This part of the trek started along a ridge where we saw Mt. Everest and more beautiful views of the valleys and mountains. About 2 hour into the hike, the trail started going downhill towards the river. Our plan is to have lunch at a restaurant near the bridge where we cross the river. Of course going downhill is easier than going uphill. We saw other groups struggling as they climbed up the trail. We arrived at the restaurant at about 1pm. Had a nice lunch under warm sunshine and were in good spirits. It's the typical lunch: fried rice, pizza, sandwich, dal bhat (Indian curry, rice, and lentil soup), momo (buns, like Chinese pau), etc. I don't remember what I had but you just eat something so that it will sustain you for the next few hours. Sometimes you are too tired and just have a bowl of soup.
Our challenge began as soon as we crossed the bridge. We did not realize how long and steep the hike was going to be. We started at about 2pm and it was almost dark by the time we reached Tengboche. It was one continuous climb, sometimes straight, sometimes switchbacks. It was a bad day for me because I had not slept well the night before. We saw a mother and son team. We passed each other back and forth several times. The mother had to be held by the guide to walk. We wondered how is she going to make it to Base Camp. She didn't seem strong enough to even do a simple day hike. Why is she doing this hike? What is her goal? Did someone warn her that it's not going to be easy?
Our first sighting of Tengboche was the chorten (a small stupa) next to the monastery. What a relief! This monastery is one of the largest in the region. After dropping off our stuff at the tea-house across from the monastery, we stopped in there to watch a ceremony that was going on.
At this point in the hike, our energy and spirit were very much spent. Our guide, Nutan, told us that from what he is seeing, some members of our group will not be able to finish our trek based on the itinerary that we set. We still have 4 more days to go and more long and difficult hikes. Hiking back to Lukla in four days is another matter. We have to rethink our plan.
We decided to explore the option of taking a helicopter from Gorak Shep back to Lukla after we reached Base Camp. That will stretch our hike to Base Camp from 8 days to 11 days. It will give us more time to acclimatize and rest and improve our chance of finishing the trek to Base Camp. Nutan suggested we spend 3 nights in Dingboche, 2 nights in Lobuche and finally, 2 nights in Gorak Shep.
We will still be hiking 11 days and spending more time above 14,000 feet. Nutan called his manager and asked him to check with the helicopter company what it would costs. The answer came back: $3,500 to take the group back to Lukla from Gorak Shep on Day 12. That means we'll still be spending the last night in Lukla and on the following day, fly back to Kathmandu as scheduled. We were expecting to pay $1,000 each so we quickly said yes to the $3,500 (or $700 each). Our spirits lifted immediately.
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| Leaving Namche with a view of Everest |
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| A close-up look at Everest (in the middle) |
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| Taking a break |
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| A chorten |
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| A view of the valley below. The pointed peak on the right is Amadablan |
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| A porter carrying a heavy load |
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| Bridge crossing the river, starting the uphill climb to Dengboche |
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| Climbing up after we crossed the river |
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| A yak train |
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| A prayer rock |
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| Monastery at Tengboche |
There is not much in Tengboche except the monastery. It's supposed to be the largest in the area and many monks come here to be trained. I'm glad we are staying here for only 1 night. The Tashi Delek Lodge was quite crowded. I had a dinner of fried rice and potatoes. It's a good place for us to get a nice rest and continue our trek. There are more difficult challenges to come. I went to bed at about 10pm and soundly fell asleep.
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