Himalayan High Day 5

The day started off well with easy trails and beautiful forest scenery. Once we neared Deurali (3200m elevation), the last village before the base camps, we stopped for a snack and some tea with fellow trekkers. We looked at the mountains; they were all snow peaked and took our breaths away. 

Further along, a beautiful valley opened up with a river, but my body was slowing down, and fast.  The ground was a muddy-snowy-slush and made walking difficult. I pushed on. After two hours, I felt like I’d been walking forever.  My shoulders felt numb, the air was thin, and my legs were jelly and I told Andrew I needed a break. I felt base camp couldn’t come soon enough. I kept telling myself we’ll be there soon. It was just enough to keep me going. 

A long while later, Andrew broke the news to me.  He asked descending trekkers how far we were from MBC.  Replying to me, Andrew said, “You don’t want to know.”  It was a harmless enough statement but in my exhaustion I sat on a rock and teared up. “I can’t do it. I can’t walk anymore,” I moaned. Andrew patiently said, “Yes you can. We'll take another break.” After five minutes he grabbed my bag and we carried on. We climbed over a hill and saw a glorious sight: MBC! 

I was thrilled. The trekkers told Andrew 45 minutes to one hour. We were there in 15 minutes. I felt a bit foolish for my tears and self doubt but that quickly faded as we passed by Macchupacchre, nicknamed the fishtail for its twisting peak - one of many Himalayan giants we would see up close. We stopped for the day at MBC. It felt great because we were so close to our goal ABC (Annapurna Base Camp) which we'd tackle in the morning.