It rained for a good chunk of the night, but things were not too bad when we got underway at 8:20 am this morning. It is always tough to leave Phakding with all the flowers in bloom. But we had a mission: enter Sagarmatha National Park and get up to Namche. Before we reached the park entrance, it began to rain on us, but it never got too bad. Just a little soggy. We took a deluxe lunch break in the village of Monjo, and things dried up a little while we were inside. Then we got busy with the big Namche hill. We have already gone uphill plenty in these two days, but the Namche Hill is different. About 2.5 hours of steady climbing. The team crushed it though and we were pulling into the amphitheater-like town of Namche at about 4:15. Now we are getting used to life at 11,400 ft -a task made far easier by the comfort of Camp De Base, our “tea house” for the next two nights. 
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

The day worked out spectacularly.  We had to get up pretty early, of course -we left the hotel at 4:30 AM- but the upside to that was there wasn’t much traffic. We were out to the airport in no time, and then it was a little crowded and busy pushing bags through x ray machines and working our way through various lines.  We had just a little bit of waiting and wondering whether the flight would go  -it isn’t uncommon for travel to Lukla to be snarled and delayed by weather- but then we got the call and headed out to our plane.  We filed into the Twin Otter and strapped in for liftoff at 7:45.  Before long the plane was up above the clouds and giant Himalayan peaks were marching past the port side windows.  We could pick out Mt Everest looming on the horizon. By 8:15 the pilots had us safely touching down on the tilted runway at Lukla.  It turned out that all of our baggage had made the flight as well (which doesn’t always happen). We were in business.  And we had earned some good coffee and breakfast.  We took a little time to eat and get organized and at 10:30 we set out walking.  Downhill at first, we’d landed at 9200 ft, but eventually we did a little climbing as well.  We were passing through small farms and villages and dodging porters and pack animals.  In just over three hours and about five miles, we pulled into Phakding and our comfortable Tea House on the Bhote Khosi river. 
This left us plenty of time to relax through the afternoon and evening.  Turns out that tomorrow is another big and important day in a beautiful place. 

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

PC: Dave Hahn

Tuesday, October 1, 2024 - 8:42 am PT

This was a busy and important day for our trekking team.  We started out with a discussion of our planned itinerary and strategies for success.  We then embarked upon a few hours of tourism.  Nraj took us to the scenic and significant “monkey temple” and to the giant Bodinath Stupa.  He explained how Buddhism and Hinduism exist side by side in Nepal and recited the long history of settlement and development of the Kathmandu valley.  He took us to a painting school where we learned how the iconic and exquisitely detailed mandala tankas are produced.  We were back to the hotel by mid afternoon and then got into full on preparation for trekking.  Equipment checks were performed and the final packing commenced.  The team ate an early dinner and then headed for the rooms early as well.  We intend to get up before dawn and be out at the airport, ready to fly at first light.  We’ll need good luck, weatherwise, to allow safe air travel through the biggest mountains on the planet.  But this seems like a lucky team. 

Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

September 30, 2024 - 7:52 am PT

Step one… get to Kathmandu.  Job done!  Our Gokyo Trek Team came together today, half a planet away from home.  As we were leaving home several days ago, Nepal was in the news for horrific monsoon flooding -news which we each monitored as we came through the airports on the way.  It was quite a pleasant surprise to have big, clear views of the Himalaya when we landed on a sunny, dry day in Kathmandu.   Obviously, we’ll hope that the monsoon continues to fade.  But the first order of business wasn’t fretting about the weather… it was getting a little rest and trying to adjust to all the time zone shifts.  We then had our initial team meeting in the lobby of the classic Yak and Yeti Hotel.  After a few introductions we ventured out into the crazy traffic of Kathmandu.  The seven of us managed to survive crossing ten minutes worth of wrong way traffic and torn up sidewalks to get to the tranquil rooftop Mezze restaurant for a relaxed dinner. 
Tomorrow we’ll get a little more into just how a trek through high mountains works, but for today -just getting here was plenty. 

Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn