We were up at 4 AM in the Yak and Yeti Hotel and we were packing. By 5:30 the team was at the Kathmandu airport and ready for some "hurry up and wait". The wait wasn't so long though, on this morning, before we were riding a little shuttle to our plane while watching the sunrise. We boarded the twin prop Dornier and took off in cloudless but smoky skies. Once through the thick smog layer it was possible to see a row of giant and jagged peaks out the port side windows. After a quick 30 minutes, the plane was in a steep descent toward the tilted Tarmac of Lukla airstrip. The landing was fast, flawless and loud as the pitch of the props was reversed to brake the plane. Within just a few moments we were out of the hectic 9,200-feet airport and in the quiet comfort of a tea house. The 2013 RMI Everest Expedition took its first steps at around 8:30 as we set off in perfect weather. The team only needed one rest along the way as we traveled through small farms and villages. The rock walls of our valley soared above and we could see a handful of glacier covered sharp summits floating over everything. "Traffic" was light on the trails - we leap-frogged a couple of teams we happened to know for a while, but for the last hour or so we had things pretty much to ourselves and could enjoy the quiet of the forest and the turbulence of the river. Shortly after noon Dan, James, Mark, Seth and myself, along with our Sirdar Lam Babu, pulled into Jo's Garden in the northern suburbs of Phakding. We lunched, we napped, we ate again and now we are retiring to the rooms for the night, ready to complete the transition from airports and jet lagged city life to mountains and rivers and valleys and walking. Best, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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