And every step down brings you a bit more oxygen!
warpus
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Not only that, our bodies were at that point acclimatized to hiking at 5,500m, in part by producing more red blood cells that help move oxygen around your bloodstream. By descending we were entering more oxygen-rich parts of the atmosphere like you said, but our bodies wouldn't catch up with these changes as quickly as they do when you acclimatize (which isn't that quick either). When we were back in Kathmandu we found it very easy to walk up stairs. We expected exactly the opposite and were at first annoyed that we got a hotel room on the 3rd floor in a building with no elevator.. but.. as we walked up the stairs we realized that it was very easy. During those first couple days back in Kathmandu we felt a bit like supermen in that regard. It was great, because we imagined that we'd be just exhausted for a week or so. Instead we were up and about checking out sights and exploring the city on foot on the very first day back.
But a lot less work than these.I don't see how a lot of that could have been done without animal power.It's not impossible to do it by man power alone. But it would be a huge back breaking job.
Few people to do the work, tougher terrain to do the work in.
warpus
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I don't see how a lot of that could have been done without animal power.
I have some some more photos of Sherpas carrying crazy loads (including building supplies) coming later I think.. They are really able to get almost anything you can think of up to those altitudes. Although it is the yak caravans that carry the bulk of such supplies to Namche Bazaar and beyond.
warpus
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After Lunch, we continue hiking downhill
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Views from the Trail
We continued to follow the Dudh Koshi river downstream, although we were high up above the riverbed. Many trails here are elevated like this, instead of running right beside the river down below. This is so that it's easier to deal with the elevation changes as you hike in the other direction.
You can see a trail at about the same height on the other side of the valley. All of these trails are open to hikers, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the routes are mainly used by locals.
We continued to follow the Dudh Koshi river downstream, although we were high up above the riverbed. Many trails here are elevated like this, instead of running right beside the river down below. This is so that it's easier to deal with the elevation changes as you hike in the other direction.
You can see a trail at about the same height on the other side of the valley. All of these trails are open to hikers, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the routes are mainly used by locals.
warpus
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"It’s not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves"
I couldn't think of a good title for this post, so I'm going with that (slightly altered) quote by Edmund Hillary.
How boring would it have been to return to Lukla the exact same way we came? This route was quite a bit different from what we encountered in the other valley, it made things a lot more interesting for us. Yet another reason why adding Gokyo to the itinerary was a great idea
I couldn't think of a good title for this post, so I'm going with that (slightly altered) quote by Edmund Hillary.
How boring would it have been to return to Lukla the exact same way we came? This route was quite a bit different from what we encountered in the other valley, it made things a lot more interesting for us. Yet another reason why adding Gokyo to the itinerary was a great idea
warpus
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I've retyped this whole paragraph, because I initially misunderstood your post.
There are pros/cons to hiking in both valleys. I found this stretch here relatively flat and the soil well compacted, which combined with the unique views made this section very nice to hike on. There were also not very many people on the trail. I remember this stretch as a sort of casual & peaceful section where you were able to get into a decent rhythm, and not have to take too many breaks. But we were of course exhausted from all the things we did on our way here, so returning via the original valley would have been easier. The elevation change is also for the most part more gradual in the other valley. Had we hiked up this valley instead, we wouldn't have acclimatized as well... and the uphill portions are more intense as well.
The best part for me was the almost complete lack of other hikers though.. up until Namche Bazaar at least.. after that we'd be back on the busy part of the trail.
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warpus
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Dole
Dole is a small village that mainly exists to support hikers looking for somewhere to sleep (and something to eat). There's a handful of teahouses here and not much else.
This was a pretty average teahouse so I'll run through what you're looking at (that you'd see at every teahouse). In the middle is the stove that keeps this common area warm after the sun goes down. Tables surround the stove, but leave plenty of space around it. In the evenings there's usually chairs near the stove where various locals hang out. The tables for patrons usually have some sort of a cushioned permanent seat on the periphery and potentially questionable chairs on the inside. To be fair I can't really remember complaining about the seating, so the chairs must not have been that bad whenever we had to sit in them. In this case we were the second or third to arrive, so we were able to stretch out on the cushioned seats by the windows.
There's a reception bar in the back and a kitchen right behind it. There's always sour cream n onion cans of pringles and sometimes other flavours. The further away you get from Lukla the more expensive they get (as does everything else), but the pringles became a sort of standard because every single teahouse had them... So we'd watch the price go up every day, and basically almost never ate pringles.. but they were always there, tempting us from a distance. Now as we were walking back to Lukla the prices were dropping again! Yet we did not have a ton of cash on hand and had to ration what we had left. We did not have much appetite for food or snack as it was anyhow
In an adjacent building just behind this one are all the rooms with beds. I would say about 25% of all teahouses we stayed at were like that. The majority had your rooms in the same building as the common area and kitchen.
The next day we would be eventually meeting up with the classic Base Camp route again and later returning to Namche Bazaar.
Dole is a small village that mainly exists to support hikers looking for somewhere to sleep (and something to eat). There's a handful of teahouses here and not much else.
This was a pretty average teahouse so I'll run through what you're looking at (that you'd see at every teahouse). In the middle is the stove that keeps this common area warm after the sun goes down. Tables surround the stove, but leave plenty of space around it. In the evenings there's usually chairs near the stove where various locals hang out. The tables for patrons usually have some sort of a cushioned permanent seat on the periphery and potentially questionable chairs on the inside. To be fair I can't really remember complaining about the seating, so the chairs must not have been that bad whenever we had to sit in them. In this case we were the second or third to arrive, so we were able to stretch out on the cushioned seats by the windows.
There's a reception bar in the back and a kitchen right behind it. There's always sour cream n onion cans of pringles and sometimes other flavours. The further away you get from Lukla the more expensive they get (as does everything else), but the pringles became a sort of standard because every single teahouse had them... So we'd watch the price go up every day, and basically almost never ate pringles.. but they were always there, tempting us from a distance. Now as we were walking back to Lukla the prices were dropping again! Yet we did not have a ton of cash on hand and had to ration what we had left. We did not have much appetite for food or snack as it was anyhow
In an adjacent building just behind this one are all the rooms with beds. I would say about 25% of all teahouses we stayed at were like that. The majority had your rooms in the same building as the common area and kitchen.
The next day we would be eventually meeting up with the classic Base Camp route again and later returning to Namche Bazaar.
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warpus
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Rise and Shine
Day 13 Begins
This day we would be walking from Dole (4038m) to Namche Bazaar (3440m).
Here's a 3D view of the route although it is again in the other direction
Day 13 Begins
This day we would be walking from Dole (4038m) to Namche Bazaar (3440m).
Here's a 3D view of the route although it is again in the other direction
And plants appear after a long absence!
warpus
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And also Trees!
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warpus
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The Power of the Sherpa
Awesome!
warpus
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Phortse
Across the valley we could see Phortse, which is a farming village not on any of the traditional hiking trails. As such it is set up more like a traditional Sherpa village. Unfortunately this is as close as we would get
Across the valley we could see Phortse, which is a farming village not on any of the traditional hiking trails. As such it is set up more like a traditional Sherpa village. Unfortunately this is as close as we would get
warpus
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Lunch with a View
It was a bit of a climb up to this restaurant. It's right on the trail as well, so this was not avoidable. What a great spot for a break and a meal though! From what I remember there was a patio and decent food.
It was a bit of a climb up to this restaurant. It's right on the trail as well, so this was not avoidable. What a great spot for a break and a meal though! From what I remember there was a patio and decent food.
what impressed me about the farming community in the picture were the green farmlands and abundance of tilled fields growing corn and wheat.
