Day 3 (November 14, 2013) - Acclimatization Day in Namche Bazar - Trip to Khumjung and Everest View Hotel (3,963m)

Built into the typical Himalaya trekking schedule are acclimatization days. Unless you are of the ethnic group Sherpa (who have an unnaturally keen ability to acclimatize), most people require a slow ascent to higher elevations in order to allow the physiology of their bodies to adjust. After the big push to Namche, we were in need of such extra time. However, in order to keep up our fitness, we went on a side trip to a higher elevation, returning to Namche to sleep. 

On the mountain runway.

After a breakfast of pancakes, we packed our light daypack with the essentials, and headed out on a four hour loop walk above Namche. Ascending steeply from the hill village, we mingled with trekkers departing Namche for their next destination, finally splitting off to head even higher above the switchbacked mountain. Finally we leveled off at a rudimentary runway, specifically built to cater to the Everest View Hotel. Before it was deemed unsafe, tourists would fly to this runway, check into the hotel, if they felt sick, enter an oxygen chamber and enjoy their time at this elevation. In recent years however, this was rightly deemed unsafe, and patrons of the beautiful hotel must walk to get there.

Yaks!

Continuing upwards, we finally saw our first far away glance of Everest. There it was! A dark peak in the distance, actually dwarfed by other closer peaks. My mind was tripping on itself. There was the mountain, the one that had captured my adventurous imagination so many years before. Could I believe I was seeing it with my own eyes? With awe, I just stared, until I was prodded along by Em and Bishnu. 

First view of Everest!

Everest View Hotel.

Passing through the Everest View Hotel, the quiet town of Khumjung and back around to Namche, we put in a solid day of physical effort, and were rewarded with lively company at our lodge. Em and I shared a dinner table with two young Australians, Jobeth and Ryan, out in search of vivid life. They were full of wit and laughter, as we joined in the festivity of guesthouse. A young American volunteer told us stories of camping next to mountains, exploring the Himalayas without a guide or specific destination. It was a night reminiscent of El Camino nights, meeting like minded people in the most wondrous of settings.

Bishnu won.

Exploring Namche.

Tomorrow we are splitting off from the main trail to Everest Base Camp, heading instead toward Gokyo and the lakes that are the source of the great Dudh Kosi river. The path to Gokyo is quieter, more subdued than the more popular EBC trek, though it has become more popular in recent years. Tonight I will dream of the mountains that stand proudly and silently around me, and the challenges that lay ahead. 

Ama Dablam.