Nicholas Rice: Manaslu Dispatch

2009 Solo Manaslu Expedition

Dispatch Ten: April 2nd, 2009

Day Ten: Trek Day 7: Rest Day in Sama Gaon

Today, we woke up at 7:30am for our leisurely 8am breakfast and then all had showers; the first since leaving Kathmandu! Much needed. After that, we unpacked solar panels to charge up our tech equipment, read books, did laundry, and reorganized bags. At dinner, we discovered that there was a festival in town tomorrow and that we wouldn’t be able to leave for base camp until the following day, as the villagers wouldn’t porter loads without the important puja ceremony (a Buddhist ceremony in which lamas chant and bless climbers (or in this case the villagers), asking the mountain gods to allow their safe passage). I decided to start myself on antibiotics, as the sinus infections that all of us had gotten thanks to the huge amount of dust we inhaled on the trek, were getting worse, and I didn’t want it spreading to my lungs, as it had with others in the group. I debated the pros and cons of Levaquin (Levofloxacin), a floroquinolone antibiotic which is highly effective, yet has the unfortunate side effects of photo toxicity and acute tendon rupture. I decided to give Azithromycin (a macrolide antibiotic) a try, though due to its overuse has become largely ineffective, as the bacteria have mutated to become resistant. Better not to risk a tendon rupture up here though I figured. I took 500mg with dinner and went to bed.