EBC Oct 2014 : Day2: Phakding-Namche Bazaar

Day 2 - Oct 1, Wed
Phakding (8,560'/2,610m) - Namche Bazaar (11,285'/3,440m)
Approx 7 ½ hrs 9.4 miles Ascent 3615 ft Descent 978 ft

We gradually gained 920'/280m over the first 4.2 miles, then quickly gained an additional 2,000'/610m in the final 1.4 miles for a total of 2,920'/890m of gain to reach Namche Bazaar (11,285'/3,440m). It was one of the toughest days - very long and arduous. We walked north along the Dudh Koshi River (Dudh means Milk - Koshi is river - The Milky River). The river has very strong currents and looks bluish white because it flows down from the glaciers. Pretty much the entire way it was flowing fast and furiously by our side! We crossed several amazing suspension bridges that swung back and forth when we walked on them. At first we were a little scared but then we got used to them and started looking forward to bridge crossings. They were one of Anisha’s favorite things about the trek. All the bridges have colorful prayer flags tied to the sides waving and welcoming. Most of the bridges are in good shape and it is thrilling to be walking over the rapids. You get beautiful views of the river. The only time it is a little weird is when u have a herd of zopyuk’s also wanting to cross or when someone jumps up and down to intentionally make it sway like a swing! We crossed some 8-10 of these.

The views of the mountains and canyons and villages were outstanding! Nowhere else will you see a turbulent river flowing under a charming hanging bridge with a gushing waterfall tumbling into it from the lush green mountains towering above resplendent with a crown of snowy white snow clad peaks! The high peaks we saw on the way were Thamserku - 21,729' (6,623 m) and Kusum Kanguru - 20,889' (6367m) and Ama Dablam - 22,349'.

There were lots of steps along the way that made it even more tiring. It was also very crowded - lots of traffic of hikers and porters carrying heavy cargo and villagers commuting. We saw old men carrying really heavy loads almost bending over double. Life here is very difficult and there is a lot of poverty. The main sources of livelihood seemed to be tourism and farming.

We stopped for lunch at a lovely lodge in "Jorsale" that was right next to the river. On the way back we spent the night at this same beautiful lodge. It was so nice to get off our feet. The afternoon hike was literally straight up - tons of steps and steep hills. I was getting a slight headache and wondered if that was the start of altitude sickness. At one point I was sooo tired I just sat down and Shachin had to coax me up by lightening my backpack. He was kind enough to take out my jacket and rain pants and put them in his own. Thank u soo much - We finally got to a checkpoint that was the entrance to the Sagarmatha National Park. It had a beautiful replica of all the mountains in the area including Everest. Sanjiv joked that we had now seen it all and could head back now ;-) Everyone was happy when I took out some Kaju Barfi that my sister had packed with me from Delhi. We really blessed her for the much relished and delicious snack! The Barfi would come to our rescue several times over the next few days and we were so glad she had insisted on keeping so much!

Just before Namche we came upon 2 suspension bridges one above the other! And of course we had to go on the top one! So up we went hiking almost straight up to the bridge.

After the bridge Namche came pretty quickly and it really was a sight for sore eyes (and body and legs ;-)) The busiest and most populated village on the trek, Namche Bazaar consists of a sprawling mass of houses with brightly colored roofs (mostly Navy blue), restaurants, and tea house all adorning the hill side like little jewels. We were so glad to have finally reached Namche and our lodge - "The Nest" and the views from the lodge were so amazing! We had a very clear view of Kongde Ri 20,299' (6,187 m) from our hotel room. The rooms were really nice with attached bathroom and we even got hot water for baths! That was the only place in the trek we got running hot water. That evening at dinner we enjoyed a glass of wine Argentinian Malbe/ Everest beer - the first and last time we drank on the way up. We made friends with a couple Deborah and Collin from South Africa and shared our wine with them. They had climbed Mt. Whitney. They were leaving the next day for Tengboche. We insisted that Dunbar and Revant join us at the table. They enjoyed the wine too.