EBC Day 2/ Namche Bazar

First full day of hiking over lots of swinging bridges and dodging lots of yaks.

Unable to sleep I was up early and playing solitaire on my phone until breakfast at 7. For my first breakfast on the hike I chose porridge. It was recommended as the best meal for a long day of trekking. The porridge was like a thick oatmeal with hot milk.

Afterwards we went back to our rooms and repacked our bags. I also brushed my teeth and spit into the toilet since there was no sink. I headed outside and filtered some water for the day. I brought a filter bottle which holds 1/2 a liter and another bottle that holds a little more than a liter. The hike was pretty gradual in the morning. We didn't stop very often and when we did it wasn't for that long.

I started out with a quarter zip, rain jacket and my hiking pants and quickly changed into a t-shirt and rolled up my pants when I was greeted by the heat. The ground was rocky and easy to trip if you aren't paying attention so I couldn't look up often. When I did I was always amazed by the beauty.

We stopped for an early lunch of fried rice. I removed my socks to let them dry in the sun and filtered some more water as I drank it all from this morning. I drew the trip from this morning on the map I bought.

Most of the food we ate throughout the trek was not enough to sustain us so I always put lots of different sauces and salt on my food to add extra calories and replenish the salt lost through sweating. I also had lots of snacks.

We rested for a while as the afternoon hike was going to be one of the most difficult days. I changed into shorts and we set out. We started going down which was annoying because I knew we had to go right back up.

When we arrived at the bottom of the stairs the leaders pumped us up and I put in my music to prepare for the 900m climb straight up. The hike was strenuous, but not as bad as I thought it would be. The slow pace, frequent stops, and music motivating me helped me make it to the top.

When Namche Bazar, a city tucked into a mountain, came into view I was so happy to be done for the day. I had a snack from my bag and some tea when we got to the teahouse around 2:30. I set my stuff down and changed into warmer clothes then set out with a group for a celebratory chocolate cake.

We explored the town for a while and looked at some of the shops. When we got back a few people were playing cards and we decided to join them. We played until dinner where I ordered sherpa stew. It had potatoes, carrots, green beans, balls of dough, and vegetable broth. We then played a group game of werewolf which was a lot of fun.

I headed up to bed around 9 and wrote/ read until I fell asleep. The first full day of the hike to base camp was a success.