Nepal

I was pretty nervous upon our arrival to Kathmandu. It had been on our list of "must dos" for the trip to trek to Everest Base Camp. We were both really excited about conquering such an epic trek, but then came the recent storm along the Annapurna Circuit.  It happened about two months prior to our arrival and was an incredibly rare and tragic occurrence.  The freak storm killed at least 43 people in the month of October, and we were planning to hike two months deeper into the winter season.  I was terrified that it was gearing up to be a hard winter in the Himalayas and that we would be at risk of getting caught in a similar storm.

I was on the verge of backing out until we started talking with various tour companies and guides who offered reassurance that the EBC trail is more protected from surprise fronts moving through and there are more villages to retreat to if a problem were to arise. Between their assessment of the situation and Blair's prodding, I agreed to stick with the plan. So, we arrived in Kathmandu at 11pm on the 28th and were already catching a flight to Lukla to start the trek on the morning of the 30th.  The 29th was a whirlwind day in which we selected our touring company, booked our flights, went on a shopping spree for all the necessary gear we needed for the 12-day journey, stocked up on snacks and meds for the hike and packed our bags to leave the next morning.  Gear is ridiculously inexpensive in the shops along Thamel, the trekkers' area of Kathmandu, so we were able to get knock off boots, pants, poles, hats, gloves, long underwear and water bottles for a steal

Flights from Kathmandu to Lukla are made in 15-passenger prop planes and landing in Lukla is so dangerous, that even the slightest bit of weather (rain, fog or wind) leads to canceled flights...sometimes for days or weeks at a time.  We were very fortunate to have our flight only delayed about an hour and then we were on our way!  As the 30 minute flight was coming to an end, we learned why Lukla is rated one of the most dangerous airports in the world.  We began to descend towards the airport by heading directly into a mountainside.  As we dropped, the plane began to shake with turbulance and the pilot had trouble keeping the wings horizontal against the wind.  We landed with a surprising amount of speed and the plane fought with all its might to slow down as rapidly as possible. Peaking through the front windshield of the pilots' cabin, I could tell that the runway was the shortest I have every seen and ended at the solid granite wall of the mountainside. What a rush!!

Once we departed the plane (and checked that we hadn't wet ourselves) our guide, Kishu, and porter, Nowa, greeted us with the warm, welcoming Nepalese hospitality that I was quickly falling in love with. We had a quick breakfast and then started our journey.

It's hard to describe the majestic beauty you discover around every corner and over every peak as you trek the 70 mile round trip journey on the EBC trail, but the photos do a decent job of capturing it--even if the massive scale is lost in the tiny, two-dimensional photos. According to Kishu, we were incredibly lucky with our weather.  Each morning we woke up to deep blue skies--darker blue than I have ever seen.  Even at the beginning of December, we were lucky to be able to hike most of the trip in lightweight pants and short sleeve t-shirt.  It only got cold (and I mean REALLY cold) during our highest three days and during the nights.  Seeing as the lodges had no heat in the bedrooms, we would huddle next to the stove in the common dining area playing cards and reading until around 8pm and then retire to our rooms to snuggle up in our sleeping bags for a restless night of sleep. We both looked forward to the mornings when we could start hiking again because it was so much more enjoyable than trying to sleep! That says a lot coming from a girl who LOVES her sleep!

We did really enjoy the time spent dining and lounging with other trekkers in the lodges. After an exhausting day of hiking, we had fun sharing stories, learning all about Nepalese culture and Hinduism from Kishu and playing countless card games with a great group of guys from England/Australia.

Each day of the journey got more and more difficult.  When we began, we were eager to keep climbing because they only allowed us to hike about four hours each day.  We were confident that we could hike longer, but Kishu was insistent that we take it "pole pole" (slowly slowly).  As the days progressed, we began to understand why.  The climbs became steeper, the air became thinner and our legs became more tired each day.  Throughout the trip we had two "rest days", which really meant that we stayed at the same village for two nights but during the rest day we climbed up a very steep mountainside near the village to acclimatize to that higher elevation. We would then sleep at a lower elevation which helped to avoid altitude sickness.  I'm so glad we did the hikes to prevent getting sick because we saw at least 30 helicopters throughout the 12 days that were coming to haul people off the mountain who couldn't continue the hike.  Even so, by day 8--the day we hit the base camp--my legs were so exhausted that I was having a hard time putting one foot in front of the other and I had a splitting headache that was leaving me lightheaded and sick to my stomach. Blair didn't have the trouble that I did.  He was able to hike up another 300 meters past me on our biggest rest day hike and then he woke up at 4am the day after reaching EBC so he could do the freezing cold climb to 5500 meters on Kalapatther Peak

The trek back down to Lukla went at a rapid pace.  We hiked down for about 8 hours each day, passing many of the villages we stayed at along the way up.  It felt like a marathon of walking--luckily, my audible books helped keep my mind off of the time and I mechanically put one foot in front of the other over and over and over again.  Although the cold, exhaustion and nauseousness made the trek one of the hardest things I have ever done, it was also one of the most rewarding. The natural beauty and remoteness of the place made me feel so special--like I was fortunate enough to do something that few others have had the chance to do. We have done hikes before where you are constantly surrounded by hoards of other hikers--or you reach the top and are joined by thousands of others that took a cable car up to the top to see the view.  The fact that EBC is relatively hard to reach offers trekkers a pretty exclusive look at one of the most beautiful places in the world.

After a smooth flight back to Kathmandu, we intended to spend a couple of days getting lost in the narrow, winding streets of the city and touring the countless stupas in the area. We kept hearing that there was no reason to stay in Kathmandu except as an arrival/departure point for the Himalayan treks--that the city was lacking anything interesting to see. We could not have disagreed more! We had so much fun exploring the less touristed areas where there was something new and interesting to see everywhere you looked. On the surface, Kathmandu looks like a poverty stricken, filthy, congested city being strangled by an unrelenting layer of smog, but if you look deeper you will find so much more.  Turn down this street and you will find a sculpture to the Hindu god, Ganesh that has been there for centuries.  Walk down that street and you will see a building with intricately carved windows that were sculpted around the 18th century.  Enter into this courtyard to find one of the thousands of stupas visited by local Buddhists each day. The sites are not large or famous enough to be visited by hordes of tourists.  Instead, Blair and I enjoyed a day long private scavenger hunt to discover footprints of the city's rich history blending seamlessly with the modern shops, resturants and lively markets that filled the streets. 

What was meant to be two days turned into five days as we waited and waited for our flight from Nepal to Varanasi, India to be cleared for departure. Although we had been happy to enjoy a few days in Kathmandu checking out Boudhanath Stupa, Swayambhunath Temple (Monkey Temple), Durbar Square and the hundreds of other religious sites, by the third day of waiting at the airport and then being shipped back to the hotel to wait yet another day, we were over it. Each day we waited was one less day we could spend on are already short stay in India. Finally, we were rerouted to fly to Delhi, stay the night and then fly on to Varanasi the next day.  Not ideal, but at least we were going SOMEWHERE, right? Wrong.

to be continued...