Nepal Hiking Journal

The following blog post is taken directly from my journals whilst hiking to Everest Base Camp.

Ama Dablan sitting above the village of Dingboche, Nepal

15/3/16 – 16/3/16 – Phakding to Namche Bazaar

Knowing the climb would be hard, I am unsure why I was surprised it was so difficult. One km ascent is exactly what it sounds like. Met a lot of nice people along the trail. Beginning to realize that this trek might be more than just stunning views and physical limits pushed. Personal connections are what make us who we are. How others react to us as we meet us and our response to meeting them. A reciprocal awakening of the self/s.

Coming to grips with the fact that not all of the trails in the world will be comparable to the untouched beauty of backcountry Alaska. I am extremely lucky to have had those experiences and to have met the people who have made it possible. Life makes itself depending on what you put in. A simple push can precipitate an avalanche of possibilities that you can't stymie. I feel as if my life is in more order than it has ever been, thanks mostly to obeying impulses (but can’t forget the amount of planning and courage also involved).

16/3/16

Knees were hurting when I woke. Meant to only do a 15-minute hike to wake them up and then give them rest for the remainder of the day.

I got semi-lost, so this did not happen. The 15 minutes turned into a 3-hour hike. Very glad for this as it proved that my knees can handle hard downhill. They will hurt, but they will be passable. Three nights here, as per the guidebook, seems excessive. I, however, will follow what they recommend. One more night after tonight. Snow showers are possible tomorrow, maybe bring a big jacket?

Namche Bazaar, Nepal

17/3/16 – Acclime Day 3, Namche Bazaar

The rain and snow came after the Sherpa village hike. I don’t deal with the cold well. No place seems heated. The cold would be a different matter if a cozy, warm room were to be had at the end. Next tea house must have a fire at night.

People live differently from what I was raised with. Not better, not worse, just differently. Contemplate what it means to have your home destroyed by nature and leave with nothing. A man and his family sleep in a tent for 6 months after an earthquake destroys their home. He was happy when I saw him with his two loving kids and restaurant. I will be like him someday. I am like him now sans business and kids. Happiness is something we all experience together in our separate worlds.

There is a sense that pervades me of the mountains truly beginning here. My hike today was awakening to say the least. Another peek at the god of mountains and my final destination. Another reason to keep going forward, up the valleys, and toward my goal. My knees will hurt and my face will freeze, but I will accomplish what I have come here to do. To cross some high passes and to see Everest quite closely from Kala Pattar. This will be done. It will be enjoyed.

My Favorite Photo. Thamserku, Nepal.

18/3/16 – Namche to Tengboche to Dengboche

Stale, grinding pain in my left knee. Should I rest going up or down? It is possible that I should rest on the way down since that is where most of the pain comes from. Push on tomorrow, for it is almost a straight ascent.

19/3/16

Continued on. Took an hour longer than intended. Pain in the knees was quite bad at the end. Will get a brace for the right knee tomorrow.
Equally, this trek has become about the mountains and the people in equal proportions. The days are consumed by walking and being stunned by the giants of the mountains surrounding us. The evenings are spent playing cards and conversing with fellow travelers. All are in awe of the landscape. The Che (footsteps) of a god created this country in Sherpa lore, and the towns are named accordingly. The higher I go, the colder it becomes—who would have guessed? But that forces the trekkers to come together in common warm areas and share our lives with each other. Love comes in many different forms; sometimes it manifests in a forced sharing of heart.

Two phases of existence: walking and warming.

Suspension Bridge on way to Dingboche

20/3/16 – Acc. Day, Dingboche

Plans have changed to EBC Trek by way of 2 (maybe 1) High Pass(es). My knees have been an almost constant source of pain, and I think it is wise to minimize the downward pressure put on them. This means skipping the Kongma-La pass. I have come to terms with this quickly. Better to not potentially harm myself for a lifetime when the view I have learned that I am after can be gained without the first pass. Prudence is the word.

Sometimes rest is the best thing that you can do for yourself. It’s a gift from you to you. There are a thousand adages espousing the benefits of relaxation, and all of them are true. Tomorrow will be ready for the ascent with tiger-bald knees and a rested mind.

Being budget-conscious is something to work on and to strive towards. I want to fly back to Kathmandu with at least $200 in my pocket. Can I do it? Yes. Yes, I can. $30 a day for the rest of the trek. It can and will be done. Cut out coffee and just have black tea? No, coffee in the morning will always be hard. I can’t compromise on the small pleasures of my life. Also, my EF should tide me over for the rest of my trip. Don’t worry about money. You will be fine.

21/3/16 – Dingboche to Lobuche

Amazing walk today. Gained some 600 meters, quite a lot. The walk was so nice because of the lack of hot pain in my knees. Resting for an entire day in Dingboche put my pain level low and my spirits high. Red tigerbalm + ibuprofen + paracetamol = happy knees. I believe I will be able to conquer the Cho-La and possibly the Renjo-La. Thank you, Ali from Bahrain, for the tiger balm advice.

The English language is a beautiful thing. Ali from Bahrain could communicate his helpful advice to me because of it. I can travel most places, and someone will speak my language. I see groups of people from all over the world conversing with and relating to each other because of the language I had the good fortune of being born into. Whether or not people approve, English is the world's language. My belief is that the world needs this! A common ground of communication. That does not mean the language needs to supplant or destroy smaller local languages, although this may and has happened to a certain degree, but it can provide that common ground of understanding. Being able to speak to and understand one another is the first step to acceptance of the other.

A welcome rest stop along the trek.

22/3/16 – Lobuche to Gorak Shep

Another good day hiking. Knees hurt minimally. Tiger Balm and massaging. A little gift to myself. Today is (or marks) the start of the Nepalese Holi festival. I am not sad that I missed large celebrations in Kathmandu. I will come back and celebrate properly outside of the deep mountains. I skipped EBC, the namesake of the trek.

Missing the EBC was a good choice, because this is my trek, and it has to be something that makes me happy. Instead, I hiked to the hilltop of Kala Pattar and found a medium-sized chorten dedicated to some climbing deaths in 1989 off the main trail.

“Solitude” is hard to find on the trail, and every slice that I have found I have savoured. Sitting and meditating with the mountains, sounds of water under ice, crisp air with no tremors. Hard to be the stone that the water pours over when such primal beauty surrounds you. Work on being one with the beauty, on being the beauty, for that is what we are. The same beauty that surrounds me is also inside of us. It does not have to be looked for to be found; it just is. Life just wants to live, ask the lichen.

As Matthiessen also saw and wrote: I am struck by how much this place looks like Alaska.

25/3/16 – Gorak Shep to 26/3/16 Namche Bazaar

Kala Pattar was the coldest, windiest thing I have ever done. Must have been -15 °C, people were falling over frozen at the edge of the trail, and almost every person seemed truly miserable. However, I did get to see the sun rise over Everest. That is an amazingly singular life experience for the vast majority of people.

Started travelling with a few German guys. It’s been quite a lot of fun. In Periche, I got quite drunk and ended up drinking locally brewed rice beer in a Sherpa hut. It was pretty foul stuff, but it was a great experience nonetheless.

Ruminating on the wiles of age and the apparent lack of cartilage in a 30-year-old’s knees. The pain is a white hot grinding. Standing still is the only reprieve, something I’m not too good at. Knee strengthening exercises are on the menu when I get back to Chiang Mai. The entropy of the human body doesn’t rate as real until one experiences the pain. The seemingly always detached sentiment of “that happens to other people and not me.” “I would never be in that situation.” Unfortunately, the situation is not something that you get to choose. It is something that happens to you due to the accumulation of simply living life and walking. Tomorrow is the last struggle of pressure on my knees. I am going to be, and seemingly am already, relieved.

Next trek will be a shorter distance and will be with prepared knees. Overall, I am very happy with how my Trek and life have been. Despite my constant moaning about my knees, life is good!