I woke the next morning to a flat inflatable sleeping pad, which isn't ideal, but I had a good night's rest. Our alarm clock was one of the pack animals braying just behind our tent. A few minutes later, a porter came by with a tub of hot water for washing, soap, and cups of steaming coca tea.
We had a quick breakfast and started hiking just before 7 a.m. Julia and I were excited for the big day. Our camp was at 3100 meters (10,170 feet). Dead Woman's Pass tops out at 4215 meters (13,828 feet). P still wasn't eating but was determined to power through.
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| All smiles on the way up |
Within the first hour, we entered high altitude jungle--full of mossy trees and vegetation that you would normally expect at much lower elevation.
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| Porters |
On flat ground or downhill, the porters easily outpaced us. But this day was all up and steep. The porters frequently took breaks and we took turns passing each other.
The guy in the above photo was hiking very slowly and deliberately--never taking a break. We learned from his friends that he was still getting over an extreme case of food poisoning, but there was no "quit" in him.
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| Taking a break |
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| Julia re-hydrating |
When we stopped at 9:30 a.m. for for the last Gatorade stand on the trail, it was about half-way to the summit. Temperatures were cooling quickly, and the views were opening up.
2 comments:
Going back over my stuff I think the highest I've ever managed to hike just might get me up to Dead Woman's Pass. That was a while ago but I think the age thing might be offset by the fact that I'm in better shape now than then.
It's good to see that it's all smiles up there.
Looking forward to the next installment
I've only managed to nudge over 14,000 feet twice, and both were on Colorado's Gray's Peak, which is the easiest of all of the 14k peaks because the trailhead starts at 11k. It's got to be satisfying that you're in better shape now than then.
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