Day 4 (November 15, 2013) - Namche Bazar (3420m) to Dole (4110m)

It was another restless, cold night. Dogs baying, yaks bellowing, footsteps on the wooden planks above our heads, mice running beneath the floorboards, not even my trusty earplugs could drown the swell of night noises.

By the stupa celebrating Tenzing Norgay. Everest is the distant peak to the left.

Already we can see our breath in our room as we shiver from our sleeping bags in the morning. What can another 2000m in elevation gain mean for the cold? Discovering the secret magic of pancakes for breakfast, and their unique ability to keep us full for hours, we broke our fast with Jobeth and Ryan, wishing them well as they head towards Tengboche and EBC, while we head towards Dole and Gokyo. 

Bishnu is much more than a walking guide on this trek. As we hadn't planned on having a guide until days prior to our departure, we weren't fully up to speed on all of the roles and responsibilities of guides and porters. It is a delicate relationship between all involved. Guides, in addition to leading the way, show trekkers to their lodge rooms, take their food order, bring them meals from the kitchen, exsist it seems at the beck and call of their charges. Porters are more in the background. Lugging backpacks and bags early and quickly ahead of the trekkers, so they will be waiting for them when they arrive after an exhausting day. Most porters aspire to be guides, and so will want to practice their English and take on some of the duties of the guide. Since we are carrying our own packs, we only have Bishnu, and although he is supremely helpful, at times I feel lazy for all that he does for us.

Leaving the guesthouse a little before 0800, we begin the ascent from Namche. We soon passed a stupa memorial to the great Tenzing Norgay, who with Sir Edmund Hillary, was the first to stand atop Everest on May 29th, 1953. Sherpa Tenzing as he was called became a legend within his lifetime, livng as a hero of the people in his resolve and strength. 

The dual peaks of Ama Dablam are our constant companion, with glimpses of Everest from certain bends in the trail. Arriving at our destined fork, we branch off to the left, up a steep and seemingly underused path towards Gokyo. Emerging at the top, we began a gently ascending long straightaway on the mountainside towards the apex town of Mong La. After lunch, depaetung Mong La, we began a soul crushing 300m descent, undoing all of the upward progress we had made for the day. Crossing a waterfall that fed into the Dudh Kosi, we began the steep back up the lost elevation, and ever upwards to the valley village of Dole. 

A trekking porter.

During the climb, I experienced my first gut throwing headache. Blaming it on dehydration (after all, Diamox is a diuretic), I popped an ibuprofen and kept moving, one foot up above the other. As a lifetime, chronic, under-drinker of water, I tend to blame all headaches on dehydration, but in the back of my mind, the seed of doubt, of fear of altitude sickness was beginning to bloom. 

Finally, seven hours after setting out from Namche, we arrived at the River Side Lodge in Dole, nestled deep within the valley. The lodges have become more rustic, from cement, to plywood, the cold night seeping inside unhindered by any insulation. 

That evening, in the warmth of the dining room's yak dung powered stove, we struck up a conversation with a couple from Canada who had just wrapped up the Manaslu circuit trek. They told us of two people who died within days of each other on that trek, from falling off the narrow trail into the river. This is a beautiful land, but it is wild and dangerous. These sad reminders are a warning towards the slow, steady, safe approach to trekking. 

That night, filled to the brim with two helpings of dal bhat, I began the evolution of wearing more and more of my clothes to keep me warm at night. Even so, I shivered as I crawled into my sleeping bag. The cool wind blew outside, and Em and I fell fast asleep.