Lobuche 4930 meters / 16,200ft

10/20/07

Today was the first day my lungs started to scream. I did not experience any AMS issues (headache, nausea, loss of sleep) but I could definitely tell that the oxygen in the air was getting thin.

Lobuche was the worst place on the trail. This small village had maybe eight lodges that had to accommodate the influx of trekkers making their way up the mountain. The lodge that our guides chose for us made any tree fort that I stayed in as a young child look like a Hilton. The establishment was called the Kala Pattar Lodge. It roughly had 30 rooms that could accommodate maybe 70 people. The entire structure was made of cardboard, tarp and plywood. I did not think much of it until Katie mentioned this was far worse than any place they stayed in Africa. I remembered the description of some of these places and this made me worry a little. To add to the excitement, our room was above the kitchen and the propane burners provided us with a nice aroma to aid in our sleep. It is kinda scary to think of the carbon monoxide poison levels with 140 people crowded in every nook and cranny, even in the halls outside our room.

We woke up early the next morning and decided to skip breakfast and hit the road. We could not get out of Lobuche fast enough.