Catching up

---

Gosh, I realize I am way behind, but we have been a little busy lately with little to no wifi access. I know I told you some of our base camp adventure so now I'll go into more detail.
After our "rest" day we hiked up to Lobuche. It was pretty sunny day and a fairly easy hike, if any of them are considered easy. The places we have been staying in have been getting progressively more basic. The Lobuche tea house certainly was basic. It did have a sit toilet to use, but only at night. During the day we had to go outside to what we call a squatter. I'll supply the pictures later! The next morning we left Lobuche for Gorak Shep. The hike was about 2hours and repeatedly up and down. We were following the glacier morrain, so it it just rolls and rolls. After reaching Gorak Shep we tried to enter the tea house, but it was packed! We found another spot upstairs and and lunch of tuna and cheese sandwiches. We quickly put our heavier gear on and proceeded to Base camp. Again we were on the morrain so it was hard work and very exposed hiking. Man, at times I couldn't believe how far down the cliffs were...scary! It was supposed to take us over two hours, but Gopal our sherpa was in a huge hurry so we made it in 1.5hrs. When we arrived totally exhausted the celebration was immediate and pretty quick. It had gotten pretty cold while we were hiking and we were rushing to get on our extra layers. When we first got there it was pretty crowded, but after a few minutes we had it to ourselves. I wish we could have gotten a little closer to the ice fall, but we were up over it and looking down onto it. It was hard to get perspective on how big it was from above. One of the things that impressed me the most was how huge an area BC was. Lakpa said it takes about an hour to cross over to where AAI set up their tents. We could see some tents way on over and we had talked to some Korean climbers in Pheriche who were attempting to summit within the week. It took about an hour and a half to get back to Gorak Shep. What a day! Also, the only toilet was a squatter...yuck! Out next day was planned to summit Kala Patar, a small peak with great views of Everest then proceed on down the valley another 4hrs or so. That would make it a pre-dawn start with 2hrs up to 18,000 ft, then back down and another 4 hrs to Dingboche. As I was coming back from BC I decided I would skip the Kala Patar summit. I came to see Everest and Base camp and I had done that. Most importantly I realized my body needed the rest. Even though Gorak Shep was the most basic of lodges, I had the best "sleep in" morning. I was not the only one that made that decision and after seeing the 4that did Kala Patar and how exhausted they were we were very happy with our decision. The hike to Dingboche was beautiful! The only issue was the wind. It was in,our face the whole way down and was bitterly cold. It was the first time I had hiked in my down jacket the whole time. Out tea house was very homey. The owner is a sweet woman whose husband lives in Seattle and works as a climbing guide. Lakpa said it took him 4 years to bring his family over from Nepal. The best part was the sit down toilet! We were the only party there so we felt like family. The Sherpa people are very open and hospitable. They serve with a smile and want everything to be perfect. Yesterday we awoke to a covering of snow. Again the wind was brisk, but the hike down to Phortse. This village is a little off the main hiking route, but it gave us a whole other view of all the places we had visited on the way up. The tea house was owned by one of Lakpa's friends who works as a climbing guide for IMG, International Mountain Guides. This was a very small place, I think only 6 rooms. The rooms were outdoor access and yes, a squatter! Of course we were the only ones there....yippie! One of the things that has taken me by surprise is how crowded the trail is. I think we have been to three tea houses where we were the only ones there and it is certainly a treat. Finally we headed back down to Namche Bazaar where we spent last night and had this morning to shop. This afternoon we hiked down the killer hill from Namche than on to Monju for the night. Tomorrow we hike all the way out to Lukla then fly back to Katmandu the following morning. I am so ready, we all are. The hiking has been spectacular and something I'll never forget, but I am tired. Every uphill I come to just takes my breathe away, even as we get lower in altitude. Our last leg tomorrow is uphill to Lukla and I think I will be able to tackle it with a smile of relief. Wendy asked me what I was going to eat first. I can't decide, but I'm having fun trying to make up my mind. Chick Fil A sounds good maybe our concourse in ATL will have one! I have been able to FaceTime Gary and the boys several times. What a wonder thing! I hope everyone is safe from the hurricane. Mom, I hope your plans don't get to messed up, but hopefully I'll be home on Saturday. Sorry so long.

---