This post features student writing.
Hello everybody!
Today was the second day of our trek and perhaps one of the toughest of our days here in Nepal because of the difficult hikes—but thankfully everyone got through it! Last night there were two different plans for when we’d wake up: if the weather was clear, Chhyamba would knock on our doors at 4:30 AM and we’d hustle to pack our bags and leave to try to see Everest, starting the trek day early, but with the best reward. If, when Chhyamba woke, the sky wasn’t clear, we’d meet for breakfast at 6:30 AM and begin our trekking day.
Sadly the weather wasn’t clear enough to try to see Everest, so we met for an early breakfast of delicious Tibetan bread and then began our journey away from Junbesi to Taksindu. The start of the morning was very tiring because we started off with a very steep uphill portion but everyone was focused and made it through the first two hours of trekking. We reached the viewpoint where we would’ve seen the Top of the World but clouds blocked our view. Everyone was disappointed not to see Everest, but everything happens for a reason. I think there was a reason why we didn’t see it and as our trip continues, we will know why.
As our journey continued on, several unpredictable moments happened, including pouring rain, but those were moments we will never forget. Mimi mentioned how no one will ever forget this day because we are hiking in Nepal while it’s downpouring. That really stuck with me. We can’t know if we’ll ever experience this feeling again, of hiking in the middle of the mountains in Nepal while it’s raining. It’s a memory that will never fade.
We continued walking to our lunch spot. It was difficult, lots of uphills and downhills, but everyone kept their head high and continued walking, despite sore feet and being out of breath. The group, including Tina (our adopted trek dog, Tina Turner), made it to lunch. Tina has been with us two full days now and we consider her our very own Putney pet, and more importantly part of our family. Lunch—rice with potato stew—was delicious and prepared us well for the second half of today’s trek, which was difficult because it was raining a lot and was all uphill. Even though many of us wanted to give up, we encouraged and cheered each other on, keeping the destination in mind and that kept us going. After an hour of uphill trekking, we found a small shop to buy a few snacks and relax. We watched Tina play with a newfound furry friend, our faces lighting up with joy while we watched the two dogs enjoy each other’s company.
A while later, we’d made it to Taksindu. Someone mentioned that arriving in Taksindu was as if we’d just arrived in heaven—that’s how beautiful it is here and how happy we all are. We relaxed in the evening and learned more about Buddha. It was a very fun night because we were all happy to have the tough day of hiking behind us and a delicious dinner of fried noodles and egg in front of us. We played cards and Heads Up and laughed a lot. The day ended on a very high note, spending time with each other and getting excited for tomorrow’s day of rest and exploring the monastery area here in Taksindu.
— Anna
