Running Up Mountains

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Haha! Ok, so we didn't run up to base camp, but we sure made it there! The round trip took 15 days, and now we are back in Kathmandu enjoying some more flavourful foods and not having to get up early to start the day off. This might be a long post so please be patient!

Day 1: Kathmandu to Lukla, then Lukla to Phakding.
We took a local flight on Yeti Airlines to Lukla from Kathmandu, which was an interesting flight in a small aircraft. The Himalyan winds sure shook us up a bit, but we made it to Lukla safely and when we stepped off the plane it was like we were in a whole other world. Mountains, trees, and best of all, no honking of car horns. Lukla also has an interesting runway; its very short and when you fly in, the runway is on a uphill, just due the topography. It was very "thrilling" flying out on the downhill, thank goodness the planes are so small!

We were all sort of mind boggled by the change of scenery and then we realized that we needed to search for a porter, but really they found us first. And man, we were so lucky to have met the most amazing porter you'll ever meet! He spoke very good English, had decent clothes and footwear for the trek and really became quite protective over us throughout the next two weeks. His brother" Dawa was the second porter for us, and he was very out there, but in a jovial way. He didn't speak English as well, but was always ready with a big tooth grin and a hearty laugh - even when he didn't understand what was going on - which was often. We barted for the price and it was quite reasonable. Dawa wasn't as well dressed as Pasan and he had to go home to get his things, so we were invited to Pasan's house for tea to wait for Dawa. The community he lives in is so wonderful and peaceful! And his family beautiful. I now have an addiction to milk tea and his wife makes the best. We didn't stay too long, but moved on with the hike. It was an easy first day with more downhill (Phakding (2600m) where we were headed is at a lower elevation that Lukla - 2800m) than uphill, and it was only 3 hours. What blew me away from the start was the amount of weight that the sherpa's can carry on their backs, I would be crippled in minutes.

Day 2: Phakding (2600m) to Namche Bazar (3480m)
This was a very difficult day as you can tell from the elevation difference. We started early (7am) and I felt good most of the day. Pasan our porter told us after lunch that there would be two bridges we cross then up and up we go. And he was not kidding. I trudged through ove 2 hours of consistent uphill. Just putting one foot in front of the other and plodding on, the steps very slow. I knew if I stopped my legs would cramp up, so I just kept going and was thankful I did! Took some big deep breaths at the top. I looked up once during the hike and did not do that again - there was just no end in sight, so I didn't want to get discouraged. Along the way people were coming down and giving encouragement which was very much needed. And we ran in Juan, our Spanish friend we met on the plane over here. So he stayed with us one night in Namche and then he said he wanted to sleep under some rocks to feel the wind etc - so we left him to it! Haha. At the top right before Namche there was a checkpoint to register - found a few of these along the way. After the checkpoint there was still another 10 minutes of uphill and then we found a bakery where Carla and I split a cinnimon bun. Our lodge was about a 5 minute walk from town - which may not seem like much, but to our legs it was miles and miles.

Day 3: Acclimatization day in Namche Bazar
Due to the drastic change in elevation, we had an acclimatization day in Namche where we went on a hike to Khumjung (3790m) and saw some nice views at this huge resort at the top - Everest View Hotel, very posh indeed! They charge $250 US a night, while we were spending 100 rupees a night which is approximately $1.30 US. But I guess you pay for what you get. Our rooms are double beds, with a single sheet of plywood between each room, so literally it was like sharing a bed with the person next door - could hear every sound they make. And communial bathrooms, and if you wanted a shower (which we occasionally had the option of hot or cold water) you paid for it. Carla and I had three "showers" during the 15 day trek, and they were the traditional Nepalese showers that came in the form of water in a bowl - again sometimes hot but more than likely cold. But we made through. So, the view from Everest View Hotel is supposed to include Everest, but it was too cloudy when we were there.
The rest of the hike (or rather the hike down a different route) was relaxing and we just took our time. The elevation difference was enough to help us through the next leg.

Day 4: Namche Bazar to Tengboche (3870m)
This day was the best, by far! I befriended a Buddhist Monk who chatted to me after another steep trek. Took us over two hours to get up, just not as steep as the other day. The boys had bad spring rolls for lunch so were taking random stops in the bush when needed. Mingma was the monks name, and man did he ever love to talk - of which I only understand half of what he said. He talked very fast. We told him we would come back and visit after we got to our lodge for the night - which was actually two steps away from the Monestary. We went into the monestary and the monks were praying - and I saw Mingma who is very high up for being only 24. After the prayer all the monks left, but Mingma came back and was telling everyone (the other tourists) about the history of the monestary - again, we only understood about half of what he said. The tourists slowly started to filter out and that is when he invited Carla and I to have tea with him. He probably fed us two gallons of tea each - and we tried to politely refuse, but he kept filling our cups up. And he would randomly pull things from under his bed to wipe the counters, or to mix in powder of some kind. And then he pulled out a bag of Tibeatan bread! It was quite hefty and thick, and was ok but really tasted of deep fried yak dung. He gave us each two big pieces and tried to force a third piece but we insisted we couldn't. One thing about the elevation is it makes people very gassy...I won't say anything more than that. So with that and the combined effect of massive amounts of tea, I really needed to take a break. But Mingma loves Westerners, so he was not prepared for us to leave yet. Not without looking at his photo album, and then blessing us - which I was thoroughly happy about. He gave us a prayer scarf and the blessing was in the form of a red thread tied around our necks (loosely). We had time in the morning to visit him again, and again he filled us with lemon tea. I was hoping to have time on the way back to visit, but it didn't happen. So that was one of my main highlights.

Day 5: Dingboche (4410m)
This is the day the altitude gave me some trouble. I had a headache most of the day and just was out of sorts. I have "activity induced" asthma, and am happy to say that this was the only day I needed my inhaler. But it didn't do me much good. I mostly slept and ate.

Day 6 and 7: Acclimatization days in Dingboche
I was feeling better today, but then the others were not. So I took a hike on my own because I know its better to hike to a higher altitude and sleep at a lower. I ran in Jordan, a Brit who we met in Tengboche, he was doing the same trek and we met up with him randomly along theway too. The hike up was lovely because it was quiet and no one around...for a bit anyway. Then I saw a line of Japanese hikers in a tour group (new they were Japanese because one said konitchiwa to me), so that was the end of the quiet solitude but the hike down was peaceful. We actually ran in this tour groups occasionally as well. We fondly refer to them as the penguins.
The acclimtization hike on day 7 was more demanding, but very beautiful. Hiked up an extra 375 m, so we were all ready to go the next day.

Day 8: Dingboche to Dughla (4620m)
Our walking got slower and our steps smaller, but we kept trying to take deep breaths. From here on breathing just became more difficult, didn't matter how high you hike up and how low you slept. I would wake up some nights gasping for breath with my heart racing. My poor heart worked overtime! And dreams! My nights were riddeled with dreams! I slept poorly the whole time, and the dreams definitely had something to do with it. ALso the cold, the nights are very cold and the only room that is heated in the lodges is the dining hall. A piece of plywood does very little against the cold at night- or during the day for that matter. And I was surprised that the dining rooms were not all that smelly - they are heated by yak dung, but really didn't smell of it.
Our hike in the afternoon was to the memorial grounds of all those that perished climbing Everest. It was very sobering. The winds were so strong that we took cover for a bit between some large rocks, then slowly made our way down.

Day 9: Dughla to Lobuje (4930m)
Bloody freezing here! I was able to get some hot water from the kitchen to put in one of my water bottles and that made the nights much more tolerable. Coming in from the dinning room after dinner is a nightmare - you don't even want to move. Carla and I started putting our clothes for the next day into our sleeping bags. We rented sleeping bags and warm coats from a store in Kathmandu for less than $1.20 a day. Way better than carrying something from home - especially when we go to SE Asia. The food didn't become less scarce the further we climbed, not like we expected it to. It became more expensive because people have to hike it up further, but I found that it tasted better with elevation - or maybe it was just my appetite.

Day 10: Lobuje to Gorak Shep (5160m)
Gorak shep is the stop over place where most people do the day hike to Kala Pattar one day and base camp the other. Or you can do it the reverse. We started with Kala Pattar because it is at a higher elevation that base camp. And although it was basically a steep uphill walk for almost 3 hours, it was more enjoyable than the hike to base camp, not to mention better views. There were two stops on Kala Pattar, one at 5545m and the top which was over 5600m - and windy as hell. Climbing up we were thrown against the boulders. Slightly more tricky getting down. The top is where I enjoyed a mars bar. It might sound like no big deal, but things are expensive this high up, and I decided to splurge on a chocolate bar (the guys had cigarellos but the air was too thin for our lungs to attempt it). Sitting down with that chocolate bar was complete heaven! We bought prayer flags in Namche and we all hung them together at Kala Pattar, which is exactly where I wanted to hang them. The views from the top were spectacular, and again, way better than base camp.

Day 11: Finally Base Camp 5300m
The hike was not overly enjoyable since it was mainly over large boulders, or steep cliffs that were occasioned by rock slides due to the melting sheets. I had one close call with a few rocks, although small, could still do some damage at those speeds. We could see base camp through most of the hike, and it took forever (or it seemed to take forever) for the camp to become bigger. There was a huge Nepalese military and police force and we weren't allowed to take videos. We were told there was this amazing German bakery to have some apple pie, so we headed there first. There were about 500 people staying at base camp, about 37 teams waiting to go up. Some teams were at base camp for some time, not allowed to go up because the Chinese were climbing to the summit to light the Olympic torch and would not let anyone else climb at the same time. This angered many teams because either their supplies ran out, or they grew impatient and left with no refund. We chatted with one guy from an Italian team and he said they were told they could start climbing in 4-5 days, but again, no guarantee. There was not too much to see at base camp, just a bunch of tents, so from here, we started our decent to lower elevations. We hiked for over 10 hours but made it to Periche 4240m (where we were hailed on) in time for dinner. We hiked for awhile with two men from Tazmania (climbed Kala Pattar with us and stayed at many of the same lodges), but in the days to come they became sick and travelled slower.

Days 12-15: Periche to Lukla
The rest of the days were very long trying to go as far as possible, although going a little too far and causing some minute discomfort, rolled ankles and blisters. The downhill was very tough on the knees,and in general we were just bushed! 7-10 hour days takes it toll. Lukla is where we had a real shower although it luke warm water, and went to a bar! But we were still on trekking time, so hit the hay pretty early. We normally went to bed between 8 and 9, sometimes being under the covers by 7:30 pm.

So now we are back in Kathmandu, earlier than plannned, since nothing really went wrong. We're going to try and take some day trips into the Kathmandu valley!
Hope all is well on your end!
Take care.

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