Day 4: Namche

Hiking time: 5-6 hours
Difficulty Level: Moderate

Happy Birthday, George! ~ The Beyond Team
We’ll follow the Dudh Kosi, ascending 2,300 ft./700 m through Himalayan pine and Doedar cedar forests, to the celebrated village of Namche Bazaar (11,300ft./3,444 m). The village of Namche is an historic trading post where Nepalese and Tibetan traders exchange salt, dried meat, gold and textiles. Besides being a superb place to shop for traditional crafts, Namche remains the central trading post in the Khumbu, attracting Himalayan and lowland merchants. Our group will spend two days in Namche, affording us the opportunity to acclimate, visit local markets and spend time with friends in town. On the hike, we’ll capture our first glimpses of Everest and neighboring peaks.

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Donkey Kong

We left Sunrise Garden Lodge located in beautiful downtown Phakding, located along the banks of the Dudh Kosi river. The proprietress kept a beautiful garden with many plants and flowers. Lots of donkey and yak caravans passed by. Any yaks that dared to graze on those plants were given a swift and forceful swat and equally stern tongue lashing. She carried a big stick and I have no doubt her grandchildren fear her wrath. We were told that the morning trek would be rolling and after lunch we would learn what we were made of. I quickly learned I was not made of much. Lalit and Sheba quickly noticed and started covering me harder than Gary Payton ever guarded anyone.

Fortunately there were so many donkey and yak trains passing by that I had ample time to slow down and let them pass. That wasn’t enough to help me as Lalit finally ignored my protests and confiscated my day pack. He handed it to Sheba and they safely guided/dragged me the rest of the way. After a super tough day and narrowly missing a few dog fights, we limped into Namche Bazaar about 3:45. Hotel Namche is very nice and definitely picked up my spirits. There are discrepancies in all of our electronic tracking devices, so I am sticking with my iPhone. 9 miles and 133 flights of steps. We started at 8,500 ft and ended at 11,360 feet.

The staff at Hotel Namche are wonderful and after a great meal they dimmed the lights and brought out a birthday cake for ME. Lalit also presented me with a scarf which will bless me in many ways. I need it! The group sang happy birthday to me and then Nate Zuercher sang me a solo happy birthday. Nate cut the cake which was enjoyed by all. Thank you Beyond Adventures for making my birthday special for the 2nd time in 3 years. As I blew out the candles, I wished for better personal performance on the next week of hiking!

-George Youmans

63 and feeling it!