Hard to believe it’s been almost a week since we started.  It certainly doesn’t feel like it!  We both woke up this morning with headaches.  Anne was up early to try and capture the sunrise and managed to get rid of her headache before we ate breakfast.  I wasn’t so lucky.  I dosed myself with Advil and Diamox, neither of which helped immediately.  We contemplated staying in Macherma for another day to make sure things didn’t get worse, but the prospect of staying another day in the lodge was depressing so we made up our minds to push on.

It was a late start (we’d intended to start a little later anyway, to try and get the sunlight) but the warmth of the sun and the fresh air helped my head immensely and soon I was feeling fine.

We made our way up out of the valley that Dole sits in and got our first glimpse of Cho Oyu.  At over 8000m, it’s one of the worlds highest peaks and served as a constant, towering companion as we walked up the valley.  The trail had short sections of steep climbing but was mostly a gradual traverse up the 579m we gained to Macherma.

We stopped in Luze for some tea and a longer than expected break.  The woman who ran the lodge had the sort of picture perfect, rugged sherpa features that makes one (Anne in this case) pull out the camera and take pictures.

Shortly thereafter we arrived in Macherma.  Dorje directed us to the Yeti Lodge and Restaurant, despite our desire to stay at the fancy (and not more expensive) lodge next door.  After a short recon, we decided a move was just too much.  The beds and the lodge were sufficient and a move was just overkill.

Stats for the day:
Miles: 3.57
Ascent: 579m
Descent: 231m
Total Time: 3:48
Moving Time: 2:04