The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Hinku Valley to Lukla.

Thursday, October 27

Saying goodbye was tough after so much time with such great people. The porters, guides and kitchen staff had performed fantastically and though they were paid well by Nepal standards, we felt indebted to them.

Flying to Kathmandu

Our morning flight from Lukla to Kathmandu was without incident and we were at the Kathmandu Guesty House by the early afternoon. Having a mostly-modern hotel room felt luxurious after ‘rustic’ Lukla and camping in the Himalayan outback before that. Adventure Geo Treks has a tradition of a hosted dinner at the home of owner Niru Rai.

Zarela Zamorra

Before our 6:30pm pickup, though, we made our way just up the street to the New Orleans Cafe to meet with Zarela Zamora, owner of the La Casa de Zarela, a hotel in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru. The meeting had been facilitated by our friend, Tony Yeary, “a life-long adventurer and arrogant punk” that has been to Zarela’s establishment many times when climbing local peaks like the famous and highly photogenic Alpamayo at 5947 m (19,511 ft). Not only does Zarela provide lodging, but is also able to fully support treks and expeditions from her business in Huaraz, Peru. It was a tremendous coincidence that Zarela was in Kathmandu at the same time, having just returned from a trek to Amadablam. She was as pleasant as expected and we look forward to making a trip to Peru next year.

Dinner with Niru

Our trip to Niru’s house was made longer by the combination of Diwali and Newari New Year celebrations that created traffic jams all along the route. There were large street murals decorated meticulously with flower seeds and colored powders, groups of people dancing to music, children extorting money from merchants with the threat of a repetitive and annoying song, and simply many more people out and about on a Thursday night than normal.

Once at his home, we were ushered to a patio room with an excellent view of Kathmandu Valley and subsequently served plate after plate of delicious Nepali specialities, including potatoes, fried fish, roasted chicken, mutton curry over rice and a dessert of yoghurt and fruit. Along the way, beer glasses were constantly refreshed as the conversation covered the complexity of helping Basa Village through changing times and population challenges. By 10pm, we were well past our bedtime of recent weeks of trekking and we made our way back to he hotel exhausted and full.

Friday, October 28
Our day to leave Nepal, which is always a mixed-emotion thing for us. We love the country and its people and after three weeks, are ready for the conveniences of our modern lives that we miss. It may seem terribly Western to say so, but there’s a comfort to consistent electricity, clean water and a wide variety of food. Perhaps the best life is one that appreciates everything we have in our own culture and also allows for ‘stepping out’ into other cultures and patterns for living. There’s no need to spend too much time on our own culture’s virtues, but it would be worthwhile to go into Nepal’s. There is a beautiful simplicity to Nepal that takes shape in many ways, including:

• Happiness: In all of our time in Nepal, we’ve never heard a complaint about their life
• Gratitude: The gift of a headlamp earns kisses on the neck. A gifted fleece vest that has seen plenty of use is treated like a prized possession
• Driving: Nepalis use all of the road, including either side, as necessary, but never seem to get into arguments or even show anger on the streets
• Smiles: A Nepali engaged in the most difficult task can break into a big smile simply with a “Namaste” or when smiled at
• Helpfulness: We have yet to find a Nepali that would pass on an opportunity to give directions or assist in any way

It is a wonderful country that feels unique. While we haven’t been everywhere, the combination of the highest mountains on Earth and the most gentle people we’ve met creates an irresistible combination. This is undoubtedly the reason we’ve been there three times in the past eighteen months and plan another trip in the Spring.

Thank you for reading our Mera Peak Expedition blog. If you missed any of the posts, you can see all of them at this link.

Credits

 Jeff Rasley’s blog. Jeff provided many of the photos used in this series and we thank him for this and for organizing the trek. Jeff’s work with the Basa Village Project has been life-changing for many, and you can find his inspirational books at Amazon.

Thank you to Joel Meyers of FuseIQ in Seattle, WA. Several of his videos were used in these posts.

We’d also like to thank Dennis Mathews for brining the satellite telephone that helped keep us safe throughout this adventure. Dennis also contributed pictures.

Mike Miller was a great companion throughout the trip and had many great tales from “Las Cruces”

Karlin and Ursi were a powerhouse climbing couple with more caving experience under their belt than anyone we’ve ever met.

David Hudson was there in spirit even though he was waylaid by the Kathmandu Krud.

Lastly, but not least, we’d like to thank our phenomenal staff from Adventure Geo Treks. Without their hard word, this trek would not have been safe and so enjoyable.

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition: Heading back down the Hinku Valley.

Tuesday, October 25

Sun! Though it froze overnight, the sun rising in the morning was an excellent sign that maybe today would be warmer and less foggy. We also found out that the animals we called yaks, which we thought looked a little less shaggy than what we’ve seen in previous treks, were dzo’s and not yaks. This animal is a cross between the lowland cow and the upland yak and is best suited to the altitude where we camped.

Back on the trail

Our hike began immediately after breakfast with a climb of the canyon that we now could see with the fog burned off. We had camped in a large rock bowl and in a very small village that was dirty and far less interesting than where we had been for the past nearly three weeks. Before the day was over, we would cross three passes in total, two making up the Zetra La, the primary pass connecting the valleys of the upper Hinku Khola and the Dudh Khosi.

Zetra La

Just over the pass, the hill was icy where it faced north and didn’t receive sun so our guides began cutting steps in the snow with their ice axes. As much as we appreciated their efforts, we found it easier to walk off trail in the snow instead as it provided much better footing than even the steps they were cutting. This descent would last all day, and the icy part would last until lunch as we dropped from nearly 4600 m (15,091 ft) down to 3300 m (10,827 ft) at the village of Thukding, one of several on this day’s hike that existed just for trekkers as both tea houses and campsites. There was no doubt in our minds that villages on the main trekking routes have become dependent on trekking and are not self-sustaining nor culturally intact the way we found Basa to be.

End in sight

We could see Lukla at one point far down below and we stopped for the night about an hour and a half from this climbing mecca. This would be our last campsite of the trek and for the first time since our way up to Mera, we set up the shower tent and were able to take a warm shower, which felt divine.

Wednesday, October 26

This day started like every other on the trek, but it was to end at the Sunrise Hotel in Lukla, a very different outcome from previous days. We packed quickly if not haphazardly, less concerned about having the right gear available since we would travel only an hour and a half. We had a great moment of comic relief as Joel tested out the porter role by carrying the typical load. We were all surprised at how difficult it was for Joel, one of stronger trekkers. It was a great moment of appreciation for the strength and toughness our Nepali team.

Lukla

It was very strange to hike out of a very cold and primitive Nepal into a semi-modern city. The trail widened as we neared Lukla, and even before we could clearly make out buildings, we could hear airplanes and helicopters landing at the very busy airport.

Crazy airport

Just before entering the town, we passed a beautiful new gompa (monestary) directly across the street from a very new-looking hospital. Soon after, we were walking around the end of the Lukla Airport, a small facility with ramp space for four small planes and a runway that started down the mountain, progressed uphill, and actually had about a 25 degree slope at the very top where the aircraft turned to enter the ramp/terminal area. Watching planes coming and braking fast to make the turn and avoid the dead end into the mountain was a spectator sport for tourists and locals alike. For tragic reasons that were apparent to us, Lukla is known as the most dangerous airport in the world.

Starbucks?

Our hotel was about a hundred meters from the far side of the runway on what appeared to be the only major street in Lukla. There were many decent-looking hotels, a Starbucks Lukla (the mountain logo gave it away as a fake) and many shops selling trekking clothing and gear. The street was paved with large, uneven stones and pedestrians had to keep their wits about them as periodic teams of water buffalos would pass through with loads of supplies on their backs. It was strange to see animals being used as beasts of burden after weeks of only seeing human effort applied to moving goods.

We had a great opportunity to decompress in the hotel, take hot showers, and catch up on emails at one of the many “free wifi” sites along the street. It was much warmer than high up on the mountains, but in the shade, was still rather cold. It was easy to assume we were much lower in altitude, but Lukla’s 2800 m (9186 ft) was still considerably higher than Kathmandu or our Los Angeles.

We were told that dinner and our trekking party would be at 6pm, and took the time to sort through our gear and decide what would go in “the lottery”. This is a tradition at the end of treks where the customers donate items that are split up into piles of roughly equal value. The porters, cooks and guides then draw numbers and choose their pile accordingly. We donated trekking poles, socks (that were still wet but at least clean), a hat, water bottles, and rope. We had already given gloves to Paddam and held back a headlamp for Makar, a very hard-working cook, and a Nike vest for Kubir, one of the toughest porters.

Final party

Dinner was amazing fried chicken and the only downside was that there was only one piece each. We could have eaten Purna’s chicken until we were full. As soon as dinner ended, a cake was introduced and the Adventure Geo Treks staff entered while singing ‘Resham Firiri’ and danced in a circle while stomping and waving their arms in the air.

A few of the staff had already sampled the rahksi and their dancing was even less inhibited than the others. We joined their circle for a fun, intimate moment of trekkers and staff enjoying the end of a hard journey. The lottery was executed and each person made their choice, some after much thought, before the staff tips were handed out. It was fantastic to be able to give back to these beautiful Nepalis who had done extraordinary work under very tough conditions. Rahksi was passed around generously and we were all in the party spirit until the evening ended around 10pm.

Up next: Mera Peak Expedition — Lukla to Kathmandu

Extras: The following two videos are of the public market in Lukla and taking off from the Lukla Airport (video courtesy of Joel Meyers).

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Going as high as possible on Mera Peak.

Sunday, October 23

It wasn’t a great night of sleep. We finally figured out a system for keeping warm in our sleeping bags, but it was a night of tossing and turning as we exhausted ourselves on the climb and developed sinus infections. Daylight finally came at 6am and we looked forward to getting lower and warmer. The day began with a two-hour walk down to Tangnag, the last campsite we visited before Khare.  We rested in the warm sun and the staff made our lunch.

Tangnag

We weren’t in Tangnag long when we asked to continue down the mountain. After four days up high, we were ready to have warmer nights and mornings. The walk to Kote mostly followed the Hinku Khola for three hours, a winding, rocky path that made its way at times high along the bank and at times right next to the water.

It was notable that on this trek, we only crossed a single suspension bridge after Adheri and ever since, crossed rivers rarely. When we did cross water it was by stones and wooden logs made secure with large rocks wedged among the timbers.

River walking

About halfway from Tangnag to Kote we passed again below the timberline and saw mossy pines and rhododendrons along the side of the river. The trail seemed to take a great deal of time and although we came the same way several days ago, it seemed unfamiliar. We were very happy when the blue roofs of Kote came into view about a half kilometer down the river. Jeff and Joel left Khare yesterday and weren’t feeling well and we soon found their tents, Subash the Assistant Guide, and Krisha the kitchen staff, but no sign of our friends.

Kote

Coming down from Mera, Kote is the first town that appears to have permanent residents, evidenced by nicer buildings and even the presence of children and families. Many of the structures appeared new and the roofs, rather than being of shingles with large gaps, were blue tin and looked significantly more water and weatherproof. Surprisingly, Jeanne and I arrived ahead of the porters, who showed up about thirty minutes later with our personal items and tent.

Death

Despite being much lower, the temperature dropped quickly as soon as the west side of the valley was in shadows, which was very early. We also received the bad news that a porter that we saw carried on another porter’s back through Tangnag actually died at the monastery about halfway to Kote. He had Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) and was being carried down as quickly as possible but not quickly enough, it would appear. When we saw him at Tangnag, he was conscious and looking around. Later, Karlin saw him laying on the ground and having what looking like a back spasm. We have heard of these things before but never have we been so close to this. It was very, very sobering to know that we were alive and healthy but not because of anything more than chance.

Monday, October 24

We woke up in a cold (but not nearly as cold as Khare) Kote. Breakfast was a delicious oatmeal with raisins. This is the day we would leave the Hinku Khola Valley and cross the passes that lead back to the valley of the Dudh Khosi, the main watershed for the Khumbu Region.

We started by an uphill that took us to the same place we had lunch several days ago near Toctor, but then when the trail forked, rather than taking the left fork toward Basa Village, we took the right fork toward Lukla. From that point, it would be a day of endless uphill trekking until we reached the first of the two passes. Even though we reached a village at only 2:30pm, it was very foggy and cold. We knew we were approaching a village when we heard Yak bells even though we couldn’t see any animals in the thick mist. Our final stop was at a poor-looking cluster of homes and tea houses at 4200 m (13,779 ft) of elevation. The fog combined with the strange rock formations made this site seem like a haunted place.

We spent time talking to other trekkers, including an Italian couple that climbed K2, Everest and Gasherbrum II without oxygen, and a group of Spaniards who were brought by a travel agency based in Santander. Our crew set up our dining tent for the first time in days, as we had been eating indoors at the various villages. The dining tent was preferable to the smoky interior of the facility where we were camped. At some point, I realized that this was the first time we used the dining tent since we camped at Odare at the giant rock. It was nice to be seated around the table and it was warmer that you’d expect a tent to be.

Yak attack

That night brought our first ever yak attack. We went to bed at the late hour of 8pm, and around 11pm, were awakened by a yak wandering through the campsite. We heard people running and the yak’s bell before hearing Nepali voices as they herded the yak carefully away from the fifteen or so tents that were in the area. A yak walking through a tent could injure someone quite easily and we truly appreciated how seriously our staff took the job of moving the animals along.

Up next: Mera Peak Expedition — Hinku Valley to Lukla

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Kote to Tangnag.

Wednesday, 19 October

Life is great after 14 hours of deep sleep. The morning was clear though it would be a few hours before the sun would warm the valley as a subsidiary summit of Mera Peak shades Tangnag in the early hours of the day. After sickness, it felt wonderful to get a large basin of warm water, strip down, and wash all of the places that haven’t seen water in a few days. If you feel dirty enough, you don’t care about nudity or freezing temperatures. The wash water doubled as a basin for cleaning clothes, but the temperature was sufficiently low that the clean, wet clothing quickly froze solid on the line.

Avalanche

Our plan was to hike to Khare, our last established village before Base Camp, High Camp and Mera Peak. We were told it was a four to five hour hike and we planned a late start so that we would be well recuperated for what would be three very cold days. We planned initially to leave Tangnag at 12:00pm, but a refreshed Ursi and Chris’ much better health changed the plan and we left at 9:30am instead. Just before our departure, we were treated to an enormous avalanche on the high wall to our east, announcing itself with a big roar. Overhanging ice fell onto snow slopes below, building into an enormous, loud freight train of snow that only ended when it became a powdery spray at the Hinku Khola on the valley floor.

Drying out

Once underway, our first stop was only a few hundred meters up the trail, where the sunshine wasn’t blocked by the enormous peak above Tangnag. We pulled out our wet sleeping bags and laid them on the rocks to dry for about 45 minutes. At this altitude, the sun is especially strong.

On to Khare

Once we achieved our goal and had light, fluffy bags again, we started up the steep ascent of the moraine slopes that would be our primary geography all day. Soon after cresting the first big rise, we could see Mera Peak for the first time, with its ice and snow ‘dome’ peak and enormous hanging glaciers ending in clear blue serac.

We passed through wet meadows, rocky slopes and then finally saw Khare on a hilltop ahead. It came faster than expected, due mostly to the incorrect altitude on our maps that listed Khare at 5100 m. Even as we came into the town, the “wel-come” sign declared that we were at 5000 m (16,404 ft), while our GPS and the barometric watches of Joel and Karlin both agreed at 4883 m (16,020 ft).

Reaching Khare

Once in Khare, hot orange juice was passed out and we collapsed on the tarp, soaking in the sun that defeated the cold wind only until mist rolled up the valley once again. The mist was a daily occurrence for the previous five days, rolling in each day at  around 2pm and causing the temperatures to plunge very quickly.

Khare was a true climbers camp as a crossroads for expeditions going over Mera La or climbing Mera Peak. This was also the last hospitable place for people coming from or headed in either direction. A lot of work was done to build hostels, carry in wood, prayer flags, food and drink. Nothing was there that wasn’t carried up steep slopes on porters’ backs other than rocks. The amount of labor that was involved in building and maintaining Khare was remarkable.

Getting ready

A great time to break out the checklist for the two days from Khare to High Camp to Mera Peak:

Tomorrow will be an acclimitization day, with a short hike up to a nearby hill with a chorten at its top. We originally planned to hike to base camp, including a glacier walk, but as with many things when trekking in Nepal, the plan changed.

As our load was now considerably lighter and we were as high as many porters would go (not everyone goes to High Camp and the Summit), the two Bika porters, Tsuje and Gopal, were thanked for their services, paid for their time, including a tip from us, and left Khare for the long walk back to Basa 8.

Up next: Mera Peak Expedition – Acclimatization day in Khare

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Ngyngso Camp to Odare Camp.

Monday, October 17

Morning was cold and clear and started with the hot water for tea or coffee and washing water, as always. It was very dark on this side of the mountain, shaded as we were by the steep hillside between our camp and the rising sun. Before breakfast we said goodbye to the porter that we hired from Adheri, Naran Magar. He was hired after one of the Basa porters injured his knee on the short trek from Basa Village to Adheri. Naran was paid his salary plus a tip from us before departing on foot for Adheri.

Today would be the day we joined the main trekking trail to Mera Peak and we expected to see the usual blend of trekkers from all over the world. While it is interesting to meet other Westerners, there is something much more intimate about getting off the popular routes and spending time with just our team from AGT. It is on these remote routes that we’ve found it easy to get to know the guides, cooks and porters. Since we all camp together in the wilderness, there is a very different sense of community than when we trek and set up camp amongst many other trekking groups. Whenever we’re on the popular routes the local Nepalis gravitate toward each as much as the Westerners group together.

Today would also be the day we would dry my sleeping bag, somehow, some way. It had gotten wet through my duffel bag on our rainy day and hadn’t dried in the past two days. Buddi suggested that he carry it today and if we had the fortune of having sunshine at lunch, would lay it out to dry. As it worked out, our lunch spot was in Toktor, near the point where the trail from Lukla met the smaller trail we had been on since Kharikhola. We stopped at a bridge over a tumbling stream that afforded an excellent view of the enormous ravine across the way. It was sunny and warm, and a great moment to take a bath in the stream. We were able to wash ‘everything’ including our clothing and finished lunch both dry and clean for the first time in days.

To Kote

From lunch, we trekked mostly downhill to the Hinku Khola and then followed the glacial snowmelt river for a few kilometers before once again climbing into the forest along the west side of the river. It became obvious during the afternoon that we were leaving behind the temperate part of Nepal, with its bamboo and rhododendron forests and were now seeing the beginning of a true alpine climate with pine trees and rocky soil.

Not too far from the river, we came to the village of Kote and saw our first tents and trekkers since leaving Kharikhola. We were high on a plateau above the river with an intermittent view of snowy peaks to the north. There was a picturesque waterfall high above the village and an excellent opportunity to buy packaged foods. Clouds were moving up the Hinku Valley from the south, giving alternating glimpses of the peaks to each side of the river and also of Mera North and Mera Central. It was exciting to think that if everything went according to plan, we would be on Mera North at 6476 m (21,246 ft) in just four days. We spent time walking around Kote and taking in the sights.

There was a large group from an American company that planned to summit Mera Peak the day after us and then go on to Buruntse (7200 m, 23,622 ft) after that. We saw a pig being carved up, Sherpa villagers both walking around and in the dark interiors of their houses, and plenty of beer, Snickers, cookies and Pringles. Curiously, there were stone huts that served as toilets everwhere, perhaps a sign that many trekkers pass through…more than were here at the moment.

On the main trail

We had an excellent dinner of rice, lentils, pototoes and pork (undoubtedly the same pig we saw being carved) before DB came by to talk about our plan for the next few days. There was a lengthy conversation on whether to take Diamox, with the guides recommending against it. We also planned not to sleep at Base Camp but to instead hike from Khare to Base Camp and back down as an acclimatization exercise, and then hike from Khare to High Camp the day before the summit attempt. With the air cold now, we layered our clothing and still shivered in the 3600 m (11,811 ft) air. The cold, however, added to our excitement as we had a much stronger sense of how close we were to the highest altitude of our lives. Just as we unlayered our clothing and prepared for sleep we heard the rain on the roof of the tent once again.

Next up: Mera Peak Expedition — Kote to Tagnag

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Namdolingomba to Ngyngso Camp.

Sunday, October 16

There was a steady patter of rain on the tent as we fell asleep which we always find very reassuring somehow, perhaps because we live in dry Southern California.  At some point during the night the temperature dropped significantly and there was the glow of the moon on the ceiling of the tent, two positive signs that the sky had cleared and we were perhaps done with the thirty six hours of rain we had ‘enjoyed’. Sure enough, as the dawn broke we were once again enjoying a sunny day in Nepal and an opportunity to dry our clothes and other gear. With a great view toward Mera Peak, we could for the first time get a clear idea of the distance to and grandeur of the mountains we would face by week’s end. Just knowing that we would be on Mera Peak in a matter of a few days made us both excited a bit nervous.

The Hinku Valley

It was great to see the nearby mountains, too, and we had our first view of the Hinku Valley, a north-south oriented valley with our campsite on the western side, facing the morning sun. The solar charger was connected and for the first time in two days, batteries were once again being refreshed. Breakfast was a delicious combination of eggs, pancakes, ramen soup and the standard granola and corn flakes. This would be a long, tough day, and we were filling our stomachs to make sure we would have the energy to get through nine hours of trekking. There would be no hot lunch today, as Purna, our cook, requested that we take a bag lunch instead so that we could make better time.

A tough day

We were warned that today would be a day of “two passes”, meaning we would make a full uphill and downhill trek twice. They were absolutely right as the first couple of hours were a climb up a steep nose of the peak that overlooked the previous night’s campsite. We climbed steadily until we reached a high point at 3400 m (11,155 ft) before descending to the Tama Khola at 2854 m (9364 ft). The highlight of reaching the first pass that morning was a very clear and seemingly closeup view of Mera Peak to the northeast. Once down the steep hill, the Tama was a beautiful stream that tumbled over rocks and had clear pools of water where we quickly took advantage of the opportunity to soak our feet, wash our hair and, for the men, spend shirtless time relaxing in the sun. From this vantage point we could look down the small but steep valley that we were crossing to the much larger Hinku Khola far below. It was wonderful to have the sun again and drying clothing littered the rocks along the sides of the stream.

Upward again

Soon after eating we were hiking again and this time the steepness was significantly greater than the morning. At times, we were climbing grassy slopes that were nearly vertical with very small stone steps protruding from the hillside. We struggled up the mountain in this fashion for a couple of very difficult hours until we reached the second pass of the day at 3150 m (10,335 ft). Everyone in the group was winded and ready for a rest.

Wrapping up the day

The remainder of the day was an undulating combination of significant climbs up steep ridges and very steep descents into small valleys. We made two major stream crossings, the first by hopping across a series of well-placed rocks and the last one across an enormous log that spanned a rushing torrent. We long ago learned the best way to defeat a difficult section of trail, whether a narrow bridge or a dangerous section of rocks is to get momentum and block out the risk of a fall. Our mantra as we do this is, “just like a sidewalk, and we never fall off the sidewalk.” We crossed the log bridge with little difficulty and were back in a dark and damp forest.

Reaching Odare

Soon after this crossing, Suvash, our assistant guide, asked us to wait at a trail junction while he ran ahead. He returned in a few minutes to tell us that he found our campsite for the night. It was a series of ledges on the side of a hill that would accomodate one tent each. Towering over the ledges was an enormous rock that climbed at least fifty meters above us. The mist was rolling in by then and we were in the midst of rhododendron and pine trees that made for a ghostly ambience. Our porters were well behind and our tents and personal items arrived about an hour later. By then, Jeanne had managed to get a tick on her stomach that I removed with Ursi’s very useful tweezers.

Camp

The porters soon set up two roaring fires…one for the Basa Rai crew and another for the folks from other villages and castes. The most plentiful wood was bamboo, and there was the occasional explosion as the air pockets inside the bamboo heated and then exploded with a canon-like boom and raucous laughter from our trekking crew. We went to sleep by 7:30pm with our Nepali crew still talking and laughing around their fires.

Next up: Mera Peak Expedition — Odare Camp to Kote

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Spending a day in paradise

Adheri, meaning “dark place” was very appropriately named. It sits high on the same steep mountainside that Basa occupies, but is situated in a way that the sun comes up very late over the mountain to the east and sets very early behind the mountain to the west. It was mostly dark well before 6pm and wasn’t sunny when we started trekking again at 7:30am. We were still very refreshed from Basa, so it didn’t really affect us.

We were a curiosity to the children here and it was distinctly not as friendly as Basa. After all, no one in our group brought clean water, electricty, smokelessstoves or computers here. We were able to wash all of our clothes in the village cistern and continue our trek with clean and dry clothes, a luxury we would not have in a few days when we reach the colder, higher altitudes.

Friday, October 14

We hiked for a little more than an hour and over several very rough bridges before we reached the level of the Dudh Khosi and crossed our first suspension bridge of the trek. Strung about fifty meters above the river, it was about fifty meters in length and made of very trustworthy steel and cement. Once across, we were on the morning shade side of the valley and enjoyed cooler temperatures but the same high humidity that had been the case since our landing in Phaplu. It was a very welcome relief after being in the direct sun most of morning after leaving Adheri.

No tomorrow

We realized at one of our first stops that Shuvas Rai, our 19-year-old assistant guide and DB’s brother, was carrying a chicken that had its legs bound. I asked if the rooster had a name, and he replied with the Nepali words that he translated as, “Dark Love.” Not sure how that related to the chicken in any way and knowing that it would be tonight’s dinner, we renamed the rooster, “Bholi Hudaina” which translates to “no tomorrow.”

Our lunch was made in Jubing, a village on the north side of the Dudh Khosi at 1653 m, which was now running more easterly than before. Our goal for the day was a monastery near the top of the mountain, and we are told that was the last day of hiking in damp and warm air. We met our first trekkers since Kathmandu as well, and they were two Italians staying in tea houses and traveling with no guides or porters.

Mera/Lukla Junction

We fell into an easy conversation with the two, who were from near Turin and spoke excellent English. It was great that they were self-supported, but Jeanne and I distinctly prefer camping treks to tea houses, as they are more self-sufficient, personal and can cover areas where there are no tea houses. We ate in a nicely shaded bamboo gazebo with corn drying around its roofline and were able to dry our clothes completely in the afternoon sun. The village of Jubing was centered around a two-story white building with the standard “Gorkhali Lodge Restaurant” sign above the main door meaning that it was founded by a former Ghurka soldier, the famous Nepali fighters who have served in the British Army since their India campaigns.

Up the hill

From Jubing, we climbed steadily through pine forests and millet fields until we reached the very top of the hill and the stupa that we saw from very far below. It was the site of the Pema Namding Monestary just above the trail junction town of Kharikhola at 2077 m. From this village, the trail forked to the left toward Lukla and Namche Bazaar and to the right, our direction, toward the Hinku Valley and Mera Peak. There were a quite a few trekkers here, and all were headed to the left fork, which was the original route to Mt Everest Base Camp. It was exciting to think we were walking in the footsteps of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, first to climb Mt Everest in 1953 by taking this very route. Since those days, most people headed for Everest fly into the city of Lukla and begin their journey there. An alternative to flying, the standard route is by car or bus to Jiri, and then overland to Lukla and then above to the tallest mountain in the world. We rested on the hilltop and waited for our porters who were struggling up the enormous hill that we had just climbed.

Leaving the Dudh Kosi

From Kharikhola, we climbed steadily up a very long and steep hill known as the Lenji Kharka, where we found a camp site just as we met Ngawang Tashi Sherpa, a monk for thirty years who lived at the Namdoling Gompa Monestary. He happily offered us the cow pasture and seemed to enjoy talking with us in English. He wore the traditional orange and red monks clothing, but with a Northface fleece, of course, to guard against the chill of the hilltop. Tashi, as he was called, was the only monk in this place and was restarting the monestary after the previous lama died a few years ago. Just as we arrived at the top, we also discovered an unexpected passenger on the back of my hand. There was an inch-long leech that was well-established and getting his fill of my blood. We pulled him off, not without some resistance, and I immediately began to bleed freely. Dennis remarked that leeches put an anticoagulant in their victim that causes this bleeding, and I believed it. We cleaned the small hole and applied antibiotic before covering with a bandaid after Jeff said that his last leech left an itchy spot on his hand for a year or more. Before the tents were even set up, we found several more leeches, and it was uncanny how they could sense body warmth and would stretch their bodies toward a human hand.

At the monestary

We took the ipad up to the monestary and were able to get a full charge, important as we weren’t sure how many more times we would have access to electricity. The room with the outlet turned out to be tonight’s bunkhouse for the guides, cooks and porters as well. It was dark, as is the norm in old wooden buildings, but was also lined with pictures of family members, the Dali Lama, Buddha, climbers on various peaks and a couple of bare light bulbs in the ceiling. There were also a couple of children and their mother tending to a very welcoming fire.

The Porters made their way in gradually and gathered around, watching as I typed and talking about what I was doing. They were very happy when I explained that we loved their village and that this was a description of the great things we saw when we visited Basa. We were now clearly in Sherpa territory, meaning that the Dali Lama is revered and Buddhism was the dominant religion. Jeanne and I sprung for five bottles of raksi for our Nepali team, costing only 450 rupees, which would be cheap compared to the beer we would buy the next night.

Dinner was our poor Bholi Hudaina. He was tasty. We would have enjoyed the dinner more if not for the occasional leech that dropped from the ceiling onto unsuspecting trekkers. We were able to wash clothes by headlamp in the ubiquitous black hose that brings water down to every village from higher on the mountain. It was cold but the air was so humid and mild that it simply felt refreshing. We fell asleep paranoid about leeches dropping from the ceiling, but when we woke up at 1am, were sleepy enough that we no longer cared if they found their way into the tent.

Up next: Mera Peak — Namdolingomba to Ngyngso Camp