leaving tomorrow

We're headed out for our trek tomorrow morning around 9. It's only a short 30 minute taxi ride from here to where we start hiking. Considering that we're currently at about 2,500 feet here in Pokhara, and our final destination is at 12,000 feet, I'm hoping to heck that the taxi ride is mostly uphill, to get some of the elevation gain out of the way. But at least my pack shouldn't be too heavy, even with all the chocolate bars I just bought (they might be selling them along the trail at places, but I'm sure they'll be charging a bit more for them up there).

So, today we got our permits, I rented a sleeping bag and yesterday I bought a new jacket (I'd bought another jacket in India, but it's not water or wind proof). The boots I'd bought in India are the slightest bit too small, but I soaked them in water today and then wore them around and I think they're going to do alright. Worst case scenario I end up hiking in my sandals (not flip flops but pretty sturdy sandals). Whenever I've hiked the Na Pali Coast in Hawaii I've always worn sandals, and with a lot more weight in my pack, so it isn't as bad as it sounds. But, I think the boots will work out fine. I hope so, because I like them otherwise. We picked up another guy to come along, an 18-year guy from Holland who's traveling alone and didn't want to trek by himself. And another woman from Ireland might be joining us. Then two other friends will probably be doing a shorter trek in the same area.

Also we talked with someone who just did that same trek. He said it had just snowed there about 5 days ago, up at the base camp. But it sounded like he was actually fairly unprepared, as he didn't have enough warm clothes and he still did alright, whereas we've all got plenty of layers, i.e. I've got two pairs of gloves, long underwear tops and bottoms, the sleeping bag seems pretty warm, etc. I'm actually looking forward to making use of all my warm clothes, to justify carrying them all over the warmer areas of India the past couple of months.

So here's hoping that this trek does indeed take no more than 10 days, because my flight leaves Delhi on the 26th, so I'm going to be in a bit of a hurry to get back there from here. That's not going to be fun, but oh well. Well, I'd better get out of here and finish up the packing and get to bed at a reasonable hour, so I'll be back here in Pokhara in roughly ten days.