4000m to 4350m (+350m)
6.0km - 3 hours
At the 4000 metre milestone (kilometrestone?) we're now pretty high! Sleep was broken last night, with many more colourful dreams. We left the lodge at 6:30am accompanied by Scratch & Sniff, our two new dog guides. Our reason for leaving so early most days was to miss the afternoon rains which seemed to start around 2pm. This morning, breaking routine, there was light rain to start but it quickly cleared. The trail has a steep climb before you've even left the village, but soon flattens out along a treeless valley side, with the river far below on the right. Today was Helens turn for travellers stomach - there's no escaping it! The walking here is easy and the trail opens up onto a mossy, yak filled plain. If you want to go to Penriche keep left and high where the path goes up to the top of a hill; if you want to go to Dingboche keep right and low, where the path goes down to the cold, angry river and over a bridge, which is sometimes, apparently, not there! After the river is a steep climb up the hill, opposite is an impressive iron scree. Once over this ridge Dingboche comes into view.
We stay at the Moonlight lodge, which is owned by the sister of Namo at the Himalayan lodge in Pangboche. There's a real lack of tourists about, the only people I saw were a South African couple we'd not spoken to (yet) and Tom, Verina and Martin who were staying over in Penriche but were on a stroll to see what Dinboche was like (they preferred it). A little stream runs though the town, and at the top of this stream, providing some flavour to all of the water below, was a dead dog. It was there for as long as we were there; no-one seemed bothered about moving it from the water supply! We took an acclimatisation walk up to 4500m but wind picked up and the afternoon rains moved in again.
In the evening Dave created a dungeons and dragons map. He was the dungeon master and me and Helen the characters, which we drew while waiting for Dave to complete the map. My character was called Scarlet Tigernipple, a buxom, bare-chested, brunette warrior in chain-mail pants - I think this says something about me (bear in mind I've been travelling for a long time). We completed the map without dying and I found a rusty nail which I hope to use in a future game.
6.0km - 3 hours
At the 4000 metre milestone (kilometrestone?) we're now pretty high! Sleep was broken last night, with many more colourful dreams. We left the lodge at 6:30am accompanied by Scratch & Sniff, our two new dog guides. Our reason for leaving so early most days was to miss the afternoon rains which seemed to start around 2pm. This morning, breaking routine, there was light rain to start but it quickly cleared. The trail has a steep climb before you've even left the village, but soon flattens out along a treeless valley side, with the river far below on the right. Today was Helens turn for travellers stomach - there's no escaping it! The walking here is easy and the trail opens up onto a mossy, yak filled plain. If you want to go to Penriche keep left and high where the path goes up to the top of a hill; if you want to go to Dingboche keep right and low, where the path goes down to the cold, angry river and over a bridge, which is sometimes, apparently, not there! After the river is a steep climb up the hill, opposite is an impressive iron scree. Once over this ridge Dingboche comes into view.
We stay at the Moonlight lodge, which is owned by the sister of Namo at the Himalayan lodge in Pangboche. There's a real lack of tourists about, the only people I saw were a South African couple we'd not spoken to (yet) and Tom, Verina and Martin who were staying over in Penriche but were on a stroll to see what Dinboche was like (they preferred it). A little stream runs though the town, and at the top of this stream, providing some flavour to all of the water below, was a dead dog. It was there for as long as we were there; no-one seemed bothered about moving it from the water supply! We took an acclimatisation walk up to 4500m but wind picked up and the afternoon rains moved in again.
In the evening Dave created a dungeons and dragons map. He was the dungeon master and me and Helen the characters, which we drew while waiting for Dave to complete the map. My character was called Scarlet Tigernipple, a buxom, bare-chested, brunette warrior in chain-mail pants - I think this says something about me (bear in mind I've been travelling for a long time). We completed the map without dying and I found a rusty nail which I hope to use in a future game.
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| Scratch |
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| Y=AK2 |
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| Bridge over troubled waters |
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| Make a furnace - smelt the iron - craft a sword! |
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| Dingboche comes into view |
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| My room at the Moonlight lodge |
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| The owner of the Moonlight lodge with MonstaB |
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