before last that will still be running off the high pasture and the sky over the snow fields was clear yesterday.

I have very small blisters on the big toes of both feet. They are not hurting but I have applied plasters just to be safe. I expect these will need to be redone after the river crossings.

Yesterday I met 2 British women who had failed to climb Kang Yaze (the highest peak in this area) because of repeated cloud. I hope the same isn't affecting Mike & Caroline on Stok Kanze.

Umlung 10am
The river was still quite high at the fords before Techa and the track was also flooded for most of the 1km between the fords. At the second ford I had a bit of difficulty with horses. First one horse forgot how wide its load was and I had to step out of its way, then halfway across a second horse decided it was going right where I was and I could move. I got much wetter on these crossings than on the much talked about ford before Markha yesterday. The water is very cold and the stones hurt my poor little bare feet.

I'm definitely weaker today. I was really needing a break when we got to the tea house.

Da-amo midday
I've decided I'm definitely prejudiced against French people. I suspect it is because like English speakers they don't try to learn other languages. I came into the teahouse ordered tea an when it arrive I took out my lunch and started eating. The large French party came in, and I suspect the guide ordered tea for them but to me it appeared they were just eating lunch in the shade at the teahouse without ordering anything. But being about 15 of them it took a while for the tea to be made.

There is also a Japanese couple here. Their guide carried an insulated jar that had hot food (noodles) for their lunch.

In spite of all the ups an owns on the track we have climbed less tahn 100m so far and still have 400m to climb to Thachungtse. The signs at Da-amo so Hankar so I though I was 1 village further up the valley until I looked at the guide book and realised that I hadn't done the climbs immediately preceding Hankar.

Thachungtse 5:45pm 4300m
I got here exhausted at 2pm. After a cup of tea I slept for 2 hours. At the beginning of the climb up Nimaling Chu I tried to jump off a rock wall onto a boulder. Part of me knew it was a stupid thing to try but I was so tire that the alternatives seemed like to much energy. Anyway I landed badly and twisted my ankle. Or maybe that should be I landed well an got away with just twisting my ankle. There is only 20km more of walking to go so I think I can make it slowly.

The guy on the unicycle was here having a cup of tea before continuing to Nimaling. He is from Slovenia and 61 years old. Makes me feel staid and conservative.

Pema left me on my own shortly after Hankar to amke my own way up to Thachungtse. So I climbed up her in the baking sun by myself. I never got an energy kick after lunch, It might have been smart to have a sleep at Hankar - just what I felt like doing but the tea tent was very full and there was no other shade. I am getting around OK now so cross fingers all will be well with the ankle.

8:15pm
The Swiss woman whose name I have forgotten showed up at my tent with a pain relief pad for my ankle and bandaged it up for me. I also passed a solid motion. I'm not sure if it means the end of the diarrhoea or just the effect of the Loperamide. Either way it is a releif as it is a long way from my tent to the toilet here. (P.S. Sunsequent history shows it was just the Loperamide. I seem to be very sensative to its effects. I pill stops diarrhoea for 3 days).

The Nimaling Chu that was a small blue coloured stream (i;e; glacier feed colour) this morning is now a raging brown torrent - yet another instance of daily flow variation.

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