Apr 1, 2013 - Home

I made it home about 7:00 this evening, about 60 hours, I think, from when I first noticed the blood in my urine. I am physically and mentally exhausted. I am still wishing I was on the mountain with the rest of the gang, but I must confess my bed is looking pretty appealing right now. I have not heard if Viki has started a journal, but Mary sent me this link for Chris' blog. Chris is Viki's old English friend who has done this trek before. She is also a good egg. Check it out. http://ruggedtales.wordpress.com/ keep in mind that the team is...

Mar 31, 2013 - Hong Kong airport

It is 10:00 AM and I am at the Hong Kong airport. Not surprisingly, it is huge. I left Kathmandu on a Dragon Air flight last night at 11:30 Kathmandu time. The flight to Hong Kong was four hours and the plane was, again, packed. I was fortunate to have an aisle seat. I have a five hour layover before boarding a United flight to Chicago for 15 hours. Yuck!!. But, then a short flight to Lexington and home. As they say in Breathitt County, when it comes to Kathmandu, " you can't get there from here". I am receiving some reports from the...

Mar 30, 2013 - Flight from Namche

Sunday Morning 5:30AM I was in too foul a mood last night to report of trip from Namche to Kathmandu by helicopter.. It was, shall we say, an interesting experience. After I got the news of my eminent departure, I went up to my room to pack. I was given 30 minutes because the clouds were starting roll in and it was beginning to rain. it was get out now or wait until the next day. Peter did not want to wait just in case i had a serious problem. Packing up was a difficult chore. I was surprised how emotional being forced from the mountain had...

Mar 30, 2013 - The Flight off the Mountain

Kathmandu 5:30 AM Sunday I was in too foul a mood last night to post about the flight from Kathmandu. It was an interesting experience. After I was given the final word on my imminent departure, I was sent to my room to to pack up. I was only given 30 minutes because it was raining and the the clouds were coming in. I was surprised how emotional being sent off the mountain had made me. I tend to not get that way. Justin had to have my credit card information for the helicopter people. I have medical evacuation insurance, but the chopper...

Mar 30, 2013 - Back at Hotel Tibet in Kathmandu

I am back in room at Hotel Tibet waiting for an ultrasound in the morning at 9:30. The urine test showed a lot of blood. This was not a surprise for me, but it also showed some crystals which may be indicative of a stone that might, or might not, still be luring around. The amount of blood was more than the doctor would have expected if the problem was just exertionally based I was very frustrated that Peter and Justin felt that they had to send me down, but it was the smart play. If I had gone any further up the mountain and had a problem,...

Mar 30, 2013 - Being sent down the mountain

Unfortunately, this looks like my last posting. I found a considerable amount of blood in my urine and the IMG powers that be are afraid to let me continue until I can get things checked. They are almost as unhappy with the situation as I. The smart money says I have just stressed myself the last few days and my kidneys have let some blood into my system. But there is a possibility of other issues such as kidney stones and it is relatively easy to medevac me out from Namche and much more difficult as we go further up the mountain. It is...

Mar 30, 2013 - Going home

Kathmandu Sunday noon Well, it is official. I am having to head home. Two kidney stones, one on each side. Small enough to potentially pass on their own. One slightly less than 7mm, and and the other slightly less than 6mm. The doctor thinks , considering the blood in the urine, that I should get on home as soon as I reasonably can. So, I am now booked on a flight from Kathmandu tonight at 11:30. So ends a great adventure. This a magical place with wonderful people. I encourage everyone to put Nepal and the Everest Base Camp trek on your...

Mar 29, 2013 - Namche Bazaar

Bob, Mary, and I wandered around Namche this morning before breakfast. It is a fascinating village, but is very steep. The streets and alleys are layered on top of each other in a broad semicircle, with each layer higher up on the mountain. We learned very quickly that we had not recovered from the hike up Namche hill. We got leaden legs and short wind almost immediately, and this was just from wandering around the town for some 30 minutes. This is a steep place. I think I forgot to report that Martin, Bob, and I went out a bar with the...

Mar 29, 2013 - An Amazing Story

I have mention Viki (it turns out I have been misspelling her name)i, the Brit, several times in previous posts, including yesterday when she was suggesting I slow down my pace a bit. Viki is attempting to climb everest for the first time. She is always cheerful and encouraging to the rest of us on the trail. She seems to be living the dream. While I was trailing her yesterday I learned a bit more about her, and it was a startlingly inspirational story. I am going to try and get it right, because I am not sure I have ever heard such a story...

Mar 29, 2013 - The hike to Everest View Hotel

The hike to Everest View Hotel was not a gentle slope as had been previously advertised. I t was a brutal 1300 foot climb that took 90 minutes. Bob, the highway engineer, estimated that we were gaining 30 feet for every 100 climbed. It was very steep. Many of us were struggling almost immediately. However, I did get better educated on how to hike up a steep slope. I was struggling to go 200 steps and then stop to rest. Then I fell in with the two Brits and Peter and learned that by just slowing down my pace slightly to meet their pace, it...

Sep 13, 2012 - Day 2-3 of the Trek (aka torture camp :) ).

So I hardly slept a wink. We went to bed at 8.30pm and I was still awake at 2am. Eventually I got some sleep but our morning wake up call was at 6am, ready for a early morning trek. It took 3 hours to get to 2800m which went surprisingly ok, I wasnt too slow but I was just dreading the afternoon trek. We went over some haning bridges and saw a beautiful waterfall. There were lots of up/down moments and really rocky slopes. Also it was so hot making it really hard work but I was in good spirit. After some noodles for lunch. The 600m...

Apr 18, 2012 - Trekking in Nepal - Day 12

Just a quick update for today. We left Debuche around 8:20 am and arrived in Namche Bazar around 3 pm. Everyone was looking forward to our hotel as all rooms have attached bathrooms with hot shower, heated blankets, toilet paper. we thought we were in a 5 star resort compared to the other places we stayed. Everyone has had a shower and cleaned up. We will probably have a great evening together and will be leaving early in the morning to Ghat. That is were our Sherpa guide Kami has a tea house. We will stay there over night and then head...