Tagne 2001

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Dan's Diary

Day 37 - Friday 3rd August 2001

Alan and Sonam form the rearguard

I had a restless night; my throbbing head did a good job at not letting be get much sleep. At 3am nature called and I was forced to exit the tent. I sat down on a rock outside for a bit, feeling marginally better than I had been lying in the tent unable to sleep. Hundreds of thoughts about the previous days events were racing through my head creating a burning sensation. I don't know how long I sat there but when I finally slipped back from my dream I was cold and headed for the warm of my sleeping bag.

Sonam brought tea to our tents at 6am. It was cold by the time I drank it some twenty minutes later. Worse, it tasted like drinking raw egg, the thought of which didn't go down too well. I remember the bowls of washing water being brought round at 6:30am and then I must have drifted back to sleep as it was 7am the next time I came to. I got dressed sluggishly and emptied the tent while the porters dismantled it around me. Feeling weak, tired and dizzy I stumbled across to the toilet tent to see if this would make me feel better. With no immediate effect from emptying my system I succumbed to the use of ibuprofen - the "these tablets don't do anything, they are all psychological" argument being outweighed by the "I've bought them and carried them all this way, I might as well use them" line of thought.

I made my way to the mess tent where the others were having breakfast. The taste of egg in my tea had put me off the omelette that the porter had so kindly saved for me. I managed a couple of cups of milk and forced down a few dry cornflakes with loads of sugar to get my energy up.

I was back outside by 7:40am to clean my teeth, pack my rucksack and put laces in my walking boots (they had been taken out to use in my plastic mountaineering boots). I swapped my sandals, which had dug in and cut my sore ankle, for boots knowing that there were no more big rivers to wade across.

Everyone stops for a breather

Sonam put on his rucksack and picked up his stick at 8:15am, the signal that we were about to leave. We picked up our own sacks and followed Narinder and Deui out of the camp, leaving the others to finish loading the horses. The trek was over relatively flatter landscape; vegetation was sparse exposing dry bare mud. Rocks were scattered here and there standing on top of the soil. The path was well trodden, more by horses than humans it seemed, from the markings in the dried mud, and it ascended gently all the time as we progressed up the valley.

After an hour or so we stopped to give Alan and I a chance to catch up. I was grateful that Alan was in no rush as I really didn't feel like going any faster. However despite how awful I felt I concluded that it would have been lot worse if I had lain in a tent all day, as I had initially wanted to do when I woke up. At least by walking my mind could be distracted from the pain. I drank some water and it suddenly dawned on me that dehydration might be the cause of the pain. What with the incident the previous day I had drunk very little and it had been very hot with clear sunny skies. I drank some more and then brought out and shared a secret stash of Wine Gums. We had a nice long rest. I caught up with some of my diary writing while the others talked. I soon put on a fleece as a chilly wind had started to pick up and the sky had become overcast.

Alan picks his way across the flood plain

We got moving again over gently undulating, less hostile terrain and walked for another forty-five minutes before stopping on a small mound for us to rest and regroup again. I got out the map and looked across the valley. The river had veered away from the path, leading up to two mighty adjoining glaciers on the opposite side of the valley. The others tried to identify the big peaks behind the glaciers using the map. I had suddenly become quite hungry - the lack of breakfast had kicked in. I found some nuts and ate them with the rest of my Wine Gums.

We soon got up and plodded on over the barren land. After rounding several more mounds the sight we had all been waiting to see; a road carved into the side of the valley. There was still a huge plain in between it and us but I could see my target and immediately perked up. The path took us along past an unusual but spectacular 60ft deep gorge carved out of the rock. The gorge led out onto the broad plain. We had to cross a series of small streams, which were too wide to jump across and deep enough to come over your boots. I saw a poor line of rocks that I thought I might be able to jump between. I didn't care much if my boots got wet inside as it was the last day of trekking and I didn't have the energy to wander up or down the river looking for alternatives so I went for it. Fortunately I made it with dry feet and opened the way for everyone to follow. We headed up past some rocky cairns that looked unstable enough to fall over with the first wind. I was surprised at how well trodden the single track path had been considering the broad plain over which individuals could roam - it looked as though everyone stuck to the same route. The path headed down to a large gently sloping outwash plain, littered with river boulders. Once on the outwash plain it was anything but flat as we clambered in and out of the dry channels crossing them one by one. We soon came to a river that we had to cross, but fortunately it was braided into four channels neither of which were more than boot deep. We all got across the river and sat down for a rest. It was 11am. A few bits of rain and hail descended from the sky but it wasn't enough to bring out the waterproof jackets.

The path led us along by the edge of the outwash plain. I looked up and saw a coach on the road. I was surprised at how large the coach looked and realized that we were closer than I'd thought. Andy and Steve were out in front leading the way, but Sonam was at the back with Alan and I and he was the one who knew the way. He soon started taking a more direct line across the plain, so we followed him. We walked between two broad but flat mounds and followed them as they curved around. A silver tin hut came into view situated by the side of the road. It looked like someone had taken a giant baked bean tin, taken the label off and put a conical roof on top. Further across the plain was a large yellow building, a real eyesore. Between the two was the collapsed structure of another building. All that was left was rusting iron girders. I got talking to Narinder who said the road was closed from mid September because of the snows. He went on to tell me how some people from his organization stay on both sides of the Rohtang Pass to help stranded drivers and shepherds. He told me how once the snows came early in the end of August and that many sheep, goats and shepherds had died.

The ponies arrive

Sonam whistled over to signal he had found a suitable spot to camp. We wandered over and arrived at 11:45am to find Sonam huddled between two large boulders with a discarded plastic board on top as a roof. He informed us that he would put up the mess tent for us to have lunch in, since a cold wind had picked up and it was trying to rain. We sat and waited for the horses to arrive. They could be seen coming across the plain not too far behind us. On their arrival the porters all helped the horseman unload their loads. The mess tent went up in no time and we all tried to lend a hand but I'm not sure if we were more of a help than a hindrance.

Lunch was brought to us in the mess tent at 1pm. The usual rotis, cheese and hard boiled eggs were accompanied by Spam, much to everyone's delight. Nuts, dried fruit and chocolate bars were also brought to us in abundant quantities along with a kettle of hot tea. The horseman came and said goodbye midway through our lunch as he was off to inform the authorities of the fate of the other horseman, missing and presumed dead. The loss of one horseman made me feel uneasy about tipping the remaining horseman, it all seemed so insignificant in relation to the previous days events. Nevertheless we tipped him for doing his job and said an emotional farewell before he left, heading for the road.

Unloading the ponies

After lunch Jon, Andy and I had a few rounds of cards but we soon got bored and then people headed off to their tents for a rest. The wind was getting up again and very soon I started to feel cold. My head had begun its spinning sensation and every time I coughed I got a pain that felt like a bolt of lightening through the back of my head. I tried not to cough but my throat dried up and I started to choke. I retired to the warmth of my sleeping bag and soon nodded off.

At 4pm Jon came over to the tent to tell me afternoon tea was in the mess tent with fried battered vegetables. Half an hour later I got a call from Steve saying I had to get up because we were having a group photo. I got up and made my way across to the mess tent. If I was going to have to get up for a group photo I was going to make it worthwhile and eat and drink at the same time. I was disappointed to find it had all gone, but should have known that this would have been the case.

Steve was in charge of the group photo and very soon we all assembled out on the grassy plain. Unfortunately there was no dramatic backdrop, so we just lined up where the road wouldn't be in the photo and Steve set about making sure he could get us all in. He took a couple of photos on delay timers and Jon did likewise so that all the pictures would have everyone in them.

Making camp near the Baralacha La

After the photos I got Narinder and all the base camp team to write their names and addresses on a piece of paper so we could refer to them correctly in our expedition report and in case of future contacts. I retreated back to bed afterwards as everything was going wrong. A sharp stabbing sensation made me cringe every time I tried to bend my knee. I couldn't close my jaw without pain as I kept biting the two ulcers on the side of my mouth where I had previously eaten my cheek rather than my food. I had the loose bowel syndrome back, and felt like being ill. My splitting headache was made worse by my coughing. My nose was sore and the skin was chafed from where I had continued to blow it. I was also slightly intoxicated by the smell of clothes that hadn't been washed properly for a month.

The next thing I new, it was 6pm and soup was being served. I wanted some but I wanted to stay in bed more, for I was suffering from a temperature - I was hot and sweat lined my forehead but I felt cold and regularly shivered. Having passed on soup the next call came at 7pm when dinner was served. Jon asked if I wanted any food brought to me but I declined his offer. Come 7:30pm my bowels had decided that they needed emptying so I rushed outside the tent, frantically searching for the toilet roll before stumbling over to the toilet tent, buttocks clenched. I felt better once I had relieved myself but still not up for food. I put my rucksacks under the outer of the tent and then searched for my torch. I took two more Ibuprofen tablets and retreated to the warmth of my down sleeping bag. Andy and Steve could be heard laughing as the base camp staff and Narinder sang songs in the adjacent tent. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, a fleece jumper.