Going to School

First two days on the trail.

On Monday, we hiked from Lukla to Tuktuk, a pretty easy walk. The trails are pretty rough, very rocky and up and down. They are also very busy with trekkers coming and going and the locals transporting goods to higher villages. The loads that the sherpas carry are unbelievable -- 100 kilos or 220 pounds.

We camped at Tuktuk, a tiny village with a couple of houses. The local kids were funny. They entertained everyone on the group.




The second day was the our first major hike to Namche Bazaar, a climb of about 600 meters or 2000 feet. Along the way, the local children were going to school. One young boy, Chandra, befriended Gerry and I and invited us to his school. He was 11 and in the fifth grade. He took us up a steep path off the main trail to his school. The children and teachers were in the dirt play ground surrounded by the classrooms. Chandra introduced us to his school mates and Gerry played marbles with the kids. We had a great time and enjoyed ourselves. It's amazing the English skills that these children have.




After school, we entered the Sagarmatha National Park, which surrounds Everest. The scenery is incredible with rushing rivers, and soaring peaks. We haven't seen any of the big mountains yet and the scale of these foothills is amazing.

We stopped for lunch along the Dudh Kosi (river). A couple of the exhibitionists in the group decided to strip down and go swimming. It wasn't very sensitive to the local people who are very reserved.

After lunch, we began the long climb up to Namche Bazaar. We crossed a long and swaying suspension bridge, hundreds of feet above the river. Fortunately, we didn't have to share the bridge with a yak train.

The climb to Namche took a couple of moved, even though it was only a couple of kilometers. It was a long, long climb with many steep parts. Many of the trekkers were having problems, but the sherpas moved quickly up even with their loads.


We finally got to Namche, the main village in the Khumba region. About 6,00 people live there. The village is set in this huge amphitheatre, with views thousands of feet below to the valley. Our camp is set up at the top and to one side of the village, so we have a wonderful panoramic view of the town.

I'll do another post in the next day or so. We will be at Namche for three nights as part of our acclimitization. Tomorrow we'll try some running.