EBC Day 11/ Last Day!

After 26km and 7 hours we made it back to Lukla and officially finished our trek to Everest Base Camp.

Getting out of my sleeping bag was extra hard this morning, but the thought of finishing the hike motivated me to leave my cocoon. After porridge for breakfast we set out with few layers (a t-shirt, down jacket, gloves, and hiking pants).

We had to go back down the 900m we went up on the way here. It was more difficult to navigate and not fall, but a lot easier than hiking up. I took more time to notice the scenery and had a much more enjoyable time going down than the breathless climb up.

We walked for so long my playlist restarted multiple times. The towns are a lot closer together now and it was defeating walking through the towns hoping it was lunch only to keep walking through it. When we finally arrived where we stayed the first night I ordered a veggie burger. It was the perfect choice and I gobbled it up. After we sat and chatted for a while before heading back out to go to Lukla.

I was antsy to make it to Lukla and wanted to run the whole way back. After lots of high fives we arrived back at the original teahouse. It was nostalgic to be back here and think back through the whole trek. Last time I was here I was clean and filled with optimism and excitement. Now I was extremely dirty after not showering for almost two weeks and exhausted yet accomplished.

I enjoyed the last of my Pringles and chocolate to celebrate completing the hike. I read until dinner of Dal Bhat. After we set out to find a bar to celebrate. We ended up in one with a pool table and writing all over the wall from past expeditions. The soda was too expensive for me so I drank water instead.

We sat around and laughed, played pool, and listened to the strange music the bartender put on. We also made sure to write our names on the ceiling before we headed back to our teahouse. Tomorrow we are hoping to have clear weather and fly back to Kathmandu.