Oct 12th
A heavy mist covered Namche this morning as we headed out for our acclimatization hike to the green roofed villages of Kunde (12,672 ft) and Khumjung (12,475 ft). We were out of breath right away as we had to climb up steep steps carved in the hill above the town for more than an hour. After that it was up and down until a final descent into Kunde. Along the way we passed (always on the left) numerous miniature stupas (shrines) called "schorten", usually preceded by stone "mani walls" laden with flat stones inscribed with the prayer "o mani padme om". At the final schorten above Kunde, we added our own prayer scarves to the collection to ensure our safe journey. At Kunde we visited the small medical clinic funded by Canadian members of the Sir Hillary Foundation. As we walked to Khumjung we passed fields bordered by low stone walls festooned with hand flattened cow dung, which was being dried for winter fuel. After a stop at the local monastery, we headed for Everest Bakery to enjoy some tasty ("mito" in Nepali) apple pie and cinnamon buns before returning home. The hike back started with an initial short, but steep ascent and ended with a spectacular view right above Namche.
We are getting into a daily routine of rising at 6 am, breakfast at 7 am and starting off on our hike by 7:30 or 8 am. It is cold in the mountains late in the afternoon, so as soon as we arrive at the guesthouse, we shower (but today will probably be our last for 10 days), change into our warm clothes and sit in the restaurant eating, sipping tea, and reading until we hit the sack at about 8 pm.
We have really enjoyed the trek so far, chatting with other trekkers along the way and hearing their amazing stories - like Bill, another Canadian, who is 77 years old and hiking to Everest Base Camp for the fifth time.
Tomorrow we head off to Dole, a 7 hour hike which will be relatively easy until the last 2 hours or so when it ends with another steep ascent of approximately 1600'.
This could be our last blog for a while as there may be no internet access beyond this point.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Namaste Didi Darcy and Dai Marty,
ReplyDeleteAm really enjoying following your excellent description of the Everest area while warm, rested and fed. Hope you've had all the bad weather that was to be had, and that those showers keep producing hot water. Enjoy the delicious chai and shundar himal,
Lyse
Lyse