Date: 2013-10-30
To: Sara and Everest Base Camp
Miles today: 0.0

My trek to Everest Base camp was amazing! I flew out of Kathmandu on October 3rd and returned back on Oct 16th. Afterwards I had a few nights for sightseeing around Kathmandu and travelling to Chitwan Park for a safari.My friend Daisy (from Seattle) and I had trouble getting to the Everest region due to flight cancellations. Lukla is one of the most dangerous airport in the world and the planes will not fly if it is raining. We spent one full day at the Kathmandu airport sitting on floor with many other stranded passengers. Some people had been waiting for five days to fly out! Many trekkers were switching their flight to the Annapurna region instead. The weather was supposed to clear in a week and we couldn't wait because we would have missed our Everest trekking window. The only option was a private helicopter and it was madness trying to get it organized.My first ever helicopter experience was flying over the Himalayas! It was stunning beyond belief.My backpacker was much lighter than normal when I normally backpack (no food or tent) so there was absolutely no need for us to hire a porter. Most trekkers had porters carrying huge hockey-sized duffel bags full of stuff. Some trekkers said they were afraid for Daisy and I's safety because it didn't look like we had enough gear. I told them it is not quantity, but quality of gear! I had a hiking outfit, sleeping outfit, down jacket and down quilt. I wore my Salomon Synapse hiking shoes and they continue being the best piece of footwear I've ever owned.We also did not have a guide and relied on map/compass. The Sherpa people are very friendly and we appreciated their guidance when we asked them to confirm that the trail we were travelling on was correct! Many foreign trekkers were shocked that two women were doing the trail unassisted. It was super easy to arrange accommodation and food. The teahouses were much nicer that I had anticipated and most had solar electricity, warm blankets and the ability to take expensive hot showers. I didn't shower much since it was quite cold at night and I didn't want to deal with wet hair.The yaks are cute and dangerous. They aren't the brightest animals and will trample or push people off cliffs if they get in their way. When I heard yak bells clanging I knew I had to find a safe spot to stand while they passed. I saw some trekkers wearing headphones and I thought this was incredibly stupid. Yak meat is very tasty.The weather was bad at the start of the trip, fantastic in the middle and bad again at the end. The mountain trails below the treeline become swift moving streams of water, mud and yak poop in heavy rain. The only motorized vehicle I saw during the whole trek were rescue helicopters. They were buzzing around constantly. From the five trekkers on my helicopter to Lukla (including myself) one guy had to be evacuated due to heart arrhythmia after four days and we think another girl quit after two days. Another guy's guide fell and broke some ribs. Some people had to be taken down by horse to lower elevations if they get sick after dark (helicopters only fly during the day).I've climbed higher than Everest Base Camp (5364m) and Kala Pattar (5550m) in the past (Kilimanjaro at 5895m) so I wasn't overly concerned with altitude sickness. Daisy and I felt good and we made it EBC two days ahead of our planned schedule.Since we weren't on an organized tour we could be flexible with our travel plans. We had extra time on the way down so we leisurely hiked with side-trips to visit mystical monasteries, charming villages and admire spectacular views. It was awesome to see the monks chanting in the morning. Some temples have Yeti "relics" but they didn't seem very convincing to me.Overall, the cancelled flights were a bit of blessing since we had a quieter experience on the trail. The huge organized groups couldn't fly out to the region until towards the end of our trek. I get annoyed when I seen small children paid to carry daybacks for trekkers. I'll write up another post soon about the rest of my time in Nepal.