TO EVEREST (ALMOST) AND BACK: Guest Post by Caroline Hatton at The Intrepid Tourist

Week 7: 52 Places to Go

Mount Everest (in the middle) beyond the Hotel Everest View (in the trees)

My friend and fellow children’s book author Caroline Hatton, one of the most adventurist travelers I know, went trekking in the Everest region of the Nepal Himalaya in November 2018. Here is her report of the trip. She took all but one of the photos in this post. For info about her books, visit www.carolinehattonauthor.com.

I didn’t know that rooms are not heated, even in freezing November temperatures. When I had read about “tea house” lodging, I had pictured rooms above hot kitchens and warm dining rooms. But even the kitchen staff often wore insulated jackets and fleece hats. And dining room stoves were lit for only a couple of hours at dinner time, with people huddled around like Emperor penguins in an Antarctic blizzard. My sleeping bag, rated for 0 ^oF (~ -17 ^oC), saved my life.

Why go in November? Because it’s the second most popular month, after October, for Himalaya treks. As the days pass, it’s less likely to rain, but the clear weather grows colder. It was a good trade-off to avoid peak crowds.

The trail crosses the river between Phakding and Namche Bazaar

My sightseeing itinerary along the only trail toward Mount Everest, through the homeland of the Sherpas, was standard. I flew from Kathmandu to Lukla, hiked to Phakding and Namche Bazaar, back to Lukla, and flew back to Kathmandu. Namche is ~13 miles (~21 km) from Lukla, or less than a third of the way to Everest Base Camp. Yet I saw Everest from one point near the trail between Phakding and Namche, and the following morning from above Namche.

First glimpse of Everest (with top in cloud) between Phakding and Namche Bazaar

I slept no higher than 11,300 ft (~ 3444 m) in Namche, a familiar altitude after decades of California Sierra Nevada backpacking. No altitude sickness, no rock climbing, but also no wilderness or isolation on the ancient trade route between villages. This classic “Everest Panorama Trek” takes at least five days round-trip from Kathmandu.

Hikers need at least 11 days round-trip to reach Everest Base Camp (17,552 ft ~ 5,350 m), or longer for the Three-Passes Trek past turquoise-colored Gokyo Lake.

Arriving in Namche Bazaar. Photo courtesy of guide Sangam Shresta

In contrast to the nightly cold, my first “hot shower” was heaven, but the instant I turned the water off, I was plunged back in ambient room air, barely above freezing. Even though I dried myself and got dressed as fast as possible, my feet turned purple before I could get socks on. No more showers for me! Why bother anyway, since I had only one shirt and one pair of pants for six days? Thank goodness for wet wipes, perfect for keeping important parts sufficiently clean.

On several occasions when I was outside, teeth-chattering temperatures became forever associated with favorite sights: peak tips ablaze at sunrise, clouds on fire at sunset, or racing fog tearing open to reveal a snowy height in blinding sun. Then it seemed worth freezing to the bone in exchange for the hope of getting a good photo. My camera’s Vibration Reduction Technology neutralized my shivering.

Mount Ama Dablam (22,349 ft ~ 6812 m) from the Sherpa village of Khumjung (12,402 ft ~3780 m)

The notion of hiking toward Everest, which had existed solely in my imagination as a reader, became reality. A thrill that had involved mostly brain cells became physical, from head to toes, skin to muscles to heart and lungs and guts, with the universe pressing against me with sun glare, gravity, and cold, shaping my experience, reshaping me.

Buddhist mani stones (inscribed with mantras) in a Khumjung street

On my favorite day, I hiked a loop from Namche to the village of Khumjung. I saw Everest for the second time, when I stood by the statue of Tenzing Norgay, who summited it with Edmund Hillary in 1953. The trail soon led straight up a steep slope. Loaded yaks marched straight down without hesitating or slipping. At the Hotel Everest View, I sipped the obligatory tea on the terrace, taking in the clear sight of the top of the world. Onward through fir forest, with the snow capped panorama scrolling around me, I thought nothing could ever make me feel as exalted. Then I saw Khumjung, with its big gray stone houses and green roofs and stone-walled fields in between, spread in the warm sun.

Wild Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) or “lion goat”

On the way back to Namche, wild Himalayan tahrs (Hemitragus jemlahicus), nicknamed “lion goats” because of their mane, were resting on grassy slopes. That day, on that side trip, I didn’t see too many other visitors.

In contrast, on the main trail toward and from Everest, traffic was lively with international athletes competing in the six-day Everest Trail Race from Everest Base Camp down to Lukla (not to be confused with runners in the Everest Marathon in May, also down from Everest Base Camp, but only to Namche Bazaar), climbers, photographers, plain old trekkers, yak or mule caravans lugging their stuff, or bringing food and fuel up the mountains, and assorted humans needing to find or lose themselves in the epic landscape.

Yak, race competitor, and porter on trail through Jorsale

Trail noises were a mix of trekking pole taps on stone, gravel, or dirt, international chatter among walkers, the pastoral melody of yak and mule bells, the whistles and shouts of their handlers, bouncy popular Nepali songs squirting out of cell phones strapped to young porters speeding along with heavy loads, and helicopters pounding up and down the valley with sightseers, supplies, and perhaps the occasional evacuee. As a writer, I also noted smells: eggs cooking, stove smoke, incense, kerosene, and tourists and porters who skipped showers.

Back in Lukla, my bedroom was on the ground level, two floors below the kitchen and dining-room. The chilly temperatures must have dropped by an order of magnitude per floor. After dinner, facing this descent, one trip mate with gaze fixed and jaws set, the embodiment of unshakeable determination, said, “Down to the permafrost!” Another grumbled, “What do you call hell when it’s freezing?”

Lukla: lodge dining room with black stove

Still, compared to my Poon Hill trek below the Annapurna, the other most visited Nepal Himalaya region, I liked this Everest region trek better because I found it easier and prettier. Trails had far fewer stone steps, let alone extra-high ones, the higher altitude meant cooler days, more evergreen than deciduous trees, and yaks instead of buffaloes, though I love both animals, and the highest mountains looked closer, which was more exhilarating.

Back home in Los Angeles, the following winter I thought of the Sherpas conserving resources, and set my thermostat down to 60 ^oF (~15 ^oC) or turned the heater off. It’s as if the stirring splendor of the Himalayas lit a fire inside me, which I can turn to for warmth and inspiration.

For more info

My excellent trip organizer, Adventure Treks Nepal, provided an excellent guide, Sangam Shresta, and two fine porters for our group of four.

Detailed trail descriptions can be found in the Lonely Planet printed guide book, and the essential parameters and profile are available online:

https://www.hikingproject.com/trail/7022086/lukla-to-phakding

https://www.hikingproject.com/trail/7022087/phakding-to-namche

https://www.hikingproject.com/trail/7022088/namche-to-khumjung

Visit Nepal 2020, a video by the Nepal Tourism Board. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j61j9X4xCnA

Visiting Nepal: the essential. https://www.lonelyplanet.com/nepal/essential-information

More posts at The Intrepid Tourist about Caroline Hatton's trip to Nepal: 

THE OLD GURUNG MUSEUM IN GHANDRUK, NEPAL, Feb 11, 2019 

A MOUNTAIN TEAHOUSE STAY IN NEPAL, Jan 14, 2019

All text and photos copyright Caroline Arnold 

 www.theintrepidtourist.blogspot.com 

TO EVEREST (ALMOST) AND BACK: Guest Post by Caroline Hatton at The Intrepid Tourist

Mount Everest (in the middle) beyond the Hotel Everest View (in the trees)

My friend and fellow children’s book author Caroline Hatton, one of the most adventurist travelers I know, went trekking in the Everest region of the Nepal Himalaya in November 2018. Here is her report of the trip. She took all but one of the photos in this post. For info about her books, visit www.carolinehattonauthor.com.

I didn’t know that rooms are not heated, even in freezing November temperatures. When I had read about “tea house” lodging, I had pictured rooms above hot kitchens and warm dining rooms. But even the kitchen staff often wore insulated jackets and fleece hats. And dining room stoves were lit for only a couple of hours at dinner time, with people huddled around like Emperor penguins in an Antarctic blizzard. My sleeping bag, rated for 0 ^oF (~ -17 ^oC), saved my life.

Why go in November? Because it’s the second most popular month, after October, for Himalaya treks. As the days pass, it’s less likely to rain, but the clear weather grows colder. It was a good trade-off to avoid peak crowds.

The trail crosses the river between Phakding and Namche Bazaar

My sightseeing itinerary along the only trail toward Mount Everest, through the homeland of the Sherpas, was standard. I flew from Kathmandu to Lukla, hiked to Phakding and Namche Bazaar, back to Lukla, and flew back to Kathmandu. Namche is ~13 miles (~21 km) from Lukla, or less than a third of the way to Everest Base Camp. Yet I saw Everest from one point near the trail between Phakding and Namche, and the following morning from above Namche.

First glimpse of Everest (with top in cloud) between Phakding and Namche Bazaar

I slept no higher than 11,300 ft (~ 3444 m) in Namche, a familiar altitude after decades of California Sierra Nevada backpacking. No altitude sickness, no rock climbing, but also no wilderness or isolation on the ancient trade route between villages. This classic “Everest Panorama Trek” takes at least five days round-trip from Kathmandu.

Hikers need at least 11 days round-trip to reach Everest Base Camp (17,552 ft ~ 5,350 m), or longer for the Three-Passes Trek past turquoise-colored Gokyo Lake.

Arriving in Namche Bazaar. Photo courtesy of guide Sangam Shresta

In contrast to the nightly cold, my first “hot shower” was heaven, but the instant I turned the water off, I was plunged back in ambient room air, barely above freezing. Even though I dried myself and got dressed as fast as possible, my feet turned purple before I could get socks on. No more showers for me! Why bother anyway, since I had only one shirt and one pair of pants for six days? Thank goodness for wet wipes, perfect for keeping important parts sufficiently clean.

On several occasions when I was outside, teeth-chattering temperatures became forever associated with favorite sights: peak tips ablaze at sunrise, clouds on fire at sunset, or racing fog tearing open to reveal a snowy height in blinding sun. Then it seemed worth freezing to the bone in exchange for the hope of getting a good photo. My camera’s Vibration Reduction Technology neutralized my shivering.

Mount Ama Dablam (22,349 ft ~ 6812 m) from the Sherpa village of Khumjung (12,402 ft ~3780 m)

The notion of hiking toward Everest, which had existed solely in my imagination as a reader, became reality. A thrill that had involved mostly brain cells became physical, from head to toes, skin to muscles to heart and lungs and guts, with the universe pressing against me with sun glare, gravity, and cold, shaping my experience, reshaping me.

Buddhist mani stones (inscribed with mantras) in a Khumjung street

On my favorite day, I hiked a loop from Namche to the village of Khumjung. I saw Everest for the second time, when I stood by the statue of Tenzing Norgay, who summited it with Edmund Hillary in 1953. The trail soon led straight up a steep slope. Loaded yaks marched straight down without hesitating or slipping. At the Hotel Everest View, I sipped the obligatory tea on the terrace, taking in the clear sight of the top of the world. Onward through fir forest, with the snow capped panorama scrolling around me, I thought nothing could ever make me feel as exalted. Then I saw Khumjung, with its big gray stone houses and green roofs and stone-walled fields in between, spread in the warm sun.

Wild Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) or “lion goat”

On the way back to Namche, wild Himalayan tahrs (Hemitragus jemlahicus), nicknamed “lion goats” because of their mane, were resting on grassy slopes. That day, on that side trip, I didn’t see too many other visitors.

In contrast, on the main trail toward and from Everest, traffic was lively with international athletes competing in the six-day Everest Trail Race from Everest Base Camp down to Lukla (not to be confused with runners in the Everest Marathon in May, also down from Everest Base Camp, but only to Namche Bazaar), climbers, photographers, plain old trekkers, yak or mule caravans lugging their stuff, or bringing food and fuel up the mountains, and assorted humans needing to find or lose themselves in the epic landscape.

Yak, race competitor, and porter on trail through Jorsale

Trail noises were a mix of trekking pole taps on stone, gravel, or dirt, international chatter among walkers, the pastoral melody of yak and mule bells, the whistles and shouts of their handlers, bouncy popular Nepali songs squirting out of cell phones strapped to young porters speeding along with heavy loads, and helicopters pounding up and down the valley with sightseers, supplies, and perhaps the occasional evacuee. As a writer, I also noted smells: eggs cooking, stove smoke, incense, kerosene, and tourists and porters who skipped showers.

Back in Lukla, my bedroom was on the ground level, two floors below the kitchen and dining-room. The chilly temperatures must have dropped by an order of magnitude per floor. After dinner, facing this descent, one trip mate with gaze fixed and jaws set, the embodiment of unshakeable determination, said, “Down to the permafrost!” Another grumbled, “What do you call hell when it’s freezing?”

Lukla: lodge dining room with black stove

Still, compared to my Poon Hill trek below the Annapurna, the other most visited Nepal Himalaya region, I liked this Everest region trek better because I found it easier and prettier. Trails had far fewer stone steps, let alone extra-high ones, the higher altitude meant cooler days, more evergreen than deciduous trees, and yaks instead of buffaloes, though I love both animals, and the highest mountains looked closer, which was more exhilarating.

Back home in Los Angeles, the following winter I thought of the Sherpas conserving resources, and set my thermostat down to 60 ^oF (~15 ^oC) or turned the heater off. It’s as if the stirring splendor of the Himalayas lit a fire inside me, which I can turn to for warmth and inspiration.

For more info

My excellent trip organizer, Adventure Treks Nepal, provided an excellent guide, Sangam Shresta, and two fine porters for our group of four.

Detailed trail descriptions can be found in the Lonely Planet printed guide book, and the essential parameters and profile are available online:

https://www.hikingproject.com/trail/7022086/lukla-to-phakding

https://www.hikingproject.com/trail/7022087/phakding-to-namche

https://www.hikingproject.com/trail/7022088/namche-to-khumjung

Visit Nepal 2020, a video by the Nepal Tourism Board. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j61j9X4xCnA

Visiting Nepal: the essential. https://www.lonelyplanet.com/nepal/essential-information

All text and photos copyright Caroline Arnold

PATAGONIA: Torres del Paine O Route, Guest Post by Owen Floody

Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Our friend Owen Floody has embarked on numerous treks in the past year and a half, including a return trip to Patagonia. (See his post on his previous trip.) Owen recently retired from a career of teaching and research at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. He has always been an avid photographer and in his retirement has taken numerous trips that allow him to pursue his passion. He is a frequent contributor to The Intrepid Tourist. Here is the report of his trip to southern Chile and a few of his excellent photographs.

Early in 2014, I did a trip in Patagonia (Mountain TravelSobek’s Hiker’s Patagonia) that included the famous “W Route” through part of Torres del Paine National Park in southern Chile.  I very much enjoyed that trek and the views of Chile’s many glaciers and fjords provided by my flights between Santiago and Punta Arenas.  All of this motivated me to return to southern Chile, to see more of the fjords and Torres del Paine.

View on the Fjord between Puerto Montt and Puerto Natales

These intentions were realized during a recent (February 2017) trip.  This began with what might be considered a bargain-hunter’s introduction to the Chilean fjords, a 4-day ride on one of the Navimag ferries that shuttle between Puerto Montt and Puerto Natales.  I made this cruise as luxurious as I could by shelling out what was required for a cabin to myself (I could have slept in a different bunk each night!).  However, this did not alter the fact that this was, after all, a commercial ferry that exists to get people and goods from place to place in the fjords, not to thrill tourists with close-up views of glaciers, ice-fields or the like (let alone gourmet food or other creature comforts).  Still, the cruise did exactly what I wanted.  It introduced me to the fjords, exposing me to attractive and atmospheric, if not spectacular, views (e.g., see 1st of linked images).  More scenic and remote views will have to await a future trip on a more tourist-oriented ship and route.

The Torres (Towers) of Torres del Paine

The other component in my 2017 trip was another trek in Torres del Paine park, but this time following the less popular “O Route.”  By way of introduction, it might be noted that the “W” and “O” designations roughly describe the shapes of the respective routes.  Much of the W Route follows the northern shores of the Nordernskjold and Skottsberg Lakes, but with three northward excursions, two into valleys and one along the eastern shore of the Grey Lake: The end result is a path resembling a W.  Not surprisingly, the O Route is a loop that encircles the entire Paine Massif: It incorporates but goes beyond the W Route.

Grey Glacier

Our trek of the O Route took 7 days, with expert camping support by Mountain Travel Sobek.  We did not have uniformly terrific weather but we did have this when we most needed it.  The first of these occasions was our first day of hiking, when we traveled to and from the Base de las Torres lookout, for views of the Torres (towers) themselves.  This was a tough hike for the first day but the weather was perfect and the views very impressive.  We then began our counterclockwise loop around the back (northern) side of the Paine Massif.  The area through which we passed was very scenic though, in my judgment, not spectacular (e.g., one of the better views is that in the 3rd image).  This changed, however, on the loop’s final third.  This section began with a wonderful long hike above and alongside the Grey Glacier and Lake.  These probably were the best glacier views I’ve had. 

Bleached forest in Frances Valley

Next, we hiked toward and up part of the Frances Valley.  Ironically, one of the attractions encountered here was an extensive area of forest killed and bleached, but not completely felled, by forest fires.  Probably like you, I would prefer live to dead trees.  Still, the patterns created by these stands of skeletal trees are striking. 

View from Frances Viewpoint

Finally, this leg of our trek took us to the Frances Viewpoint.  Here, you can look to the west and see the Frances Glacier backed by Paine Grande, the tallest mountain in the area.  Or you can look to the east and see the Cuerno Norte (North Horn) and Cuerno Principal (Main Horn), other iconic peaks in this range.

Cuerno Norte and Cuerno Principal

Finally, I need to comment briefly on the relative merits of the shorter W and longer O Routes.  After having done both, I have to say that I’m impressed by the large fraction of the very best views that are packed into the W Route.  There seems no question to me that this trek provides the greater bang for the buck (or calorie).  The one thing that it lacks are the views of the Grey Glacier.  Given sufficient time, energy and freedom, this omission could be overcome by extending the western-most leg of the W.  This would be a tough.