Karen Marya

11/7/2015
Lukla: 2860m/9350 ft.
TokTok: 2600m/8700 ft
9.7km, 6.2 miles, 5hours hike time

Terrain: The trail rolls up and down on a gentle overall decline. A good first day to stretch your legs and work out the kinks. Lots of stairs. Quite crowded with people and animals.

After a quick day and night back in Kathmandu to organize and purchase any last minute items (Thanks to my inability to bargain I now own a pair of outrageously priced trekking poles) we took the 40-minute flight from Kathmandu to Lukla this morning to start our adventure!

The street and shops near our hotel in Kathmandu

Back in Kathmandu we also switched into “expedition mode” with a planning session from our American guide Ryan Waters. Ryan is a record-setting explorer who’s climbed a zillion mountains and been up Everest four times, summiting three. He was the first American to complete the Adventurers Grand Slam, reaching both poles and all seven summits. He owns Mountain Professionals guide company based in Boulder, and is an all around world-class guy. He’s probably also exhausted, since he came straight here from guiding a team up Carstenez Pyramid in Indonesia, but he’s so laid back you’d never be able to tell. Continue reading →