Today I woke up feeling better and different. Climbing up Cho La Pass yesterday was such a big thing for me – as the old cliché says – pushing me way out of my comfort zone. So, this morning, I woke up feeling, not quite “10foot tall and bullet proof”, but a little more confident in what this ol’ body can do slowly, slowly.
The path today will be much easier and shorter than yesterday, and vastly different as it joins up with the Everest Highway.
Where did all these people come from?
Day: 14
Date: Tuesday, 15 October 2024.
From: Dzongla (4,843m) To: Lobuche (4,930m)
Daily Km: 6.7km Walking Time: 2h51m
Progress: 72.3km
Ascent: 255m Descent: 160m
Weather: Clear and a cold breeze.
Terrain: Narrow trails, skirting around the edge of mountains before joining the hordes on the Everest Highway.
Stayed At: Himalayan Eco Resort (a fairly generous title)
General Comments:
- It was a small joy to have a sleep-in this morning. Not that any of us got any additional sleep, but we could lie tucked up in our beds listening to the hordes stampeding (that’s what it sounds like) out of the lodge. This lodge was incredibly busy last night with a large group of Chinese hikers and a sizeable Israeli delegation too. They were long gone by the time we surfaced at 7am and we had the entire Common/dining room to ourselves. Heaven.
- After a leisurely breakfast – Yes, more porridge – it was time to hit the track. Our start was delayed a little as we watched a helicopter zip in, offload a bunch of supplies, and load up with a bunch of people. None of them looked particularly ill or injured so maybe they had just had enough of this hiking racket.
- Every is morning is like a ‘big reveal’ as the fog lifts and the clouds disappear. When we walked into Dzongla yesterday afternoon, it was a virtual white out. This morning all its beauty was on display with snow-capped mountains in every direction.
- Today’s walk was supposed to be undulating. Undulating is a wonderful catch-all term used to describe all sorts of terrain, including a fair sprinkling of lung-busting climbs. As always, those climbs deliver the most breathtaking views. The highlight of this morning’s trail were the views of amazing Cholatse Lake. Similar to the Goyko Lakes, the colour was a jade green with hints of aquamarine in there too. Mother Nature is so clever to generate such glorious colours.
- As we worked our way around the mountainsides, more of the lake was on display and the vista opened up to reveal views down to the village of Pheriche, nestled on the banks of a river. The village seemed to be surrounded by rock-walled paddocks of, what I am assuming was, vegetables. I will never know what they are growing as we won’t be walking past Pheriche on our way home.
- For the foodies amongst you, we have enjoyed a fair amount of fresh vegetables on this trip – mostly a type of spinach, some carrots and potatoes. Those fresh additions to the constant supply of rice and bread, have been very welcome.
- I decided to go vegetarian this trip, just to be on the safe side, and I didn’t miss meat at all.
- Eventually we skirted enough mountain to change our direction from easterly to northerly, and across the valley we could see the main up-and-back Everest Base Camp Highway. We could even see all the tiny people scurrying along, up and downhill, as we were much higher than them on our track.
- The landscape was turning increasingly barren with rocks as far as the eye could see. Descending from the mountainside we followed the valley floor for a kilometre or so and, before we knew it, we had hit the highway and were tumbled into the flow of people.
- And it was busy! Much busier than we were used to. Most people seemed to be walking back down and perhaps it was just the time of the day when people headed back.
- The trail was now wide and relatively clear, and ascending gently. You still have to watch each footstep as those rocks love to leap out and trip you up.
- About 15minutes before Lobuche I hit the wall and had to shove a lolly in my mouth. It’s weird how your body works and when it is done, it’s done!
Highlights & Tips:
- Lobuche is the second last village before Everest Base Camp and it appears that its entire raison d’etre is to service/support hikers.
- Our lodge is probably the nicest we have stayed in so far and apparently it is fully booked tonight. Our rooms are the largest we have slept in, there are hooks on the walls for our coats etc AND there is a mirror! Luxury! It is also the cleanest place we have stayed, although that doesn’t last long with all the other people using the shared bathroom facilities.
- We will avoid some of the busyness with an early dinner tonight as we have yet another early start in the morning. Tomorrow is the day we will see Everest Base Camp with our own eyes. It’s hard to believe that the day is almost here.
#travelinspo #EverestBaseCampCircuit #multidayhikes #adventurebeforedementia #longdistancewalks #Nepal #teahouses #WorldExpeditions #epicadventures #greatoutdoors #crosscountry #exploreonfoot #exoticdestinations #hikingadventures #yaks #Sagarmatha #remotevillages #avalanches #Lobuche #mountainclimbing #EverestHighway
Life...one big adventure 
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for good weather tomorrow! How cold was it in Lobuche? That was our coldest night. Maggie
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Lobuche wasn’t a patch on Gorak Shep! 🙂
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Maybe I was just so exhausted from Kongma La that I felt the cold more 😊
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I can believe it. That cold would really get into your bones.
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are you going up Kala patar?
don’t miss it. Great views.
base camp is just a pile of trash!
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It’s on the plan, but…
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are you going up Kala patar?
don’t miss it. Great views.
base camp is just a pile of trash!
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are you going up Kala patar?
don’t miss it. Great views.
base camp is just a pile of trash!
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Stay tuned for the next instalment! 🙂
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Actually, Base Camp was very clean. They must have done a big clean up over the last couple of years.
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Hmmm- this might have been my favourite lap so far! I’m not looking forward to all these people, and I’m starting to wonder if Everest won’t be a tiny bit disappointing after all this. Am I mad?
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Nope, you are on the money, Jo. Stay tuned!
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You seem to coming into form just at the right time Mel! I slept in a tent in Dzongla at -16°c. It’s a lovely walk this one with great views of Ama Dablam and like you say Cholatse lake is a sight to behold. 😀
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OMG, Jim! I cannot imagine sleeping in a tent at that altitude and temperature, but I guess if you have all the right gear, it’s no biggie. I don’t think I will ever get enough of these views.
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Such beautiful landscape scenes – the lake with its vivid colours is stunning. Now, about the “World’s Highest Bakery” … that sounds like a good destination, doesn’t it?
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It sounds like a good destination, however again their products looked none too fresh! It was easy to abstain. 🙂
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Wow… Beautiful.. loved it!!
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Yep, it’s pretty amazing. Thanks
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I’ve been a bit behind in my blog reading and I’m just catching up. I can’t believe you’re almost there! Exciting!!
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Yes, we couldn’t believe it either. The days were racing by even at the ‘slowly, slowly’ pace.
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Glorious colors indeed! What an experience.
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A truly once-in-a-lifetime experience!
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Eeeek, not long to go now. I am so invested in your trek 🙂
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:-), thanks for joining the madness! x
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Yay! Almost there!!!
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‘Slowly, slowly’ 🙂
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It’s good you had an ‘easier’ (relative term – I couldn’t do it!) day after the challenges of yesterday. But it must have felt odd to be among relatively large crowds of people again.
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Even though it was incredibly hard, I am so glad that we chose to do the Circuit to Everest rather than sticking to the Highway. At least we got some sense of solitude out on the track and that’s important to me to really enjoy the landscape and the hiking.
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Beautiful!
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Many thanks.
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