For a brief moment in Dongang this morning it was sunny. The clear skies brightened our moods and we were more than a little optimistic that the great leach invasion of 2015 might soon be over.

(For whatever reason, Ryan and I managed to escape the morning's trek unscathed but Peter wasn't quite as lucky.)

Starting out the trail was noticeably less steep and wound through a tunnel of moss covered trees. Eventually, we began to notice more pine trees poking up through the forest canopy and the narrow trail became more gravel than mud. We even forgot about the leaches.

By our lunch break we had managed to make decent progress and were looking forward to the casual hike to Beding. Just as we were taking our last bites the clouds rolled in and a light drizzle turned into a steady rain. We soldiered on still taking time to marvel at the countless waterfalls; however to stop for more than a few minutes would mean a chill would start creeping in. We were completely soaked and even in a temperature of 60 degrees hypothermia is just a few mistakes away.

In fact, the only time I have ever gotten hypothermia is in the summertime. I was in college and on a 50-mile bike ride when a huge thunderstorm overtook me. It was a scary experience and one that I have never forgotten.

We slogged on for another two hours. Eventually, we began to see a few buildings, and then thankfully, Beding. Tshering found a small Tea House and quickly changed into dry clothes.

A few minutes later we were sipping hot tea while a Sherpa couple, our hosts, tended a small stove and the steady rain outside seemed more of a comfort now than inconvenience.

For those of you interested in following our route through the Rolwaling, I am tracking through my DeLorme inReach and you can check out my website or my DeLorme map share page for a more detailed look.