Better Together
Fansipan – Lao Cai, Vietnam
“Would you like some heating pads to warm your feet?” asked the Vietnamese lady on my team as she handed some to her friends.
“Sure, thanks”, I replied.
Given how my feet and fingers were already nearly numb, these were greatly appreciated. The coming night was going to prove challenging to get any sleep.
Climbing to the peak of Fansipan (3,143m/10,312ft) was part preparation for something bigger as well as a goal of the last few years. In late 2017, I visited Lao Cai to hike the terraced rice fields of Sapa. During that trip, I learned of the mountain’s existence and that it was commonly hiked. At that moment I didn’t have time to hike the mountain but had joined a new friend who took the cable car to the peak.
Let’s come back to 2020. I lost one of my sweatshirts on the bus the day before, I also didn’t bring many snacks, since this was a paid tour with hot meals. The tour company picked me up in the early morning right outside my hostel. After entering the van, I discovered our open tour was a group of four friends from Vietnam and then… me. Normally I don’t like being the odd man out, then again who does, but they seemed excited to have somebody to speak English with and we began talking right away.
I discovered shortly after beginning the hike that I would not be able to hike at the same speed I normally do. In truth, this ended up as a blessing because I could maintain a pace without sweating. Several times throughout the hike one of the Vietnamese would apologize for slowing me down. We weren’t actually slow, we were moving about the same speed as the schedule estimated. I enjoyed the journey as they pointed out the beautiful red flowers growing in the trees near the river. As we got to the higher elevation we encouraged each other, and due to their extra preparation, we could enjoy snacks together.
We arrived at the camp for the night (2,800m/9,190ft) where we stayed in a cement lodge. While we waited for dinner, we sat in our room deciding on sleeping arrangements. I volunteered to be on the end as I create more body heat, we then offered the center to the one lady, the smallest in our team, which she happily accepted. We munched on their trail mix, some gummy bears that I brought, and some other snacks they had in their bag. We discussed the best methods for learning English and we shared two-minute stories.
By the time it was dark, dinner was finally ready. This was the best meal served during our trip, we had steamed vegetables, fried tofu, grilled fish, fried chicken, pork and onions, and a pile of rice. Most of the other meals during our trip consisted of instant noodles with some shredded cabbage and an egg. These meals proved inadequate when hiking a mountain, thus making the group’s snacks less optional.
We went to bed around 8 or 9 p.m. and planned to wake up at 4 a.m. so that we could reach the peak before sunrise. At night the temperatures had dropped to nearly 5C/41F degrees, I wore as many layers as I could fit in the thin sleeping bag, and yet could not shake the cold. Even with the foot-warming pads, and two pairs of thin socks my feet still felt cold. I got maybe two hours of sleep before we all woke up at 3 a.m.
After breakfast, we turned on our flashlights and began hiking to the summit. Within minutes of walking, I was once again sweating and didn’t worry about the cold for the rest of the trip. We reached the peak at 6:20 a.m., but thick fog prevented us from seeing almost anything, limiting our ability to even take photos. The fog remained at the highest levels of the mountain for most of the day. Our hike down was quite quick as gravity worked alongside us.
Thinking of the choice, to hike alone, or with a group of slightly slow Vietnamese, it would be quite easy. The hike itself provided few photo-worthy landscapes, and the cold damp fog didn’t improve anything. The part of this hike that was special was the people I hiked with, the people that I froze with, and the people that I snacked with. The beautiful moments and the miserable moments are both enjoyed more with others.
