Day 3 First encounter with Baltoro
Paiju to Khoburtse, 10 miles (total 33 miles), 13k elevation
We woke up at 5 AM to pack our bags and eat breakfast before our big day. We hiked an hour on relatively flat terrain until we reach the front end of the Boltoro glacier. We passed one of the Pakistani army sights on the other side of the river, which included heli-pads as we saw them flying back-and-forth throughout the day. I was excited to reach the glacier because I was expecting a lovely flat mix of ice and maybe snow and perhaps some easy walking. I was definitely surprised to see nothing but boulders and rocks and sand covering mounds of the glacier, with a raging river at the bottom. The only sight of ice was where a large chunk broke off in the front and it must’ve been recent because it didn’t have time to get dusty yet. Hiking up the front of the glacier was pretty tough. Then we made our way across to the right side of the mountain where the trail continued off the glacier.
The trail on the side of the mountain was probably the sketchiest part of the day. There were lots of areas of rockfall, so we were very mindful about where we were walking (We were still in WTF mode from our camp that was taken out). There were porters sitting under large rocks that I would not trust for anything. Andy was feeling really good today and ran up to catch the porters and cook staff at the lunch spot and Azam hung back with me as I continue to be mindful about my pace, polé polé (slow in Swahili).
Lunch was on the side of the mountain in the hot sun at around 10 am. To my delight, we had pasta and tomato soup and the usual Pakistani trail mix. We were so hot and feeling dehydrated even with all the water we were drinking. We ate and left as fast as possible.
Right after we left the lunch site, there was a warning assign about rock slide area. We thought, like the entire hike hasn’t been a huge rock slide area since leaving Skardu? We must be in for a treat. We walked as fast as possible, but definitely paid attention to our surroundings. The hike up to camp is up and up across more scree and millions of baby heads.
We arrived before one and made really good time. That is when the altitude really started to hit me so Andy took off my shoes and socks and got me as comfortable as possible. Andy found us the only shade in camp, and I sat there trying to calm down. A goat pulled up next to me to share the shade as he was struggling just as much as I was. The porters have not arrived yet, so we just tried to stay as cool as possible. The campsite wasn’t the best as our area was kind of in the thick of everything. As the afternoon rolled on we watched the rest of the trekkers make their way in later and later, some arrived as late as 530 which is almost 11 hours after starting. Yikes.
Andy made friends with the German group. We met one woman who was very friendly back in Paiju. A fellow trekker and her were both very ill with the stomach flu so they had to already use their rest day. She arrived very late. So late that her camp didn’t put a tent up for her because they did not think she would make it. She also had no lunch and no water on the trek. That is almost impossible to do. She said she thought she was going to die, and I totally understand how she felt. Even our guide did not let us know that there would be no water source after lunch. It’s a good thing we asked or we would’ve been in a similar situation. Andy went up to offer her some of the magic stomach pills that stop the stomach cramping and diarrhea, but she didn’t want to take them.
I was really in bad shape by dinner time. I had almost a migraine and I was super nauseous. Any movement I did would just make me feel worse. As soon as the sun went down, Andy made up our bed and I sat in the tent in the wind tunnel, that he created. In the distance off one of the towering mountains, heard a huge bang and saw a large chunk of the mountain, crumble down to the ground and leave a cloud of dust in its path. It just goes to show you how dynamic and dangerous this mountain is… and why the glacier is covered in rock.
After dinner, I decided to put a little life into the dying chickens that have suffered heat stroke and just sat together bundled in the corner, barely moving. We got some water in our soup bowl and I put a spoon of water in front of their beaks. One quickly drank the water. The other one, hardly moved but tried. A porter saw me giving water to the chickens and told our kitchen staff on me. A couple minutes later the sickly chicken was taken away, dispatched and converted into our dinner. Andy also got some water for the goat that was recovering as well. He spilled water all over his crotch/legs and a porter laughed at him. The goat was not grateful and did not drink. At this camp, there were greens high up on the mountain side so that’s where the mules went. Impressively high.
Ali made an amazing dinner that I unfortunately could not eat. He made chicken “steak” which is basically chicken breast. It was covered in a sauce next to a potato vegetable side and cream of mushroom, and a chicken curry. I was too nauseous to eat food that much flavor. Luckily Andy was hungry and could make Ali proud of eating all of the delicious food he made. I quickly went to bed with the hopes of waking up refreshed and ready to go the next day. This constant feeling of pain and nausea is getting fucking old.
