Seema to Ruinsara Tal (3,500m); May 4

Photo of Ruinsara Tal, the end of the long day's trek... at 3,500m

Photo of Dr. B. with herders in the meadow above the Tons River, just before we dropped down to the crossing.

This was already planned to be our hardest day of trekking due to the distance (20km) and the elevation changes. It was made worse by the fact that we were both sick and could not eat or drink ANYTHING during this long, hot day. We started out climbing to the meadow in the photo... this being a fairly up/down trek along the way... with some significant elevation gain (1500m). Then we dropped to the river, losing a good part of that gain, and then climbing all the way to Ruinsara Tal (glacier lake).



Sick. I can't remember too many times when I have had to dig that deep for resolve to continue a physical endeavor. It made running a marathon feel 'not so hard'. It made some grueling climb approaches and descents seem 'not that bad'. The inability to get any hydration, or even a little fuel (glycogen) into my system just kept stacking up on me, and I had to slow down and just go into that desperate mode of forcing each step... it was literally the mode of picking a point within a hundred yards and telling myself to just make it to 'there'. After a while it became a comfortable discomfort... enjoyable at some weird level... I am not masochistic... it is just that mental state of happiness with things as they are and making the best of a tough situation.

At one point I had just stopped and barfed... Chris joined me and barfed too. He looked at me and laughed... said, 'just think... most people we know would not even get out of bed on a day like this... some would go to emergency rooms...". I knew it was true. We started trekking again... no beds or emergency rooms on our horizon... only the certainty that we could not stay 'there'. I am amazed at what our bodies and minds can do when necessary. I see this in Haiti most frequently. Our little illnesses were actually just minor inconveniences. However, Chris' was to stay pretty bad for a while.

I went at my own pace after crossing the river. Dr. B. takes a naturally slower pace (but does know how to run marathons by just finding that pace and maintaining it until the race is over) and after a while I lost sight of him; but I'd stop (and barf) and wait from time to time. Finally, in desperation to make sure that I didn't end up stuck on the trail out of gas, I did push forward to the camp. I crossed the treeline and could see the opening of the meadow above a big boulder field... could feel the glacier ahead... After a round of dry-heaves I felt better and was able to get some Tang into my system. I had reached the turnaround point on my sickness.

Not so for Dr. B. He rolled in about an hour later and looked pretty grim. He was still sick and could not get the fluids into his system. He kept barfing... At night I was able to eat a little bit... but not Chris... for him this was the beginning of a long run of feeling pretty bad.


The area was beautiful... but the weather deteriorated to sleet and then snow by late afternoon. This was the beginning of a new weather pattern that had each day's snowfall start earlier... and with more accumulation. On this day I hoped it was just a one-day release of moisture build-up and not a big system (wrong!).


Slept okay. The air was a bit thinner here but not too uncomfortable...