Nepal : Part 15 - EBC Trek (Day 8) - From Gorak Shep (5180m) to Orsho (4040m)

Summary of Meal Expenses

	Breakfast		Lunch		Dinner
	Gorak Shep		Tukhla		Orsho
	Meal	Price	Meal	Price	Meal	Price
Mine	Honey Pancake	340	Veg Fried Noodle	400	Rara Noodle	300
	Hot Water	60	Lemon Tea	90	Ginger Tea Hot Lemon	80 70
Sister	Cinnamon Sugar Pancake	360	Rara Noodle	300	Rara Noodle	300
	Hot Water	60	Lemon Tea	90	Lemon Honey Hot Lemon	100 70

My Story

I was hungry after the walk up Mount Kala Patthar. I tried the pancake and poured lots of honey on it. It was actually tasteless without the honey. You must wonder why do I have hot water every morning. Well, my sister and I bought sachets of milk and tea powder. So, we make our own tea and milk. In Gorak Shep, a cup of tea costs Rs120 whilst a cup of milk costs Rs110. Expensive eh? 

The temperature in the lodge shows it was 5 degrees outside. Yes, it was cold. I was shivering to keep myself warm. I keep telling myself that we are descending today - we are going to lower ground, and I will feel warm soon. The owner of the lodge participated in the Everest Marathon. The distance is from EBC till Namche Bazaar. And to think that on lower ground, one can finish a marathon in less than 3 hours, and here we are taking 5 days. The altitude makes a lot of difference.

We had a group photo taken with the owner of the lodge who had also went up to Mount Everest.

The guide showed us the equipment used to summit Mount Everest. This is the ladder used for climbing up the ice, while the below ladders are for crossing crevices. The ladder lies horizontal over huge gaps.

At 8.50am, we said goodbye to Gorak Shep. Our descending journey starts. It was a 2 hour walk back to Lobuche. The walk was easy. My steps were light.

This, my dear readers, is juniper. Juniper plant is fragrant. Its smell is so calming. It can only be found between 4000m - 5000m.

I noticed an area for the helicopter landing in Lobuche. This is used for emergency evacuation in the event of Altitude Mountain Sickness and also for unloading of cargo. As we walked back, we encountered many yaks. The peak season is starting, and the yaks are carrying lots of cargo, be it trekking equipment or food.

This time, instead of going back to Dingboche, we headed down to Pheriche. It is nice to use a different route. Pheriche Village is in a valley and it was so windy as we walked. Our guide suggested that we stayed in Orsho, as it will get cold at night considering Pheriche location in the valley. We totally agreed.

It felt like a never-ending path to Pheriche Village. We walk next to a stream, many rocks, and bushes that I thought looked like bodies underneath it, but they are actually rocks where the grass has grown over it.

Today, we heard a rescue helicopter. It was heading towards Lobuche. The helicopter will bring the trekker back to Kathmandu to be treated at a hospital specialised in Altitude Mountain Sickness.

I also call this the Valley of the Rocks because I had to walk and jump on many of them. I did not want to end up in the puddle.

At 3.40pm, we see our place of stay. We are in Orsho now.

Tonight, both of us had Rara Noodles, because we were tired. We had no idea what to eat. So, we opt for the easiest and simplest meal.

That night, I started to develop a slight cough. My head also started to itch.