If I had been a good tourist, I would have started my day going to the Saturday Market in Namche. This is where people from all around the area came to barter goods. I am not sure what I would have bought, but the cultural experience would have been good. Given that I am not a great shopper or even that interested in purchasing goods, I declined, but I could still see the massive gathering of people as I ascended the hill on my way to Thame. This was going to be a side trip today given that I had to let my body acclimatize. I was now over 11,000 feet, so anytime the altitude could start to get to me. So far, I was feeling pretty good.
The path out to Thame was a bit up and down, but relatively speaking there was only a little altitude change of about a 1000 foot climb. The view was great as it ran right next to the river with the usual sketchy bridges to cross. Sometimes I would pass by these monuments with intricate designs just right there in public for everyone to view. I would pass through and then be right back to a semi-wilderness environment. This area was a rough place to try to grow crops, but yet it had been inhabited before the tourists started to pour in. The path was easy to follow and it made for a pretty easy day of just walking with nowhere particular that I needed to go.
So far, the mountains had not shown their heads much. I, of course, could see Ama Dablam and the mountain that was in my view for most of today when I turned around was Thamserku. As I got closer to Thame, they peaked out more with the trail beginning to go more upward. Eventually I could see whole entire ranges of mountains and for the first time I could really feel that I was in the Himalayas. Still, it was a rather lonely day with it just being me to hike with on this day.
I arrived in Thame around 11 AM and really did not know what to do. I was here and I wandered around the town, but it was really quiet, likely because of the Saturday Market in Namche. So I sat down, enjoyed a snack, and took in the view. Thame had these huge mountains that seemed to come right down into town. You could look up and see the terminal moraine of the glaciers of these peaks almost touching the rudely constructed buildings. This place was famous being the birthplace of Tenzing Norgay, one of the first two mountaineers to summit Mt. Everest. It also was home to a school built by the other of the two, Sir Edmund Hillary. Well, I hung out for as long as it seemed interesting, but soon began my trek back down to Namche.
I had been following an itinerary suggested to me by my father. He had spent considerable time here just 3 years before in 2000. It really helped me to stay focused and know what was in store and where to go to maximize my time. I was surprised on my way down when I ran into a gentleman that had the same t-shirt as my father. I found this odd given that my dad does not have a wide variety of t-shirts. I asked him about it and it turned out that this was a t-shirt from the Everest Expedition that my dad was a part of 3 years earlier and when I gave this guy my dad's name, he knew who he was. He told someone else, whose name was Bob Hoffman, the trip leader. I talked to Bob for a little bit and he was just so thankful for all of the work that my dad had done for him. It was interesting to meet him and such a strange coincidence.
When I got back to the place that I was staying, they were staying there also. They told the people running the "teahouse" that my dad was Roger Drake and they showed me the water filter he built and were still using in the restaurant area. Bob introduced me to some other members of the expedition that knew my dad. Everyone was really friendly which was so much different from what I had experienced to this point. All the solo trekkers like me had been super friendly, while all the expedition people had been somewhat standoffish. I guess there is a bit of ego involved when you are here to climb the mountain and when you are here to just enjoy yourself. I guess they sort of included me as one of them after this and everyone was rather friendly. Still, I turned in nice and early given how much altitude can wear you out. The next day I would be up early again, but without a long day of travel.
So far, the mountains had not shown their heads much. I, of course, could see Ama Dablam and the mountain that was in my view for most of today when I turned around was Thamserku. As I got closer to Thame, they peaked out more with the trail beginning to go more upward. Eventually I could see whole entire ranges of mountains and for the first time I could really feel that I was in the Himalayas. Still, it was a rather lonely day with it just being me to hike with on this day.
I arrived in Thame around 11 AM and really did not know what to do. I was here and I wandered around the town, but it was really quiet, likely because of the Saturday Market in Namche. So I sat down, enjoyed a snack, and took in the view. Thame had these huge mountains that seemed to come right down into town. You could look up and see the terminal moraine of the glaciers of these peaks almost touching the rudely constructed buildings. This place was famous being the birthplace of Tenzing Norgay, one of the first two mountaineers to summit Mt. Everest. It also was home to a school built by the other of the two, Sir Edmund Hillary. Well, I hung out for as long as it seemed interesting, but soon began my trek back down to Namche.
I had been following an itinerary suggested to me by my father. He had spent considerable time here just 3 years before in 2000. It really helped me to stay focused and know what was in store and where to go to maximize my time. I was surprised on my way down when I ran into a gentleman that had the same t-shirt as my father. I found this odd given that my dad does not have a wide variety of t-shirts. I asked him about it and it turned out that this was a t-shirt from the Everest Expedition that my dad was a part of 3 years earlier and when I gave this guy my dad's name, he knew who he was. He told someone else, whose name was Bob Hoffman, the trip leader. I talked to Bob for a little bit and he was just so thankful for all of the work that my dad had done for him. It was interesting to meet him and such a strange coincidence.
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