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Lukla
2850 m
- Chhutanga
3050 m
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day
4 : 21 october 2003
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| alpine glow | ||||
| as seen from our campsite at Lukla, the rising sun casts a brilliant orange alpine glow on the Kwangde (6187 m) range | ||||
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| tent city | ||||
| camping on the lawn of Numbur Hotel just next to the Lukla airstrip with a great view to Kariolung (6511 m) and Kwangde (6187 m) Peaks | ||||
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| our journey begins | ||||
| the trail to Chhutanga starts from just outside the Lukla airport terminal building and heads into mountains in a southeastern direction | ||||
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| porters | ||||
| Mera Peak being the second most popular trekking peak in the Khumbu, the trail to Chhutanga see quite heavy traffic during the trekking seasons | ||||
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| stepping stones | ||||
| Germaine negotiating the boulders at our first river crossing point | ||||
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| steady pace | ||||
| still unacclimatised to the thin atmosphere, the team kept a slow but steady pace up the gradual slopes | ||||
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| milking | ||||
| passing a number of tea huts along the way, this young lady was milking a cow at one of such tea huts | ||||
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| field kitchen | ||||
| a whole new dimension to lunching on the trail... a field kitchen was established along the route just to prepare our lunch | ||||
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| picturesque lunch | ||||
| the view of where we had lunch along the trail... just next to a picturesque stream with a small waterfall | ||||
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| wild berries | ||||
| wild raspberries grow in proliferation here | ||||
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| balance | ||||
| a difficult balancing feat as porters with heavy loads cross on rickety bridges across the streams | ||||
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| relentless slopes | ||||
| from beyond our lunch point, the trail climbs steeper up the mountain side | ||||
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| blue beauty | ||||
| beautiful sub-alpine flora is a visual feast for those who care to admire | ||||
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| monochrome | ||||
| it was a dull overcastted day with sunlight piercing through pockets in the thick gray clouds | ||||
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| settling in | ||||
| it was a short first trekking day for us as we arrived at Chhutanga in the early afternoon with much time to settle in | ||||
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| porters' kitchen | ||||
| the porters cook their own simple meal away from the main campsite using firewood gathered from the forest | ||||
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| ropework | ||||
| while resting, this porter repairs his ropes used for securing our bags together | ||||
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