Alone in Gokyo

When we arrived in Gokyo it was mid-day and we knew we had to take it easy because we had a long haul the next morning to the top of Gokyo Ri. The teahouse we found was wodnerful and the young guy tending to the house was helpful, kind and hardworking. We had an amazing lunch at 16,000 feet with fresh (indeed, fresh tomatoes) and hand picked mushrooms. We lounged a bit, but knew we had to get a little higher up so we would have a good night sleep. We were really feeling the altitude but realized we needed to get out and get up just to make ourselves comfortable that night. The altitude was certainly impacting us, but nothing too severe, other than lethargy.

The amazing thing (not the first time we experienced this) was the absolute lack of other tourists. We had Gokyo (one of the most spectacular towns on earth) to ourselves. We had yet to run into anyone else since Machermo and the way things were going, it did not seem as though the traffic would pick up.



Room with a view. There is nothing better than a million dollar view in a place costing 60 cents a night. Relaxing at 15,000 feet with nothing to do but try to get some oxygen in your lungs.



Venturing out for some elevation gain, we built a cairn (to add to the many already there).


Morning sunrise over Rinjo La and Gokyo Lake. The first day of true sunshine. We were busting our tails to get up the mountain.



Looking south from Gokyo toward Thamserku. First glimpse of a mountain we had been living and hiking under for days.



A traditional yak herders house on Gokyo Lake. There is something appealing about the simplicity and asthetics of this construction.