Pisang (3300m)

After a tough 5 hour trek up to Lower Pisang we checked into our guest house. As soon as I dropped my bags in the room I got a very strange and sudden pounding headache. A few other members of the group reported headaches as well. I guess we did just trek up to AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) territory. My headache only lasted for about 10 minutes though so it wasn’t so bad. Shortly after arriving our group would be congregating for our first (of many) “acclimatisation hikes”, otherwise known as climbs up horrifically steep hills after we thought we were already done for the day. In all fairness, I’m sure they saved us from AMS; however, at the time they were extraordinarily difficult, tiring, cold, sweaty, and seemed crazy given that we weren’t making any ground – climbing up and back down the same way.

Pisang is actually divided up into two parts: Lower Pisang and Upper Pisang. Our acclimatisation walk here involved us trekking up to Upper Pisang from our Lower Pisang guest house. Upper Pisang has some really cool stone alleyways and culminates in a grand temple at the top. The views were good though it was a tad cloudy. My legs didn’t feel it was worth the trip, but I guess my lack of headache from here on in made it worthwhile.

It was here that the lack of oxygen in the air combined with the cold was having noticeable effects on even the most mundane physical exertions. I began to look forward to the day when urinating in the middle of the night was no longer a cardiovascular activity. As it got colder and we got higher, it also seemed as though it was more difficult to sleep through the night and peeing only twice throughout the night would have been a luxury. It was here in Pisang I determined that leaving the room in the middle of the freezing night to pee was no longer a viable option. Empty water bottle it is from here out.

Yen was starting to feel a little under the weather now and we went to bed early to try to curb the inevitable. When morning came Yen was all out sick. I guess sharing is what marriage is all about.

Our next destination was the village of Manang and fortunately for us, there are two ways to get there from Pisang: the low road and the high road. The plan for the group was to be the high road for acclimatisation purposes, but it was clear that there was no way Yen could make it. Yen and I split from the group and with two of our guides, hit the “low” route while the rest of the group split for the high road. Even though I was technically not sick anymore, my body was secretly thankful.
We walked slowly, pausing frequently for Yen to catch her breath and rest. We stopped a few times at lodges for a hot drink but basically kept our slow and steady pace. When we thought we were getting close, our guides were excited to point out our destination (Manang) on a hill that didn’t seem to far away. And it worked – we were really excited – until time ticked away by the hour and it didn’t really seem to get all that much closer! The mountains play funny games with ones perspective.