Namche

After an exhausting trek to Namche, we were awarded with an acclimatization day. Our guide said we'd just take an easy hike and then go back to Namche for a day of rest. Easy means we hiked straight up out of town until 12,500 ft. Easy is relative I guess.

Namche

Our typical accommodation: a small room with two double beds and a bathroom down the hall. At first I was bummed that I had to go down the hall to use the bathroom but realized that they use that sickly sweet urinal cake stuff to keep it sanitized, so it was nice to have that away from the room. Provided: pillow and blanket. Not provided: toilet paper, sheets, etc.

Our hike straight up out of town with Namche below.

We hoped to have views of Everest today but we saw a lot of this. Thick clouds.

A typical view in Namche. Cows/dogs/mules/trekkers along with stores selling knock off trekking gear.

Our small crew: me, Rajeev, Scotty, Amrika, and Niraj. I was initially hoping we'd have a fun big group but quickly realized that a small group is much better. We met so many people in the tea houses at night and were able to go at our own speed. We aren't fast hikers, but we are faster than the slowest people in the big groups. I also feel that we spent more time enjoying the nature around us instead of looking at the person in front of us. Amrika is from Australia and is traveling further than us but has the same route for the first few days. Her guide is Rajeev and our fun guide is Niraj. Not pictured are our insane porters who carried the stuff! We spend most of our evenings playing a modified poker game with this crew.