-Kalipokhri, 3186m
Well, that was much better :). The long rest yesterday was indeed a good thing. While today the distance wasn't much longer, I'd somewhat underestimated the level of difficulty :P. I knew it was downhill to Gairibas from Joubari, but never expected it to be that far down!! And of course, since Kalipokhri is at a higher altitude than Tumling, that meant an even longer climb up :|. It took me a while, but I managed to lug my pack all the way by myself. It felt lighter, somehow :). And overtaking that rather ambitious group of 10, who were planning to go all the way from Tumling to Sandakphu in a single day, helped a fair bit :D.
The weather was a little better today. Clouded over before dawn, but cleared up enough as the sun rose to give me my first look at the Kanchendzonga family of peaks. Thereafter the sun stayed up a little longer than yesterday. We were within a couple of kilometres of our destination before the fog (or low lying clouds, depending on how you see it) overtook us, blotting out much of the colour from the world.
Even though there were over 4 hours of daylight left when I got here, I think it would have been rather stupid to try going all the way up to Sandakphu. The distance is about half of what I've been doing the last couple of days, but the last 4 kilometers are gruelling. To quote this local brochure I have: "A climb so steep that your nose dash [sic] against the path." :S Plus, at 3636m, Sandakphu is the highest part of the entire trek. I think I'll avoid that kind of cold as long as I can :P.
It's a good thing I have the book with me, Brisingr. It doesn't take too much effort to read and has managed to fill up the otherwise empty afternoons. And in the absence of any other lodgers here today, the evening. It also appears quite handy as a distraction when I'm trying to ignore the aches while looking for the best way to minimise dh at each step :). For instance, I've had a fair few ideas during the course of today as to what it was, that Murtagh said and those soldiers overheard...
Currently: apprehensive about tomorrow's leg :(Listening to: the magnified thuds of people walking on the wooden floors
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