It's Sunday, Nov 3, I think. You do tend to lose track of time and the calendar.
We're in Ledar which is not so much of a village but another way station leading to the high pass. We're at 4250 m. The pass is at 5400. We will be crossing it in 2 days.
Since we left Manang 2 days ago, we've been above 4000 m. The scenery has been spectacular with the whole Annapurna range to our east side.
For two days, we went on a little side trip to Tilicho Lake. This is, apparently, the highest, largest lake in the world. In 3 hours we climbed 800 m to the lake at 4900 m. It was beautiful but cold, snowy and windy. Not a place you want to spend much time. So I took my pictures and headed down.
Unfortunately, in the past couple of days, I've managed to pick up a cold bug and by the time I got back to our lodge, I was bagged. After lunch, though, we had another 2.5 hour hike to Sheree Kharka (literally, Dry Pasture) where we were to spend the night. I went to bed for the rest of the afternoon. After a good night's sleep, I felt better.
Our hike on Sunday was just over 4 hours to Ledar. We traversed high on the west side of the valley with the Annapurnas to our right, through dryland shrubs and pastures. Probably one of the most spectacular routes so far.
We met up with one of the climbers who had been off attempting Chulu West. He had diagnosed an early stage of pulmonary edema yesterday so he decided to come back down. The others should be here later this afternoon.
Update: it's now Monday I think, a day later at least, and we've just finished a 2.25 hour hike up to Thorung Phedi at 4450 m. We're resting for the day, maybe hiking up a bit higher to acclimatize. I may go up a bit higher but we were at 4900 m the other day and, other than my cold, which is on the mend, I feel good. Slept for 11 hours last night.
We start early in the morning to climb to 5400 m and cross the pass. The end is in sight.
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