October 18, 2006: Dragnag to Gokyo

Woke up around 5 am to the noise of the Germans and Spanish who were leaving the lodge. As Dragnag is a long way from Cho La Pass, I knew they were leaving early. I stayed in bed until about 7 am. For breakfast I had oatmeal porridge and toast. Then we left the lodge for Gokyo. We crossed the Ngozumpa Glacier where we had some great views of Cho Oyu and the glacier itself. After about 2:30 hours, we arrived in Gokyo.

Cho Oyu, 8,201 meters (26,906 feet)

Gokyo Ri above Ngozumpa Glacier

Second Lake

We checked into the Friendship Lodge. Had an early lunch. By now (only 11:00 am), it became cloudy. At first we had thought to climb up to Gokyo Ri, but now that the weather was not that good, we decided to hike to the Fourth Lake. So that's what we did instead. For the most part, we hiked there along the ridge of the Ngozumpa Glacier moraine instead of the main trail. There were great views all along of the glacier, on and off of Cho Oyu, the Fourth Lake, the Frostbitten Fingers etc. We stayed back there for quite some time, although it was cold and cloudy.

Bharat at the Fourth Lake

Back at the lodge around 3:30 pm. This is now the time of day I have becoming to dread. Sitting around the lodge dining room between say 4 pm to 8 pm with not much to do other than read and BS. It is fine for a few days, but I have been on the trail for 12 days now, so it is getting old. Also, I am getting sick and tired of the same old food, rice, noodles, hash browns with either cheese, veggies or eggs. I didn't get into the Daal Bhat thing at all, I tried it once, didn't care for it. I am craving for a juicy Hamburger, amongst other things....

Nevertheless, dinner was quite pleasant. There was a Dutch couple with whom I talked for a while. Sat around the fire place to keep warm. Only nuisance was a Japanese group of 6 people who tried to get the best spots at the oven without regard for anybody else.

Click here for more pictures of that day

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