Day 11 - TNT (Trouble N' Tummy)

After a somewhat restless day yesterday, where all I did was crawl from the sleeping bag to the toilet and back again, I am pleased to report that the tiny bacteria that kept me bed ridden has been sufficiently disarmed by my white blood cells to allow me to move about without horrible stomach pain.

My first steps in the freshly fallen snow this morning were a bit shaky, but somehow I managed the four and a half hour hike down 1300 meters to the Himalaya Hotel.

Naturally when these set backs to our plans occur, we start the process of rationalization. In this case it was that we didn't want to leave ABC anyway. We'd made it this far so why not spend an extra day. The fact that all I could do was lay around clutching my stomach had nothing to do with it. The rain and the snow starting around 10 am simply reinforced our decision.

John was very good about taking care of me in my hours of need, insuring I was warm enough, that I forced down enough liquids and that the barf pail was always within easy reach. At 6:00 pm he brought me a small cup of plain rice and stayed with me during the entire hour it took for me to eat it. He offered me a spoonful of his chocolate pudding. How thoughtful, but I couldn't; really I couldn't.

This morning I managed most of a bowl of porridge. We took that as a sign that I was ready to resume our hike.

Looking back I suppose that if I had to get sick, being sick at 4100 meters (13,600 feet) in freezing temperatures, a three to four day walk from civilization with only a pit toilet at my disposal was the way to do it. If I can survive that, I can survive anything. The only thing Fargo regrets is not getting to meet the Russians and be in their film. I just didn't have it in me to take him over for the introduction. The Russians will just have to go on wondering why there is a small white snow frog perched on the edge of their base camp.