California Quotidian, II

So it's been nearly two months since I last posted--the Everest trek retrospective--and I thought I'd do an update. The interesting thing is that pageviews for the blog have gone way up since I last posted, more than 5000 a month. Maybe there's a message here....

Anyhow, we're due to leave soon for a 10 day trip to the Sandwich Islands, first Kauai--"Return to Rooster Island"--and then on to Maui, a place new to us. Then we'll be "home for the holidays."

Of course most of our quotidian is with grand-daughter

Penelope, now a lively 7-month-old; in our 4 months with her

she has learned to sit up, roll-over, crawl, pull herself up on

anything within her grasp, and cruise; she seems to enjoy

nothing so much as being walked around the apartment,

taking everything in; although she smiles abundantly and

squeals with delight, she has yet to laugh, except on the most

isolated and inexplicable occasions; I have tried everything...

Her first holiday season began with Halloween;

she is, I believe, a frog; here she is with her

Mom, dressed up as Minerva McGonagall

The Castilleja staff is really into Harry Poppins

We have been up to "the city" several times, for concerts of

the San Francisco Symphony and also a performance by the

San Francisco Opera of Carmen, a gift from Rebecca, which

I much enjoyed

The holidays continued with Bob and Beth's visit and

Thanksgiving dinner at Rebecca and Jeremy's

You wouldn't believe what a well-behaved little

pre-toddler she is, sitting through the lengthy

holiday meals with nothing but smiles

It helps that she and her mom are exponents of "baby-led

weaning" and she loves to sit at the big table and munch along

with the grown-ups; at this age, at least, she is quite fond of

broccoli; broccoli clumps have convenient handles for tiny

fingers...

Early in December Vicki's sister Marie and husband Norm

came to visit; one of our trips was down the coast from Half

Moon Bay to the boardwalk at Santa Cruz

And on down the Big Sur to Nepenthe

And, another day, the Stanford campus, and

the Hoover Tower, where I gained new

appreciation for Herbert Hoover; a man of

his compassion could never be a Republican

these days; but then neither could Abraham

Lincoln...nor Ronald Reagan, for that matter

One view from the Tower of the sprawling 8200 acre Stanford

campus

Looking north to "the city"; our little cottage is actually just a

few blocks from the tower center-right

Everest Trek Out-Takes, 4

And now, the exciting conclusion of Everest Trek Out-Takes...

Over-all, the trail is really quite good, stepped in many
places; it has been used for centuries and even now is the
main route of supply for the Khumbu, tread by trekkers and
tourists, but also by villagers and hundreds of porters, yaks,
zopkios, and even a few horses; there is no wheeled travel,
however; the only wheels you see after Namche Bazaar are
prayer wheels

And much of it is lined with culture; Mingma, our Sherpa
guide, had excellent English, kept us safe and well-
informed, and answered all our many questions about
the land, its people, religions, customs, history, flora, fauna,
and much more

Back finally in Namche Bazaar, in time for its weekly market

Why you don't want to order yak or beef above Namche...

And why you don't want to fly in to Namche; the place is
a graveyard of aircraft, including this Russian helicopter,
in which a couple dozen people died

And then there is the on-going Tibetan market, goods
hauled over the Nangpa La, the route to Tibet, with a
21,000 foot pass; Chinese customs folk evidently look
the other way (or are avoided) and the prices are pretty
good (we surmised)

A trader's tent in the Tibetan market; note solar panel

So after a few days' rest in Namche, at the Hotel Norling
(a guest-house), warmth, hot showers (our first in weeks),
some better food, and even some beer, we continued on
to Lukla and the flight back to Kat

Khanza, our porter; we hope we treated him with dignity
and generosity

Vicki and Mingma at the Lukla airport, Vicki sporting her
trophy Everest pashmina

We flew out stand-by and had a few hours' opportunity to
observe landings and take-offs and bolster our confidence

Typically terraced terrain between Lukla and Kathmandu

And so there we are, back in the comfort of the Gokarna
Forest Sheraton, outside Kat, tired, hurting, but pleased
and proud of doing our Everest trek

Everest Trek Out-Takes, 3

Continuing the series...

Trail toward Thukla, memorial cairns and shrines all around

At Lobuche, the inn was full, and we ended up spending
the night in this (rented) tent, literally in the yak corral; a
cold and sleepless night, with the yak bells jingling all
night long

In the guest-house/restaurant at Lobuche we found a large
and friendly French party, enjoying pastis, cheese and
sausage--national honor to uphold--before ordering the
rather bland local fare

Speaking of which: click to enlarge and see a representative
guest-house menu (from a favorite, Mr. T's Yak Lodge in
Thukla)

Ditto; I ate a lot of dahl bhat during those 3 weeks, plus
eggs, toast and frites; Vicki would try the "pizza" and
"spaghetti" and such things, inevitably to be disappointed;
"pizza" =a round of flat bread, drizzled with catsup and
sprinkled with cheese flakes of uncertain origin, served
warm; lots and lots of tea, and no alcohol...but it works
and is do-able, especially after you learn the routine and
remember to use your Steri-Pen liberally

We did it! After Thukla and Lobuche comes
Gorak Shep, at 18,000 feet, and the trudge up
a ridge of Pumori to the place known as Kala
Pattar, the closest you can get to see Everest
without being on it; the mountain has been
hidden from view since Tengboche and can
not be seen from either Gorak Shep or the
base camp...

But then, as you trudge up Kala Pattar, it's
suddenly in your face, still 3 miles away and
two vertical miles up; you are just as close to
Lhotse and Nuptse and Pumori and other
giants, but this is the view you can't take
your eyes off

Closer up

Vicki plants a few prayer flags (and brought
a few back to adorn our RV and now our
cottage)

But then there's the way back down, first to Gorak Shep,
where it was 32 degrees inside the guest-house when we
left for Kala Pattar at 6 AM; and then more than a week
walking back to Lukla; by this time Vicki was sick, I had
already been sick but mostly recovered; at least on the
walk down you don't have to take acclimatization days, and
it's mostly down-hill

A few days later we were back in Tengboche, having dinner
with two American climbers headed up, when there was a
commotion in the dining room, everyone grabbing his or
her camera and rushing out the door; it had been a cloudy
day--our first on the trek--but then there was a hole in the
clouds and beautiful alpineglow on Everest, an unforgettable
sight

Everest Trek Out-Takes, 2

The trail above Namche, with Everest in view

Basic signage; our guide, Mingma Tshirng Sherpa, knew the
way, and much more; and had a cousin in every village

Entering legendary Tengboche

With more views of the mountain and

The famous monastery

Dazzling interior

On up the trail, House of Elrond

Water-driven prayer wheel; not sure of the theological
ramifications...

Ancient mani stones all along the way

For several days, Ama Dablam, regarded by some as the
most beautiful of mountains, dominates the view

Closer up 

Closer up still; 22,349 feet

Another guest-house room, in Pangboche 

Yak patties drying in the sun; major source of fuel at this
altitude, now getting over 14,000 feet

Not one of the more impressive bridges

The acclimatization program requires that you stop and, um,
acclimatize, every thousand feet or so, taking a day off;
here Vicki does the week's wash; we learned the next
morning the importance of taking the clothes off the line
and indoors before night-fall...

In the restaurant/communal room of yet another guest-
house, higher-up still, at Dingboche, as I recall