Phakding to Namche

Today is Tuesday and our plan is to make the trek from Phakding to Namche.  This turns out to be a pretty good walk with a few thousand feed of elevation gain.  We're taking our time with a steady pace because the goal is for everyone to stay healthy during every step of the journey.  At times, it takes a little self control to not open it up for a while but restraint is a better choice and I use the slow pace to soak up the scenery.

River crossings are a bit lively on these cable bridges which are shared by humans and animals alike.  I haven't mentioned the trail stock yet but in addition to the human porters, much freight is transported by mules, cows and eventually yaks further up the valley.  Driven by their handlers, the animals number from 4 or 5 to as many as a dozen or more.  Being large beasts on a narrow trail, they have the obvious advantage and therefore the right of way.  Many times we move over on the high side and let them pass while we pull up our buffs (neck gaiters) to cover our mouths and noses from the dust.

So back to the bridges now.  The crossings are easily 200-300 feet from shore to shore and the highest one today was at least 250 ft above the river below.  Supported by a pair of 1.25" diameter cables with mesh fencing on the sides and metal planks on the bottom, they look quite substantial.  It's only when you're a third of the way or so across that you get the full experience which includes bouncing and swaying of the entire affair as our team and others make their way.  The most important strategy is to be sure that no animals will be coming up behind you or worse yet from the opposite direction as you cross.  We were lucky today in our timing and I cannot imagine the trapped feeling one would have being halfway across when a dozen animals each weighing 600# or more enter from the opposite side.

The last couple of miles into Namche are fairly steep and we pull into town in mid afternoon feeling well exercised and ready for a rest.  This town is the historical trading center of the Khumbu valley and is much larger than others we've passed through so far.  Filled with hotels and shops of all shapes and sizes, it's a good place to rest and acclimatize for a few days.

After tea, we gather our duffels and settle into our closet-sized rooms.  We had the luxury of a shower facility in the hotels to wash the trail and mule dung dust off of us.  After that was a quick exploration of the local shops to see what the town had to offer.  Namche has an energetic feel with lots of climbers and trekkers mixing with the locals.  We look forward to finding a few bargains before moving on up the valley.  At the top of the list is an inexpensive rug to make my base camp tent more homey.