“On a Mish” #130 All Done & Dusted – Adventures in Nepal (Part Nine). The Trail to Lukla. Sulokhumbu. 4.11.2015. A lot of people think hiking for many days in a row is difficult. I find sitting still a more challenging task. The inaugural Active Hearts trekking team had been on the ‘road’ for seven days and now most were very satisfied with the life investment they made by coming with Dan to Nepal. Our legs were now in the swing of things. With only three days left on our feet, we would be in Lukla – finishing our journey where most begin theirs. Our charity quest had been very successful so far and now we were getting close to being all done and dusted…
The idea of hiking towards the world’s most dangerous airport doesn’t sound very appetising, until you know it’s your only way back to ‘civilisation. I’m sure the idea of living out the rest of our days working the rice fields crossed our minds, but we all had whanau waiting for us somewhere in the world so onward we trekked.
From our rather rustic dwelling in the misty mountains a day’s walk from Gurdel Village we had some leg testing terrain to cover. On this day along with plenty of ups and downs we would climb to around 3200m. If we were in Aotearoa the only things above us would be the tips of our highest mountains. Deep breaths and slow steps got us over our final high pass, and as the mist rolled in we arrived at our second to last Teahouse before Lukla.
Here our dinner was delayed due to the fact that they hadn’t captured the chickens yet. Fresh food really is as fresh as it can get in this remote part of the planet!
It was this night that I felt the most jaded and I snuck off to bed much earlier than everyone else for some much needed shut eye.
Right team, two days left, we can do this!
As we crept closer to Lukla the buildings began to become more developed and the benefits of being near the gateway to Mt Everest became obvious. Broken houses with blue tarpaulin roofs became freshly painted rebuilds or even brand new, as was the case with our final night’s accommodation.
The view from the little cabin was unbelievable as, every now and then, a Himalayan giant would appear from the mist. When I woke up on the last day of our trekking adventure I was met with mountain views I will never forget, and our day was going to be walking towards these colossal towers of rock and ice.
The trail traffic increased and we were dodging yaks and shepherds as we wandered on. At one point we at first heard, and then eventually saw, a distant aeroplane. Seeing this metal bird soaring through the sky signified the end of our time in the remote foothills of the Himalaya. The approaching evening was going to be one of celebration, and then early the next day we would take a small walk to board a plane at ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Airport’…
