Nepal Trekking Day 5

Day 5: Deboche (3,710 m) to Pheriche (4,270 m)

Again, we wake up to clear skies, sun and cool temps - perfect trekking weather (tough life, I know!)

The first part of the trip I was pretty sick - bad cold/bronchitis. The dry and clean mountain air did the trick to get me better (or maybe was that the prescription strength meds I bought in Namche - courtesy of a Bangledesh pharmaceutical company?)

Anyway, seems that the sickness has passed on to Scott. He is feeling miserable and with the elevations that we are getting to now (above 4000 m) sickness usually doesn't get better, it gets worse. But we keep moving on.

Bridge crossing...
View of Everest from the bridge



Stupa and mani stones are scattered among the trail, protecting the trekkers.


We spot musk deer

Little Sherpa guy... he was a naughty one!

more mani stones...

If I remember right, this is a view of Island Peak. A common mountain for trekkers to climb as a side trip

In Pheriche there is a clinic for the Himalaya Rescue Association (HRA). In the peak trekking and climbing seasons (spring and fall) there are 3 expat doctors based here to provide support to the travellers as well as the Nepalese people. You can make an appointment with the doctor if you are not well, they have a mini-pharmacy so you can buy ibuprofen for the altitude headaches and Diamox for altitude sickness if needed. Every afternoon at 4.00 they give a talk about Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), so we attended.

It was very informative, they explained why you get sick at altitude and what you can do to prevent/lessen the risk. Unfortunately, the statistic is 1 in 4 that people will get AMS and it doesnt matter your fitness, experience, age, etc...

We also had the chance to ask a lot of questions - it also confirmed that some of the altitude side effects that we were having (gas, bloating, headache, CRAZY dreams, etc...) were totally normal. The main thing we learned is to identify when symptoms go from normal to full blown AMS. There is no cure except to descend!!! You can take diamox but that will only relieve symptoms for a short time.

In the picture above they are demonstrating the Gamov Bag (hyperbaric chamber) which delivers oxygen to the patient.

Village of Pheriche - yup, not a whole lot here!

Our teahouse in Pheriche

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