Dispatch 8 – Trek from Jhula to Paiju (11,500ft/3505m)

Nick Rice en route to Paiju from Jhula on the trek to K2 basecamp
Nick Rice en route to Paiju from Jhula on the trek to K2 basecamp
Climbers, pack animals, and porters trekking to Paiju
Climbers, pack animals, and porters trekking to Paiju

Today, I woke up at 5am to a cloudy and cool morning, packed up my equipment and had breakfast in the kitchen tent with Akbar. The equipment that was apparently caught on the bridge and retrieved did not arrive, so I am using one of my high camp tents on the trek until it does. I trekked for 3 hours non-stop to reach Moncamp where I had my lunch then continued onto Paiju, arriving just after noon. I again nervously waited for my equipment to arrive, set up camp, took a shower (if you can call a cup and a bucket of ice cold water a shower), then had tea in the mess tent. I relaxed in the afternoon, had a quiet dinner with Akbar, then headed to bed. Tomorrow we will remain in Paiju for a rest day. We expect Manzoor and Ryan Kushner’s Gasherbrum I and II Expedition to arrive in the afternoon tomorrow.