Day 9 - Namche Bazaar, May 12

Well, we've gotten to the point in the trek where internet access is going to be sparse.

Yesterday Grant and I flew into Lukla. The flight was AWESOME! - 14 seater turboprop airplane. They didn't even pressurize the cabin. We went up to 12,000 ft for 40 minutes. The landing is superb. We crested over a ridge, then the pilot brought the plane down fast! He threw on the brakes, we descended rapidly, and landed smoothly at Lukla on a runway with a 15% incline.

Our first day of trekking took us from Lukla to Phakding. We began at 2840 m and ended the day 3 hours later at 2650 m. The trail follows a river formed by the glacial runoff of the Khumbu region.

Trying to describe the trail is going to be difficult. Words can't fully grasp the views here. We are sharing the route with other trekkers, local porters, and zjofkey (cross between a yak and an ox) trains. We have a guide and a porter, who carries most of our gear. It's incredible. It must be an 80 lb duffel. The rush of the river is a steady soundtrack to our walking. The zjofkey wear bells around their necks, and the tinging herd from around a bend lets us know they are coming. Click, clock, by trekking poles like a metronome measure the steps. The trail is rocky, and it seems if we are not ascending then we are descending. Rarely have we had long flat stretches. The weather has been a bit cloudy, with some rain, but every so often we get the views up to the snowcapped parts of the mountians. I can't believe how VERTICAL everything is here. We are deep in the valley compared to the peaks soaring above us.

Now I'm at Namche. Our elevation is 3440 m (11,300 ft). We gained 600 meters in one push today up a very large hill. The elevation is starting to make itself present in a light headache. The weather has turned a bit chilly too up here, and rain has descended upon us. I'm bundled in my cold weather gear, staying warm and trying to keep hydrated as my body acclimatizes.

We are pushing to the road less traveled tomorrow, so I don't think I will have e-mail access for another 2 weeks. See you then!