Trekking Day 2

This day we remember as grueling and exhausting. We were told in the morning that it would be difficult and that is exactly what is was. We started off by facing 3182 steps. I broke them into 100 step increments before taking a rest and then continuing up. We noticed that many of the people that stayed in our village the night before were also heading up the hillside so we'd use the excuse to stop and chat with them along the way.



Once we had reached the top of the stairs, we stopped for a tea break. It was only mid-morning and we were exhausted. I don't know how the porters managed it with our bags on their backs.


After a brief rest we were back into trekking through dense rhododendron forests with the scent of flowers from the Daphne bush. This plant is used to make a local paper called Lokta.


There were checkpoints along the way to ensure that we had the correct trekking permits.


Madeline was eager to stop at these rock rest points.. it was something that we would look out for and take a minute to have some water and often a light snack. Here our porters and guide are also taking a break.


After about seven hours of hiking (including tea break and lunch) we arrived in Ghorepani (2860m). At this height there was a noticeable temperature drop and we were thankful for a fireplace in the lodge. There was no hot water when we arrived so we huddled around the fire to warm up. Rob may have had some sort of altitude sickness or exhaustion, but he was chilled and dizzy at this point. Madeline also woke up in the night and was sick. Unfortunately, there was no electricity so we had trouble quickly finding a garbage can for her, but with a lot of shuffling about, we got one in time.