This weekend was so much fun. My visit with Tracy and Mark was excellent, and I got a good look at Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. Somehow I’m going to have to learn how to plug in time for myself for blogging when I go on trips like this so that I can keep things up to date. It’s been almost four days since I’ve written anything. Lots of stuff running through my head. There’re so many ideas running around in there that it must be an idea marathon. Makes my head ache. Just until I can get re-organized and put up some of the photos that I took this weekend. Why don’t you join me on a visit with my nephew Joe Birdsong.
Joe graduated from LSU (Geaux Tigers!) last December and promptly departed for an eight month odyssey traveling from New Zealand to Nepal and India. Currently he’s experiencing altitude sickness trekking the Annapurna circuit at 17,000 ft.
Achieving sleep for maybe 2 hours at Thorung Phedi Base Camp (altitude 14,500 feet), we rose at 4:30am and ventured into a blanket of fresh Himalayan snow to attempt the summit. All started well until each step added to a flutter of dizziness and nausea. I paused at the upper base camp lodge, took a Diamox (to help the body adapt to altitude), and we pushed on, reaching Thorung La pass (altitude 17,769 feet) sometime before noon.
Read the full story at joebirdsong.blogspot.com