A day in the life of the EBC trail

After packing up your duffels and backpacks, you head to breakfast. (You leave your duffel outside your room for a Sherpa to retrieve.) You find the rest of your team waiting in the toasty-warm dining room. Settling in, you order an omelette and Tibetan bread with honey and butter. Amazing!

Your team convenes outside as the yak man finishes securing all the duffel bags to his yaks’ backs. After a quick pep talk and, perhaps, a team prayer, your team of 10 trekkers sets out into the crisp morning air. Small children wave as you pass their homes, yelling “Namaste!” at you with ruddy, smiling faces.

You’ve spent the last 90 minutes hiking at a leisurly pace up one ridge and down the other, crossing the river several times via suspension bridges, and you’re grateful for a pit stop. Everyone drops their packs and finds a comfortable rock to sit on beside the roaring Dudh Kosi River, breaking out water bottles, trail mixes, and energy bars. The group is excited to discuss all the sights they’ve already encountered.

Your guide has already called ahead your lunch orders to the tea house of choice in a picturesque village. It’s a beautiful sunny day, nearly 60 degrees F, so the group chooses to eat outside on the patio. Only a few minutes after the group is seated, heaping plates of steaming rice, dal bhat, and vegetables, along with bowls of garlic soup and Tibetan bread, are served by your team of Sherpas. It’s fantastic, but you struggle to finish all of it.

You reach the iconic Hillary Bridge and cross, shooting lots of video and photos of the river rushing far below. At the other side, you begin the 3-hour hike up the formidable Namche Hill through pine trees and rhododendron. This will be one of the most challenging sections of the entire trek.

Whew! You stop at an area where benches have been installed, happy for a respite from the endless switchbacks. More water and snacks. Your guide gathers the group and points through a break in the forest canopy. Far in the distance is a black, triangular peak with a plume of snow hanging motionless at the top — your first view of Mt. Everest!

After the trail finally levels out, you round a bend and are treated with the incredible view of Namche Bazaar, the Sherpa capital, peering down at you from its perch in a bowl-shaped depression in the mountain above.

After a fascinating — but challenging — climb through the terraced, cobblestone “street” of Namche, you finally reach your tea house lodge for the evening. Your team congregates in the dining room and, while room keys are distributed by the Sherpas, you enjoy a well-earned hot lemon tea.

After dumping your gear, changing out of your sweaty trail clothes, and swapping your boots for lightweight sneakers, you and your new buddies head out to explore some of the shops of Namche. You make a mental note to buy some souvenirs here on the way back next week.

Your team gathers again in the dining room and enjoys more rounded plates of dal bhat, momos, and bowls of Sherpa stew. Somebody splurges on fresh-baked brownies from a nearby bakery for dessert. After dinner, your guide gives you a briefing about tomorrow’s activities — what time is wake up and breakfast, what to wear for the weather, how many miles you’ll cover, what interesting things you’ll see, etc.

After socializing and writing in your journal, you head back to your room — your roommate is already snoring — and snuggle deep into your sleeping bag for an amazing night’s sleep at nearly 12K feet!