After dinner, a few of us sat around the dining table and I asked, “what was the highlight of your day?” And the answer was “walking through the pine trees in a cloud.” Someone else chimed in that they agreed because “everything seemed very peaceful.”

We had another big day - leaving Namche and heading toward Tengboche. Climbing up to the top of Namche and turning the corner on the trail to views of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam was remarkable. We had intermittent clouds this morning but the mountains continued to peek through as we moved along the trail. This is one of my favorite trekking days because the views are endless. We stopped for as many photos as possible because we knew the clouds would settle in by the afternoon.

Just before lunch, we headed back down a big hill toward the river and lo and behold we saw a large group of Himalayan tahr - a type of mountain goat. They were so curious looking at us looking at them with tilted heads and calm eyes. After lunch, we had two more hours of uphill. Everyone did excellent even as the clouds socked in and it began to snow. Before we knew it we were in Tengboche, dawning all the layers we brought to try to stay warm and dry.

We were able to have a very special blessing by the llama at the monastery and spend some time listening to their afternoon meditations and prayers.

Now, we are all tucked into our sleeping bags with hot water bottles right next to us. We are staying at a beautiful teahouse called Rivendell and being taken such good care of. It was a special day today and we are so thankful for the people of the Khumbu valley opening their hearts and homes.

RMI Guides Jess, Sam, and team