Mt. Everest: The Last Day of the Trek (day 11)


Mt. Everest: The last day of our trek
Namche Bazaar to Lukla
September 22, 2018

We thought for some reason the return trip would be easy.  All downhill right?  No way.  It was miles and miles (or kilometers in this case) of trekking up steep stone, dried up, river beds and then down again on slippery rocks and leaves.  The kids who live up there can glide on top of these stones like gazelles.  We looked more like little old ladies; (well, except David who could keep up with Giri our guide with no discernable difficulty).

We woke up at 6:00, had some breakfast and we were off and running (ok trekking) by 7:15.  We made it from Namche Bazaar to Lukla – our final destination - in one day.   Going up would (or I should say did) take double that time.  Parenthetically, Lukla is one of the most dangerous airports in the world (see YouTube).  We will be taking that flight tomorrow morning around 6 am to get back to Kathmandu. 

But let’s get back to today.  In any case, many people think that going back the same way you came is a waste of time.  I was not certain how worthwhile it was to trek back the same way, but I was wrong.  In fact, I would say that to think so superficially would constitute a case of hubris.

Aside from the fact that it took us 8 days to get to Everest Base Camp and only 3 days to return home.  It was emphatically not a waste of time. 

It was not a duplicate experience. Instead, It was like seeing old familiar friends. The rhododendrons were still there waiting for us, the pine, and many of the same stone steps.  The same towns and stupas embraced us as we trekked past.  We met the old man again who is trying to improve the paths for more trekkers to enjoy this majestic part of the world.  


It was almost like a welcome back that we had no idea we would have missed.

You return to many of the same sights and sounds as before, but with the capacity to take in so much more than you were able to the first time around, when your focus was primarily on surviving and just getting to your destination.

This time around we really took in the soothing sounds of the river from high in the mountains and the roar of the same river when we crossed a suspension bridge to get to the other side of the river.  We could feel our feet bouncing along the cold and slippery metal bridges.  


You could see the colors and the patterns in the boulders in the river that you didn’t even notice before. We had time to listen to the children play with their whistle and whistle back at them and watch them smile.

We also saw more of the daily life of the villagers, including harvesting potatoes, building buildings, drying vegetables in large straw trays, and even getting haircuts in the fields.


The second time around, as it were, even allows you to see the arrangement of the stones differently.  You begin to play a trekking hop scotch with the right rocks to get from one point to another – patterns in the stone paths you did not see the first time.

However, I do not want to overly romanticize this return to the past conception of reality.  It is true and wonderful, but it is still a grueling task at times.  There are times, after all the trekking we have done – right to the Everest Base Camp - that you question your strength to continue, but you do.

We made it to Lukla, welcomed with a warm greeting and a menthol smelling face cloth.  After dropping our backpacks off, taking our boots off, grabbing a shower, and enjoying a brief nap, we were ceremonially rewarded with a mini-banquet of Nepalese food and off to bed we went to prepare for our 6:00 am flight to Kathmandu.

It has been a journey like no other.  It has tested us in so many ways, each and every day.  This journey has given us time to reflect on who we are and who we want to be in the future.  It has given us the gift of timelessness, family time, unparalleled natural beauty, and an inner strength to struggle to any mountain top.

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