September 4th - Everest Base Camp Trek: Day 2

A Rude Awakening

We wake up to what sounds like a torrent of rain on the rooftop. Later, we would find ourselves mistaken: what we heard was in fact the river roaring through the village of Phakding. Breakfast was at 7:00, and after some last minute packing we set off for Namche Bazar.

The hike started off pleasantly enough. Clear skies and a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains. The trail took us through several small communities, and we crossed back and forth over the Dudh Koshi river several times. Several picturesque waterfalls lined our trail, and we were in awe as we spied our first snowcapped peak, which Raju pointed out as Thamserku (6608m).

Thamserku.
Holly trekking under a waterfall.
Who says you can't be romantic in
the Himalayas?

After clearing the checkpoint in Monjo, we breaked for lunch in Jorsalle.

Encouraged by our easy going hike that morning, we set off for Namche. After a brief hike along the river, we spied in the distance a towering suspended bridge. The hike up to our end of the bridge proved challenging enough, but we were not quite prepared for what followed. Breaking for a few pictures, we crossed the bridge. Matt captured our harrowing traverse on video.

The highest bridge is the one we'll have to cross!
Off to a rocky start already!


Afterwards, Raju put us through the wringer as we proceeded to spend the better part of the next four hours climbing up a steep switchback trail, with tall steps paved with stone. As the clouds moved in around us, a gentle misting rain began to fall. Finally, we reached the summit, where apparently the first view of Everest awaited us. Instead, we found ourselves staring into an indistinct grey mass of clouds. Disappointed, we rested for a few minutes and trudged on.


The remaining half hour of our trek was not that challenging, but our previous ascent had taken its toll and we walked slowly over more or less level ground. Passing another checkpoint, we turned the corner and found ourselves in Namche Bazar.


Stupa at the entrance to Namche Bazar.

Water-powered prayer wheels.

Namche Bazar as seen from above.
Unfortunately, our ordeal did not end there. As you can see, the town is built in a bowl shape scaling the valley around it on three sides. Our tea house, it turned out, was rather high up, and we gave the last bit of effort we had to reach our room and collapse in our bed. The whole ordeal left us slightly apprehensive of our days to come, but we relished the thought of our rest day tomorrow.

Altitude:3440
Altitude gained: 830m
Hours trekked: 7.5

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