Living My Greatest Life: Part 2
Continued from Part 1…
The last part of the hike to Phakding was primarily stairs.
We learned early on that if a group of animals passes, you should hug the mountain as the animals move on the cliffside. Certain animals, yaks to be specific, are known to give a “love kick” towards trekkers. It can be quite scary when you are on the cliffside. We encountered our first herd of donkeys carrying supplies. We had to walk in and around them because they were blocking the entire trail. It was quite intimidating at some points because I had to walk on the edge of the trail, which is a personal no-no. But what option did I have? I might have held my breath at times but we all succeeded with no injuries/mishaps.
Our next day of hiking, I believe it to be the hardest. Phakding to Namche Bazaar. We hiked about 7hrs with about 3500ft of elevation gain. We encountered our first of many suspension bridges, what it’s like to hike next to yaks next to a cliffside, and the infinite number of stairs. We weaved in and out, following the beautiful Dudh Koshi River. Our teahouse was near the top of Namche, so we climbed even more steps to get to our teahouse. Once conquering those, we laughed because there were ever more steps to get to the dining area, bedrooms and bathrooms. The stairs of this trip are another beast to overcome-a beast I was ready to demolish-like David and Goliath!!
By the third day on the trail we began to get accustomed to our morning routine. Every morning we started off by having breakfast as a team, doing a morning huddle on how the day would go. We also started to take our twice daily readings of our oxygen levels by a pulse oximeter. The higher in altitude we went, the lower our numbers would go unfortunately. At sea level, majority of people’s oxygen levels stay around 95% to 100%. I remember, later on in the trek, our levels dropped around just above 80% (sitting around 16,500ft) with us just sitting at the table.
At this point, we were so close to our goal, we knew we had to keep pushing forward-safely.
On day four of the trek we had an acclimatization day in Namche Bazaar. This would be where we'd get our first view of Mt Everest. Many women on my trip became emotional when seeing Mt Everest, but for me it was more MAJESTIC. The greatest artist in the world created what I was seeing. All the colors, textures, blending of colors; God that was all you! God, you are beautiful and majestic! Everything about this trip has been eye opening and inspiring. The beauty that I get to see daily, some may never see physically in their lifetime. Much of my time spent hiking was about reflection, prayers and being thankful.
The next day our journey led us to Tengboche, a village that sits at 12,747ft. Not much changed as far a hiking to this village, it was all uphill. Once we arrived though, we saw signs for an Everest Trail Race. There were some crazy runners who paid a company to let them run from Lukla to Everest Base Camp and back within a span of 5-6 days! Crazy but inspiring. The following day, we headed towards Dingboche.
Nirmal, our lead guide, like to describe the inclines as either Nepali flats or American flats.
Nepali flats are steady, rocky inclines where American flats, were just flat ground. Now hiking American flats at 14,000ft and over, well let’s just say there isn’t anything flat about it. We were in Dingboche for 2 nights with the second day being an acclimatization day-hiking to around 15,000ft. The highest I’ve ever walked, thus far. The following day we hiked to Lobuche ending around 16,207ft. This village was so small, it might have had 6 buildings.
After 8 days of trekking, we finally made it to Everest Base camp.
We started very early, around six in the morning with our headlamps ready. We knew this would be a long day, 8hrs worth of hiking. Our trek started at -20 degrees Celsius. I think I had just about every piece of clothing I owned. The hike to EBC was very cold (obviously the higher we went in altitude) and very windy. We crossed numerous glaciers with huge rocks/boulders-many leading to crevasses way down below. It became very tricky to find a stationary rock vs one that moved. There are so many people on the trail. I’ve heard at least 10 different languages just today. Slowly but surely, we made it over the glaciers. I vividly remember attempting to not be blown off the trail due to the strong winds. One side of the ledge was a drop off as well as the other. Step after step, we continued on, finally a steep downhill into the range of EBC.
Two others and myself walked the final push together, while some of the group was already ahead. When we caught up to them, they hooted and hollered from us. We were a team. We started this together, so we were going to finish together. I was bursting with emotions. My first initial thought was complete praise to my God, the one who stayed by me with every step, every worry, and every blessing that I received on this journey! The biggest smile, from ear to ear, moved across my face, when I realized, I had finally made it!! 8 long trekking days and we made it!! Countless sleepless nights, sore feet/back, headaches, altitude sickness symptoms but I pushed through with the help of my faith in God, my guides, and my team!!
What we covered in 8 days up, we conquered in 3 days. Long days of hiking but the more miles we covered and the lower in altitude we got, the symptoms of sickness were starting to become less noticeable. I was having the time of my life, but I was also ready to get off my feet.
I’m not sure if my expectations of Everest Base Camp but the greatest reward is making it. I traveled to and from Everest Base Camp in 12 days. I definitely had my doubts in the beginning but those doubts pushed me to this accomplishment. Life itself is a privilege, but to live life to the fullest, well that’s a choice. And I choose to live-living the greatest life there is. This hike is hard, but the reward is greater!!