Day 5 - Midnight panic attacks
Had a complete and utter breakdown in the middle of the night... It’s cold here at night, probably in the teens, so once you leave the main room of the tea house (the only room with any sort of fireplace/heat) around 8:30pm, your only option is bed- which generally isn’t a problem given how much energy you’ve spent in the day. I’m sleeping in a 4-season sleeping bag on a bed(for weather as low as 15 degrees) in thermals, long sleeve shirt, yoga pants, 2 pairs of socks and a hat. The life-saver has been the hot-water bottles which we stuff down in the bag.
Evidently, last night I overheated a little while I slept, couldn’t get my sleeping bag opened (it was super dark) and had a panic attack.
Y’all. It wasn’t pretty. I couldn’t get myself calmed down and somehow got it through my head that I didn’t have enough air (for the record, there was plenty of air). Then made myself sick.
So... no power, no heat, dry-heaving in a communal bathroom with no idea what to do or if I was going to die or ruin the trip my daughter had been planning for years because I couldn’t figure out how to unzip a sleeping bag and just cool myself down.
Not my finest moment as a human.
But, I eventually calmed down and got myself back into the sleeping bag (minus one sock, which evidently was the balance I needed) and back to sleep. Dawn came and with it the understanding that all bad things pass.
We don’t quit just because it’s hard. Yeah, it’s become a motto. Probably a mantra before the trip is over.
The trek today to Pheriche today was good. We are now just shy of 14,000 feet (13,946), so we’ve cleared the tree line—bushes only now. Everyone has a little headache, but that’s normal. You do breathe hard walking across the room, like you’re running up a fight of stairs, but slow is the name of the game.
Tomorrow is Christmas—so hard to be away from the rest of the family. We’ll be be here for a second acclimatization day. Three more days until Base Camp (Dec 27)!
My view each day hiking
Saw dozens of these along the trail. The eyes are watching...
Mani (Buddhist prayer) stones were everywhere. Less aesthetically pleasing... the orange Kandoo caps.
Every night we have our resting heart rate and oxygen levels checked to make sure no one is dying. Wonder what my mine was in that bathroom last night...
We're now at Pheriche