The Hike To Namche Bazar
After my overnight stay in Phakding, it was an early start to Namche Bazar. The hike takes about 7 hours plus an hour break for lunch. It consists again of about 5 hours of the Nepalese flat. There is nothing flat about it since it means 5 hours of 50-100 meters up, then 50-100 metres down, continuously. You need to walk slowly to acclimate to the altitude, plus there are bottlenecks of people stopping to allow yaks to come through. Yaks are temperamental, you stand against the mountain side and let them through so they don't shove you off the edge. Not exactly the way you want to end your life. You also waste additional minutes trying to avoid the yak turd that is everywhere.
Continuing on from my last blog, I encountered the Korean Lees once again! They clapped when I entered the Sagarmantha (the Nepalese name for Everest) national park and had me smiling from their continued enthusiasm and encouragement. I bumped into them the whole hike and they are incredibly fit. The fittest one was 87 years old, looks 60, and apparently climbs mountains daily. Everyone, take note, there is no age limit to doing this! It's never too late to start and it's a wonderful way to see places and meet interesting people.
I passed numerous bridges, 5 of them high suspension ones, which are well made, but still sway slightly in the wind. With their extreme vertiginous drops, it's not for the queasy. I did do a jumping jack on one of them which I posted on Instagram. The last bridge (top) was specially hairy and very long, so I just looked forward, hung onto my hat (very windy on them) and poles, and tried to keep my balance in the sway. I encountered many anxious faces going the other direction.
After the five hours of the Nepalese flat, it's straight up, and I mean straight up a rocky path for about 800 metres or about 2625 feet or approx. 219 flights of stairs in a commercial building but on unstable ground. Add the altitude where you are going to 11,000 feet and breathing in about 35 percent less oxygen, and it's tiring. If you sprint it, you may not feel very well. There are those who don't feel the effects of altitude, so lucky them! It's not a race anyway (some people are just naturally competitive) and just the beginning of many long days of uphill hikes.
We arrived at Namche Bazar, the hub of the Nepalese Himalayan foothills, tired but feeling fit and fine. Namche is packed with climbers and hikers. There are also lots of fake branded climbing clothes shops everywhere to cater to this clientele. There are many extremely fit looking people walking around window shopping and high mountains in every direction. In other words, lots to look at!
We are now here to acclimatise for three nights. These days are not rest days. Acclimatising means going high and sleeping low so your body gets used to the altitude. This reduces your risk of high altitude illnesses which can prove fatal. Tomorrow we will go to 3900 metres (12795 ft) and come back and sleep at 3440 metres 11,000 ft). Happy days, though. We've seen Everest.
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