Namche Bazaar to Pangboche

Ramesh knocked on our door at 0430 this morning. Time to jump into our clothes and make the early morning hike up to the viewpoint we visited yesterday.

I had a restless night so opted to pass on the early morning climb in favor of letting my body get a little more rest.

It turned out to be a mostly clear morning with good views of the surrounding peaks. Mr Everest was visible but a long way off yet.

We left Namche at 0830, climbing up to 11,500 feet before starting our descent to another river.   At 10,500 feet we crossed the river and stopped for lunch. Russ making slow progress today. 

When the clouds clear, there are huge peaks seemingly near enough to touch.

We saw another remarkable load, this one consisted of pine timbers, approx 3"x4"x11'. I estimated his load at 250 pounds. He had trouble making some of the switchbacks on the trail. 

Farther along we encountered a bunch of curious mountain goats observing our progress. 

The wild blue iris are just beginning to bloom. 

In a wet spot on the trail, we saw the elusive Nepali pheasant, Daphne. The cock flew off when I approached but the three hens let me take this photo. One is far left center the other two are showing their trails on the right side toward the bottom.

After lunch we climbed up the mountainside through more rhododendron forest, from 10,500 feet at lunch to 12,300 at our hotel in Pangboche. It was a tough climb and Russ was making heavy going.

 Russ and I arrived in Pangboche at 1730 and 12,320 feet.