Yumthang Valley tour

Wow. There's scenic and then there's really scenic. Yumthang was very difficult to get to, partly because of the close proximity to China (foreigners have to get special permits, being on an organized tour is the only way to get there) and the winding, rugged mountain roads. It took our jeep 5 hours to drive 120kms (about 12-15 mph!). Everywhere we went, the landscape was strewn with Buddhists prayer flags. Anyways, I'm going to keep the words to a minimum, the photos tell the story better than I can. Click on them for a larger size.

Town of Lachen ("Lachen" means "great pass," apparently in reference to the pass along the border between Tibet and India.:





Notice the fireplace built inside without any chimneys? I asked a Sikkimese why they liked smoky rooms so much, and he said it was to keep the heat in.


Chopta Valley:





Yumthang Valley:








Me walking around Yumthang Valley (thanks for the photos Gilad).



Town of Lachung:
This was the operated by the tour company. Great place, probably the best place I've stayed so far in India! It even had toliet paper and a little paper inspection loop around the toliet. I know I've been in India for awhile when my standards for a "good" place are clean sheets and that I can smell disinfectant in a room.



So even though we were supposed to be escorted by a guide, I slipped out the back door during lunch and ended up wandering town. Well worth it, ended up having tea with a Tibetan guy named Tanzing. How often do you get invited to go have tea with someone?


Of course Lachung had their world famous vicious guard dogs. Look at them the wrong way, and they'll give you a yapping like you've never had before and maybe pee on your leg.


Morning offerring.



Random shots from the road

Hiking the Khangchendzonga Trek

The Khangchendzonga Trek is one of the most popular in Sikkim because of the spectactular views of Mt. Khangchendzonga, the 3rd highest peak in the world. It's been 5 days since I finished the 90km trek, and I'm still sore. All I can say is that if you start at 6000' and walk uphill for the better part of 3-4 days and you're still nowhere near the top... dang, those Himalayas are tall.

Day 1: Yuksom to Tschoka, elevation 5874' to 10,065'

Woo-hoo, we're at the trailhead, ready and rearing to go. Not sure if it's the excitement of going or the 3 cups of chai that I had at breakfast. Here are my trekking mates...



On the left is Will from Australia. In the middle is David (actually Dawid but pronouced David) from Poland. It's almost like the start of a joke, "an aussie, a pole, and an american go on a Himalayan trek..."

Here's the route we're taking...


Today was supposed to be the hardest day of the trek. Looking back, it really wasn't that bad, definitely no worse than climbing Half Dome from the Yosemite Valley. Of course, having 3 porters and 4 yaks carrying the heavy stuff (ok, nearly all the stuff) helped a little. Our guide actually hiked the 8 hours in sandals. I thought it was a little chilly the first day, but little did I know. Great views already though!


Our cook, scared of horses.

Prayer flag covered bridge





Day 2: Tschoka to Dzongri, elevation 10,065' to 14,256
From graffiti on the wall of the Dzongri trekker's hut...

Beautiful place but f***ing freezin'. Off to find a beach.

Yup, that about sums it up. I can't believe I left the warmth of southern India, to be this frickin' cold! I think this is the coldest I've ever been without the prospect of going inside!

It's beautiful though... we had a few brief moments where sunshine broke through the gray drabness. Hard to tell where the mountains end and the clouds begin.






Did I mention it was cold? I wore a thermal top, fleece sweatshirt, wool sweater, and my rain coat IN my sleeping bag, and I was still cold. I'm glad I'm doing this now when I'm in my 30's 'cause there's no way I'll be out here doing this when I'm 50.

Day 3: Dzongri rest day

Today was a "rest" day even though we crawled out of our semi-warm sleeping bags at 4:30am to catch sunrise over the Himalayas. Not only did I wake up at 4:30am, but I left someplace warm to go freeze outside! It was a nice sunrise, take my word for it. No pictures to show though (at least until I get the film developed), I think my digital camera was frozen to the floor. We were only 20km away from Khangchendzonga, and as the sun was rising, the moon was setting over the ridges.

The rest of the day was spent mostly in the sleeping bag, trying to stay warm. The weather was so strange though, it alternated between, sunshine, snowing, melting, sleeting, raining, fog, misting, and snowing again. Weird mountain weather, we must have made a mountain god angry, it was probably David and my discussing our dreams of chicken for dinner.(since it was a holy place, strictly vegetarian on this trek).




Porters, guide, and cook playing cards.


Besides the sunrise, my highlight of the day was meeting Team America- a group of a dozen Americans passed us at Dzongri. They were middle-aged yuppies dressed to the T in the latest Gucci high-tech expedition wear, complete with all the latest accessories like $150 hiking poles (yeah, go Team America!). They were the type who probably believed if they spent enough money, they could become whomever they wanted to be. I would have taken a photo of them, but I was too busy laughing at their ridiculous outfits (maybe I shouldn't have though, I was cold, and they weren't... Nah, I still wouldn't wear anything that ridiculous!). They were on expedition led by the sons of Tenzing Norgay, the first man to climb Everest with Hillary and a national hero.

So how much did such an honor cost the yuppies from America? $4000 from Delhi, not including plane fare!!! For the same exact route we were taking! One day of their trip was nearly double the entire costs of ours! We actually had the better weather and views throughout the trip since they were a day behind us. Yep, I bet that $400/day view was a lot different than the $25 version, hahaha. David, Will, and even our guide spent the rest of the day making fun of them.

Actually, the differences between Team America and our expedition really shows the differences between backpacking and going on organized tours in other countries. If it wasn't for the fact that big soldiers with big guns come to kick you off the mountain if you weren't on an organized tour, we probably would have done this by ourselves. We just choose the most economical option, and most of us make semi-spontaneous decisions to do something, not have it all completely planned out in advance back at home. Yeah, sometimes corners are cut with lower costs (more on this below) and you end up on "adventures" you never think you would be having when you wing something, but adventures and excitement are why we backpack around in the first place. We're probably better at dealing with change and being independent. Besides, the difference between $4000 and $225 is not even close!


Day 4: Dzongri to Thangsing, elevation 14,256 to 12,540'

Not sure if it was a combination of high altitude or the cold, but no one slept very well. We all woke up with headaches. I was dragging tail to Thangsing and Will completely exhausted himself. Thangsing is in a depression surrounded by mountains, and it's supposed to be even colder than Dzongri! There's also no outhouse since apparently the wind blew it away.

Will's in really bad shape, even though we hiked down in elevation. He went to sleep immediately after getting to Thangsing, but even after a couple of hours napping, he's still looking really bad at dinner time. He's got headaches, exhaustion, nausea- all symptoms of high altitude sickness. We agree to wake him up periodically throughout the night to check on him. It looks like he won't be able to go the Simiti Lake tomorrow, one of the highlights of the trip.

The reports of others who tried to continue past the lake to Goecha La, a viewpoint of Khangchendzonga, aren't that promising. Apparently some guys tried and ended up with frozen socks and boots the next day. No wonder they weren't too talkative on the trail! At 4pm, I can see only far as 20 feet and the rest is all whiteness and closing... I feel like I'm in Jack London novel.





Day 5: Thangsing to Simiti Lake, elevation 12,540' to 13,398'

Despite the cold, I see from the hut's window that the dawn is actually clear! Hooray! David and I (sans Will, our guide is going to take him down to lower elevation today) drag ourselves from the warmth of the sleeping bag, put on icy cold pants and boots, and having a character-building breakfast of popcorn and chai. We start our 3 hour journey sloshing through snow and cold to get to Simiti Lake. And you know what? It was worth it.


Blue and cold...

Heading toward the big mountain.



Mt. Pandim




I'm completely exhausted by the time we get to the lake. We make a token attempt to climb to Goecha La and decide to head back to Thangsing. Good thing, exit daylight, hello white coldness. This is about the extent of all I could see getting back to Thangsing.


So we get back to Thangsing, and what do we find? Will is still there! And he looks even worse! I don't even know how to answer him when he asks us how he looks. Like someone who's sufferring from altitude sickness for nearly a day, I suppose. David goes to find our guide and finds him napping! We're moving to lover elevation after "lunch."

On a side note- Team America catches up to Team Backpacker scrubs at Thangsing. Yep, that $4000 view is more white and cold than the $225 view, hahaha. They set up their Mountain Hardware expedition tents complete with tent outhouses! If I wasn't so damn hungry, I would have taken a photo... One of the Norgay sons comes to check on Will with an American yuppie doctor. Yep, confirms it's altitude sickness. Norgay leaves, the American doctor stays to boast he's on an expedition with a Norgay. Our conversation went something like this.

Yuppie: Do you know who that man is (practically gloating)?
Us: Umm... nope.
Yuppie: You ever see Everest the IMAX movie?
Us: Err... sorry. No.
Yuppie: (stammering) Well, he's in it! He's big you know?
Us: Uh huh (we give each other discreet winks, better humor the poor guy, after all he paid $4000).

Yuppie then asks us we have any trekking poles. Unable to contain any smartass comments any longer, I have to blurt out "only natural walking sticks we found along the trail." Hahaha... Yuppie starts giving us a "when I was your age" speech and a "not making fun of trekking poles" lecture, definitely a bad sign. Hah! I love Team America.

After lunch we start hiking towards Kokchuran, a bit lower in elevation.


Cooking in the Kokchuran hut-

Getting ready for bed-


Will is in horrible shape. At night time, I'm awoken by the sound of his labored breathing- he's making gurgling noises! Kokchuran isn't low enough! Why did our "experienced" guide wait so damn long to take him down in elevation! And we have a 7 hour hike ahead of us tomorrow.

Day 6: Kokchuran to Tshoka, elevation 11,000 something to 10,065'

Will looks like he hasn't slept or eaten in days. He's exhausted, he's had a headache for 3 days straight now. I think he'll only be able to hike for 2 hours. I ask our guide about getting a horse, not possible. Not out here. Can't even tie him to a yak, wouldn't work. To everyones suprise, he HIKES for nearly the entire 7+ hours through snow! Talk about sucking it up. I still don't know why our guide kept telling him that the camp was only half an hour away... for the last 2 hours! But with all the other bad judgements he's making, it doesn't suprise me.

I don't think I've seen the yaks carrying our packs move so fast. They must know they're heading back home or something.

A porter taking a rest.


View of the Tshoka Lake.


At nighttime, our "guide" gets drunk (a recurring theme), and gives an impromptu performance of Nepalese pop songs with a porters, cook, and yak man entourage. I can't wait to post a video clip. It's hysterically funny. I bet Team America doesn't get this type of entertainment for the Norgay brothers.

"Doooon't worry Willlll... I'll get you down. I'm here for yoooouuuu."


Paaaarrrtttyyyy!


Day 7: Tshoka rest day
I actually run into another epidemiologist in Tshoka today. We talk about at lengths about MRSA and syphilis and other infectious diseases that freak out the rest of the trekkers. But, she also has a nurse husband, Todd! Perfect, someone with medical expertise that could check on Will. Did our "guide" try and find someone with a medical background? Nope, he's too busy getting drunk again.

Scene from the Tshoka hut.


Hut poster-

(you know these red pandas are used on every Sikkim tourism poster. I've never seen one except when it was feeding time in the zoo.)

So David and I decide to give our drunk indian man without intelligent thought(DIMWIT) until dinnertime to find a way for Will to get down. The American nurse Todd checks on Will, we have to get him down to lower elevation first thing in the morning, it's getting serious now. Will's getting too dehydrated, and he's too weak. All day long our guide is calling on his mobile phone for a horse to carry Will. Not sure if it was incompetence or alcohol, but no way down materializes. David and I give up on DIMWIT, and while Will is screaming at DIMWIT, we go and ask around Tshoka for a horse to carry him down. We find one in 10 minutes. 10 minutes! And we don't speak the language. And we don't know the village. All we did was look for stables with saddles in the front. What the heck? This has turned into a do-it-yourself trek afterall.

Day 8: Tshoka to Yuksum, elevation 10,065' to 5874'

Hooray! I can't wait to take a hot shower, this is the longest I've gone without one. I'm D-O-N-E. My knees, ankles are sore.

The porters make Will a makeshift "throne" to carry him to the horse.


Stretcher for a horse




We make it out. Will right before going straight to the hospital.


Our porters and cook


Horseman and DIMWIT


At the hospital


Post trek

So I wish the story ends there. Will sees a doctor, gets better, and we had a great trek with some great views. Unfortunately it doesn't. I think the Yuksom doctor is quite possibly the worse doctor I have never met before! We wait and wait and wait for a doctor who doesn't show up to her own hospital. Everytime it's a different story. She was out late karaoking the night before and is hungover. She's at a wedding party. She's walking in the village. We don't have her mobile, and the phone doesn't work. What type of doctor can she be? Honestly, after Will passes out on me while we go to the hospital the next day, I go to her house and I get more flaky explanations. "The doctor was at the hospital yesterday." Yeah right, I ask how the wedding was, and the guy who's at the house suddenly gets defensive. "Maybe she was just on her lunch break." From 2pm until 6pm?!!! Horrible. We decide that even if she shows up, how can you possibly trust her medical judgement?

Will and I hire a private taxi to take him to the Gangtok hospital, a 5 hour drive away. He's looking like he's near death. 3 bags of IV fluid and 2 days later, he's still not doing well. That's one of the worse things while traveling solo, getting seriously sick. So it's kind of like a backpacker code, we try and take care of each other when someone gets ill. Anyways, what an adventure. I bet Team America doesn't get this type of excitement!