We are staying at the Peak 38 View Lodge in Dingboche with wonderful views of the surrounding mountains for two nights, and today is a ‘rest day’ to help with acclimatization. We still went for a hike! Kevin and the Brads, Ake and Panuru left at 7am to climb Nangkar Tshang, 16,500 ft. Bob and…
Trek Day 5-Phortse to Dingboche
As we were getting ready to leave Phortse this morning, Panuru’s wife gave us each a khata ( white scarf) to wear to the monastery in Pangboche to receive blessings from the Lama. We left Phortse at 7:30am and it was uphill out of Phortse, with great views looking back at the village. Once again…
Trek Day 4-Namche to Phortse
Leaving Namche today to continue our trek to Base Camp. It was onwards and always upwards right after breakfast with a full stomach is challenging to climb up and up and up! It was a steady climb, the path in places clinging to the side of a steep slope. B-1 commented that it looked like…
Trek Day 3- Exploring Khumjung and Khunde
Climb up to Everest View Hotel Today is a ‘rest day’, we are staying in Namche for another night to help with our acclimatization. So far everyone is feeling great with no headaches or altitude sickness. So on our ‘rest day’ we hiked up another 1300 feet to The Hotel Everest View situated at 12,400…
Trek Day 2 – Monjo to Namche Bazaar
April 18th…Avalanche at Everest Base Camp was the news of the morning. At 6:30am an avalanche swept down between Base Camp and Camp 1 killing 16 Sherpas in its path. The worst tragedy in Everest’s history. We had to continue our hike but we did not know if Kevin, Brad and Ake would be able…
Trek Day 1-Lukla to Monju
April 17th. Our Epic Trek begins, flying from Kathmandu to Lukla, where most people start their trek to Everest Base Camp and to the summit. At the Kathmandu Airport we boarded a small plane with single rows of seats on either side, and we were told to sit on the left side for the best…
Kathmandu, Nepal
Kathmandu is the capitol and largest urban agglomerate of Nepal. Kathmandu metropolis alone has 5.2 million inhabitants. The streets were crowded with bikers, autos, buses and pedestrians hurrying to-n-fro in all directions. The city stands at an elevation of approximately 4,600 ft. in the bowl shaped Kathmandu Valley of central Nepal. Kathmandu is the gateway…
Trip to Nepal
Sunday, April 13th, the day has arrived when we leave for Nepal to hike to Everest Base Camp while Kevin continues his journey to summit Mt Everest. Bob and I leave Santee around 9am and drive the rental car into Del Mar to pick up Kevin and his four bags of gear. We had to…
Painted and Ladder Canyons, Mecca CA
On Wednesday, March 26th, after saying farewell to Rick and Lynn Hannay, the four of us, Bob, Ralph and Dawn White and myself, climbed into the jeep and headed out on another hike to Mecca Hills and the Painted Canyon. We arrived at the end of a dirt road to the trailhead around noon and…
Indian Canyons, Palm Springs CA
On March 23 we joined Ralph and Dawn White along with Bob Ogilvie to spend a day hiking in the Indian Canyons area. As early as the 1890’s Palm Springs and the surrounding area have been described as a recreation oasis, the Indian Canyons are listed in the National Register Historic Places. Palm Canyon the…