Mt. Everest - Too Tired for Dessert

Mt. Everest:  Making our Way from Surke to Phakding in the Rain and Too Tired for Dessert

(our first day on the trek)

September 12, 2018

After a harrowing trip just to begin the trek, we landed in Surke and got some water and a Snicker’s bar.  That was all the extra energy we needed to officially begin the trek.  We were running on adrenaline. 

We had beat the odds just to reach this point and possibly cheated death.  Lukla was no longer an even remotely realistic destination point.  Not only could we not land there, but it was still socked in with fog and precipitation.  We took an alternate route.  We walked almost straight uphill for from 8 hours. 

The entire days’ journey was in the rain, up steep rocky steps, down slippery rocks.  We passed Sherpas and porters carrying supplies in excess of 200 pounds on their backs over rugged terrain, including cases of beer and soda which you could see later in the stores in the villages ahead. We watched them as they walked for a distance and rested, walked and rested.  Donkeys, cows, and horses passed by us, some going uphill and some going down.  We made sure to stand to the side of the trail to let them pass since they had the heavy load.  We also wanted to make sure no one (including us) fell of the ledge.  

We also encountered our first suspension bridge.  It was beautiful and scary.  They felt strong enough but there was the physical sensation of a ripple beneath your feet while standing on the the bridge. David would purposely jump up and down to amplify the effect.  He wanted to make sure you felt it.   He loved to scare me whenever he could.  In any case, we had to move on if we were to make it to Phakding - our destination for the day.

Our first day put us to the test. It was physically exhausting and periodically emotionally stressful at times.  We never knew precisely how much further we needed to go.  Over time we let go of that need to know, to be precise.  We just learned to go with the flow of the day, wherever it led us, with only a general image of the plan.

We did stop for lunch.  It consisted of warm ramen, tea, and cookies.  It was such a simple pleasure.  We all needed it without a doubt.

We continued focusing on every single step in front of us.  One foot in front of the next, looking up occasionally to take in the glorious views and breath in the experience.  

The day actually came to an end.  We could not believe it.  We had finally arrived at the beautiful Yeti Mountain Home hotel.  They greeted with warm menthol smelling face clothes.  It felt so luxurious and indulgent but deserved.  They asked us to remove our boots and gave us rubber shoes to change into to minimize the dirt.  There was a box for our poles or walking sticks. We could put our packs down and relax.  Dinner was really a 6-course meal – just all at once.  It included:  spinach, chicken, rice, spaghetti, potatoes, and French fries.  It was precisely what the doctor ordered. 

David thought the soup was the entire meal, so he filled up on that alone. It didn’t matter he was falling asleep in the middle of his soup anyway.  To give you an idea just how tired this little man was, his eyes kept on rolling up and then closed.  His body kept swaying off to the side.  We had warm chocolate pudding and he couldn’t even touch it.  That was my good fortune.  He was the with the leader of the pack the entire day and finally it all caught up with him.   It was nothing to be ashamed of we were all completely exhausted too.  It was time for bed for all of us on our very first day of trekking to Mt. Everest base camp.