Nepal Trekking Day 4

Day 4: Namche to Tengboche (3,860 m) to Deboche (3,710 m)

Today it is back on the trail for the next 3 days until it is time to acclimate again. As usual we wake up to clear skies, sun and cool temps.

The hike takes us to tree line and above as you will see in the pictures, we will also get into Rhodedendron forest, so a big change in the flora and fauna from this point forward. Today we also have our first great views of Everest!

While Everest peak is in view now, many of the other peaks start to disappear we are now so far into the valley that our views of the Himalya peaks start to change. For example, we start to see mountains Ama Dablam from the bottom and Thamserku from the backside. Because the change in perspective, I have to keep asking the guide what we are looking at!



Scott ready to start the day!



Scott and Katie with the trail and Mt Ama Dablam (6,856 m) behind us.


In the Sherpa Villages they create terraces for growing their crops.



The trail ahead of us, cut into the hillside.




A Sherpa Village traffic jam... Sosi (our guide) helps to move the yaks through!


Namaste, little one!


Karma points for Katie??? Donation to the villages to help them preserve and repair the trail.


Village prayer wheel




Mt Ama Dablam from the foot of the mountain.

After we climb the final 200 m into Tengboche, this is the first view. Mount Everest and Lhotse Shar in the background. This was one of the most amazing sights for me on the trip. Right at the top of the final climb you turn a corner and have this view, we had to stop sit down and take it all in before moving further.


More Everest and Lhotse Shar.

The largest and most imortant Buddhist Monastary within the Khumbu Valley is the
Tengboche Monastary pictured above. The original building was destroyed in a fire in 1989, but since rebuilt by the Monks and Sherpa people.

So I think in an earlier blog I said that Namche was one of the fave villages on the trek. I think I need to take that back. I LOVED visiting Tengboche, it is located on a plateu with amazing views of the Himalaya all around. In the village there is a museum, bakery/cafe (with amazing pastries and hot lemon tea - essentials for trekkers:), some lodges and even an internet cafe!

Main entrance to the building where prayer / chants take place.

At 4pm everyday the Monks welcome visitors to observe one of the daily chanting rituals. Apologies for the poor photo quality... no flash was allowed and while photos were allowed I felt that it was a little disruptive... so I grabbed a quick photo and then enjoyed my time listening and watching the Monks through the ritual.

Unfortunately all the teahouses were full in Tengboche, so we moved on to Deboche. We descended into a Rhodedendron Forest. Of course, since it was fall the trees were bare. I can't imagine how gorgeous this area is in the spring when the trees show off their purple bloom!!!

Scott resting after a long day - soaking up the sun and getting ready for some lunch!

Our teahouse in Deboche, after being in the beautiful Tengboche high plateau we then had to move into this cold and dark part of the valley - a little like staying in a ditch.

This is where the trekking gets tough. Because we are now above treeline wood is a luxury - so for day to day living yak dung is burned for fuel and heating. While we knew this was coming, nothing can prepare you for the lingering stench of burning poo which happens to seep into clothing and food!

Nepal Trekking Day 3

Day 3: Acclimization day in Namche Bazaar (3,440)

Today we get to rest and acclimate to the altitude, after 2 busy days I'm ready to have some rest and take it easy.


Early morning in Namche

Stolling through the village

Yaks need a break too!

Katie shopping... well, what else are you going to do at the bazaar???

Buddha Stupa in the village center

Part of our day off was a short hike to a museum and overlook dedicated to Mt Everest. Here is our first view!!! Well, the mountain you see is Lhotse Shar, Everest is hiding behind the clouds on the left side of the picture.

The trail that you see winding through the mountains is where we will be in Day 4.

The teahouse we stayed at in Namche was one of the nicest, but here is a pic to give an idea... nothing big, 4 walls and a bed or 2.

The usual afternoon clouds rolling into Namche.

Nepal Trekking Day 2

Day 2: Phakding (2,610 m) to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)

Day 2 is a big trekking day for us. We start out early in the morning (7am) to make sure that we get to Namche Bazaar by 1-2 in the afternoon.

For those doing the math, we gain a lot of altitude on this day which is why we will be spending an extra day in Namche. We need to acclimate in order to get our bodies adjusted to the changes in the barometric pressure and reduction of oxygen molecules in the air.

Altitude wasn't really a factor for us in Lukla or Phakding. But today as we gain altitude heading into Namche we really do start feeling the fatigue and need for breaks to catch our breath.

The hike on this day is a lot of ups and downs as we make our way through a river valley and up into Namche. It is filled with a lot of villages and gorgeous views of the foothills into the Himalayas. We have 6 river crossings over suspension bridges, for those of you who know me - I am terrified of bridges, especially ones going over rapid, rocky rivers. The thing that saved me was seeing the big yaks with packs crossing successfully. I figured if they can do it with their heavy weight then the bridge definitely isn't going to snap with me on it:)

Sherpa Village in the early morning

Monastary built on a hillside just outside of Phakding

We have 6 bridge crossings on this day

Our guide tells me this is just a 'hill' ... !!!!

Soakin' up the Himalaya sun ... check out my long sleeve-T tied around my shoulders - what is that about???? I look like I am on vacationing at a resort or something!

Thamserku (6608m) in the background

These pictures are a look back at the trail we had been hiking the past 2 days. It felt excellent to look back at all the progress we had made and to remind ourselves of the amazing scenery around us.

The end of Day 2 is a 300 m climb into Namche. Again, not a huge climb (about 980 ft) but since we are starting to feel a little fatigued and breathing is a little more difficult it is definitely a big challenge.

Once we got into Namche I started getting pissed off, I thought once we got there, we would be done climbing for the day. But we didn't stop - we kept climbing and climbing. Our guide had arranged for us to stay in a very nice tea house but turned out it was at the top of the hill in Namche. About 50m from the hotel I had a sugar crash... I did so well all day!!!! Luckily we had some sugar coated gummy candies which held me over the last few steps. There was another couple hiking along with us, the woman was getting a little shakey also... so we shared our gummies with her -- she was very thankful to get a blood sugar boost ... I believe we saved their marriage :)

Once I was properly fed and happy, we got to get out and explore Namche!!! I think it was one of our favorite stops on the trip.

Namche is built into the mountains and is the Sherpa Capital. Here you will find all sorts of goodies for trekking (equipment, food, maps) as well as handcrafts by the Sherpa people. This is also a major trade route for goods coming through Tibet. We ate a lot of good food, slept a lot and shopped during our time in Namche.

Trail up to Namche

FINALLY we made it, view of Namche Bazaar

Nepal Trekking Day 1

So we start our trekking trip in Nepal. Together, Scott and I have taken more than 500 photos!!! We wont bore you with all of them (we got a bit excited over the yaks) but hopefully some carefully chosen photos and some stories give the picture. To keep it all organized I will do a post for each day of the trip.

To start things off, here are some stats:

Planned Days Trekking: 12

Actual Days Trekking: 8 (Altitude sickness is no joke - more on that later)

Max Altitude Reached: 4700 m

Hours Hiked Each Day: 5-7

Day 1: Domestic flight from Kathmandu to Lukla (2,840 m), hike to Phakding (2,610 m)

Our Journey starts with a domestic flight from Kathmandu to Lukla. There are no busses or cars in Lukla, it is a 9 day walk into this village from Jiri or it can be reached by helicopter / plane. From this point forward in our trek everything is carried further into the villages by people or yaks. The next 2 stopping points for helicopters are Namche Bazaar and Everest Base Camp, but most goods are brought in by people or animals.

Lukla is a crazy village, we loved it. All trekkers come through here at some point to start their journey if they are trekking through the Everest Region. The village is crawling with people from all different nationalities, lodges, teahouses, market stalls selling goods to trekkers and groups of porters and guides waiting to be hired to support a trekking trip into the Himalaya.

I think the best part of the village is the airport. There is not flat land in this area so the airstrip is uphill - no kidding! There are 'parking' spaces for 4 planes (think twin otter) and 2 helicopters to load and unload people, equipment and cargo. The entire space for this is probably the size of half an (American) football field.

Baggage Claim

Lukla Airport

Inside our Plane - Sita Air

View of runway in Lukla from inside the plane

View of Runway in Lukla - a little like a roller coaster ride.


AirTraffic...

From Lukla we hiked into Phakding (about 2.5 hrs) where we had some lunch and settled into the teahouse where we spent the first night. I had a terrible cold at this point, so I pretty much slept but Scott played cards and got to know some of the other people in the teahouse for the night and it turned out that we would see these people on and off over the next several days as they were just starting their trek as well.

Getting started on trail...

Om Mani Padme Hung - The six syllable mantra of compassion of the Buddha Chenrezig. The literal translation is: Oh hail to the jewel in the lotus flower. Of course this translation from Tibetan Buddhism really can't be translated into English, as there are many teachings of the Buddha wrapped into this phrase. Click the link for more description.

This chant is carved into the prayer wheels and rocks along the trail.

Phakding

One of my fave photos of the trip... courtesy of Scott. Phakding in the evening, with the teahouses lit up.