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2008 K2 and Broad Peak Expedition

Dispatch Seventy-two: August 10th, 2008

Day Seventy-two: Goro II to Lillygo; Injured Foot

Today, I woke up at 4:00am, packed up my trekking duffel bag, and headed down to the mess/kitchen tent to have breakfast with Abbas and Fazal. We didn’t rush as it was clear that our apathetic, slow porters were in no hurry to load up and get started. We began walking around 6:30am, with what we considered good trekking weather; misty with drizzling rain; preferable to the heat that a beautiful clear day comes with. Within the first hour after my departure, I noticed that my foot was causing me quite considerable pain with each step. It was getting worse by the minute, and I was worried that I had somehow managed to fracture it or tear some ligaments with one of the many ankle twists that happen when trekking in such rough terrain. Fazal stayed with me as I continued limping slowly down. I took a 100 mg Diclofenac Sodium enteric coated slow release tablet which was completely ineffective at masking any of the pain. I made the decision that we would stop at Lillygo tonight and go directly to Jhula the following day. I would take a vicodin in the morning and hope that it  would be potent enough to mask the pain and make the long walk from Lillygo to Jhula  at least tolerable. We arrived at Korofong, the camp after Urdukas and then continued for an hour and a half to finally arrive at Lillygo. The porters slowly arrived after us, and when all were present, we set up camp, had dinner, and went to bed.

 

In Photos:

Left: Our Camp in Lillygo

Right: Trango Towers viewed from Lillygo at sunset