Waking up to a cold morning, we try again and eat. A simple breakfast of porridge was hard to swallow. We set out and head towards Dingboche where we would spend two nights – one day for acclimatizing. During the trek we would always pass through small villages and every time we did, you could smell the aroma of Yak dung being burnt. Not only was the dung used for heating but some places would actually put the dung in a wood stove and use it as fuel to cook dishes. In some cases, you can see the dung making up the walls of these houses. Nothing goes to waste here, pun intended!
Yak dung drying and baking in the sun
We stop in Somare for lunch where I have tomato soup. Eating solids at this point was getting harder and harder. The breeze coming through the valley was so clean and pure it was awesome.
Where else in the world can you put your feet up and enjoy an awesome view like this!
Taking a rest in Somare
Relieved to see Dingboche in our sights all we could do was smile. The way I see it was to put a goal and not think of how much longer till we reach the destination or next stop because that does no good. The way I did it was to think of it like there’s the next corner bend, let me reach for that. It seemed to work for me at least. We reached Dingboche in pretty good time around 5PM and stayed at Hotel Good Luck. Once again, we got to the room and immedialty just flopped in bed taking a rest.
Resting at Dingboche
One thing I should point out is at any lodge we stayed at, the dining areas were amazing. Everything was carved with intricate designs it always felt cozy.
Hotel Good Luck Dining area
A relaxing evening and night was ahead of us. We took it easy because the next day we would spend acclimatizing up Nagarjun Hill. The view up here was absolutely incredible with Ama Dablam in clear view.
Nagarjun Hill
Back down from Nagarjun Hill, we again took it easy. There is absolutely no reason to strain yourself. The last shower I had was back in Phakding and boy was I smelly. We had to pay for the shower as it was solar based heating. Not a problem. They put the sun to full use as they have solar concave heaters to boil water and panels to charge batteries. The shower was fantastic. Being able to do some quick laundry also helped. Feeling good the next morning we set off to Lobuche. We were in for some fantastic scenery as we walked through the valley. It was a fairly easy but steady hike.
Heading to Lobuche
We reach Thukla for lunch and rest up before we ascend to Memorial Top or Thukla Pass. It’s here where lies memorials for climbers who have fallen.
Lunch in Thukla
You can make out some memorials for past fallen climbers
Lobuche was mostly a blur. I had no energy for any pictures, no appetite and wanted to go home. Everytime we heard a chopper fly by we kept saying lets go back. I do think many people can attempt this trek however you need to have the mental willpower to push on no matter what. There were plenty of times I said to myself what the f*** am I doing but that wasn’t going to help. All I remember in Lobuche was trying to eat dinner and the narrow stairs going up to the room.