Everest Base Camp Trek Journal – Days 2 & 3

We woke up a little before 7 and started hiking shortly after 8. Fortunately the rain, which had started yesterday afternoon and lasted through most of the night, had stopped. It was pretty cloudy though. We hiked for a little over 2 hours then stopped at the park checkpoint for the TIMS card, which is the permit that allows you to hike in the National Park. We hiked for another half hour until lunch. Some of the uphills were strenuous, but nothing too tough. It got a lot harder after lunch. Lots of very steep uphills that took us about 2 1/2 hours, stopping every 15-20 minutes. We got to Namche Bazaar a little after 2.

Namche Bazaar is a decent-sized town with lots of hotels and shops, a pharmacy, and a few bars. I got really cold after hiking and had trouble warming up. There was no hot water so I didn’t shower. I haven’t showered since Kathmandu, and I’m starting to feel gross. Dinner is the same everywhere – garlic soup, lentils, fried rice, noodles, or pizza (which is made with yak cheese). During dinner there was an earthquake. It was a little scary once we remembered we weren’t in California and the buildings here aren’t built so well. Not much damage here or in Kathmandu. It turned out to be a 6.8 earthquake with the epicenter in the eastern Himalayas, not too far away. We were lucky that there wasn’t more damage. Mike and I were starting to not feel so well so we went to bed. Dan, Andrew, and Sam went out to explore the town and found a friendly bar run by an American woman.

Day 3 is a rest day, thankfully. I’m feeling pretty bad, mostly my stomach. No fun. It was clear when we first woke up. The mountains are spectacular. It unfortunately got cloudy quick. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we have some clear days. We photographed most of the town today. It’s an interesting place. After we finished with the photography, the boys went hiking and I slept. Everyone is already starting to feel the effects of the altitude, and we’re barely above 11,000 ft. We’ll see how this goes. I got up for dinner and was feeling a lot better. We went to the bar run by the American woman to celebrate Andrew’s birthday. On the way back to the lodge we stopped at an internet cafe to tell our families that we weren’t hurt in the earthquake- a nice benefit of unexpectedly having access to email. Then back to bed to get some more rest before we keep climbing.

Everest Base Camp Trek Day 2 – 3 Notes

Date: 18-19 September 2011

Path: Phakding – Namche Bazaar

Where Did We Stay In Namche Bazaar: Hotel Everest

Elevation: 3440m / 11286 ft

Hours hiking: 4 1/2

Hours hiking w/ stops: 6

Stay tuned for the Everest Base Camp Trek journals Days 4-12

EBC Trek Phakding to Namche Bazaar Photo Gallery

Crossing the Bridge Over the River to Namche Bazaar