Cayman Turtle Trekkers

It’s time to go home. We pack up in Namche ready for the two day trek back to Lukla with a wealth of unforgettable experiences from the past three weeks. The town clock tolls it’s simple bell chime telling us it’s 9 O’clock. Fittingly there are yaks in the passageway by our Tea House leaving gifts, I assume to wish us well on our journey?

After an arduous three and a half minute descent it’s time for coffee.

Our four guides throughout the trip have been just fabulous. Primarily they have ensured our safety but each of them have looked to make each day as comfortable as possible, helping those that need help, advising us as to local custom and making sure we achieve our goals. They are there to help in difficult situations and none more so than on the more challenging summits and treks. These guys and the many Sherpas and guides throughout the mountains are without question the hero’s. Thank you!

As we retrace our steps to Lukla we look at the faces of those fresh off the plane and starting their adventure and in turn them looking at us. What do they see? They are bright eyed, healthy and strong and by comparison we must resemble the walking wounded. In some way each of us is unwell, with many coughing and spluttering and we have three weeks of beard growth (it says something when after just three weeks my beard is longer that the hair on my head!). I asked the Turtle Trekkers to sum up the experience and the following words and phrases were used; dream come true, amazing, exhausting, incredible, challenging, gratifying, adventurous, memorable, exhilarating and cold. I do hope that the fresh faced walking the other way can read the more rewarding emotions when they look at us. My words are “eternally grateful”. Grateful to the simple kind generosity of the Nepalese people, grateful to have experienced such a magical adventure and grateful for the genuine friendship and companionship.

Sincere thanks to those that have taken the time to follow, comment, or message, your support means a great deal to the group. Thank you!

Finally, we are very much looking forward to getting together for coffee at Bruno’s next Monday morning.

As I elected to take the more direct route down to Namche (avoiding the high pass) this review covers our journey. With the help of the other group we will compile an additional Day 19/20 from their persepcetive.

Leaving our Gokyo Lakes Tea House we follow the Gokyo Valley south, and the Dudh Koshi Nadl river (which will be accompanying us for the next three days). As we move away from Gokyo village we quickly find Lake 2 in the Gokyo lake string. Slightly smaller but no less stunning.

We continue to follow the river and notice that instead of passing the spent and recovering we are now passing those in meditation or contemplation. The scenic beauty of the trail inspires thought rather than exhaustion.

Crossing the river one last time we slowly climb leaving the river far below as the trail grips the hillside along the top of the valley affording amazing views far down the valley and beyond.

By afternoon we find ourselves in rhododendron groves and shortly thereafter we feel as though we are re-entering earths atmosphere as at long last we fall below the tree line and rediscover the world of shade and light, cool and hot, shadows, birdsong and the crunch of leaves underfoot. The Rhododendron (meaning Red Tree) is the national flower of Nepal and is widespread throughout the region.

As the light fades we find our Tea House in Phortse Thanga next to the river. Throughout the day we have enjoyed the river as a companion from all levels, from very high up looking down in to the valley to being able to feel the cool of the rushing water from the bank and it is fitting that we now sleep to the sounds of our companion. We have descended 1,000m today and the air here is richer and warmer so sleep comes more easily.

With morning comes a 300m climb back out of the valley and away from our rushing friend. We take the climb at a leisurely pace and enjoy the views of the mountains above and the river below both through the lush vegetation. We are surrounded by huge pine trees and the powerful scent of millions of pine needles on the trail. As we pass the temple at the top of the valley we know it’s downhill to Namche.

I have learned over the past two days that for me it is most certainly the journey rather than the destination that gives me the most pleasure. Oftentimes we have walked alone with not a soul in sight and the pure beauty and tranquility is precisely why I travelled over 9,000 miles to be here.

We meet up, as planned, with our fellow Turtle Trekkers in Namche in time for lunch to share stories of our two paths. Everyone is excited and in good spirits.

Today will be a short report as the rest day at Gokyo Lakes was just that. Some chose to walk around the lake others chose to stay in the warm making the most of real coffee and pastries and one intrepid member chose to hike up Gokyo Ri and admire the views.

Photo credits and thanks to Craig Burke.

Before leaving Cayman I was entrusted with a small piece of Caymanite to place somewhere appropriate on our journey. Gokyo Lakes seems perfect so a tiny piece of Cayman now sits peacefully on the shore of this sacred lake.

This was also a day to plan the remainder of the trip. It was decided that we would split in to two groups for the following two days and regroup in Namche. The larger group are to take the high pass Renjo La and take the route via Thame down to Namche. The smaller group will head south past Gokyo lake 2, on to overnight at Phortse Thanga and meet up in Namche. From Namche we head to Lukla and on to Kathmandu.

The Chola Pass connects Everest valley with Gokyo valley and is a demanding day trekking, rock climbing and negotiating a glacier. The direction we are approaching the Pass is acknowledged as the slightly easier.

The start is early to ensure the glacier crossing is complete as early in the day as possible. As we walked past the Base Camp for Mt. Cholatse (6335) we were in awe as to the day that the climbers were already dealing with and we plodded on toward the Pass and the steep incline. The pass tops at 5,420m (17,782ft) which translates to a relentless 600m climb fo the turtles today. The steep incline morphs into a rock climb and after a brief rest at the top of the rock face we head to the glacier.

By the time we arrive the glacier is slick and a few Bambi moments become inevitable. We’re told to avoid the slick ice and to focus on that we can crunch down. That’s easier said than done as what we could crunch down was separated by swathes of shiny polished ice. Thankfully, with the help of our Sherpas, a couple of pairs of temporary crampons that we ferried back and forth, and a degree of bad language we arrived at the final rock face and then the top of the pass. It’s unfathomable how the many porters carry their large loads up and over the pass.

After a stop for rehydration and energy bars we begin the 700m descent to Thagnak, the first village the other side of the pass. A mixture of scrambling down a boulder strewn face followed by undulating open stretches of steep inclines and declines.

The final stretch down to the village follows a fast flowing half frozen stream of glacial run-off where we encounter many of the sacred birds that resemble large quail (I must find out what they are called). We smell the village a good while before we see it with that now all too familiar scent.

We arrive some 10 hours after leaving Zhongla thoroughly exhausted but with a feeling of accomplishment. Chola Pass is considered one of the more challenging treks on the circuit. Not climbing, but definitely extreme trekking. Very rewarding by way of scenic magnificence and personal achievement.

We say goodbye to Dingboche for the third and final time and climb the now familiar hill behind the village up to the Stupa, then it’s out into the valley and on to Thukla for lunch.

After lunch we divert away from the popular Everest Base Camp trail and tread new ground toward the Chola Pass. The 3 hours from lunch to the Tea House at Dzongla we didn’t see another trekker. We are taking the High Pass and Lakes route anti-clockwise which is also the less popular direction. As we left lunch we faced a steep 150m climb after which the landscape changed to barren beauty similar to the moors with low shrub fragrant sunpatsi bushes that are used for incense. The weather pattern has been consistent with clear skies bright sun until about 2pm then the clouds roll in and the temperature drops. Being at 4,500m+ we are in the cloud line and often find ourselves playing cat and mouse with the clouds but when they clear for a moment you glimpse the rock, snow and ice of the giant mountains above. Below are the deep turquoise blue lakes catching the glacial run off.

Tomorrow we head to the Chola Pass. 5am start from our current altitude of 4,830m and a long hard day ahead climbing to 5,400m at the Pass and then down to 4,700m for our evening stop.

Following the exertions of yesterday an easy day was in order and a relatively short trek back down the valley to Dingboche, our third and final visit. The wind was brisk but progress was almost all downhill made for a leisurely time.

Now is a good time to recognise the hard working group of porters that have been with us since day one. One of the the key rules of the organization that we chose to travel with, Mountain Monarch, is “One Porter One Trekker”. So, each trekker is assigned a porter who carries the majority of his or her baggage from place to place. These guys are amazing. They virtually run from place to place be it a short distance or a long high altitude climb. Below is a photograph of our fantastic Porters. Some companies use Porters to carry two or even three Trekkers bags.

Unfortunately one of the realities of mountain living is illness. For several days now a few of the Turtle Trekkers have been suffering with a variety of ailments, some more serious than others. Hygiene in the mountains is a huge challenge and at night in the Tea House there is a cacophony of sneezing, wheezing and coughing. Once ill it is then very difficult to recover as there is no opportunity to get warm and no where to really wash and get clean. A few of us have really struggled these past days, none more so than Henry, and today he made the tough decision to leave the trek and get back to Kathmandu. He left in style by helicopter which took 10 minutes to cover the distance it had taken us 5 days to walk. We already miss him and wish him a speedy recovery.

The sink pictured serves an entire floor, probably 30 people and is situated in an open corridor.

Tomorrow it’s onward to Zhongla and then the High Passes.