October 9 - On the Move Again!

Today we are on the move again and this time we are headed for some serious altitude. Today we will climb higher than the top of Mt. Whitney and then 16 vertical feet higher we will be exactly half the altitude of the top of Mt. Everest! Wow! Our goal is the tiny settlement of Lobouche at 16,400 feet. Starting out in a river valley, the trail is nice to us but before long we are climbing the slope of a lateral moraine. The glaciers once extended much further down these drainages and evidence for the former presence of ice is becoming evident now. Lunch is enjoyed in the sunshine at a small lodge called Dugla. From there we climb higher to the stone meorials, a place where stone cairns have been erected to those who have lost their lives climbing the mountains of the Khumbu. It was touching. Arrived at Lobouche at 2:30 and enjoyed hot tea in a lodge. 16,400 feet!