A bad night’s sleep as I was cold and no blankets to add – awoke to glorious clear skies and a heavy frost. Thankfully we had brought our washing in last night and dried it in front of the yak dung stove which emits an incredible heat! Others were less fortunate and found their socks and tops stiff with frost!
Gokyo, our destination, for the day sits on the shore of the highest and largest of the three lakes which are a beautiful blue giving the appearance of a tropical beach although the temperature of the water is rather closer to freezing rather than bath temperature! Rising up from the northern side is Gokyo Ri which we will climb tomorrow morning.
As for our journey, a short sharp stretch uphill and then we followed the valley side crossing the river high up with a strong wind following us leading to a fishing W cerise in freezing waters to retrieve a hat.
As we passed between the increasingly attractive lakes, I found a very pleasant spot on a flat slab of stone next to a cascade of mini waterfalls with fabulous views – where I found myself reminiscing, in particular about Dad.
On reaching the middle lake Patrick and I threw caution to the wind and decided to climb to reach an elevated position to take photos, this proved to be well worth the effort despite the altitude.
The hostel was well positioned with a great bakery immediately behind it which sold a fantastic range of cakes including a rich chocolate cake in huge slices – it would have been rude not to try it!
After a much needed lunch to pile in the carbs I slept for an hour and then we had an acclimatisation walk up to the ridge behind us where we had good views of the Ng Zumba glacier. It is or was 36 miles long but is now in retreat and is hardly fed from the top (if at all). It appears as a grey river of stones with occasional ice walls which are dark grey.
It would be fair to say that today has been a real struggle for me as a result of the lack of sleep last night and exhaustion along with the altitude. However a solution appears at our hosel for the night – there is a thick duvet in the bed and a pile of blankets so I should be as warm as toast tonight – if my afternoon nap is anything to go by!