THE LONG TREK UPWARD

Friday, October 21^th, 2011

At Trekker's Lodge, in Tengboche at 9:05 PM

Elevation: 3825 meters 12,560 feet

It seems the higher you go on this trek, the more serious and extreme things get. Each level seems to get more primitive, more void of common modern amenities, more expensive, more rugged, and absolutely more beautiful. I am beginning to understand the lure of the heights for the old Buddhist priests and hermits. It's really cold too. It feels like winter. I am writing at my bed all bundled up and wearing gloves. We arrived at Tengboche at 5:00pm completely exhausted for the altitude and long trek upwards today. Our lodge is simple and quiet. During dinner there were some mountain worn foreigners and experienced Sherpas everywhere, but not much too much conversation. When the lodge manager brought out fuel for the wood stove Roshan said in his special way “Dis is doilet of yak.” I was surprised at how much it smelled like pine rather than dried up “toilet of yak.” Though we were clearly exhausted, the meal warmed us up well, and Roshan said it best. “Sherpa stew is my medicine.”

I was happy and proud to have met our friends Ursula and Chowang yesterday. We had breakfast together this morning at Namche before the trek, and I found out that Chowang had met Sir Edmund Hillary twice and went trekking with him. There was a picture of Chowang and all his fellow Sherpas who have summited Everest at the Sherpa museum, which was connected to our hotel.

Today's hike was definitely the hardest so far. It's compounded by the fact that I'm carrying probably 35 pounds of gear on my back. At over 12,500 feet, this is the highest I've been on Earth. It's quite disturbing to realize that if I double my altitude, I'd still be several thousand feet below Everest's peak. When I get back to the States I want to read about Hillary and Norgay to see how they accomplished the impossible. For now, my head hurts and I am going to bed.

                                        Some Sherpa children we encountered during a lunch break.  You may be able to see their wind burned cheeks.  This is a common occurance for Sherpa people, more noticeable on the younger ones I think.

         This is the view out the window in the hallway of the lodge right after we arrived.  The sun had already set.

The view near our lodge.  The Tengboche Buddhist Monastery is in the foreground.