Everest Trek, Day 1 - Katmandu to Pankding

Last night my Gap Adventures tour group met for the first time to get instructions and introduce ourselves. We have 3 Canadians, 5 Brits, 3 Danes, 1 Australian, and 3 Americans. Most of the group is in their 20s except the Americans and Canadians and we have a few guys and gals. So it's a nice diverse group. I am rooming with a British woman named Kate who I liked immediately.

Today we were up and out of the hotel before 7:00 to catch our early flight to Lukla where our trek begins. It was a struggle to get everything I need for a two week hike down to the 18 pounds the porters will carry, but I managed by leaving some energy bars behind and packing my day pack to the max with a lot of stuff that I really shouldn't be carrying the whole time (sandals, two books, etc). I was hardly the only person with this problem.

At 8:00 we boarded our 15 seat Twin Otter airplane and took off. Halfway to Lukla we turned back since high winds wouldn't allow us to land. We sat around in Katmandu for another hour before Tashi came running into our holding room and said "let's go now." So we grabbed our stuff and boarded the plane. This time we managed to actually reach and land in Lukla although it was, according to Taski, one of the worst flights he's ever had here. Lots of bumps and sudden drops and shakes coming from the airplane. And if you haven't seen what it looks like to land at Lukla, check it out on YouTube. It's something else.

Around 12:30 we started off on our first day of trekking - just 3 hours (mostly downhill) to Pankding. As we walked we passed through small villages with buddhist prayer wheels linking the path, squeezed to the side to let small Yak caravans pass by loaded with supplies, and saw some absolutely stunning scenery. The mountains tower up on all sides of us, each covered with snow. Below us a clear running river flows through a surprisingly fertile looking valley dotted with houses and green grassy plots of grass. The Nepalese children are adorable and run out to meet us or just play and laugh along the side of the trail. This is why I came here - I am in another, beautiful and serene world.

Tomorrow is supposed to be one of the hardest days of the trek, about 6 hours of hard hiking up to Namche Bazaar, and the altitude will really kick in by tomorrow. We're at 8,000 feet now and Namche is over 11,000. This will be the first night sleeping in an unheated tea house, but today was pretty easy for me so I'm feeling really good right now. I'm late for dinner (Momos and ginger tea), so I better sign off.

Namaste.