Gokyo - Machhermo (4470m asl)
Day 15. 17.12.22

After keeping warm and a good nights’ sleep,I let Oo and Mia have a sleep in while I left with Sundar and Ganesh (our guide and porter) to visit the 4th and 5th lakes further up the valley. It was difficult as usual for me to scramble over the river stones and along the crude path but we made it to the 4th lake taking 90 minutes. There we rested and met Pete, a South African ecologist who was also going up to the 5th lake and beyond. He made it to where we were in just 45 minutes! We decided to head back at this point as I was breathless and slow. Our return was quicker and after we all had some lunch, we decided to head down the valley, retracing our steps back to Namche. By the time we passed the 1st lake, clouds were descending on the valley – the first real clouds we’ve seen on the whole trek. It was cold and damp and we were glad to reach our destination as we gave ourselves 3 hours walking time to see how far we would get and arrived at Machhermo and to the same lodge we stayed in on our way up. On the steep and uneven descent into Machhermo. I stumbled and lost my footing. It was Sundar who stopped me going over and potentially seriously hurting myself but in the process I broke my carbon fibre walking pole clean in two. Later that day, the lodge owner made me a crude walking pole from a stiff length of wood which I was grateful for. In these last few days, I have enjoyed the silence but it will soon be replaced by the cacophony in Kathmandu.