It was epic.
15 days might be a little too long to be in the mountains "on my own," but wow was it worth it. I can imagine that if I was hiking with someone else or a few others I could spend months in the shadows of these giants. Simply put, it's where I belong.
I put quotations around "on my own" because I was never truly on my own...I met and bonded with 20-30 amazing people from all over the world. For two or three days I'd join up with different groups of hikers or other solo hikers. My main companion was a 68-year-old Danish man named Ole. He was a stud! I met him on the first day of the hike in Bahundanda, hiked with him on day 5 for a bit, took a side adventure to Tilicho Tal with him and then went from manang to ledar with him on day 9. Great roomie, companion and friend on the trek! I hope to see him again in Pokhara while I'm here...or in Portugal, if I decide to cash in on the open invitation to stay at his olive farm.
I crossed the pass, unexpectedly, on March 16th, Day 10 of the trek...I started in the morning at 9am from Ledar, planning to have a short day to Thorung Phedi and then cross the pass early the following morning (March 17). But I reached Thorung Phedi in great time and decided to try my luck for high camp. I reached high camp at 11am and seriously contemplated crossing the pass. I knew that everyone crossing the pass leaves between 3am and 6am in order to reach the summit before noon and before the winds become too bitterly cold. But I disregarded the warnings, went with my gut and took off for the pass at 11:15am (a full 5 hours after the last person departed from High Camp). I reached Throung La (5416 meters, 17769 feet) at 1pm and IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!! I was the ONLY person within miles, the skies were clear and the wind was calm. Unbelievable. I'm really glad I left so late to avoid the masses. Unreal.
I reached muktinath at the end of the day and heard the stories of all the other trekkers crossing the pass in the early morning...sounded cold, windy and VERY crowded :) once again, I'm very glad I left so late! I realize, now, that if something happened to me on the pass, NO ONE would have come until the following morning...leaving me at 5,000+ meters overnight. Oh well, I'm okay and I'd do it again if I had the chance.
Pictures and videos to come.
