A day with ups and downs (Day 27 of the world trip)

01.10.2019

Actually, I don't like camping, especially not wild camping without toilet, shower, etc. But somehow I slept really well and felt refreshed and fresh in the morning! :) Jonas was freezing, but I was really warm.

After breakfast, it was time to pack up and move on to the second stage. Like the day before, Jonas and I unintentionally led the group, as the others were tired or taking a break. We separated from the rest of the group even faster than the day before and walked with other groups that had already started before us.

Today's path was 80% uphill (often steep). We would climb 650 meters in altitude. It didn't even rain :O (What was going on here??) The climbs were really exhausting, but Jonas and I never felt like we were overexerting ourselves. We knew we were walking (too) fast, but it was a pace we could maintain well. And as I said, breaks would have exhausted us more than the snail's pace with lots of breathing and moving forward :)

At one point, there was a fork in the road and since there was no guide in front of us, we followed a couple of locals. On top of the hill, there was a small snack and one of the villagers came to us and pointed at the boiled eggs we were eating. We gave her one and she accepted it with a smile. People like to share up here ;-)

The path, which from then on was a narrow path through waist-high bushes, seemed a bit unusual to us, but afterwards we found out that we should have taken the other path at the fork. But our path was probably prettier, as the road surface made of soggy mule poop was gone this time :D

At the end of the narrow path, there was one last ascent. We didn't know it would be the last one, as we had no idea how far we had already walked. Unfortunately, it started to rain as usual and dense fog formed. You could maybe see 5m ahead, but to the side you could only see fog. The view might have been beautiful, but we didn't get to see it :D

After this ascent, it was more or less straight ahead and we chatted happily with some Indians when suddenly a guide from another group came running after us and explained that we had missed our camp. We had walked too far! :O ^^

A little demotivated, as the rain became even heavier and the rain jacket couldn't keep out anything anymore, Jonas and I turned around and eventually found our camp with less fog :) - although we were initially told that we were wrong. But that was because we had been so fast that our equipment and our mules were not yet up there. Oops!

To warm up, we were allowed to wait in the communal tent of the other group, drink tea, and then finally move into our tent after 2 hours. Once again, the sleeping bags were wet and since our clothes were also wet, the mood was at its lowest :(

Around 4 p.m., there were snacks - fried toasts filled with potatoes and onions. The Indians really like onions, much to my dismay... But since I was terribly hungry, I at least ate half of one and Jonas enjoyed 5 pieces. After that, we went back to the tent, but after a few minutes I didn't feel well at all. I lay down but groaned in discomfort, sat up, just feeling like shit. This went on for about an hour until Jonas suggested taking a few steps. And then, yes, then came the beginning of the end :p What followed were the worst hours ever :‘-(

Jonas and I both had to vomit multiple times, had diarrhea, and were completely exhausted. Rischab brought another guide who had a medical kit and they gave me something for the nausea, but it didn't help. We couldn't even keep water or tea down. It was getting dark and it just didn't stop. We felt sooo bad and it was cold and wet and simply unbearable. At some point, someone took us out of our tent and we went into the kitchen tent, where they turned on the gas grill so we could warm ourselves. The cook was already in his sleeping bag, trying to sleep, and both guides (Rischab and the "doctor") as well as one of Patis' companions as a translator (the guides spoke little to no English) were also in the tent. There was a lot of talk about what would help and what we should do, etc.

The doctor accompanied Jonas outside every few minutes while the others tried to convince me to lie down. I said that lying down makes me feel sick and that I prefer to squat/sit, but they insisted. I lay down and whoosh. Within 10 seconds, I heaved up the sip of tea I had just had. Yeah... Not a pretty sight ;-)

The night was endless and creepy. At some point, I was able to lie down, was wrapped in a sleeping bag, covered with blankets that smelled like mules, and the cook moved closer to me because I had severe chills.

Jonas got a "puke bucket" that he repeatedly needed, and sleep was not really an option.

Unfortunately, we were at 3,250m, several kilometers away from the nearest village, and even there, there was no medical care available. The nearest road was almost 20km away... So we had to get through it somehow, even if it was more bad than good. I was so relieved when the sun came up, at least the night was over...