Trekking in the Everest Region

I'M ALIVE!!  I just returned to Kathmandu from Lukla this morning and have lots to share with you.  First, I'm grateful for the fact that I am still alive after sitting through flights to/from the Lukla airport.  Lukla airport is one of the most dangerous in the world, especially the landing in the middle of the Himalayas at 9,000 feet.  The flight to Lukla two weeks ago was both wonderful and terrifying.  On one hand, we were lucky enough to see the sunrise over the Himalayas and fly close enough to see Mt. Everest, but on the other hand I thought we were going to crash into the mountains whenever we hit a spot of turbulence.  So there was a definite compromise with comfort that day.

Kerstin and I arrived in Lukla around 7am and met with Jombu, our RCDP coordinator in the Everest Region.  We had a cup of tea and trekked on to Ghat, which is two hours north of Lukla.  I wasn't feeling too great that day, already in the morning I almost had a panic attack and felt like I was going to be sick.  So I wasn't off to a great start.  Once we set down our things, we headed off to the local monastery, which was another hour and a half north.  The monastery is 500 years old, so it had lots of history to absorb.  We were able to watch the monks meditate and pray and then we ate dhaal bhat with them in the kitchen, which was so cool.  Many villagers from the town of Ghat, as well as Kerstin and I, ate with the monks in rows, all chowing down delicious dhaal bhat like it was our last meal.  I felt bad because they offered us chicken, but Kerstin and I are both vegetarians and that is something I won't budge on.  I haven't for three years.

Anyways, we hiked back to Ghat after lunch and enjoyed the peace and quiet that surrounded us.  The sun was setting over the mountains and the only noise around us was the jingling of bells on the yaks and the river down below.  There are now cars or roads in this Everest region, so it was something that I had never experienced before, and I wish I was still there because it was the first time in a long time that I could actually hear myself think!  That night, I felt worse and worse.  I had awful stomach pain and spent long hours in the bathroom..... I almost cried because it hurt so badly.  And we ended up having to postpone our trek two days so I could recover.  I could barely eat :/ I almost thought of turning away from this trek, something that I have been looking forward to because I love trekking!  So that was tough.  But my guide, Lhakpa, was really awesome and trekked to Lukla and back to get me some antibiotics to get rid of whatever parasite was in me.  And it worked!  I felt better the next day, and the next day after that.  And so our trek began to the Everest Base Camp.

Here is the schedule we followed:

Day 1: Trek from Ghat to Namche Bazaar (6 hours) - 3,400m (FIRST VIEW OF EVEREST)
Day 2: Acclimatization day in Namche Bazaar (that's what I'm talking about)
Day 3: Trek from Namche Bazaar to Debuche - 3,800m
Day 4: Trek from Debuche to Dingboche - 4,400m
Day 5: Acclimatization day in Dingboche (hike to 4,700m to get used to altitude)
Day 6: Trek from Dingboche to Lobuche - 4,900m
Day 7: Trek from Lobuche to Kala Patthar and back - summit of 5,550m!! Spectacular views.
Day 8: Trek from Lobuche to Debuche
Day 9: Trek from Debuche to Namche Bazaar
Day 10: Trek from Namche Bazaar to Ghat
Day 11: Trek from Ghat to Lukla and fly back to Kathmandu :)

The trek was amazing from top to bottom.  Our guide was a local sherpa, and he was really fun to have with us on the trip.  Our porter was also really great, but he couldn't speak English so we couldn't have many conversations.  He did so much work for us, he really deserves a lot of credit that often is disregarded.  Some days were RIDICULOUS.  Some days I felt I couldn't go any further but I had to or else I had no where to sleep and nothing to eat.  It's not an easy feat trekking to Everest, but I felt like I was becoming more and more fit as I continued to the trek.  The days were becoming easier.

I would say day 1 was one of the most difficult days of the trek because my legs absolutely killed me.  All those hours laying in bed waiting for my stomach to stop yelling at me weren't helping me up this steep ascent to Namche.  But we finally made it, and thank god.  Our rest day was wonderful the next day.  Kerstin and I went to a local bakery and chowed down on some chocolate cake and doughnuts before we no longer had the chance.  We sat there for a few hours and took in some much-needed warmth from the sun.  I didn't realize how cold it would get in the next few days, so I'm glad I took the opportunity to get a little sun-burned.

The next day, we headed off to Debuche.  This time, the trek wasn't as steep but it was still difficult.  Looking back on it now, I still wonder how the heck I kept trudging uphill when it was so mentally and physically tough.  I guess I'm stronger than I thought I was.  Props man.  I would say the guesthouse at Debuche was one of the best on this trek.  Kerstin and I met these really cool ladies from Switzerland who were on their way down from the Base Camp.  One woman was 67 and had, two years ago, hiked to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania!  How awesome!  She' such an inspiration.  We talked with these women for the entire evening because they had such interesting stories and so did we.

I was so lucky to have wandered to the library in the dining room because I picked up a book called "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying," and it is the best book I have ever had the chance to read.  It is a book that is based around Tibetan Buddhism and it includes information about... life and death.  How to understand impermanence, rebirth, why we are afraid of death, how to cope with death, etc.  It also included information on the purpose of meditation and how to leave the cycle of samsara.  If I could have anything right now in Kathmandu it would be that book.  I spent hours taking notes on it because it had SUCH useful information for me, things that I really related to and agreed with.  I asked if I could buy it, but it looks like I'll have to wait until I get to a book store to find it again.

That night was a sleepless night because it was so cold in the room, probably 15 or 20 degrees.  I hadn't rented an extra blanket because I didn't think I needed it but... I needed it.  The next day we trekked onto Dingboche, where we stayed for an extra day to acclimatize.  This time, we were by ourselves in the guesthouse.  It was a welcomed change because it was good to get some peace.  The only sounds we heard were helicopters (mostly rescue helicopters... 7 a day on average) and the river nearby.  And yaks. Yaks on yaks on yaks.  For our rest day the next day, we trekked up 400m or so to acclimatize.  That little day hike was a trek in itself!  It was so steep, but the views were worth it.  And I would have rather done that hike than get sick later on because of the altitude.  Kerstin and I did everything we could to prepare ourselves for the high altitude.  We drank ginger tea and hot water and ate garlic soup whenever we had the chance.  I was pleasantly surprised that I liked the ginger soup.  When we needed more energy we asked for the soup with some noodles and that made a huge difference.  We definitely had to compromise on meals so we could prepare ourselves for the following days.

But it was worth it because Kerstin and I did not get altitude sickness, at least compared to the extent that others did.  When we trekked to Lobuche the next day, we were definitely tired because of the thin air but we had no other problems.  It was only when we arrived at Lobuche that I started to get a small headache.  But compared to other people at the guesthouse, I didn't have it bad.  Some people felt like they were suffering from the worst hangovers of their lives, so I can't complain.  That night, I met some great people from all over the world.  My favorite part of the day, besides the trekking and mountain views of course, is relaxing in the guesthouses in a cloud of accomplishment and tiredness.  Though I was always tired upon arriving at the next guesthouse, it was a good tired.  My accomplishment had exhausted me!  And you always meet great people from all over the world at these guesthouses because people come from everywhere to hike in the Everest region.  During my trek, I've had conversations with people from Switzerland, England, Scotland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Minnesota, Australia, Poland, etc.  These treks provide a chance to feel like you are bigger than yourself.  Where you come from does not identify you; your interests and goals help to create who you are.  And on this trek, I bonded with people over their experiences and not their countries.  Their origins were not labels, and it was great.

The next day was the big day!!!  We hiked from Lobuche to Gorak Shep, to Kala Patthar, and back down to Lobuche.  It was around 7 hours of trekking.  It took us two hours to get to Gorak Shep and another 3 hours to get to the summit of Kala Patthar.  Afterwards, we took our time getting down the mountain, grabbing lunch, and getting back to Lobuche.  In the morning, it was freezing because the sun had not yet risen over the mountain peaks.  My hands were so cold I almost had tears running down my face.  It was so painful, I can't even begin to describe it.  I had to sit with my hands in the sun and wait for them to warm up before moving on.  This day was probably the best of the entire trek.  The entire time, we were hiking along Khumbu glacier and saw many glacier lakes along the way.  Everest was with me during the entire journey, always to my right.  The top of the world was right there.  I was so much closer to it than ever before in my life.

The trek up to Kala Patthar was the hardest hike I have ever done in my life.  There were countless times when I wanted to turn back and hike down because I didn't think I could go any further.  Do you know how difficult it is to push yourself when your mind is getting down on you and your legs want to give out with every step?  With the help of my guide and the encouragement of other trekkers who were coming down from the summit, we trekked on.  Kerstin and I were both struggling at this point because the altitude was making it difficult to breathe.  We were getting more and more tired with each step, even though each step only brought us inches closer to the summit.  It was a long journey, but totally worth it.  Closer to the summit, the terrain changed and the mountain turned into a giant pile of boulders and rocks, like Mt. Washington.  I thought, "I am so close, only a half hour away, I can do this."  And I did.  I made it to 18,204 feet!  My body and mind had worked together to get me to the top.  It was so freeing finally being at the summit of Kala Patthar and looking around at the snow-capped Himalayas right in front of us.  Everest was very near, as was the Everest Base Camp.  I could see it from the summit.  To my right, there were glacier lakes and Gokyo Ri.  In front of me, there was Mt. Ama Dablam, the mountain I had been so close to at Dingboche.  All around me there were Buddhist prayer flags and ice.  The wind was whipping so strongly that I was afraid I was going to fall off the side of the mountain.  Lhakpa helped me up to the very top so I could look out over the entire area below us.  Kerstin had already started down the mountain because she was afraid of heights, but I stayed to enjoy what I had just accomplished.  It was truly unreal.  Even though I was not on the top of the world, I was sure looking at it straight ahead.  I didn't think I'd come to Nepal to hike to 18,204 ft, but hey anything is possible!

I think this trek is a good example of how we can learn to live in the present and put ourselves out there when we have the most doubt about our abilities.  I came to Nepal expecting to only trek to the Annapurna Base Camp, and here I am now, able to say that I trekked higher than the Everest Base Camp in a region of the world where many people never get the chance to see.  I thought, if I am in physically good shape and have a strong enough sense of motivation to get myself to12,000 ft, I can go higher.  I don't think any view will ever compare to the one I saw at the summit of Kala Patthar.  None of the pictures I post will help you to experience what I felt while I was trekking or the views that I saw each day.  The burning in my legs, my heart racing out of my chest, the thinning air, the conversations I had with other trekkers- none of that can be understood unless you trek here as well.  I can explain to you how hard it was to sleep when my heart rate was 120 in the middle of the night because of the altitude or how awesome it was to sit down with a plate of momos and hot orange Tang after a long day, but it will be hard for you to really understand.  If you want to experience this, come to Nepal, fly to Lukla, and trek to Everest.  You won't regret it!  I'm not the most physically fit person, and I accomplished this.  It's possible :)

The entire descent back down to Ghat was wonderful because I wasn't hiking uphill anymore.  I was able to enjoy my surroundings more because I wasn't so focused on making it up to the top of the hill without having to take a break to catch my breath.  I could pay more attention to the prayer flags strung everywhere, the stupas at every turn, and the yaks controlling the trail.  On the way through Tengboche, we were able to stop at the most beautiful monastery I have ever seen.  We went inside and toured around while our guide prayed.  I left a donation there because I really think Buddhism has made an impact on me.  Though I'm not religious now, I definitely will be making more time for learning about Buddhism, Zen, and meditation when I get home to the states.  Coming to Nepal has solidified by views about religion and so I left a donation as a way to say, "thank you for helping me realize more about myself and what I think about life."  The philosophies of Buddhism have not changed me a lot, but they have changed me enough so that I can notice a difference in what I think and how I interpret things around me.  It makes me excited for the future; I am excited to learn more about these philosophies that I have absorbed during the trek and during my trip as a whole.

This morning, I woke up at 4:30am to trek two hours to the Lukla airport.  I felt so bad that my guide had to get up super early, but he really helped me navigate through the confusion.  Hiking by headlamp, we made it to the airport by 6am.  After lots of waiting and checking bags, I hugged him goodbye.  I'll miss him!  He is a great person who made our trek freakin awesome.  Kerstin is staying in Ghat to volunteer at the local school and I am off to enjoy my last two weeks here.  My time has flown by, but it ain't over yet.  Although I think I am finally ready to go home, I know I will miss Nepal and all the people I have met here.  It's been quite the journey, both with myself and with all of my friends.

I have grown a lot since coming here and I have a better understanding of how my perspective of things is changing. I also have a newly found appreciation for motor scooters and I kind of want to buy one to cruise around Maine and elsewhere.  Donations anyone?

I have also decided to not go back to school in the spring, as well.  I think I'm over university education for now and onto bigger life experiences.  If and when I decide what I would like to do in the future, I will go back to school.  But for now, my priorities are to travel and to continue to discover more about myself!  Woo hoo!  I'm happy about my decision because I have realized that I can do anything with my life, I don't have to do one thing or another because everyone else is.  I'll take my time and do what's right for me along the way :) although I do miss my friends in Burlington, Scarborough, and everywhere else.  I also miss my UVM volleyball team... our fundraising, team dinners, and traveling to tournaments.  But I know they're kicking ass on the court.  GO CATAMOUNTS!

There might be another update before I come home, but if not, see you on December 12!  Peace out.
Mac