8.99 miDistance
2,889 ftElevation gain
5,724 ftElevation loss
8 h 0 mTime
The big day had finally arrived: crossing over Thorong La Pass and entering the second half of the circuit. Today would be another day of less altitude gain when compared to how much we would lose. We ate our breakfast in a hurry as we were eager to begin.
It was a slow march up from Thorong Phedi to the pass. The trail was crowded, and thanks to the extreme elevations we were at (we started at 15,000 feet) we had to stop and take many breaks. One foot in front of the other, that's all ya gotta do. But after 3.5 hours we made it to the pass!
We were filled with joy at accomplishing such a tremendous effort. We dropped our heavy packs and reveled in what we had done. Our group of three crouched and posed for a photo at the sign marking the high point of the circuit. As we stood up we all became extremely light-headed and dizzy. It was no joke moving around at these altitudes. Even the slightest amount of steps caused us to become winded. Eventually though it was time to start our long descent down towards Muktinath.
After three hours of racing down the mountain, and stopping for a refreshment break at a refuge on the way down, we made it to Muktinath. This was a fairly good-sized city with plenty of places to stay and stores to window-shop at. We chose a place called Bob Marleys and it was a pretty nice place. They had nice showers with rain showerheads, comfy beds, and one of the best restaurants on the trek. Seriously, I had some pasta Carbonara here (my first time having it) and it was amazing! They also had a nice lounge below the restaurant for hanging out.
