Day 5 - Gudel to Sanam
Start at 6,519ft and end at 9,337ft, Maximum gradients encountered were 57.8% and -48.9%.

Cool start today. We are heading for the high watershed crossing at Salpa Pass. There was snow on the mountains just above us and before long there was some rain but luckily not enough to upset our plans. Before leaving Gudel we visited their little Health Centre which was also helped by the charity. Their supplies and equipment was basic to say the least. We had noticed that many locals were missing a hand ... which turned out to be caused by falling out of the tall trees while forraging for animal fodder, using a machete to chop off the small branches. Most medicine here was centred around alleviating intestinal worms and fixing broken bones. Their "piece-de-resistence" was an old birthing table. There are no doctors up here and serious ailments either resolve themselves or you succumb to your fate. Any other solution means a 2 to 3 day trip where you may have to be carried out to a larger village.

We came across a sign advising that it was 2 hours to Sanam, but that was according to sherpa walking. We took a multiple of that time to acheive our goal.

All along the route there are numerous Mani rocks with beautifully carved prayers emblasoned on them. The correct parctice is to always pass them on the left side.

By the time we got to Sanam it had started to snow. I don't know how the porters managed those huge loads walking in runners and flip-flops! It was decided not to camp but to book into a Gumba Lodge Tea House. Though this sounds luxurious, it was basic in the extreme and quite an experience. After dinner a party started upstairs between us and some of the locals. I eventually settled onto my raised timber sleeping platform with my head just beside an ill-fitting window that allowed you to see throught the closed edge of the frame! Throughout the night I had nice air-conditioning, since we were packed together fairly tightly. I had aclimatised fairly well by now and was getting a good sleep.