Namche Bazaar (3440 metres ASL)

I flew into Lukla yesterday morning and after a couple of hours of trekking stayed in the village of Phakding. I trekked in beautiful sunny weather but the clouds came in shortly after I arrived at my teahouse and the rain poured steadily all afternoon. After six months without a drop of rain in Kathmandu, this was actually welcome. I spent the afternoon reading and writing, although I did't have much solitude as a group of about eight fairly loud young men were sharing the dining room with me.

Today was a different story. After an awesome sleep, I got my stuff together, had some breakfast and set out. My original plan was to stop in Monjo but I arrived there at about 10:00 AM and wasn't ready to stop moving. I decided to push on to Namche Bazaar, which was a mistake and a huge lesson learned. Monjo is almost exactly half way between Phakding and Namche, but the second half took well over twice the time of the first half. Even with someone reminding me about this stretch of trail at breakfast this morning, I still couldn't remember it being that hard and didn't forsee a problem. I guess my subconscious was suppressing the memory or something. I gained too much altitude today: rule of thumb is 400 metres and I covered almost 700. Many others were doing the same thing and because I've never really had trouble with altitude I didn't really think much of it. I'm sure I've done more in the past, but typically descend again rather quickly (i.e. going over a high pass) so it hasn't affected me. Anyway, I arrived here at about 1:30 quite tired and feeling the need to stop to catch my breath every 10 steps or so. I didn't have a headache, but my stomach was a bit off. I also experienced a bit of tingling in my fingertips, which is a totally new thing for me. I checked into a teahouse, changed into dry clothes and had a bowl of soup. I then went and lay down for a short nap and now feel good as new. This is a good lesson learned for me, and I won't push my boundaries anymore. Also, a person's susceptibility to altidude can vary from time to time, so it's best not to make assumptions. I have all the time I could possibly need up here - there's no need to hurry.

Lest any of you are worrying about me doing this alone, let me put your minds at rest. The first half of the trek today was something like taking a stroll down the 401 - there are tons of people on the trails. Too many for my liking. I'm hoping this will spread out over the next leg of the journey, but there is absolutely no way I can become lost or experience some trauma without being found within seconds. I have heard that there are even signposts now at any questionable intersections on the trail, so getting lost will not be an option. The climbing expeditions are all trekking up to base camp at the moment as well as the regular trekkers like me. There are just tons of people around.

As for my general mood, it's great. It is just so wonderful to be out here and away from the city. I really think that my love of Nepal is restricted to visiting the mountainous regions. I'm not sure where this is going to take me in the long run - much meditation to be done on this subject in the next few weeks - but I really can't see staying in Kathmandu. Seeing it all from this distance makes me understand that living in the city isn't the right path for me.

I'm finding things more expensive than I expected up here and am worried about the amount of money I brought along. I can probably get more cash here at Namche (at an astronomical rate) but don't want to spend all my money on the internet. I expect to stay in Namche for at least two and possibly three nights. My recent scare with the too-quick ascent has taught me a lesson and I think I'll hang out here for a little while to let my body aclimatise well. The town is rockin' (a bit weird really - it used to be such a quiet little town) so I'm sure I'll have plenty of company over the next few days. I'll check internet at least daily here, so feel free to write. I understand that internet is now available in a couple of villages even farther north of here and a couple of cell towers are going in (although I didn't bring my phone). I'll therefore be able to touch base regularly.

After seeing the number of trekkers on the trail I was kind of kicking myself for packing so much stuff. I didn't want to take any chances so have stuff available for all contingencies. Most other trekkers hire porters, but a couple are doing it on their own and their bags are much smaller than mine. However, I was so happy today when I could take off my sweat-soaked clothes and put on dry clothes before I got chilled. It's also great to have some comfy shoes for day hikes and warm fuzzy gear to sleep in. All is well with the world at the moment and I'm so happy to be out here.