These Feet Don't Stop: Trek Day 1: Lukla to Phakding

Sonia here posting for Sarah again...here's her notes from her journal and pics she was able to send...enjoy!

Nov 7, 2021 Phakding

Yesterday was our first day of hiking. It was about 5 miles, and took us 3.5 hours. The group is starting to find a grove together but it will get smoother as we get our pace down today.

Yesterday was actually great for my heart and my body is still catching up from all the travel. Still felt pretty wiped out and knew I needed sleep. I also knew sleeping at altitude would be tough on my body, so I started taking the altitude meds to hopefully help. IT WORKED!! I slept 8 hours and 50 minutes. My pulse ox was about 85% in my sleep but I didn't wake up much at all. Our rooms last night had no heat and we don't expect we'll have it going forward. Lots of layers and prep for this so it'll be fine, but eleven more nights out in it I expect to start wearing on me at some point...mental game for sure!

On the trek yesterday we crossed our first suspension bridge!

Some peeks at our first mountain views:

Along with that we caught a few signs along the way making sure we didn't take a wrong turn...haha. Our guides are capable & know how to get all of us to base camp.

Along the path we see many porters. Note how they carry the weight on their head. It's crazy how much they can carry!!

We also passed a lot of mani (prayer) stones and prayer wheels. I try to give them a spin when I walk past.

We also passed multiple monuments that always had colorful artwork.

I also noticed how paint cans are used for plants. Guessing it's a "use what you got" kinda thing...

We passed a little girl outside a shop along the route. Her name was Tulasha. She asked where we were from and where we were going. She is 11 years old....which is the average age girls are when they are sold.

I tried to keep my eyes open for people along the route and this woman caught my eye. I think she was smashing/pounding something in the bowl.

Saving the best for last...

Here's me with a bunch of kids who kept giving me flowers. They just kept running back and forth and bringing them to me.

Lastly, we passed this group of kids playing...

I stopped the video and took a series of pics of the little girl. The entire moment will forever sit in my heart...after the last picture we exchanged "namaste" and bowed at each other then went our own ways.