We got up at 5 am today to see the sunrise. We didn’t really see the sunrise, but it was immensely beautiful to view the mountain range without any clouds that early in the morning. It was also cold.

I took a bunch more pictures and then ate some breakfast before we started to make our way down. Going down was pretty hard on my knees. They feel better now, which I’m grateful for. We decided to stop short of Chomrong which means when we start tomorrow the first thing we do is climb tons and tons of steps. Sushil thinks it’s better to do it right away in the morning when we have a lot of energy. I kind of felt like it would be better just to get it out of the way tonight, but I was glad to stop today when we did because I was very tired. We stopped for lunch, but I just drank tea thinking I’d eat later on. That definitely contributed to my desire to stop earlier today.

I took a shower for the first time in 2 days. I’m always amazed when I finally figure out how to get the hot water working. It was nice to shower.

Tomorrow the plan is to go to Dhampus. We stayed there last time we went trekking, but didn’t get to see the beautiful view of the range because it was too cloudy. I imagine we’ll have better luck this time.

I talked to my Thai friend in New Zealand on the phone tonight. She made a very compelling case for visiting Thailand before going home. I’m going to give it some thought. I’d love to have some beach and relaxation time in Thailand – not to mention a few wonderful Thai massages. She won’t be there until the end of October which doesn’t work super well with my timeframe, but I’m going to give it some thought and see how I feel about it after a couple days and some research into flights. I could purchase a ticket from Thailand back to the US now if I decided to go.

Gratitude List:
Getting up at 5 am after 8 hours of sleep
Being in one of the most beautiful places in the world today
Only one more day of intense trekking ahead of us