Poznań Old Town (Piotr)

In Poznan you go for dinner to Georgian (საქართველო) restaurant, of course.

7 days in Croatia and Bosnia (Piotr)

Day 1: Split

Itinerary: Poznan ➜ (Ryanair) ➜ Zadar (Hertz rental car) ➜ Dugopolje ➜ Split ➜ Studios Zdenka Matice Hrvatske ➜ Old Town -Diocletilan’s Palace-four gates-Cathedra-National Square ➜ National Theater

Day 2: Mostar

Itinerary: Split ➜ Dugopolje ➜ Bijača ➜ Mostar ➜ Apartments Soltis Braće Trbonja ➜ Old Bridge

Day 3 & 4: Sarajevo

Itinerary: Mostar ➜ Neretva Valley ➜ Sarajevo ➜ Apartaments Town Center Mjedenica ➜ Cathedral-Baščaršija-Latin Bridge-Miljacka-City Hall-Šamon HoReCa shop & market-National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina ➜ (cable car) ➜ Trebević

Day 5: Travnik

Itinerary: Sarajevo ➜ Travnik ➜ Motel Aba-Šumeće ➜ Plava Voda-Stari Grad-Šarena Džamija ➜ Crkva Svetog Ivana Krstitelja

Day 6 & 7: Zadar

Itinerary: Travnik ➜ Donji Vakuf ➜ Bugojno ➜ Šuica ➜ Tomislavgrad ➜ Grabovica ➜ Kamensko ➜ Bisko ➜ Zadar ➜ Aparments Villa Visnjik Put Gazica  ➜ (Hertz ZAD) ➜ Old Town-Sea Gate-St Donatus Church-Foru)-Greeting of the Sun/Sea Organ-Five Wells Square/Land Gate ➜ (Ryanair) ➜ Poznan

Food

3.5 days in London (Piotr)

Day 1: Kensington Gardens-Buckingham Palace

Itinerary: ORD ➜ LHR ➜ (Piccadilly/District) ➜ Paddington Praed St ➜ Lancaster Gate-Kensington Palace-Albert Memorial-Royal Geographical Society-Diana Fountain-Wellington Arch-Buckingham Palace-Speaker’s Corner ➜ Praed St

Day 2: Tower of London-River Thames south bank-Saint Paul’s Cathedral

Itinerary: Praed St ➜ (Circle) ➜ Tower of London-Tower Bridge-along River Thames-Borough Market-Shakespeare’s GlobeTate Modern-Millennium Bridge-Saint Paul’s Cathedral-Bank of England ➜ (Central/Circle) ➜ Praed St

Day 3: British Museum-River Thames south bank- Westminister

Itinerary: Praed St ➜ (Central) ➜ Brititsh Museum ➜ (Northern) ➜ Borough Market-along River Thames-Westminister Bridge-Westminister-Victoria Tower Gardens-Westminister Abbey-Trafalgar Square-Piccadilly Circus ➜ (Bakerloo) ➜ Praed St

Day 4: Regent’s Park

Itinerary: Praed St ➜ Baker St-Queen Mary’s Gardens-English Gardens ➜ (Bakerloo) ➜ Praed St ➜ (National Express) ➜ LTN ➜ POZ

Two short walks to 5000 masl and our best hikes

Well rested after hiking in Nepal, we are remembering our past hikes as we prepare trail  maps for posting.

During our trip to ☞ Ecuador in December 2008  we walked up to Refugio José Félix Ribas (4850 masl) and Cotopaxi (5897 m)  glacier at 5000 masl, as far as we could comfortably walk without microspikes. A few years earlier, when traveling in ☞ Bolivia in November 2004 we hiked to well above 5k for the first time, from Mount Chacaltaya Laboratory to the summit of Chacalataya (5421 m).

Cotopaxi

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Chacalataya

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Our best multi-day hikes

☞ Gokyo/Renjo La, Phaplu to Lukla – Nepal, November 2018
152 km,  ~12000 m total ascent, 1490 – 5375 masl
☞ Ausangate/Jampa circuit, Tinki to Pacchanta – Peru, June 2015
62 km,  ~3400 m total ascent, 3770 – 5550 masl
☞ Mount Kenya, Sirimon to Chogoria – Kenya, September 2017
46 km,  ~3000 m total ascent, 2640 – 4985 masl
☞ Teton Crest, Teton Village to Jenny Lake – USA, August 2013
60 km,  ~2100 m total ascent ( ~3300 m descent), 1900 – 3267 masl
☞ Smokys from Tremont/West Prong trailhead – June 2018
88 km,  ~4000 m total ascent, 415 -1684 masl
☞ Smokys from Round Bottom/Beech Gap trailhead – October 2015
43 km,  ~2000 m total ascent, 900 – 1900 masl

Nice day hikes

☞ Kettle Moraine State Forest (3 trails) – USA, September 2018
39 km total
☞ Kettle Moraine State Forest – USA, September 2018       
7.5 km kayaking
☞ Smokys from Elkmont – June 2018
10.5 km
☞ Mt Longonot from National Park gate -Kenya, August 2017
11.5 km,  ~900 m total ascent, 2140 – 2776 masl
☞ Sintra – Portugal, April 2017
9.5+ km
☞ Pisac – Peru, May 2016
6.5+ km
☞ Torre del Tajo – Spain, June 2015
5 km
☞ Quilotoa rim loop – Ecuador, December 2008
10 km,  ~600 m total ascent, 3700 – 3914 masl

We are back from Nepal

We are back in Chicago from 31-day trip to Nepal with short stops in Qatar. We had very good time hiking , slower than anticipated, but made it to all the places as planned (with only minor adjustments): Gokyo and the Lakes along Ngozumpa Glacier, Gokyo Ri, Renjo Pass. Five of the 15 World’s highest mountains were  within our sight: Cho Oyu (8188) and Gyachung Kang (7952), Everest (8848) and Lhotse (8516), and Makalu (8485). Our trail was 152 km long with, 13 km total ascent, hiking between  1490 and 5375 masl. As we hiked slowly, high altitude was not a big problem.

We had good weather most of the time, perfect on Renjo La for snapshots with Everest and Lhotse. It was supposed to be mostly sunny and clear in November, but each day clouds rolled in around noon or earlier (one full day was all clear, but one completely cloudy) and afternoons were really cold. But no rain or snow which was great. Overall the weather was actually not as cold as we expected despite cloud cover in the afternoons. Very warm when the Sun was out.  We hiked in sub-freezing temps (-6℃) only in the morning on the Renjo La day and temps down to -1℃ to -2℃ on a couple more days with cloud cover. We had only one night with sub-zero temps in our room (down to -1℃). Joanna’s sleeping bag was not very warm, but it worked well with thick lodge blankets – all lodges were well prepared for cold weather in this respect.

We both struggled a bit with Khumbu cough and colds. We treated all cold drinking water with UV/Steripen, but mostly drank tea and other hot beverages provided by the lodges, didn’t eat any meat and avoided uncooked vegies. Had some very minor stomach issues a few times, but not really affecting hiking all that much. We were quite tired when we came back to Kathmandu. Heavy air pollution in Kathmandu valley wore us down quite a bit at the end.

Nepal 2018 itinerary
Oct 28 Sun ORD ➜(Quatar Airways) ➜
29 Mon Doha ➜DOHDoha evening walk [@ Hoiliday Inn]
30 Tue Kathmandu DOH ➜(Quatar Airways) ➜KAT➜ Kathmanduprep for trekking [@ Dil’s Homestay]
31 Wed Kathmandu Prep for trekking
Nov 1 Thu Phaplu Kathmandu ➜ (jeep) ➜ Phaplu [@ Lodge]
2 Fri Taksindu Start of trekking [@ Taksindu Resort Lodge]
3 Sat Jubing Trekking [@ Gorkhali Lodge]
4 Sun Khare Trekking [@ Lodge]
5 Mon Surke Trekking [@ Thamserku Lodge]
6 Tue Monjo Trekking [@ Mount Kailash Lodge]
7 Wed Namche Trekking [@ Khumbu Lodge]
8 Thu Khumjung Trekking [@ Hidden Village Lodge]
9 Fri Khumjung Khunde (Piotr), rest day (Joanna) [@ Hidden Village Lodge]
10 Sat Dhole Trekking [@ Alpine Cottage Lodge]
11 Sun Machermo Trekking [@ Sherpa Land Lodge]
12 Mon Gokyo Trekking [@ Cho Oyu View Lodge]
13 Tue Gokyo Gokyo Lake V [@Thanka Inn]
14 Wed Gokyo Gokyo Ri (Joanna), rest day (Piotr) [@Thanka Inn]
15 Thu Lunden Trekking Renjo La [@ Renjo Pass Support Lodge ]
16 Fri Thame Trekking [@ Valley View Lodge]
17 Sat Monjo Trekking [@ Mount Kailash Lodge]
18 Sun Lukla End of trekking [@ Lodge]
19 Mon Lukla Stuck at LUK [@ Lodge]
20 Tue Kathmandu LUK ➜ (small plane) ➜RHP ➜(bus) ➜ Kathmandu [@ Dil’s Homestay]
21 Wed Kathmandu Thamel Durbar Square [@ Hotel Giarmondo]
22 Thu Kathmandu Thamel ➜ (taxi) ➜ BouddhaPashupatinath ➜ (taxi) ➜ Thamel
23 Fri Kathmandu Thamel ➜ (taxi) ➜ Ratna Park ➜ (bus) ➜ Bhaktapur ➜ (taxi) ➜ Thamel
24 Sat Kathmandu ‎Thamel ➜(taxi) ➜ SwayambhunathAsan Tole Thamel
25 Sun Kathmandu Kathmandu ➜ (bus) ➜ Patan ➜ (taxi) ➜ Thamel
26 Mon Doha KAT ➜ (Quatar Airways) ➜ DOH ➜ Doha[@ Al Liwan Suites]DOH ➜
27 Tue Chicago ➜ ORD
Phaplu-Gokyo-Lukla

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Phaplu-Gokyo-Lukla trail profile

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Key waypoint distances and elevations on our Gokyo trek
km masl latitude longitude
November 1 Thursday Kathmandu 1292 27°43’05″N 85°18’28″E
Phaplu 0.0 2479 27°30’55.79″N 86°35’4.27″E
2 Friday Ringmo 11.8 2736 27°35’15.18″N 86°36’14.86″E
Taksindu La 13.5 3066 27°35’31.96″N 86°37’2.70″E
Taksindu 14.3 2931 27°35’35.30″N 86°37’18.33″E
3 Saturday Nunthala 18.2 2198 27°35’20.47″N 86°38’49.18″E
Dhudh Koshi (river) 22.3 1490 27°35’38.12″N 86°40’42.52″E
Jubing 23.3 1651 27°35’53.00″N 86°41’11.00″E
4 Sunday Kharikhola Monastery 25.5 2050 27°36’13.68″N 86°42’1.25″E
Bupsa 29.0 2348 27°36’51.05″N 86°42’53.99″E
Khare 30.8 2590 27°37’29.98″N 86°43’4.48″E
5 Monday Paiya 35.3 2760 27°38’29.44″N 86°43’50.94″E
Surke 41.0 2300 27°40’20.55″N 86°43’7.54″E
6 Tuesday Ghat 48.4 2580 27°43’27.33″N 86°42’53.48″E
Phakding 50.4 2620 27°44’24.90″N 86°42’45.44″E
Monjo 55.6 2870 27°46’25.34″N 86°43’20.74″E
7 Wednesday Namche 60.2 3423 27°48’15.85″N 86°42’37.34″E
Park Headquarters 60.8 3560 27°48’11.13″N 86°42’54.29″E
Namche 61.5 3423 27°48’15.85″N 86°42’37.34″E
8 Thursday Khumjung 64.4 3763 27°49’18.20″N 86°43’0.44″E
Khumjung Gompa 65.0 3797 27°49’30.04″N 86°42’58.95″E
Khumjung 65.5 3763 27°49’18.20″N 86°43’0.44″E
9 Friday Hilary Hospital 66.9 3864 27°49’25.12″N 86°42’17.02″E
Khunde Stupa 67.4 3822 27°49’16.35″N 86°42’25.25″E
Khumjung 68.8 3763 27°49’18.20″N 86°43’0.44″E
Khumjung Viewpoint 69.0 3826 27°49’16.61″N 86°43’5.00″E
Khumjung 69.1 3763 27°49’18.20″N 86°43’0.44″E
10 Saturday Mong La 72.6 3970 27°50’21.91″N 86°44’9.38″E
Phortse Thanga 74.4 3660 27°51’1.39″N 86°44’35.86″E
Dole 77.0 4032 27°52’1.52″N 86°43’52.37″E
11 Sunday Machermo 82.3 4390 27°54’12.34″N 86°42’58.08″E
12 Monday Gokyo 89.2 4754 27°57’13.70″N 86°41’36.35″E
13 Tuesday Scoundrel’s Point 95.0 4990 28° 0’5.99″N 86°41’10.33″E
Gokyo Lake V 95.4 4965 28° 0’6.86″N 86°41’0.03″E
Gokyo 101.1 4754 27°57’12.25″N 86°41’37.54″E
14 Wednesday Gokyo RI 103.0 5350 27°57’40.99″N 86°40’59.03″E
Gokyo 104.8 4754 27°57’12.25″N 86°41’37.54″E
15 Thursday Renjo La 109.2 5375 27°56’50.71″N 86°39’30.21″E
Lunden 116.0 4350 27°54’19.01″N 86°38’12.92″E
16 Friday Thame 125.5 3800 27°49’52.02″N 86°38’56.82″E
17 Saturday Namche 134.2 3423 27°48’15.85″N 86°42’37.34″E
Monjo 138.9 2870 27°46’25.34″N 86°43’20.74″E
18 Sunday Lukla 151.9 2847 27°41’14.29″N 86°43’55.10″E
19 Monday Lukla
20 Tuesday Kathmandu
Piotr’s packing list: total 15.7 kg
TOTAL 15.7 kg
clothing 7.3
equipment etc 4.6
shared equipment/supplies 3.3
water 0.5
ON ME 3.9 kg
boots 1347 g Vasque Breeze 2.0 Mid GTX
wool socks 73 Smart Wool
underwear 62 Exofficio
pants 320 Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible
belt/suspenders 110
tshirt 165
buff 38 Buff
hiking cap 58 Outdoor Research
hiking gloves 73 Ergodyne ProFlex 812
trekking poles 476 Komperdell
pocket knife 90 Gerber Torch
sunglasses 34
camera/battery 488 Olympus E-PM2 14-42 mm
scope 190 Alpen 8×25 monocular
phone 215 iPhone XS
watch 38 Timex Expedition
passport/money 115
ON MY BACK 11.8 kg
backpack/liner/cover 1208 g Granite Gear Crown 60 (long 65 L)
sleeping bag/sack 1397 Sierra Design Ridge Runner (Down 600 15 F/-9 C)
liner 253 Sea to Summit Thermolite
downjacket/bag 907 Mountain Hardware hooded 650 down
jacket 504 Columbia
rainpants 175 Mountain Warehouse Pakka
daypack/organizer 69 Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil
pants 340 Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible
fleece 286 North Face
3 x wool socks 321 Smart Wool, Darn Togh
3 x underwear 216 Exofficio, Calvin Klein
2 x tshirt 315
3 x top 594 Terramar
2 x bottom 356 Terramar
2 x gloves 180 Fleece, insulated
2 x wool beanie 150
light shoes 554 Nike Quest running
slippers 76 Holliday Inn Doha
light/batteries 281 Nitecore HC65/NL1829LTP 2900mAh
chargers/batteries 399
repair kit 50 Homemade
temp beacon 14 Blue Maestro Tempo Disc
spare glasses 31
4 x mesh shopping bags 46 Shopping Mall Nairobi
2 x emergency blanket 96
guide/map 198
money 100
towel 71
steriPEN Ultra 134 Katadyn
thermos 376 GSI MicroLite 1000
water bottle 88 Nalge 1000
cup & spoon 62
soap & meds 1245
lyophylised fruit/chocolate 215
water 0.5 kg
Diagram of hiking temperature ℃ on Renjo La day
Food menus

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Nepal video clips

Highlights

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