DAY 4: Our Trek Begins !!

Date: 27th March, 2014.

I was rudely awakened at 06:03 am. Some of the other Trekkers staying at the guest house were up early and caused quite a racket to the detriment of the other lodgers. My 06:30 alarm hadn’t gone off yet, so I stayed in bed, falling in and out of sleep with the noises of the awakening town of Jiri.

After performing our washroom duties and repacking our kit bag, we went up to the designated dining area at 07:30 for a breakfast of porridge, with honey or jam. I decided to have an omelet as well.

Dorje then introduced us to our porter, Bhir Waji (lives in Lukla). He will be carrying our kit bags alongside us on the trek.  He took our kit bags to the outside verandah and started tying them together with rope, along with his own bag.

Today is the day our long trek formally begins. At 9:15, we were all ready to set off from Jiri to Everest Base Camp. After a few photos and farewells, we started our journey at 09:24.

Along the way, we stopped to purchase some toilet rolls and a power extension lead, so we could charge all our gadgets and batteries simultaneously wherever there was electricity available.

The first 15-20 minutes at the start of any trek always seem hard. The body is not quite sure how long or intense the activity is going to be. It first uses up readily available energy (glycogen) stored in the muscles. When this

runs out, you start feeling tired. As the activity continues, the body starts to use carbohydrate energy sources stored around the body. As the intense activity continues, it eventually switches to burning fat and converting it to energy,  making it more readily available to the muscles for prolonged  use. 

 Our trek started off at an ascent as we made our way out of the valley in which Jiri (1,909m) is located. Along the route we passed the Jiri Hospital and several homesteads and villages surrounded by wheat fields.  

As we headed higher, into more open space we could see helicopters flying out of the valley, having taken off from Jiri. The red helicopter is operated by the Nepalese Emergency Service which frequently flys between Lukla and the Jiri Hospital, attending to medical emergencies. The white helicopter delivers supplies to Lukla. There are currently no roads to Lukla, so goods have to be flown in. 

We made our first rest stop after 30 minutes at a teahouse. A playful little goat kid challenged me to a 'head butt' duel. I put my hands around it's little horns and held my ground as it started to push back at me. It probably figured I was a strong adversary, because it then pissed at me !! To add insult to the injury, it then sneered at me with it's lower lip !! Luckily it only went onto my water repellant trousers so I could wash it off from the running water tap at the Teahouse.

After about two hours, we reached an elevation of 2,414m, at Malidada, before we started our descent to the river valley of Yelung Khola.  From this elevated area we could see the top of the Langdung Himal range (The Himalayas are broken up by name into different ranges for easy identification).

After 90 minutes, we reached the river plain and trekked alongside it for another 45 mins. We crossed the river over a steel wire bridge (they are quite prevalent for crossings rivers in Nepal) and continued towards the town of Shivalaya (1,785m) on the banks of the river Khimti Khola. Crossing the river (over another steel wire bridge), we stopped at the Sherpa Guide lodge in Shivalaya for lunch.

From Shivalaya we began a steep and tiring ascent over rocky terrain towards the town of Deurali (2,742m), where we are to spend the night. The climb was tough going in the hot afternoon sun and seemed to go on forever. We had to stop several times before we arrived at Deurali at 17:30, totally exhausted and weary. The village sits in top on summit of the mountain we had just climbed and as we approached we feel it getting colder as the wind intensified.

At Deurali, we stayed at the Lama Guest House. Kavita and I asked for some masala tea to refresh ourselves after the difficult climb. I then set about purifying our drinking water for the next day, while Kavita had a warm shower to soothe here aching muscles.

Dinner was served at 19:45. We had ordered Daal Bhat (again), with a fried vegetable side. Here in Nepal, you pay one price and they offer you second and third helpings if you want.

I was really exhausted after the lack of proper sleep over the past two days and hoped to get an early night. At 20:45, I headed upstairs to our room (No. 3) and hit the sack. Tomorrow’s trek starts at 08:00 and is going to be just as long and hard as today.

DAY 4: Trekking Technicals:

Start Point: Jiri (1,909m)

End Point: Deurali (2,744m)

Distance: 17.7km

Total Moving Time: 6h 38m

Total Ascent: 1,662m

Total Descent: 854m

Trekking Tip:

Whilst trekking, to minimise the stress on your feet and ankles, it is essential not to pound your feet on the ground as you are walking. Be as light (but firm) footed as possible and let the leg muscles and the grip of your boots do all the work. This helps dissipate the force of the impact throughout the legs, rather than localising it to the feet, which would otherwise hurt after prolonged periods of trekking.