Previously Reb was struck by intense diahorrea, or the Ring of Fire as Mark likes to call it, which forced us to stay in the camp of Yak Kharka instead of Letdar. Normally this early stop wouldn't be problematic but we wanted to spend the following night at High Camp which is the last camp/'civilization' before going over the Thorung La Pass. From there, it should take approximately two and a half hours to get to the pass plus an additional four hours to arrive at the village on the other side. That's about 6-7 hours of hiking through snow and going over the highest point on 'the Circuit'.
Now the main concern with heading to High Camp is that EVERYONE wants to stay the night there before crossing the pass but there is a limited number of beds and it becomes a race amongst hikers as to who will have the fortunes of staying there. So, with Reb's diahorrea we were at a bit of a disadvantage, not only because of her health (poor Rebels) but our starting line for 'the race' began in Yak Kharka instead of Letdar.
The next morning we had a bit of a late start but we wanted Reb to feel fully rested. Even though our bodies are strong and toned after our weeks of climbing in altitude and hiking, it's still a challenge when you have a weak stomach. We decided to take our time to High Camp but with the worry of not getting a bed in the back of our minds, Mark decided to run ahead (good thing he's so fit) and try to reserve us a room. We were nearly to Thorung Phedi, which is the camp prior to High Camp, had just passed the hazardous areas of landslides, when we saw Mark approaching. Apparently we were too late and rumors of High Camp being full had trickled down the trail. Though disappointed I still saw the blessings: 1). we didnt' have to hike the intimidating switchback to find it full and then turn around and go back down 2). we managed to get a room in T. Phedi but barely and I felt sorrow for all those behind us who would either sleep on the tables, floor, and freeze that night or return from where they came. We were also fortunate that we had finished the day's hike by lunchtime, a first for us! This should give us plenty of time to rest, especially Reb, before tomorrow's infamous hike over the Thorung La.
