Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country located in South Asia. With an area of 147,181 square kilometres (56,827 sq mi) and a population of approximately 27 million, Nepal is the world’s 93rd largest country by land mass and the 41st most populous country. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People’s Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India. Specifically, the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Sikkim border Nepal, whereas across the Himalayas lies the Tibet Autonomous Region. Nepal is separated from Bangladesh by the narrow Indian Siliguri Corridor. Kathmandu is the nation’s capital and largest metropolis.
Wow, I did not know what I was in for with this trip. I had only done one trekking trip before, Switzerland in 2004, but this was going to be something different. Not to mention that we were camping, no nice room with a bed and hot shower every night. In Switzerland the trekking was not that difficult and the landscape was undulating. Once we got into the hills in Nepal it was either a constant up or a constant down, and for mile after mile. It was a march, but don’t get me wrong, it was a hard challenge and I am so glad that I did it and pushed myself to do it.
Trivia: Nepal is the only country in the world that has a five sided flag!
Kathmandu (4,600′)
I didn’t know what to expect from Kathmandu but I was surprised. I guess I did not expect a city that was so crowded, busy and almost hectic at times. The original itinerary had us in the city for one night, well it turned out to be a few more due to weather issues. I believe we spent three days at the Kathmandu domestic terminal trying to get a flight up to Lukla to start our trek, but the weather was not cooperating. We would get to the airport early every morning and just sit and wait all day to see if flights were going. Now, I have to give full credit to our tour provider for how well they took care of us. The domestic terminal is not someplace you want to spend much time in. It’s a pretty small area with one squat and one seat toilet that smelled pretty bad so you wanted to get to the terminal early so that you could find someplace to sit away from the restrooms. Also, there was only one little kiosk that sold any type of food. Our provider was able to bring in boxed lunches for us while we waited. I must say we got a few envious looks from other travellers also waiting for flights. They were also able to get us into a nice hotel each night once the flights for the day had been cancelled (around 5pm). On the third day when flights were cleared to depart we were on one of the first flights out even though others had been waiting longer. This is one of the big advantages of going with a respected tour company and not going solo.
Lukla (9,383′)
We finally got to Lukla on October 11, instead of Oct 9, so a few changes to the itinerary. We would need to walk a little faster (that didn’t sound bad – foolish me) and we will lose out on at least one destination. That’s part of travelling, you have to learn to go with the flow and enjoy what you have. There is no point to grumble about what you may have missed, that’s not going to change anything. Be grateful that you are in a place that so many people dream about and never get to go to, and even more fun is people will say “wow, that’s so cool, but where is that?”. I have to say I love it when people have no idea of where I go on my trips. They have heard of Kathmandu or Nepal but they don’t have any idea where to even start to look on a map.
What can I tell you about Lukla? Well, I think it is my favourite airport in the world and I am sure for most pilots it is one of the scariest. One run way, on an incline with just enough room to turn around at the top. At the bottom, well, it’s about a 5,000 foot drop into the valley below, so you better make the landing/takeoff. Not to mention that the approach is between two mountains that you feel you could reach out the windows and touch!
I loved the landing at the airport, I was staring out the cockpit window like a kid on Christmas morning, it was so awesome, but once we started to disembark I got a big kick of reality and what this trip may entail. I previously mentioned that flights were cancelled for 3-4 days due to low clouds. Well, there eagerly waiting to get the first flight back to Kathmandu was a trekker with a makeshift sling holding his broken arm. Yikes, waiting all those days with a broken arm waiting to get a flight to get third world medical care, what had I signed up for. Ohh please let that not be me in a week.
Phakding (8,487′)
OK, this isn’t too bad, the trek from Lukla to Phakding is downhill so that helps gets the legs warmed up and to get used to the altitude. I bought a mickey of White Stag Whisky in Lukla but the way this thin air is making me feel, it might stay in my pack for a while.
When we grabbed our bags in Lukla we met our local crew: Sherpa, cooks, dzo keepers and apprentices. For a groups of 10, we had a half dozen support people and a number of dzo to carry our gear.
OK, what’s a dzo (pronounced zoe), well it’s a cross between a yak and a cow. Yaks are pack animals at higher elevations but they don’t handle the lower elevations. (Yes, according to them 8,000-14,000 is lower elevation. Yikes!) Hence, the dzo is a cross between domestic cattle and the yak. We were told that a dzo always has the right of way, they have horns and even our very experienced dzo handler ended up getting a slight injury from one of his dzo on the trip as he thought for a moment that he was in charge. The dzo disagreed, and uhmm, won that argument. 🙁
Namche Bazaar (11,290′)
This truly felt like a death march. The thin air and the steady uphill climb just saps your energy. Most people just concentrated on the person in front of them and just followed blindly and went into a trance. It wasn’t that your feet hurt or your legs were burning, at least not for me, it’s just that you felt that you had no energy. On the entire trek, we would walk all day and my feet or legs never hurt or felt stiff the next day, but the thin air just sucks the strength out of you.
We would spend a couple of days at Namche Bazaar to help to get accustomed to the altitude. I remember the first night, when we arrived our tents were already setup and our bags placed inside. I crawled in and just collapsed, then I heard one of the dzo, uhmm, relieving itself beside the tent. My first thought was to get up and shoo it away, but that was too much effort so I just hoped it wasn’t directly uphill from our tent. 🙂
Namche Bazaar is a trading town. Traders from Tibet come over to trade their goods and it is the last village for those taking on Mount Everest to get any supplies. I must say I didn’t appreciate it as much on the way up, but they really do have some great bakeries there. Imagine you have been hiking for one to three weeks in the mountains, eating just what you had packed, and then you come to this little village that has these great little bakeries. You can truly understand where the stories of Shangri La came from.
Tengboche (12,700′)
This is truly a magical place. You arrive and see the gates of temple, which are in themselves beautiful, but then you look and see Mount Everest and Annapurna in front of you. You are over 12,000 feet above sea level and these mountains still loom overhead. You really get the feeling of how you fit in the universe, but unfortunately, you realize just how insignificant you are, but at the same time how lucky you are.
We had one gentleman on our trip, Wally, that was a carpenter all his life, and his employer told him that they would send him anywhere in the world as a retirement gift. At first we sort of snickered at Wally as he wasn’t a hiker and didn’t have any real travel experience. It didn’t take me long to really enjoy seeing the trip through his eyes. Every time I think of Wally I have to smile. He was so in awe of everything it made me realize how much I take things for granted. Full credit to our guides for making sure Wally made the trip safely as I am sure he almost walked off cliffs a number of times as he enjoyed the scenery. It was during group discussion in the dinning tent at Tengboche that Wally talked about why he was on this trip that I realized just how lucky I have been in my life. I have food on my table whenever I want and I can travel the world and see so many wonders that other people just dream about. That night walking back to our tents, Wally stopped, looked up and pointed out the Milky Way to me. To this day, (December 2014) that is the only time that I have seen the Milky Way and I am forever grateful to Wally for reminding me to appreciate everything we have. Others may have more, but we have to enjoy everything we have. Thank you Wally!
Khumchung (12,401′)
Khumchung is known for having a school that was founded by Sir Edmund Hillary, the first outside to climb Mount Everest. This brings up the reason why I am even on this trek. Sir Edmund Hillary had a Sherpa named Tenzing Norgay for his expedition. Well, on my 2006 Galapagos Islands trip there was a fellow traveller named Norbu Tenzing Norgay, yes, the son of one of the most famous Sherpas, and he encouraged me to take this trek. At times I was not sure if I should be thanking him or not, but in hindsight, this was one of my greatest adventures.
Monjo (9,317′)
Starting to head back down now and we are below the frost line. No need to chip ice off the tent before going to bed any more. Coming back from the trek you do get a feeling of accomplishment which puts a little jump in your step, not to mention you are going downhill (which is actually harder on the knees) but you see the masses of people that are just starting their trek. Some going up to the Mount Everest Base Camp, others further, and others just to Tengboche, regardless, you have a feeling, or at least a hope, that they will be able to learn as much about themselves as I have learned. It truly is a spiritual journey.
Lukla (9,383′)
Back in Lukla for the night before getting an early flight out, and yes, we are camping right beside the runway. Our last night in the mountains and sleeping in tents. I do miss this trip and the adventure.
Kathmandu (4,600′)
Back for one final day in Kathmandu before we all head on our way home. Time for our first shower in over a week and to explore the town one last time. Although I remember being a little anxious to leave at the time, there was some political unrest, I do look back fondly on this trip.
Logistics
This trip was organized by Mountain Travel Sobek and they called this itinerary “The Everest Escapade” but does not appear to be offered any longer. The trip started and ended at the Kathmandu airport and I must say I do appreciate adventure trips that meet you at the airport. Getting from an airport in a foreign country to your hotel can be a challenge and ripe for opportunities to be taken advantage of. The trip is supposed to be the adventure, not getting to the starting point. I have seen too many people that have been scammed or robbed at airports and this is not how you want to start an adventure.
I do have to offer my support to the American Himalayan Foundation as they are very active in funding education and keeping up the work on Sir Edmond Hillary. If you have a chance to attend the annual fund raising dinner in San Francisco, I would strongly suggest attending. It’s a great cause and you never know what famous people you will meet, other than Norbu Norgay, and if you do run into Norbu, do say “Hi” to him for me.
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