Everets Base Camp

December 30, 2018 and we were finally headed to Everest Base Camp!!!!! We started off early in the morning and hiked to Gorakshep. The elevation in Gorakshep is almost 17,000ft. It was 2.3 miles from Lobuche and 1000 ft higher elevation.

We hiked all morning and the going was SLOW! The air was thin and it was all uphill. Our bodies were working really hard.

The hike felt very grueling. this was the longest and hardest stretch of hiking for me the entire trip. I was so happy when we finally came over a small ridge and could see Gorakshep.

This is where we would have lunch, leave a lot of our stuff before heading to Base Camp and then return to sleep. It was nice to be able to get out of the wind and have lunch.

 My appetite still wasn't great but I did get some calories in me before we set off for Base Camp. We still had 2.5 miles to hike from Gorakshep to base camp. We were also going to climb another 1,00ft at least in elevation. The good news is that this section of hiking was easier than what we did in the morning. It wasn't very steep and we just kind of trudged along. It still took us almost 3 hours to get to Base Camp and so we weren't hiking fast.

We finally got up on a ridge and could see Everest again. It had been a few days since we had been alble to see the mountain. This is the best view of Everest on our hike!

From this shot you can Everest and then down below the Khumba icefall and glacier. The Khumba glacier is ginormous.

 It is crazy to have a goal to go someplace and to be very close to that goal.

 I was so excited when we could finally see base camp. Did you know you actually have to climb down to base camp? I was not expecting that. It was so exciting to see our final goal.

FYI you can't see Everest from Base Camp. I knew this going in so I wasn't disappointed.

 There were lots of prayer flags and writings on rocks.

If we went during the season when people summit our guide said there would be over 1,000 tents set up in base camp. I don't know how they set up tents there. The terrain is crazy. It made me really happy I was headed back to Gorakshep to sleep in a bed for the night.

Our entire hiking crew made it to base camp. Pretty awesome.

 A few more pictures because it is Everest Base Camp!!!!It would be hard to describe how rugged the terrain is. I don't feel like the pictures quite do it justice.

 The ice field looked so dangerous.

 I tried to take a jumping picture but my feet weren't off the ground in any of them. Not even a little bit.

I brought a pack that I had never used before. The Osprey Kyte 36 liters. It had great reviews but that is always a little scary. The pack was AMAZING!!!! I seriously loved it and would recommend it to anyone.

Saying peace out to Base Camp. Just like that you get to mark off a trip you have wanted to do for years. Also a trip that you have slowly acquired gear and spent hours researching the gear and the hike, purchasing the gear (a little every month so you don't break the bank), hiking a ton so that you are in shape, selling a ton of crap to purchase gear and pay for the trip. It was a ton of planning and it was over so fast. I am so glad I went!

Heading back to Gorakshep. The hike back was all downhill and much easier.

 Our little room for the night.

Our tea house had quite a few people which really made it fun. They also did a better job of keeping the fire going so it was a little bit warmer

It was definitely the coldest night on the trek. It was so cold I really wanted to have my face covered while I slept. I couldn't do it though. My teeth hurt it was so cold. We also woke up to ice on top of our sleeping bags. It was the only night that I felt a little cold in my bag. Not horrible but I just wasn't as cozy as the other nights. I also noticed that I didn't sleep very well at this altitude, which is common. My oxygen saturation also dropped the lowest it was on the entire trip 81%. That is still really good for being close to 17,000 ft but I could definitely feel it when moving around.