Isn’t it about time to start up hiking again? Well, we all have taken an atrophy break for a few months, but with the warmer weather (above freezing, woohoo) I’m getting the earliest signs of spring fever. When I wake up in the morning I don’t have to break through the ice on my blankets, and my shampoo isn’t frozen any more. I feel a light buzz of adrenaline now that the sun sets later and my legs are anxious to go run around the block. I’m in a wide valley surrounded by mountains, and I always look up and imagine hiking to each of the many peaks. However, the snow is still pretty thick and the temperatures still must be as cold as my apartment, so I don’t plan on any hikes up there just yet.

It seems my train of through over the last few days has been leading to our arrival in the Khumbu village of Phortse. I’m over complaining about hiking the rugged but beautiful terrain, and I can try to bring out more details of our passage across the trails. Before we actually made our final ascent for the day up to Phortse we stopped for a relaxing moment inside a small tea house just across the river (Kohanar Khola) and nibbled on our pack lunches of nak cheese and chapati bread. I’m sure we would have ordered some lemon tea, if only the owner had stopped in to check on us. We met another couple who were also passing through this point on the map on their way more northward to Dole, Machermo, and Gokyo. The topic of their brisk pace up the trail came up, and Richard felt he should warn them of their risks of elevation sickness. Richard had an encounter with these troubles on his previous trek through the region a few years before, and the quick route to Gokyo proved to be perilous. He urged them to take an extra day or two for acclimatization, though the couple didn’t take to the idea right away. It was refreshing to at least interact with some new faces and we were invigorated to get back to our next climb for the day.