8.91 miDistance
3,090 ftElevation gain
1,126 ftElevation loss
6 h 0 mTime
We had to say goodbye to Nathan yesterday. He had to continue on in order to finish the trek by a certain date, and couldn't take the variant route to Tilicho Lake with us, which is where we would be spending the night before heading up to the worlds highest freshwater lake at 15,500 feet. The three of us left Manang, and crossed a suspension bridge out of town in the early morning hours.
Most of the trail today would be going alongside mountain slopes that looked like they had either just had a landslide, or were about to. A couple of times a supply train of donkeys would cross our path and I got nervous that they would send the stony trail tumbling down. Luckily that never happened.
This terrain though looked like something from an alien world.
For nearly 5 hours we marched up and down these slopping hills, gaining altitude with each step. We took a mid-day break at small set of teahouses in a place called Shree Kharka, and decided to stay here on the way back from Tilicho Lake the following day, instead of pushing all the way for Thorong Phedi. The teahouses here are so colorful!
Eventually, after a long day of hiking, we arrived at Tilicho Lake Basecamp, and found what appeared to be the last places to sleep. There was a catch though: this room for all of us to share was in a small hut behind the main building. This meant thin walls, windows with holes in them, and rough mattresses to sleep on. It was better than nothing.
The dinner here was really good though. My body is finally getting used to eating nothing but cheap Dal Bhat, and the free refills! We went to bed early tonight after spending all evening hanging out in the dining hall reading and playing cards. Tomorrow we would be getting up early to do the hike up to the lake.
