Three Passes Trek Day 26

Three Passes Trek Day 26 - Namche to Lukla. Phew, what an exhausting day. We knew it would be a long, tough one trekking the entire NB to Lukla part of the trek in one day. To make it a bit easier, we lined up a porter to carry most of the gear,but unfortunately he didn't show up, so we had to carry it ourselves. Fortunately we had already lightened up a few kilos by leaving behind stuff we no longer needed, but a bit difficult with my shoulder injury returning. The first two hours were again amazingly beautiful, the most glorious time of the day and no other Trekkers on the path, and mainly descending. After an extended first Leg (3hours) we stopped for breakfast at a small cafe between Bengkar and Pakding where they cooked us a muesli porridge and a hot cup of tea. From there onwards it was very up and down with more up than down. On and on it went, in total the longest day jof the trek so far. A final ascent that seemed to last forever, then finally Lukla, an oasis of hotels, cafes,etc, where they don't yet have the wheel, but have an airport. Despite its hardships it was an amazingly scenic day, trekking past tall trees, alongside wild rivers,dramatic suspension bridge crossings and of course the ever present mountains. Fitting end to an epic journey. Sore legs, good memories.

Three Passes Trek Days 24 & 25

Three Passes Trek Day 24 & 25 - Namche Bazaar. Day 24 - Complete rest day today, after covering 3 days worth of trekking in the last 2 days. Slept in and came down for breakfast at 8:30. Light walk around Namche and tea/ coffee at a few different places. It seems less busy than when we were last here a few weeks ago, as the trekking season draws to a close. I had my first shave and haircut for several weeks yesterday afternoon and I feel lighter,energised and possibly younger. It's nice just observing the day to day activities of a place without actually having to go anywhere or achieve anything. The movement of yaks, the activities of children, the goings on in the temples and veggie gardens and market places, and as always the stillness of the mountains. It's now late afternoon and the snow caps of the mountains still glisten in the sunshine while all else has become dark, like beacons of ice cream.

Day 25 - 2 hour walk out of Namche today, hill climb and descent, just to keep the legs stretched, other than that another day a bit like yesterday. Enjoying the cafes, treats and vibes before tomorrow's big walk down to Lukla.

Three Passes Trek Day 23

Three Passes Trek Day 23 - Marylong to Namche Bazaar (via Thame) Wonderful walk today down the river valley, across small bridges, lots of little villages with stone walled paddocks to either keep the yaks out or in, not sure which. Glorious morning with the sun shining. Trees started to appear, first small ones, dwarf conifers, then increasingly taller the lower we crept down the valley. You don't realise how much you miss trees until you start seeing them again. We reached Thame, which was supposed to be our breakfast stop, after 2 hours. As reaching the village involved a descent off to one side of the path and doubling back afterwards, Purih suggested we continue on to the next village. My shoulders, stomach, bladder and throat all wished to protest, but I kept quiet and we continued another 40 min to the village of Samde for breakfast in as warm lodge.

The trek between Thame and Namche is quite up and down, a bit of a shock after such a cruisy descent of the valley for the first two hours. Even so, I enjoyed it just as much with each rise and fall revealing a new world, a new village, even more forested and fertile than the last one. The slopes on the opposite side of the valley became increasingly steeper and more dramatic. Past monasteries, donkeys, yaks, buddhist religious monuments and a few fellow trekkers. Finally, we round one last bend, and there in front of us lies Namche Bazaar, like a magnificent citadel nestled in the hillside. The horseshoe shaped array of 3 and 4 storey buildings harmonising seamlessly with the mountainous landscape. Staying this time at the Zamling, high on the western ridge. Hot shower, attached bathroom, lovely family environment. Will relax here for the next 2 days. Farewelled Phuri, after being our porter/guide for 2 weeks. Phuri also carried away lots of our trekking gear we no longer needed, especially cold weather gear, which has lightened up our loads.

Three Passes Trek Day 22

Three Passes Trek Day 22 - Gokyo over the Renjo La pass to Marylong. Another freezing cold morning somewhere around the minus 15 degrees celsius mark as we departed from Gokyo at 6:10 am. The first hour was a slow, steady climb letting Phuri set the pace with his distinctive Sherpa trekking gait, plodding along, a kind of sideways shuffle and only stopping very occasionally. After an hour so there were a couple of very steep rises, flattening out into a mini-plateau before the final ascent to Renjo La, where we arrived after around 2 and a half hours. Enjoyed breakfast on a purpose made bench of stones positioned perfectly to take in the magnificent view of Goky, Gokyo Ri, the lake and a whole range of large mountains, including a final view of Everest in the distance.

After a 30 min break at the top, we started down the other side. The first part of the descent was a series of steep steps of various heights, made from stone, like some kind of elaborate medieval fortress that must have taken a king's army to build. Then as it flattened a little back down to the kinds of tracks made by yaks, donkeys and porters that we've become familiar with. A 2 hour journey down gently sloping paths down a picturesque river valley got us to the village of Lumde. We had planned originally to stay at Lumde, but because we had made good time, and the going was easy, we just stopped for a bowl of muesli and a cup of tea before carrying on another 45 minutes to Marylong. They only get a few visitors here, but friendly people and a nice warm yak dung fuelled fire to write beside. It's also a little behind in technology with the toilet being outside and a short hike across a yak paddock, with bush-style hole in the ground covered with wooden lid, no flushing system and no lighting (head lamp came in useful). Despite that it's very peaceful, refreshing to be away from the somewhat commercialised variation of trekking and in a more traditional setting. The cascading water washing over the rocks makes for soothing background music. Lovely couple running the place. The guy informed us that he had climbed Everest 10 times back in his younger days as an expedition guide. Tomorrow we hope to make it to Namche Bazaar via Thame, should take about 5 hours.

Three Passes Trek Day 21

Three Passes Trek Day 21 - November 18 - Gokyo to Sacred Lakes (return). Another beautiful day at Gokyo. The weather gods have smiled upon us again and given us 21 days of glorious sunshine so far. Today we trekked out from Gokyo past Fourth Lake and most of the way to Fifth Lake. It was a nice 3 hour walk up mainly gentle slopes to keep our legs primed for tomorrow's crossing of Renjo La, the final of the three passes. Now sitting behind a deceptively warming wall of glass and gazing out at the lake, thinking about a swim, but deciding against it, having spotted ice blocks floating around the edges of the water.

Three Passes Trek Day 20

Three Passes Trek Day 20 - Nov 17 - Gokyo to Gokyo Ri (return). Today we dragged ourselves out of bed at 6am and got going by 6:30 to climb Gokyo Ri, a nearby peak (5360metres) right next to the village. Great views of Gokyo lake, including the one off the cover of the Lonely Planet trekking in Nepal guide book,and surrounding mountains- photographer's dream. It took us 1 hr 30 min up (extremely steep slope all the way) and about 1 hr 10 min down. I have been sitting in a cafe for about an hour chatting with some Israelis that we met in Dzongla and with a Slovenian, couple, one of whom was a novelist, and apparently well known in Slovenia (but not yet translated into English). So after all of this chatting and drinking coffee I feel like I've had a rest day even though we were out for nearly 4 hours this morning, must be the novelty of the cafe (which is the only other one in Gokyo besides the one at our hotel). Still freezing cold here, this morning we had to cross iced over streams on the path to Gokyo Ri.

Three Passes Trek Day 19

Three Passes Trek Day 19 - 16 November- Dagnag to Gokyo Just a 2 hour walk this morning from Dagnag to Gokyo across the glacial moraine. Checked in at Fitzroy hotel which has 5 star facilities by trekking standards, including attached bathroom with 'hot shower' (warm trickle of water if you squat down low enough for the hose to work, but nevertheless does the job). It also has a warm dining room and attached cafe with genuine barista coffee, apple pie and other such luxuries. Gokyo is quite picturesque, on the edge of a lake amd sorrounded by tall mountains, plus yaks, etc. This is the first stop for some time that is an actual functioning village although trekking is still the main source of income. It is also a trekking destination in itself, and lots of trekking groups do the Gokyo trek up the central river valley from Namche Bazaar then head back down without necessarily doing any of the passes, but it's also an alternative route to EBC via the Cho La pass.