A Walk in the Himalayas

After one day of attempting to fly up to Lukla, I decided that I would just walk into the Solukhumbu (Everest Region) instead...the traditional route that was used by expeditions for decades before commercial flights to the region. These are my journal entries from the trip...
Kinja, Solukhumbu 11/17/10
Just arrived in a cool little village called Kinja and found a great guest house called Sonam. Feeling pretty good but tired from walking. Lemon tea hits the spot! Thank God I decided to walk in. I have passed and spoken to quite a few folks that were stuck in Lukla for lots of days before they decided to walk out. Apparently, there were more than a thousand people stuck up there. I left Kathmandu yesterday morning with a guy named Phil. He was staying at the Holy Lodge and has spent many seasons in the Everest region. We took a 7a.m. bus out to Jiri, which is about as close as you can go on a bus to the Khumbu. The bus ride took about 8 hours and was brutally rough...my head hit the roof one time from hitting a bump and being in the back seat. The road has been extended to a couple more villages but we started walking from Jiri. On the way up the first big climb, we stopped and had tea at a man's house who claimed to have raced in the Everest Marathon twice...and even won it once. On the other side of the pass the first day, I stopped to take a picture of a waterfall, slipped and broke the screen on my new Olympus...luckily I have a backup and didn't break my arm. Arrived in Shivalaya, drank tea, went over maps, ate dhal bhat and early to bed.
We got an early start this morning. Big climb to start the day. Tea, chocolate, and Chipati at the top before descending an hour to the village of Bandar. Phil was great company and we had a good time cutting up and laughing at "the angry German"(this guy on the bus that was being ridiculous). We got to Bandar and Phil wanted to rest for the day. He had a much heavier load and is more than twice my age. It was only 1:00 so I pushed on to a village called Kinja. I hope I am half as fit as Phil when I'm 65...running around the Himalayas. I said goodbye and hit the trail. It was hot and felt good to be hiking solo again. Although there were clouds, the views were amazing and I can only imagine what's in store. There is a nice couple from Montana staying in this guest house who were stuck in Lukla. I enjoyed their company this evening. We exchanged useful info about the trail and they offered to let me borrow their MSR "pocket rocket" and mail it to them in December...very nice of them. It will be a treat to boil water for my coffee and noodles. Early wake up and a 2,000 meter climb first thing tomorrow. Feeling content and grateful to be on this trek to the Khumbu...
Junbesi, Nepal 11/18/10
I just arrived at the Sherpa Guide Guest House after a long day on the trail. It started with a 2,000 meter climb right out of Kinja. It was pretty sunny this morning and warmed up quickly to shorts and short sleeves temp. About 1/3 of the way up I met a nice Sherpa dude and we walked for a while...the hill was brutal! Following a Sherpa is a good way to get where you are going fast. He was on the way to his village and I joined him and his family at their guest house in a high village for tea and dhal bhat. They were very sweet people...it was nice to be with a family. After lunch, I took off up the trail toward the pass at 3,500 meters. It was cold and I stopped for some tea at the top by a nice warm fire and had good conversation with a couple girls on their way out of the Khumbu. The top was socked in with clouds but I could only imagine the view from up there on a clear day. The trail on the other side of the pass descended through a moss covered pine forest for a few km before entering a valley and eventually turned left and descended to Junbesi...a lovely Sherpa village surrounded by high ridges. Its pretty chilly here and the lemon tea is spot on. It is quiet here...perfect place to hunker down and read...
Paiya, Khumbu 11/20/10
Eating lunch at the Beehive Lodge in a small village over 2,700 meters. The sun feels amazing up here and there is a cool breeze coming from the valley below. Yesterday was full on with a couple of significant passes. Unfortunately, I didn't bring any trail shoes and my heavy Sportiva boots have caused some blisters and hot spots...more damn foot problems...nothing a little duct tape and neosporin won't fix. There are lots of Lukla evacuees walking out and I worry from time to time that I will get stuck but try not to give it too much energy. I've gotten a couple glimpses of what I'm pretty sure is the top of Everest but it was quickly covered by clouds.
This morning I said goodbye to friends in Kharikhola, including a sweet girl from Huntsville, AL who is having some knee issues. As usual, the morning started with a big ass climb. Its been a little slow going today with my blistered feet, but I'm really in no rush...just can't wait to be close to some huge mountains. The clouds just covered the sun...looks like its going to be a chilly dark afternoon in the Khumbu.
Namche Bazaar, Elev. 11,360 ft.
I arrived in the thriving metropolis of Namche Bazar this afternoon. Fortunately, the skies were clear all the way from Chaurikharka where I stayed last night. It was the best weather I have seen since Tuesday when I began the hike in Jiri. The final leg to Namche was fairly gradual until a nasty set of switchbacks just to make sure my ass was thoroughly whooped before a couple days of rest and acclimatization. Namche is a bustling little town that will forever change my idea of what a "mountain town" is. It is neatly situated on a bowl-shaped hillside surrounded by massive peaks...Thamserku (21,839 ft.)...Tartikha (20,413 ft.)to be specific. After check-in and lunch at the Tibet Lodge Hotel, I found a bakery with some good coffee and a chocolate croissant. As I sat on the porch of the bakery with some friends from the trail, the clouds replaced the clear blue skies and the temp plummeted. The rest of the day was chilly and cloudy with a occasional break as a reminder of the surroundings. I'm going to try to stay put for a couple days so I can properly acclimatize before heading west for Renjo La(Pass). Not many people do this pass from the west but hopefully I will meet someone out there... Feeling very full, very tired, and very grateful to be up here....
Hotel Tibet, Namche
Busy day today. Crazy altitude dreams last night and I woke up with the sun. It is easy to tell the altitude is having a significant effect on my body but feeling great at the same time. After a quick cup and a beautiful sunrise, I decided to take a short hike over the ridge above town. On the way up, I met a guy who was headed out on a long day hike to acclimatize. Although I wasn't dressed for a long hike, I decided to join him for a while. We stopped at the Everest View Hotel for some coffee on the back patio. The hotel is ultra luxurious for this area and rooms go for about $200/night. I'm paying about $3 for my room at the Tibet. Walking up from the South, we went through the hotel and out to the patio with the most amazing view. AmaDablam, Lhotse, glimpses of Everest, and many more. I think it is safe to say this is the nicest place I've ever had coffee....although the coffee sucked. AmaDablam is amazing...it looks like a Dr. Seuss mountain. I started back down the hill and got to see a small plane take off from one of the sketchiest landing strips I have ever seen. Its a steep dirt strip above Namche called Syamboche ( I later found out this is where Edmund Hillary's wife and daughter perished in the 70's).
Today was a much needed laundry day. I washed my clothes in a bucket and had just enough sunshine to dry them before the clouds rolled in. I ran into my old friend Phil at lunch as he was arriving in Namche. We caught up and he gave me more advice for my journey over the passes. One of the bars was showing the Everest Imax film at 3:00...not Imax screen of course but a great way to spend part of the afternoon. Hoping I have room for food and fuel in the North Fake pack. A little intimidated by taking western route to Renjo because nobody else seems to be doing it for acclimatization problems. I know that if I listen to my body, the weather and the mountains it will all be good. I love these mountains...
Thame, Solukhumbu (12,540 ft.) 11/23/10
The hike from Namche was relatively short, 3 hrs at a slow pace. I took my time getting out of there. It was a cold cloudy morning and something frozen was falling from the sky...sleet-ish stuff. There was an amazing gorge on the way up here with rock formations I couldn't begin to describe, the clouds broke long enough for me to snap a picture of one of the falls. I made the mistake of going to a guest house that has a large trekking group. After lunch and writing my itenerary, I went for a nice day hike. I just followed this moraine out of Thame toward a glacier. The valley turned after while revealing a whole strand of big peaks. There was no trail so I ran up the valley wall until it leveled out a few hundred feet above the glacial stream. I made some soup with my little stove in my 5x6 room this afternoon...read for a while and passed out. Crossing Renjo La from the West is tricky but I will take two more nights to acclimatize before going over the pass to Gokyo. It is 7:30 now, dinner is done, time to go hunker down for a long night and some crazy altitude dreams...
Thame 5:57a.m 11/24/10
It was great to wake up at 4:30 and realize I'd gotten a pretty solid 7 hours of sleep with some bizarre dreams. The sky just started to get light and the silhouettes of giants are framed by the windows of my box at the Sunshine Lodge. I can see my breath in here this morning...thankful to have a down jacket and warm sleeping bag. Best of all, I will have hot coffee in just a few minutes w/out even getting out of the bag. Life is good...
Lungdhen (14,450ft) 11/24/10
Today's weather was incredible! Blue skies all day for the first time on this journey. The hike from Thame to Marlung was a gradual 400m ascent. I took my time and stopped along the way to brew up some coffee and eat my last Toblerone chocolate. I arrived in Marulung around 10:30 this morning. My plan was to stay at a small guest house there but after lunch, lots of reading, a hike above the valley, and doctoring up the old feet...it was only 2:30. So, I packed up and came up to Lungdhen, another 600ft climb in elevation. At this point, I'm breaking the general rule of sleeping no more than 300 meters higher than the night before. I've been listening to my body and feeling good...so far. Tomorrow is going to be a big day...Renjo La(17,688ft. pass). This pass is significantly higher than I have been before. I met up with a guy from Spain and his guide at this guest house and will take off with them at 6 in the morning. If my body says "no" then I will come back down. Praying for another clear day tomorrow...the view from Renjo La is supposed to be epic! Not only was it a totally clear day today, but the stars are insane tonight! This village is situated at the base of a mountain called Kyajo Ri(20,413ft.) I ate way too much Dal Bhat this evening...ouch!
Gokyo (15,807ft.) 11/25/10
Whoo!! What a day! 5:00am wake up for the big day going over the pass. Having never been much higher than 14 grand, Renjo La was quite and experience for me. Other than not being able to breathe, it wasn't that difficult. At these higher altitudes, I would take 4 or 5 steps too fast and be totally winded. My heart would start racing telling me it was time to slow 'er down or stop and chill for a minute. We climbed very slowly but still made the pass before 11:00am. The last leg of the climb was brutally steep. Deep breathing just wasn't satisfying my need for
oxygen. We could see the prayer flags at the pass from a long way down. I had no idea just how rewarding it would actually be when we got to the top...
The view from Renjo on a clear day has to be among the best int he world. Never seen anything like it! Right when we came over the top....boom! Everest with a perfect little halo cloud above her summit. To the far left was Cho Oyu and many other peaks much higher than 23,000 feet, Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, and a Makalu...Amazing!! I have seen some big mountains recently but not like this. Here I am on Renjo at 17,688 feet looking at Sagarmatha (Everest) with a summit nearly 12,000 feet above me. I can't imagine what breathing is like for the climbers that go up there without oxygen...nuts! Gokyo, my destination and where I am now sitting, was also part of the amazing view. It is a great little village situated next to a gorgeous turquoise lake. On the other side of Gokyo is the Ngozumba Glacier running south from Cho Oyu. From where I am now stretched out at the guest house, I can look across the lake up to Renjo La and also to the North with perfect view of Cho Oyu (27,063 ft.)...not a shabby place to spend a couple days. I have broken the acclimatization rules and don't want to push it anymore. I just heard about a man who died here a couple days ago from AMS after crossing Renjo...scary. He tried to rest it out instead of descending which is the first thing you do with advanced AMS. On that note, I'm going to hydrate...
Namche Bazar 11/27/10
Crazy fu*&ing day! I woke up and did a short hike up the hill next to the glacier to watch the sunrise...cold and beautiful morning. During breakfast, I finished Krakauer's Into Thin Air...everyone else is reading it and they had a copy at the guest house so I knocked it out on my rest day. Can't remember the last time I spent an entire day reading...maybe never but it was a nice change. I packed up after breakfast and planned to cross the Ngozumba Glacier to a village called Dragnag in order to set up for Cho La Pass tomorrow. Having never crossed a glacier (and this is no small glacier), I was very confident that I could negotiate my way to the other side...ha.
Although my map showed the trail crossing the glacier south of Gokyo, the constant movement of the glacier changed the accuracy of the map. After walking south of Gokyo for a little while, I walked onto the glacier. There were trails and cairns(rock piles marking the way) which led me to believe it was a commonly used route and this was as good as any way to cross...wrong! I followed the cairns and paths out to the middle of the glacier and was led right down to a lake of ice water. It was clear to me that two lakes had joined at the point where the trail ended and water was flowing quite strongly in that spot. I threw a heavy boulder in to see if I could make a foot bridge but heard it tumbling along the bottom and would not stay in place. I could see the trail on the other side and even considered wading across. Fortunately, I was able to play that tape forward and realized it could have a really bad ending...alone on the middle of a glacier. My next thought was, "I'll just go around...". Not quite. The only way around was really far and I checked tons of places for a crossing with hope of avoiding turning around completely. I always thought of glaciers as being ice. True, but this one is also completely covered with giant piles of unstable rocks of all sizes. I began to get frustrated and started scrambling up and down the hills of rock before I was quickly reminded I can't do that at 16,000 feet. It was exhausting. I did my best to chill and accept the situation for what it was. Eventually, after realizing the glacier could not be crossed in this section, I sucked it up and went back to "glacier-right" where I'd begun. It was now about 11:30 and I had some decisions to make. I narrowed my afternoon down to three options...1)Go back up to Gokyo and cross on the yak trail like everyone else 2) Walk south of the glacier, cross the river, and head back north to Dragnag 3) Start heading home. After a few minutes of going back and forth (literally walking back and forth on the trail), I decided it was time to go home. It reminded me of the scene from Forrest Gump when he walked across the country and then said, "I think I'm gunna go home now..." I realized it was a long way to get home and that there was a good chance I would run into flight delays in Lukla. I walked for about 6 hours at a pretty fast clip and made it to Namche about an hour after dark. Just before dark, there was a break in the clouds revealing the top half of Ama Dablam, the majestic Dr. Seuss mountain I'd seen a few days ago. Upon arrival in Namche, I went straight to the Everest Bakery and inhaled a hot veggie pizza...
Lukla 11/29/10
Yesterday, I walked from Namche to Lukla. This is the first time I have actually seen the famous Lukla airport. The runway is not only very steep, but it runs right off the side of the mountain and leaves a very small, if any, margin for error. It was another long day and my body is not very happy with me right now. Trying to fight off a cold and afraid I may have gotten the infamous "Khumbu cough", a respiratory infection that many people seem to get when visiting up here. Fortunately, the sky is clear in Lukla. Unfortunately, the fog hasn't burned off yet in Kathmandu. I'm hoping to get back to KTM this afternoon and get international flights sorted...
p.m.
Made it home to the Holy Lodge safe and sound. Flight from Lukla was wild! It was a similar feeling as running a big rapid or going bungee jumping when I was boarding the plane...total adrenaline rush! I think the fact that one of the tires of the plane was about halfway deflated intensified the rush. Although the pollution can make it difficult to breathe in the city, the warmer temp and higher oxygen level made me feel better almost immediately. This is a different Nepal than the one I've been living in...
Kathmandu...December 1, 2010
Today is my last full day in Kathmandu. I fly to Atlanta tomorrow via Delhi and JFK. The last 3 months have flown by and have been the adventure of a lifetime. I have met scores of great people from all over the world and have been inspired by many. It has been a dream of mine to visit the Himalayas for a long time and I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to spend 3 months in this giant playground. I hope that any readers of this blog who enjoy outdoor adventures have the opportunity to come here one day. Then again, a friend of mine often says, "my best vacation could very well be your worst nightmare..."
It has been a pleasure sharing the experience with you...thank you for following my journey...
Best,
Preston

View photos from Khumbu at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?fbid=1702604414975&id=1533910566&aid=221765&notif_t=photo_album_comment

Kayaking in Nepal

Since my arrival in Nepal on September 12, I have had the opportunity to paddle a number of great rivers. In fact, I think I may have spent more time in my kayak in the past 2 months than I have in the past 2 years combined. Prior to the end of the guide course in October, my itinerary was pretty much handed to me. It has been one adventure after another and the time has absolutely flown by. Although it was nice being told which trips I would be going on and when, it has also been fun being on my own to meet people to go boating with.
The Holy Lodge is full of kayakers this time of year and it didn't take long for me to find a crew to go paddling with when I returned to Kathmandu. On the morning of November 4, I left with 7 other boaters to catch the "local bus" out to the Bhote Kosi river. It is only about 80 km from the city but takes about 3 hours. Although I had paddled the lower section of the river quite a few times, the Upper was a new river for me. Until a couple weeks ago, it has been too high to run and rafting trips still aren't going on it. The upper section of the Bhote Kosi is 20 km of continuous class IV whitewater. There are few, if any, flat sections and it demanded every bit of my attention as a swim here would be long a brutal. After a long and uncomfortable ride on the local bus, we arrived at the put-in at the Borderlands resort on the road to Tibet. It was solid whitewater from the minute we put on and I knew that I needed to stay as focused as I could. Fortunately, I was able to follow others with much more kayaking experience who had paddled the river during previous trips to Nepal.
We scouted a 2 or 3 of the rapids but were able to stay in our boats for most of the trip. The horizon lines around pretty much every corner of the river could be pretty intimidating, but fortunately it was a solid run for everyone in the crew. This was certainly the most challenging stretch of river that I paddled during my time in the Himalayas. The Upper Bhote Kosi is tons of fun and I would highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys paddling solid class IV whitewater. That evening on the local bus back to Kathmandu, we were treated to some live tunes by some fellow passengers...
The Belephi River runs into the Bhote Kosi a few miles down from the takeout of the Upper section. A couple days after running the upper section, a group of us headed back out to paddle the Belephi, one of the most beautiful rivers I've paddled to date. Instead of taking the local bus, this time we treated ourselves to a private bus and all payed about $15 for the entire day. The Belephi is about 15km of crystal clear class III-IV read and run whitewater. Not only is the water amazing, but there are also incredible views of some of the high peaks of the Langtang region. It is such a cool experience to be paddling in relatively warm water on a sunny day and then turn around to see giant snow-covered peaks. The Upper Bhote Kosi and the Belephi are great rivers and we were treated to some amazing weather for both trips.
Although I went paddling a couple days during this time, I was still dealing with an infected ingrown toenail that was not only painful, but was going to prevent me from hiking in the Khumbu as planned. After more than a week of soaking my foot and taking antibiotics, I spoke to a friend that had taken care of a similar condition in his toe on a Canadian expedition. He told me how he did it and I decided to get after it. I gave it one last soak in steaming hot water and went for it. The pain was excruciating but there was instant relief when the nail popped out and I was finally able to clip the piece that was growing into the side of my toe. Having never had one of these, I'm pretty sure it was caused from my big hike it September that caused the other nail to die completely. Fortunately, I'm all healed up and good to go...
On the morning of November 9, I took a bus out to Pokhara to meet a couple of friends who were kayaking in that area. We met up with some other kayakers, including a girl who lives in Utah and happens to work for Second Nature, the same wilderness program I was working with for the last year...small world! A crew of five of us went out to the Upper Seti, only 20 minutes from Lakeside Pokhara, and did a couple laps. The Upper Seti makes for a great day trip. It only takes about an hour and a half. It is continuous and has lots of fun rapids and tons of great boof lines. I knew part the culture here is to burn the dead on the side of the river, this was the first time I actually saw this dramatic event taking place. We were right at the top of a rapid when I looked over and saw the cremation taking place on the river bank with a ceremony taking place next to the enormous fire. Pretty shocking at first and then I quickly realized it is just part of the cycle of life and that is how it is done in this part of the world.
The next day, nobody was paddling so I just went for a spin around Fewa lake in Pokhara which is beautiful. It was a pretty clear day and was relaxing to go for a cruise. It was fun to watch the dozens of paragliders soaring above the lake and surrounding hills. Paragliding looks amazing but not sure if I have room for another activity at this point in my life. However, the idea of flying off the side of mountains is quite appealing... maybe one day.
The Modi Kola is the river I hiked along for a few days when I went out to Annapurna Base Camp in September. Although the water was too high during my trek, I remember really liking what I saw and hoped to paddle it while I was here. It is possible to paddle the upper sections of the Modi but requires some planning, porters, and lots of skill. My friend Mo and I left with a couple folks from the Yukon, Theresa and J.F., to do one of the lower sections of the Modi Kola on Friday the 12th. We somehow managed to pile 4 creek boats and 5 people in and on a tiny little taxi and drove 2 hours to the put-in. We couldn't put in at Nayapul, where I had originally planned to, since they have damned up this section of river leaving a few kilometers of dry riverbed in the middle. Although short, the section we did get to paddle was great. It was cold water and felt like it had recently left a glacier...it had. This was more of a pool-drop river with some calm sections between the rapids. It was quite a technical class III-IV stretch of river. We did very little, if any, scouting. Toward the end of the run, we found and great wave to surf and had a nice session there before piling back into our taxi for the 2 hour ride back to Pokhara.
I tagged along with a rafting trip the next day for another trip on the Upper Seti since it would most likely be my last day of kayaking in Nepal...this year. One of the Nepali guides expressed strong interest in buying my boat. We met up that evening and I said goodbye to my Liquidlogic Jefe and gave thanks for lots of great river trips. I got a fair price and decided to throw in a helmet a spray deck since gear is hard to come by in this part of the world.
So, the kayaking portion of this trip has ended and it is time to get into some big mountains. I got back to Kathmandu yesterday by bus. Since the only backpack I brought with me is only 35 liters, I had to get out on the streets of Thamel and do some bargaining for a new pack. After some ridiculous interactions with merchants of ripoff gear, I finally went home with a 60 liter North Face (better known as "North Fake") pack for $30. My hope is that this pack will hold up long enough for me to spend a few weeks exploring the Everest region...maybe even bring it home full of more ripoff gear. I woke up early this morning and went to the airport in hope of flying to Lukla, one of the sketchiest airports in the world. However, the airport in Lukla has been closed for 4 days now and my flight was canceled too. New plan. Another way of getting up to the Solukhumbu (Everest region), is to take a bus to a town called Jiri and walk for 5-7 days to Lukla. After reading about this trek and talking to some people who have done it, I decided to refund my outbound plane ticket to Lukla and walk in. The other option is to wake up each morning and go wait at the airport with tons of others in hopes of getting on a plane...the forecast is not encouraging and one day was painful enough.
I don't have a set plan for the Khumbu, but psyched to finally be going to this place that I have been reading about and seeing on television for so many years. Walking there will just make the journey that much more exciting. Having never been much higher than 14,000 feet, I am planning to be very careful not to get AMS(Acute Mountain Sickness), a condition quite common with trekkers and climbers in this area. Unlike my speed hike to Annapurna Base Camp in September, it is important that I go slowly and acclimatize properly on this trek.
It has been a pleasure documenting these adventures over the past couple months and I hope you have enjoyed reading.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all ('mericans) and Namaste....
Preston

Check out more pics from the Bhote Kosi and Belephi @: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=219409&id=1533910566&l=6260e15f41