1 week to go!

[a1jbg]

It is now only 1 week to go before I fly out to Kathmandu to go on the EBC trek. I would normally be feeling very exited at the prospect, but this time I am feeling very aprehensive, as it is now 18 months since I went on the ABC trek (and met up with Oli and Spaceman for dinner in Thamel), and in the interim have had 3 operations on my ankles to remove bone spurs and half a knee replacement on my right knee.
My last operation was only 4 months ago on my left ankle, and in the words of the surgeon was "aggressive surgery" as he had to remove one third of my achilles tendon that was frayed and torn by the bone spurs, in order to remove the bone spurs.
I am still in a lot of pain with this ankle and have not tried out my replacement knee on a hard trek yet.
I will be having a cortisone injection in my left knee before I go, as that is not in great shape, stocking up on Ibufrofen and having a couple of intensive foot massages in KTM.
I am intending to get at least as far as Namche Bazaar, but I am no masochist, and if the pain of trekking is outweighing any pleasure in the trek, I will turn back.
My questions are:-
Have any other trekkers suffered from bone spurs in thier ankles, and how have they coped. My surgeon says they are quite common in ballet dancers who take a lot of hard pounding with little cushioning, but I am no ballet dancer!
If I do have to turn back I will still have about 12 days in Nepal before I fly home. Any suggestions? I am not being defeatist only realistic, and have considered white water rafting and a safari in Chitwan National Park. Any suggestions or experiences of activities in Nepal other than trekking will be gratefully recieved.

[Oli]

Hey, I hope that your ankle and knee holds up. If you only get as far as Namche then its actually a nice place to hang out for a few days. You get to watch a stream of trekkers coming in and out, its fun to sit at the top of the hill and watch them haul their sorry asses up that last stretch. Comfortable lodges, nice mountain views and good food (hhhmm... apple pie!).

Whitewater rafting is great fun. I did a 2 day trip on the Bhote Khosi a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, I'd be happy for the opportunity to do a longer trip, a week on one of the more remote rivers would be excellent fun. There isn't much walking to be done but beware that some positions in the boat my put strain on you injured joint - discuss with your boat guide where best to sit to make allowance for this.

Pokhara is a nice place to hang out if you have more time than energy. Try paragliding if you need a quick dose of excitement to wake you up.

[yakshaver]

Wow, it sounds drastic!! I am sure you'll take it easy...

Oli has suggested some alternatives. Certainly Chitwan or Bardia are very nice, especially if you live within the park for a while. If you have not been before, there can be at least 4 days you won't get bored with... Maybe more.
And Pokhara is only 5 hours away by bus. There are some nice walks, around Pokhara as well, definitely not as strenuous as trekking higher up.

[Spaceman347]

Take it nice and easy mate and see where you get to. As Oli pointed out, Namche would be good for a couple of days if you needed to rest up.

If you had some spare time (and money I guess) you could hire a car and plan a road trip for a couple of days. I'm not sure where you'd go off the top of my head exactly but I'm sure there are plenty of options; friendship highway as far as the border, or further?, Chitwan but once you're there I guess there's just as much walking as everywhere else, could you fly into Jomsom and then hire a pony for a trip into Mustang?

I seem to recall that you did the bungy jump thing last time?

[Lars]

I have not had any operations but before setting out on my last trek I had
pain in one knee, after too much skating. And I had pain in neck and one
shoulder after a crash on inlines. Plus I had pain in one achilles tendon.

I was a bit concerned and thought it quite possible that I would have to turn
back. But I started out slowly and it was not too bad. After a few days I
realized that my pains were all abating. Eventually they all vanished and I felt
better than I had in several years.

Give yourself a decent chance by going slow.

Since many years I have thought of trekking from Kathmandu to Pokhara. Not
on the road obviously, but on the other side of the valley. At least there used
to be a fine trail. But it may have become infested with motorcycles by now.
That would be an almost flat trek, and not particularly cold. You would not
need to carry much, and there are villages everywhere. I just assume you
could find OK lodging and places to eat. Maybe no pizza but real good Dhal Bhat.

[a1jbg]

"I seem to recall that you did the bungy jump thing last time?"

Yes I did Spaceman, and I don`t think that helped my knees and ankles too much!
If you want to see it, log on to Youtube and then type in the search words "bungy" and "grandad".
As my wife said after seeing it, "There`s no fool like an old fool"!