We were off to an early start. Dawa made sure we had the best chance of flying out to Lukla, so we were on the first flight out of Kathmandu.
By some miracle, Romi arrived late last night, with stories to tell about his ordeal with his airline. He got in with little time to re-pack his gear. Now that he was here, at least my speculation that he never really planned to joined the trip was unfounded. Hehe.
Again, the repercussions of the May earthquake was felt at the domestic airport. When we were here in 2012, everything was utter chaos. Now that there are fewer tourists, there was some semblance of order in the terminal; and we got checked-in and loaded with very little sign of trouble.
Landing in Lukla brought back the memories. I'm still at awe of the peaks that lord over the landscape. The temperature was nippy, but not unbearable.
One good thing in arriving early is that there's a chance you'll be warm while hiking. We also had a long day ahead of us, skipping Phakding (the usual overnight place) and heading straight to Chumoa, two hours further. Along the trail, I was mostly reminiscing while passing each landmark. The hike was light and enjoyable; we took our time, to avoid altitude sickness.
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| Rock steps down from Lukla |
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| Breaking in my boots |
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| Phakding. After the long suspension bridge. |
Chumoa (2820masl) is the town before Monjo, the site of our school rehab project. This was the place where peach blossoms were blooming in 2012 (I thought that was in Monjo). We arrived close to dusk, relieved the day's hike was over. We just have to monitor our stats carefully since we did not lose any altitude from Lukla. Romi started a contest using is oxymeter (measures oxygen saturation and pulse rate) to who will have the most stable (least change) in vital stats. Mine was within the normal range. Let’s just hope it stays that way.
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| Our home for two nights |
Tomorrow is a rest day of sorts. We'll just hike a short way to Monjo visit the school and help out with their rehab.
Three days done, 27 days to go.
One good thing in arriving early is that there's a chance you'll be warm while hiking. We also had a long day ahead of us, skipping Phakding (the usual overnight place) and heading straight to Chumoa, two hours further. Along the trail, I was mostly reminiscing while passing each landmark. The hike was light and enjoyable; we took our time, to avoid altitude sickness.
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