Gaining Elevation!

Snow-dusted Periche: beautiful!

Porters carrying HEAVY loads!

Lunch break =)

After a day of rest at Tengboche I was feeling much better and it was time to go up. I was very nervous about hiking b/c I knew I developed AMS symptoms I would have to descend. No question about it. I prayed all the way to Periche. Lord help me. Help my brain not to swell. I was hiking so incredibly slowly. I imagine this is how I would have walked if I was 90 and hiking to base camp or 100 lbs overweight. Grammas and Grandpas were passing me but I didn't care. The guys climbing Everest told me to hike slowly, so S-l-o-w-l-y but surely I hiked and we made it to our destination: Periche!!! (4200m) No mountain sickness. Yay!!

At 3:00pm there was a high altitude seminar that we went to, put on by volunteer doctors (who were soooo cool by the way!) at the medical center in Periche. It was so informative and I discovered that back in Lukla I was experiencing mild AMS but I didn’t know it at the time. Then at Tengboche I had Severe AMS! Crazy! Severe AMS can develop into HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema) if a person with severe AMS continues to ascend with symptoms.

I’m so thankful I recovered but I’ll be taking things slowly from here! I’m actually amazed I’m here after my AMS episode in Tengboche.