Day 17 of our attempt to trek the EBC. It would be another rather short hop from Thukla to Lobuche which would be our final stop before making our attempt for Basecamp. It would be about 3 km trek over a gentle gradient gaining another 300 metres to have us at 4900 metres altitude. I woke up feeling a bit better than yesterday. Still pretty weak in my legs and since the fever eating is a bit of struggle as it doesn’t seem to like anything accept plain boiled rice, soup and plain biscuits. Anyway still improving so that’s good and my sats are doing well too. There had been a dusting of snow overnight so after a quick breakfast we got stuck into it. We had quite a steep climb at first and then it would be quite a gentle slope up to our next place of rest. The hike up wasn’t too bad dodging rental horses and trekkers coming down. We passed a beautiful location of memorial stupas representing those who have died on Everest all dusted with snow. Then we carried on along the valley. I’m still not at full strength. I could feel it in my legs around the 3rd kilometer but we made it in good time arriving in about an hour and half. We arrived around lunch time and had the afternoon free. Sonam would have liked us to hike around a bit more to encourage our acclimatization. Sadly I wasn’t feeling up to it yet so opted for rest next to the fire and trying to work on taking on hydration and calories. Mum took a nap for the afternoon. I had a bit of a funny turn going up the stairs of our tea house but I’m pretty sure it’s because I put a bit too much “sea level” vigor into my ascent and winded myself. Also managed to solve a mystery that has been worrying our party for a bit. I’d been getting lot of cramps in my ribs and my neck muscles has been really sore. This causes concerns as altitude can cause lung and brain injuries. After some self investigation I found the culprit. An over tight sports bra! So that immediately went in the bin and all suspicious pains went away 😂. Tomorrow’s the big day! Little worried about it as it’s 6km out and 3 back to our accommodation. Hopefully I have regained enough strength to make it by tomorrow. Mum seems worried. Well we’ll see!
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