Because the best travel stories don't end with ". . . and everything went according to plan"
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is located mainly in the Himalayas but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. With an estimated population of 26.4 million, it is 48th largest country by population and 93rd largest country by area.
Nov 18 2024 – Lukla to Kathmandu Woke up this morning in Lukla. Last breakfast in the Khumbu. Headed down to the airport. Security theater is extra weird at the airport in Lukla. I had my daypack on when I went through the metal detector. I set it off, nobody cared. Definitely had a pocket …
Nov 17 2024 – Zamphuti to Lukla Made it back to Lukla. The irony is my body seems to have finally adapted to where I am. The first day of the trek kicked by ass, even though it was more or less all downhill. Today was the reverse of that, all uphill, and I more …
Nov 16 2024 – Namche Bazar to Zamphuti People do make it all the way back to Lukla in a day. I probably could have, but it would’ve been an intense day and I wouldn’t have enjoyed it. Instead I stopped at a lovely teahouse just a little north of Phakding in a wide spot …
Nov 15 2024 – Namche return Day 2 Basically taking it easy. Went back today to the Namche post office to mail postcards and the doors were locked. Hopefully I can mail them in Lukla. Lukla isn’t the highest post office on earth, but it’s at least close. Other than that, took a nice shower …
Nov 14 2024 – Kyangjuma to Namche Bazar Easy day today. Just a mostly flat stroll back to Namche. Once I got back to Namche I deliberately chose a teahouse in the lower portion of town. No up and down for me this time! Also bought some postcards with the intention of mailing them home. …
Nov 13 2024 – Tengbouche to Kyangjuma Could’ve made it all the way back to Namche. But spending three nights in a place I’ve already spent two nights just seemed silly. Especially since the 1000 vertical feet climb to get here took a lot out of me. Anyway, Kyangjuma consists of two oldish lodges on …
Nov 12 2024 – Periche to Tengbouche Opted for better the devil you have some familiarity with, in terms of climbs, so basically retracing my steps. I did ponder taking the high trail from Pengbouche to Phortse in reverse of the route I had originally planned to come up, but I opted against it. Monastery …
Nov 11 2024 – Lobouche to Periche Today was my only true downhill day, where it was literally all downhill. All days to come are going to be a bunch of uphill where I somehow end at a lower elevation because of Sherpa magic. From the Italian Pyramid it’s basically backtracking to Thukla. Once there …
Nov 10 2024 – Gorak Shep to Lobouche Tonight I’m sleeping in a Himalayan Bond Villain Lair. It’s known informally along the trail as the “Italian Pyramid”, but it’s formal name is “Pyramid International Laboratory-Observatory”. Its story is interesting. 20 something years ago the government of Italy wanted to build a climate monitoring station in …
Nov 9 2024 – Everest Base Camp (Almost) One of the more bizarre things that happens to the human body in hypoxic conditions is you have really weird dreams. You also don’t necessarily have full control over your bodily functions. I had a dream in which I went to the bathroom, and woke up to …