Wanderlust On Foot

I woke up to an intensely cold and foggy morning. I had an early breakfast and Tika (the guide) and Dhankainji (the porter) were ready to head out. We hoped for better weather through the morning. The previous night’s snowfall had dumped about 2 feet of snow overnight that we had to tackle for the hike that day. The hike going up Cho La Pass from Dzongla was very quiet and there was hardly anyone on the trail. The fog had slowly but surely lifted and the skies turned blue.

As the skies cleared, a few choppers went by and I thought of my friends flying across to Gokyo. They could be in one of those choppers above me. I slowly trudged my way across the snow on the expansive trail with mountains all around me. Pumo Ri and Nuptse were distinctly visible on either side from my vantage point. The sheer scale of these mountains were grand and astounding. At one point, I paused to look at the beauty all around me and wanted to just scream my lungs out and say “Thank you!” to the universe. I felt a deep sense of gratitude wash over me as I thought about the last three years when I so badly wanted to make it here. I WAS finally here now and this immense feeling of joy brought a small tear down my cheek. The universe wanted me here to come and experience this. I am sure of it.

After a steep ascend, I reached the highest point of the pass and was surprised by the crowd there. The route from the opposite side (clock-wise) was more popular I think so the descent was pretty crowded and much steeper than the ascent. The trail was slippery and tricky to navigate even with spikes and one had to step carefully. Dhankainji who was always ahead of us, in spite of the heavy duffels he was carrying struggled with the slippery sections of this trail going down. He didn’t have micro spikes like I did. The cable on the side of the trail was of little help to him. He stopped at one point and took off his shoes. I thought he was going to switch to another more effective one for this trail but to my utter shock, he actually took his socks off and started hiking bare feet using his toes for traction! I cried out to him and asked him to stop for a few minutes. Luckily, I had an extra pair of spikes that I threw into my duffel in case mine had issues. I was so glad I carried it and Dhankainji gladly put them on. With these spikes on, Dhankainji acquired additional super powers and literally flew down the mountain and was waiting for us below.

The snow and icy terrain eventually gave way to rocks and the micro-spikes had to come off. I finally joined Dhankainji who welcomed me with his customary grin and gave me a big high-five. I had done it! Cho La pass – the stunning glacier hike was now complete. The next few miles were just the easy bits.

After about 7+ hours since leaving Dzongla and completing the incline down Cho La pass, there was just another ascent left. As soon as I got on top, I was delighted to finally spot a valley with a settlement. I was 30 mins away from Thangnak and I was famished. I ordered for fried rice as soon as I got to the tea house and was served an enormous pile of it on a large platter. I simply polished it off. I had never eaten that much rice in my entire life!

There was a beautiful sun-room to hang out after lunch. My room felt like luxury. There was actually running water with a sink and a toilet that I could flush! Heated blankets again after 3 nights of roughing it out! No shower yet…that would have to wait just a little longer until I reached Gokyo. 

Stats: Distance and elevation profile

Dzongla to Thangnak:
Distance: 5.40 miles | Elevation gain: 1,942ft | Elevation loss: 2,308ft

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