September 7th- Everest Base Camp Trek: Day 5

A Room With a View

Today we awoke after a restful sleep and were greeted with sunny skies, green hills and, of course, Mt. Everest and the Lhotse range beaming down on us. Perked up by the impressive view, we got ready for the day and set off.

Good morning Mt. Everest!

The clouds unfortunately raced ahead of us and obscured our mountain view, but if it had been sunny, we would have spent the day walking in the mountain's shadow. The walk in the morning was easy enough, a steady downhill pace through pleasant wooded areas and small farm towns. The sun was out and the temperature was pleasant. We stopped briefly for lunch before heading out once again.

Ama Dablam 



Coming out of Somare, the landscape changed very suddenly. Gone were the trees and the mountain pathways, we were now walking between two barren mountains with moss-like grass, large rocks and no water. We both found ourselves thinking it was more similar to Iceland than to what we'd seen of Nepal. Dotted along this valley were little houses that time had forgotten, made of stone with huge gardens sectioned off by small stone walls. The change of scenery led to a sombre walk and we were lost in our own thoughts.

Gone are the trees, replaced by shrubbery and dirt.

The little house that time forgot.

Over a small mountain (we can say that now!) we saw the town of Pheriche, where we were going to spend the night. Originally, we would take another route to Dengboche, but all the tea houses were shut because it's too early in the season. We strolled into this village, said hello to some yaks (our first yaks!!) and settled into what is the most rural lodgings we have encountered. Our room is more a wooden box that a room and the toilets involve a basin and a bucket, but hey, it's what we signed up for!
What kind of animal do you need in the Himalayas?
A yak of all trades!


Being at such a high altitude means nights are colder now so before dinner we huddled round the wood burner in the middle of the dining room. After dinner, we got together with an couple of American cousins, a couple from Italy and 3 guides/Sherpas and played a lively round of cards. New friendships were tested as the game was competitive but we all vowed to play again if we saw each other at the next tea houses.

Altitude: 4240m
Altitude gained: 380m
Hours trekked: 5 1/2

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