Wrap up:

To wrap up a few thoughts on this year's trek, and on comparisons with last time:

(Note to start at the beginning of the blog - go HERE and keep hitting 'Newer Post" to follow the trek in order)

Walking in from Jiri and out to Bhandar was well worth it. Although few people do this (most fly out from Lukla), we enjoyed the feeling of being in great shape and having oxygen to breathe. We had no problem retracing our earlier steps (other than my health problems that is), and it was definitely enjoyable to be back on quiet trails again.

The changes from last time were immense. The quality of accommodation has improved many fold. We were able to have a double room every night, most lodges had facilities for showers if you were so inclined, and I think everyone had some form of electric light, although in some places it was very limited solar. The last time only Namche had electricity and I slept on the floor, or in dining rooms about 25% of the time, with most of the other nights being in dormitories. The food too was of a higher quality, though of course prices have gone up, especially at the higher altitudes.

We rented sleeping bags from Shona's (on Amrit Marg) and these kept us toasty warm the whole way. We also bought down jackets and these were excellent and are now proving their worth in a Canadian winter. I can't say enough about the ease of shopping at Shona's (fixed price and good quality).

Our favourite three lodges were:
- SunSite (Namche Bazaar)
- Sherpa Guide (Junbesi)
- Khumbila (Cheplung)

It was an interesting experience to have a porter/guide this time. I originally only decided to hire a porter/guide as a safety measure (I wanted someone there for Sara should any thing happen to me on the trek), but it was helpful to have someone along (and help this old guy carry some of the weight). You obviously don't need a guide for this trek, but for a little bit of money, you provide someone with some income, and he (or she - as there are a couple of female guides too) can help out in a number of situations. Just make sure you set the ground rules early as one of the biggest disputes can be over where you stay at night - the guide may have his favourite place (or where he gets a deal, or where he has developed a relationship), and you may want to stay somewhere else to be with people you met on the trail.

Kathmandu has changed a lot as well. No more Pie Alley, but still lots of good food. Definitely more crowded, and noisy and.....oh well. Our favourite places to eat were OR2K ( a vegetarian restaurant across from Pumpernickel bakery, and Just Pass Fast Food (On Amrit Marg, just down from the Utse hotel) where they have great Naan.

While in Kathmandu we splurged a bit and stayed at the Tibet Peace Guest House in Paknajol. This is about a 2 minute walk from Thamel, but much much quieter. There are actually 4 guesthouses up this small lane including Kathmandu Peace, and Yellow. We paid $12/night with bathroom, balcony and TV (like I said a bit of a splurge).

All in all a phenomenal time that will give Sara and I many, many memories for years to come. I would not have missed it for anything.

If you are looking for a place to stay in Kathmandu/Nepal, you can try these sites. They are run by a friend who helped us out with our porter/guide while we were there. He knows a lot about the whole trekking business: Hotels in Nepal or Kathmandu

Of course the blog posts are all in backwards chronological order, so the best place to start is to click on October posts and go from there. Or you can start here and just follow "Newer Posts".

Day 32: Bhandar to Kathmandu

Welcome to "big" Bhandar the potential new starting point for the Everest trek. It is already starting to look like Jiri. Just compare the pictures of the bus station (Photo #1) and the main street to the lower picture (Photo #4) of "little" Bhandar (about 1 km away) that is on the current trekking path. Its hard to believe these are so close to each other. Unfortunately at the moment if you want to take the Bhandar bus (coming or going) it is best to stay in the "big" Bhandar - as the bus leaves at 6 am and heaven only knows when the bus might arrive from Kathmandu (on the night we were there it rolled in around 9 pm).

Up early for the bus, but managed to get a delicious bowl of noodle soup for breakfast. As the bus station was directly across from the guesthouse, we did not have far to walk. The bus was about 15 minutes late leaving as we waited for a Buddhist nun and then just as we were about to leave someone else came running up to the bus. It turned out he had come to tell a family on the bus that he had just received a call saying that a brother had died - so the man and his family had to make the immediate decision to get off the bus.

So we were finally off on the "Super Express" - 750 Rs - bus to Kathmandu on only its 12 th day of service. All I can say is that this bus is not going to last long on these roads. Although there are great views the trip takes 4 1/2 hours to Jiri (via Those) for what as the crow flies is a 10 km distance. Bumpy, slow, windy,....this road has got it all.

Stopped at Jiri and surprisingly had the best, and cheapest, coffee of the trip at one of the bus station coffee shops. From there we learned the meaning of Super Express. No stops, just flat out - of course there was one stop to change a blown out tire, and then another stop in the next town to repair the blown out tire (a tire that should definitely gone on the scrap heap, as a piece had blown right off it). We made great time until just before Kathmandu, when evening rush hour hit. Two hours going nowhere. So the total time was 13 1/2 hours, and one saved day from not walking through to Jiri.

Kind of a crazy way to end a fantastic trek, but fun none the less.

(Photo #5: a look back along the route we followed from Bhandar. If you look closely you can follow the path of the road.)

Day 31: Kinja to Bhandar

So a change in plans based on the news about the new Bhandar bus route. With my feeling better (either the paracetamol is working or I am getting better), but not 100% we thought why not try the new Bhandar service. After all it saves a day, and a lot of walking ... so we thought. (Photo #1: Walking through Kinja)









Slow walk uphill, stopping to take lots of pictures. (Photo #2 - looking back towards Kinja) Really taking it easy and trying to thoroughly enjoy this last day on the trail. There is really some lovely scenery here, plus the added attraction, as far as Sara is concerned, of lots of oranges. We even managed to get one man to sell us some right off of his tree (now that is fresh - especially for someone from Canada, where lets just say there are not a lot of orange trees about) . (Photo #3 is Sara getting her 10 fresh oranges right from the tree)

We had lunch in what I call "little" Bhandar, the Bhandar that is right on the trekking trail. A nice pleasant place with lots of flowers and tidy looking guesthouses. But that is obviously not where the new bus runs from. To find that we had to head about 1 km over to "big" Bhandar - which given its position at the end of the road has developed just like Jiri. Lots of garbage and uncontrolled development etc. (See pics next post). We bought our bus tickets...and then found out that it takes 4-5 hours just to get to Jiri - oops we can walk there in not that much longer than that.

Day 30: Junbesi to Kinja

(Photo #1: from Lamjura pass looking back towards Junbesi. Photo #2: Looking forward towards Duerali Pass (the saddle in the middle right of the photo.))

We finally had to say goodbye to Junbesi, one of the nicest places on the trek, and start our climb up. Its a steady climb up of about 900m to get to the pass. The first part was fine as I watched my breathing carefully, but the final 200 metres or so was really tough. I just had no energy, and Sara had to help by taking my pack. By the time we got to the top I was toast, but for some reason was drawn to head into the tea house, where I plopped myself in front of the fire, and almost instantly started to feel better. A cup of coffee and a half hour of warmth from the fire later, I was ready to go again. Quite amazing really.

The next stage is an almost unbelievable 2,000 metre drop from Lamjura down to Kinja. A real test for the knees if there ever was one. With my feeling better, and Sara in the lead we headed down at quite a clip. We made Goyem in an hour, where we had lunch and I spent another hour sitting next to the energy giving fire (see photo). From there is was only 50 minutes to Sete - quite a difference from the eternity that it seemed to take to get from Sete to Goyem on the uphill path.



But then the wheels fell off. I guess the paracetamol wore off, or maybe I needed to find another fire, but all my energy disappeared. The last few hundred metres down were brutally slow. I all but collapsed when I got to the lodge, where I once again plopped myself down next to the fire. Thankfully the lodge owner had some more paracetamol, and soon I was feeling slightly more human again.

The lodge owner also had some more interesting news - there was a new bus service from Bhandar to Kathmandu, meaning that we would not have to cross the Deurali pass, nor walk all the way back to Jiri. In my condition this sounded like an excellent idea.

Before heading on to Bhandar, one last comment on the trails. Unfortunately from Jiri on it is hard to find a stretch where there is not some form of garbage on the trail or next to the trail. As I wrote in my journal on the first day, "unfortunately the garbage is as ubiquitous as the dead leaves and twigs on the trail, but perhaps as enduring as the rocks and dirt we walk on". The culture just has not caught up to the fact that this "new" stuff, does not biodegrade like the "old" stuff. I saw all ages of local people just throwing away garbage along the trail - I even had to stop our porter/guide at one point.

What is interesting is that there were two places where the presence of garbage was far less pronounced. First was on the path up to Thodung. No one uses this trail and as result it was spotless, something that immediately struck me. The second place was above Namche. It seems for whatever reason that this area is kept far cleaner than other parts of the trail (so if you are reading this and flew in and out of Lukla, you may be wondering what I am going on about). I just hope that somehow a message gets through that this stuff is not going away and maybe it is better to not drop it there in the first place.

Day 29: Recovery Day? - Junbesi

Now if there is one place on the trek that I would choose to spend an extra recovery day, it would be Junbesi - and so that is what we did today. Nothing to do but stay in bed, eat a bit and try and get rid of the fever. Ended up taking what antibiotics I had, plus some ibuprofen and paracetamol, and waited to see how I would react. Sara had her potatoes (she loves potatoes and butter) and took a few pics of the flowers at the guesthouse, while our porter/guide pitched in pounding some corn.

Day 28: Ringmu - Junbesi

50 today!

Well, not feeling well at all, and it can't all be down to turning 50. Had the sweats all night, so did not sleep well. Still we did get a lovely apple pancake for breakfast and then it was off to try and make Junbesi in my weakened condition. Luckily Sara was in fine form today, and she offered to take my pack, giving me her lighter one instead. She also spent the whole day looking after me.




This section of the trail is one of my favourite parts - pine and rhododendron forests, relatively flat trails with no rocks, great scenery, and comfortable weather (sunny and not too hot). Walked down from Ringmu, crossed the river then climbed back up to get our final view of Everest. Then the trail is pretty flat until just before Junbesi, where it drops down quite steeply. Along the way you also get a nice view of the climb to come up to the Lamjura pass again - the Lamjura pass is the low point of the range in the middle of the photo at the left.

Finally we got to Junbesi and our favourite Sherpa Guide Guest House. We found the owners not so busily drying apples and pounding corn (to make corn flour for sherpa stew). We asked about apple pie and the lady said she had not made any as the volume of trekkers was down now. We asked "what about if we bought a whole pie?" - and she said give her and hour or so and we would have one, and so we did - a great afternoon coffee time snack, plus some left over for dessert after dinner (a delicious tomato and egg spring roll) too!

Day 27: Jubing to Ringmu

Woke up feeling "not right". Still coughing, but this was worse. Still we started off down to the bridge over the river (at about 1450m) and then began the long climb up to the Takshindu pass (at about 3100m), so a nice 1650m, almost straight up. Of course in some ways that is a good thing - no ups followed by downs, just ups! (Photo #1: a look at the kitchen of the Nuntale guesthouse)

Stopped for an early lunch/extra breakfast in Nuntale, about half the way up. I was definitely not feeling well, and by now was running a fever. There were some nice views back towards Jubing with clouds for atmosphere, but I was concentrating more on putting one foot in front of the other. Somehow we made it up to the pass, but I was knackered, so I sent Sara and our porter/guide ahead to get a place to stay and to order some apple pie to eat. Meanwhile I hobbled down towards Ringmu at my own slow slow pace. Unfortunately the apple pie was not yet ready by the time I got there and we not so smartly sat outside (in the wind and cold) waiting for it to come. Though the pie was good, my fever was getting worse and I then crawled into bed and stayed there for an hour or so drinking hot lemons and trying to stop shivering. Most of the night was spent sweating or shivering. In hindsight it was the cold winds that were doing me in, what with my trekking in a t-shirt (wet from sweating), and not covering up when we stopped....serves me right I guess. (Photo #2: Breakfast in Nuntale with a Maoist flag in the background)

Day 26: Surke to Jubing

What a change in 2 days - from parka to shorts, from no vegetation to lush vegetation, and fruit galore (Sara is devouring oranges whenever we can get them, even if it from some passing porter on his way up with a full basket for Namche).

(Photo #1 is looking back towards Namche, with Lukla on the right. Photo #2 is a closer shot of Lukla and the airport runway)

Today's trek started with a good 1 1/2 hour climb out of Surke and then a steady climb up to Paiya and then around the bend to the pass at about 3,100. On the way there are some good views back at Lukla and the incoming planes. Then a descent down through Karte, Bupsa (our lunch stop), and down to the river. Then back up through Khari-Khola, to the next pass, and then down to Jubing. In total probably at least 750m up, 1350m down and a good 10km of walking) In Jubing we stayed at the "quaint" Green Bamboo guesthouse that was very old style. The whole place could have blown over in a decent wind (I think there are better places to stay at).

We are going a bit slower than I went last time at this stage of the trek. Back then, being a bit younger we pushed it a bit more to see what we could do at the low altitudes (with so much more oxygen). We actually walked from Chumoa (near Monjo) to Jubing in one 12 hour day. And that was not on the normal trail, it was on a little used trail that ran by the river, but had more ups and downs than any other trail we ever saw.

Anyway, at night we are sleeping in a "rustic" old building with creaking stairs, low beams, dusty plank floors and shaky tables, set in front of a wonderful old bamboo grove - magic. Then after we are fast asleep a sudden burst of loud music startles us awake (it's about 11pm). Before I can figure out what the noise is, a voice starts chattering away at high volume - ah ha - a cell phone ring tone loud enough to be heard in Nuntale! What follows is more loud chattering, dropped calls, more ring tones....this in a place where we at least are asleep at 7. Finally the cell phone chatter ends and is replaced by a dull pounding bass from music being played quite some distance away, but obviously being played loudly...this goes on all night. (Photo #3: Near Paiya)

Isn't technology wonderful. In the afternoon 6 cows go one way down the street, followed in the opposite direction by a pony, followed not long after by a herd of 7 or 8 goats being brought back to town for the evening by their owner ... and they promptly start wandering through the dining room of the house, and that is to say nothing about the chickens running in and out of every space they can find. But then technology puts this natural "silence" in its place. Now it must play background to the electricity fueled noise that we all are familiar with. (Photo #4: Outside the Green Bamboo - Jubing)

Day 25: Namche to Surke

After a great breakfast it was time to bid a final farewell to Namche Bazaar, after buying a yak bell of course, and start to head down. We were taking it easy with the blisters and Sara had decided to wear her running shoes instead of her hiking boots. That did not last too long. On the climb down from Namche she wiped out three times (the rocks with dirt on them can be slippery), before deciding that maybe the hiking boots were the better choice for footwear today. Even so it was slow going going down. I think we prefer the ups these days.

We had our hearts set on making Cheplung (and our favourite guest house there) for lunch, but it was a long slog. For some reason it took us almost as long to get there from Namche as it did to get from Cheplung to Namche going up (a bit over 5 hours coming down). On the way out of the park though we did stop to take a picture of the tourist numbers ... and they are up over last year, well up. You could see it in the hordes on the trail as well as the plane loads in Lukla disgorged their occupants. It was now back to crowded trails and traffic jams!!! .. at least until after Cheplung when we would have peace and quiet again.

We eventually made it for lunch at the Khumbila guesthouse in Cheplung (right at the Luklas turnoff) where I had a delicious and very full plate of fried noodles with a twist. Once I had stuffed myself, our porter/guide came out to say that there was more if I wanted some...and so I had another half a plate full. Ah to have fresh peas in the noodles as well as other vegetables instead of just a few specks of green as you get higher up. Somehow we managed to break away form the idyllic setting (and it really is quite idyllic - as you can see from the photo) and head another 1.5 hours down the trail to Surke (2,290m).

At Surke we stayed at the Everest Guest House - Yak and Yeti. The owners had two children who came in to do their homework in the dining area on the other side of the room from us. As we had come in first we had sat in the area with the light (limited lighting and electricity here). The kids on the other hand sat in the darker area and started using pen flashlights to write their homework by. We eventually talked them into switching places.

Day 24: Machermo to Namche Bazaar

(Pics are actually from yesterday as the camera batteries were all dead today) Pic #1 - The path down from Gokyo towards Pangla.

Stayed at the Snowland in Machermo - NOT a great place to stay. For breakfast I had a bowl of water with some powder in it (it was supposed to be Tsampa porridge). I had to stir it and then ask for more water three times to get it to an edible consistency. Oh well, the joys of food on the trek.

(Pic #2 - our porter/guide enjoying his plate of potatoes - ah, what a meal.)
Today we were off to Namche, a long walk but doable. (The last time we had gone directly from Gokyo to Namche, which is an even longer walk, but also doable, though we did meet two trekkers who did it this year but did not arrive in Namche until after dark.) We were pretty pumped today and really did not stop for any breaks (except to help set right a porter who had been layed low by an over hanging branch knocking his load backwards, and him off of his feet - man those loads are heavy.). Our porter/guide kept asking if we wanted to stop for lunch and we kept saying - lunch in Namche. It was a bit late for lunch but we arrived in Namche at 1:10 after a 7:10 start - so six hours all told.

It felt great to have more oxygen in the lungs again. Even long ups, such as the climb up from Phortse Tenga were done with only a very quick break or two for water. Lot's of energy. It's only the blisters (from Gokyo Ri) slowing us down.

(Pic#3: Moon over the mountains at Machermo)

Back in Namche it was time for a hot bucket shower at our favourite SunSite lodge. It was nice to be clean again after being caked in dust for so long. And...after that it was time for some better food again too. That and Sara also scored an orange to help assuage her craving for fruit over the last few days.

(Pic #4: Still looking a bit the worse for wear in Namche - even after the showers and food and a camera battery recharge)

Day 23: Gokyo - Gokyo Ri - Machermo

Another really tough night trying to sleep at Gokyo. For the second night in a row I had trouble breathing - or at least in keeping a regular rhythm to my breathing. I would wake up gasping for breath, and even as I lay awake I kept feeling short of breath. It was later explained to me that at night the heart rate slows down and what with being at a high altitude it means you may not be getting enough oxygen, giving you the gasping for breath problem. I even took a sleeping pill to try and alleviate the problem, but to no avail. By morning I had decided that I did not want to experience another night fighting for breath, so it was time to start heading down.

Of course before heading down, we had to climb Gokyo Ri for some of the best views on the planet. Again we were lucky with the weather - not a cloud in the sky. We started at 8:30 and it took a bit less than 2 hours of steep climbing to make it up the 570m to the top. This time we went slowly matching each breath with a step and we did not need any breaks. Sara really outdid me. While I was plodding along she raced ahead to get to the top first. She certainly was not giving her old man any "face". Just like last time it was a much easier climb than up Kala Patthar ... but the climb down was a knee breaker.

At the top of Gokyo Ri, we had a very important task to accomplish. You see for the last 25 years I have had a blown up picture taken at Gokyo Ri hanging in my office. It has been my "sanity" picture all these years. The task before us was to try to duplicate the picture, but to add in Sara as well. Unfortunately we were having some battery problems with the camera (due to the cold I guess) and so had limited shots available. Thankfully a Dutch couple were able to help us out and take a couple of extra shots, and theirs turned out to be the closest to the original, so many, many thanks to Bianca and Jan.

With the shots accomplished it was a fast (way too fast) climb down. By the bottom the knees were really sore and blisters were forming (we subsequently learned that for steep descents you should tie the top laces of your boots really, really tight to stop your feet sliding around). Anyway it was then off to Machermo for a hopefully more peaceful sleep.

Day 22: Gokyo - Fifth lake

Off at 8 am or so to do the trek up to the fifth lake. Great walk up along the moraine as we somehow lost the main trail for a while. Phenomenal views of Cho-Oyu, that got better and better, as once again there was not a cloud in the brilliant dark blue sky. It's hard to describe in words how beautiful the views were, so I'll just add a few more pics instead. The trip to 5th lake is probably about 7 km one way and takes 2-3 hours. At the fifth lake you get a pretty unobstructed view of Everest right down the valley. It's a different angle than you get from Kala Patthar or from Gokyo Ri, and although you are not as high, it seems like you see more of it. You can also go further, up to the sixth lake and apparently there are some amazing vantage points there as well, especially if you climb up the hill on the side.

A note on prices up here: Milk tea 50Rs, Dahl Bhat 350Rs, Veg fried potatoes 250Rs, Veg momo 250Rs, Hot lemon 50Rs, Porridge 200Rs, Pancake with jam 250Rs, and Veg noodles 250Rs.