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| Leanne, the mythical Lesbian city of Shangayla is right there! |
Day 1: Lukla to Pakding
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| "going for a wander" in Lukla |
The adrenaline from the helicopter
ride was still rushing through my body as I took a mental snap shot of the
mountain views surrounding me.
We’d finally made it to Lukla, the starting point of the journey to
Everest. My three friends and I
walked elatedly up the sloping runway of the airport and into town. In my head, I’d imagined that Lukla
would be bigger.
Leaving the airport, we made our
way over to what one could refer to as Lukla’s Main Street. We walked down the undersized stretch
of tattered street lined with guesthouses, cafes, and several small shops
selling everything from toilet paper to North Face jackets. Lukla is a trekker’s final opportunity
to grab any last-minute essentials before setting out into the mountains. It’s also the last chance to get money,
as there are almost no ATM’s further along.
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| the "Everest" burger... womp womp |
After spending half an hour finding
the local bank to stock up on cash, we decided that we should also stock up on
calories. I sat down with my
friends at the first place we came to.
The restaurant was empty but the elevated outside seating let us enjoy
the crisp mountain-town air. For
the time being the change in weather felt refreshing, but I had in a feeling
that in a few days I would have a different opinion about the cold. So, we
sat. A friendly Sherpa woman
brought us menus and in unison the four of us ordered the Everest burger. How could you not order the Everest burger?
Our yak-patty burgers arrived 40
minutes later and even though they proved to be nothing short of disappointing,
they served their purpose. We were
now fully fueled and ready to go.
Full, stomachs and backpacks alike, we tottered down the short, main
stretch of town. Street turned to
cobbled path and as boulders replaced buildings, I knew that the trek had
finally begun.
Filled with energy and excitement I hiked briskly, stumbling many times.
It can be hard to focus on the trail in front of you with so much
amazing scenery to look at.
With our late start there were not
many other trekkers headed toward Pakding with us. We did cross several groups finishing the tail end of their
treks, heading in the opposite direction, back towards Lukla. Their faces were weathered with pride and
there was an unusual liveliness amongst them; a radiance of accomplishment. Most had overgrown beards and were
covered in mountain dirt. Yet, undoubtedly
exhausted, every single one of them still had the energy to put on a smile and
greet us warmly, “Namaste!” One
middle-aged man chuckled “You’re gonna love it!” as he passed. His friendly salutation was surely
genuine. Still, I couldn’t help
but sense a hint of mockery hidden behind his steel wool beard. Enjoy
your clean clothes! or Hope you
remembered your blister cream, Newbies! is what he was really thinking.
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| a Sherpa family greeting us as we enter Pakding |
And so we hiked. Up and down, and then up again. After 2 ½ hours we reached our first
checkpoint, the tiny “town” of Pakding.
The sun was retreating behind the mountains for the night and we settled
on Buddha Lodge for our first night’s accommodation. Some effortless haggling with the
manager got us two free rooms for the night as long as we agreed to buy our
dinner and breakfast there the next morning.
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| the common room at Buddha Lodge |
A common room with a hot stove kept
us warm as we drank tea and ate Sherpa stew. The hike was short but it had been a long day. Whatever energy I had earlier had been
sucked out of me from the excitement of the day’s events. I wasn’t sure if I was just tired or
catching a cold, but with a headache and what felt like a the beginnings of a
sore throat, I went to bed early, eager to continue the next morning.
Day 2: Pakding to Namche Bazaar
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| just spin 3 times to erase your sins! |
The next morning, I woke up feeling worse. I wanted a shower, but for a ridiculous $5 charge, I decided to skip it. A breakfast of overcooked eggs and undercooked bacon was somehow satisfying. It shot some life into me and by 9am the Fantastic 4 were back on the trail. We spun the prayer wheel outside for good luck and headed to our next checkpoint, Namche Bazaar. The hike started out awesome! The weather was warm but cloudy. I trudged along without a jacket and
took in the epic panorama. My eyes
followed the mountains up and up, turning from green to brown to grey, and then
finally disappearing into the ceiling of clouds so high above.
We arrived at our first suspension
bridge about an hour into the hike.
The bridge stretched across a giant gap between mountains, separated by
the roaring Bhote Koshi River hundreds of feet below. We waited for a group of Sherpas and their yaks to cross the
bridge and then we set out upon its narrow, bouncing frame. Blue, white, red, and yellow prayer
flags were strung along the entire length of the bridge by previous passers-by
for good luck. They flapped in the
wind, snapping loudly. Below me
the rapids rushed and swirled together on their descent from the top of the
world. The water was a glacial
gray-green that I can only describe as cold. It was just short of being ice. Arctic cold. If
Crayola made a crayon that color it would be called cold-as-shit-blue.
COLD.
About halfway to our checkpoint, we
stopped in the small town Josale, just past the even smaller town called
Monju. Here we caught the first
glimpses of a few snow-capped mountaintops while we ordered lunch. I ate garlic soup, which, according to
Sherpa lore, is supposed to help with acclimatization and adjusting to altitude. Also, it’s friggin' delicious.
Eventually, we passed through the
entrance of the park, signed our names in a log and showed our TIMS
permits. We were officially inside
Sagarmatha National Park! We
continued on. A light rain accompanied the hardest part of the day’s trek, a
steep zigzag ascent of 750 meters.
Back and forth, we climbed.
Mike and I led the way until finally we rounded the final bend and Namche
revealed itself, an entire town nestled in the side of the mountain overlooking
the valley. It looked like a
painting. It looked epic. It looked fake. We made our way past a giant prayer
wheel and into town. As we entered
I could smell food cooking and music blaring from a bar further up. Axel Rose’s voice boomed from the
speakers, “Take me down to the paradise city…” How appropriate.
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| Welcome to Namche Bazaar! Altitude: 3,440 m |
After checking into Hotel Namche
(pretty nice for 200 NRS/ night), we ate dinner and warmed up in the heated common room
overlooking the enormous gorge. The
clouds parted and revealed a mountain-sunset more incredible than any beach-sunset I’ve
ever seen.
I felt a fever creeping, so after I
finished the meat momos (dumplings)
and a bowl of Sherpa stew, I went straight to bed. I wanted to shake whatever sickness I had. Day two had been everything I had hoped it
would be. We were now at 4,330
meters in altitude. Before going
any higher, I wanted to be at 100%.
Day 3:
Acclimatization day in Lukla
For everyone doing the Everest base
camp trek, day three serves as a mandatory acclimatization day to help adjust
to the drastic climb in altitude.
While Mike and Leanne used it as a day to venture out and explore the
town, Britt and I used it as nothing more than a rest day. I battled a fever the entire night
before and Brittany, coping with splitting headache, was worried about altitude
sickness.
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| Red card! |
The rainy weather took away some of
the guilt of staying in bed while Mike and Leanne got to check out the amazing
viewpoint at the top of the mountain.
They were overlooking the entire village and the valley below it while
stared out the window. Being that Namche is the absolute last place to get necessities (without paying astronomical prices), I stocked up on batteries and cough drops and bought some dope yak-wool socks that would prove invaluable later. Aside from that and walking across the street to Liquid Bar to watch the afternoon movie
(fittingly, the Imax Everest documentary), I stayed in bed and read. Staying up past 8 pm was the most adventurous thing I did that long, slow day.
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