This is a first-person vlog transcript of day 2 of an Everest Base Camp trek (Phakding/Pak Dinh → Namche Bazaar) by Nate and Kara Buchanan. They describe starting at about 7:45, a long 6–7 hour day with ~900 m elevation gain, multiple large swinging bridges (several crossings, one noted ~300 m above the river), a lunch stop around 10:15, and an afternoon push of ~3 hours gaining ~500 m to reach Namche Bazaar, where they stay in a tea house and visit a bakery.
Chapters
Foreign.
We got apple porridge, which I think is like cocaine.
I got mu salai with some apples and a glass of hot milk that I'm supposed to pour on.
It's about 7:45 and we are starting day two of the trek today. We're hiking from Pak Dinh to Namche. It's a six to seven hour trek, which is one of the longest treks of the trip. And we're going to be gaining about 900 meters in elevation. So big day today.
Namche Bazaar is like one of the biggest cities or villages of the whole mountain area, which is crazy because we're gonna be like 10 hours into the mountain.
But we're still feeling good.
Thankfully it's a big city because we still need to get money out of the atm because I just gave away my last rupee to pay for dinner last night and I need a pair of trekking pants or my legs are gonna be really col.
We are crossing our first of four large swinging bridges today. And we have maybe by the end, like 20 mules on the bridge with us.
We've been on the trail for like 20 minutes. Didn't take long to warm up.
There's so many layers back on the trail.
All these blue buckets on the mules carry the kerosene up the mountain and now they're empty and they're taking them back down. Although it doesn't look like they're going down right now. So Nam was just telling us that this house used to be like twice as long and the entire back half collapsed during the earthquake. And now they've just like put up a temporary shed.
Once again, not exactly sure what's happening. Some kind of permits. So Nam's taking care of it for us.
These guys are making the stones that built this tea house.
That's insane.
Finally gaining a little bit of elevation. Just came from that bridge down there.
Feeling good, feeling strong.
That was a lot of stairs.
Kara and I actually weighed ourselves before we started trekking because we wanted to see if we lost weight while we were trekking. How much did you weigh?
57.4.
So Kara weighed 57. I think I weighed maybe 64. 67. I can't remember. Basically, some of the porters are carrying as much weight as two of us as both of us combined on their back. That's insane.
This is where we're stopping for lunch. It's about 10, 15. So we've only been hiking for about two and a half hours. But I'm starving.
Not a bad spot to stop for Lunch.
Not a bad lunch. Look at this.
Nate couldn't get enough of his potatoes last night, so he got more potatoes.
Curried potatoes that came with our doll bot last night were like the greatest thing ever. So today I ordered mixed potatoes, which is fried potatoes, cheese, egg, and veggies. Don't think I'll be going hungry.
When can you eat a plate of potatoes this big and not feel bad about yourself? Today is the answer. It took about an hour for lunch, and now we are getting back on the trail. This afternoon we have a three hour hike to Namche. We'll be gaining about 500 meters in elevation. Supposed to be the toughest part of the trek yet.
So before we left for the trip, I bought this big solar panel. Had no clue if it was gonna work. Fits perfectly on my backpack. So it's not very sunny right now, but it was sunny this morning. And the solar panel is collecting the energy and then it's going into this power bank. And this power bank has USB ports on both sides.
So that we can charge our phone and our camera battery and anything else that fits a USB port. That's a plug plan. It seems to be working pretty well so far, which I'm excited about. That means we should have vlogs for the majority of the trip as long as Kara can stay awake. Dead at them.
We're about to cross our fifth and final bridge. There's two here. We'll be crossing above the top one, which is 300 meters above the river.
This is definitely the steepest part of the trick that we've encountered yet. I am big time regretting putting on this sweater.
Kara, how you doing? I'm good. Can't stop. Don't stop.
Can't lose the momentum.
Don't do it. Just when you start to think it's hard, one of these guys reminds you that you're a big weenie.
Check this out. Whoa.
You can see the tiny ants walking somewhere in here. That's where we were about 30 minutes ago. And that's the bridge we crossed.
We've come up very quickly.
Yep. Only trekking thousands and thousands of meters to go. So Nam tells us that if this was a clear day, we'd be able to see Everest right through those trees. But it's not. The clouds have rolled in this afternoon. Even a little bit of rain.
Bummer.
This is a big hill. Yeah, I guess it's not a hill, It's a mountain. No.
Glad to see a smile.
Still smiling?
Yes.
Hurting a little bit. Sweating a little bit. That's so heavy.
Good.
That's not raining on us.
Yeah, I'm gonna die trip over one of these things.
We're about two hours into our trek. After lunch, this is where probably doing some type of cardio training would have been a good idea before the trip.
One too many Tim Tam slams in New Zealand. Feeling it a little bit.
Just coming into the town of Namche. The fog has settled pretty thickly, and it is getting really cold. I think a lot of that has to do with all the sweat that's freezing on me currently. This is looking promising for me, being able to find a new pair of hiking pants.
I'd last about two seconds in those, and they'd be so dehydrated, they'd have to take me off the mountain. That's not good.
We're in big trouble.
We made it just in time because now it's raining, which means tomorrow sky's gonna be clear and all the dust is gonna be settled. And if it rains enough, there might be snow on base camp.
This is the tea house that we're staying at tonight. Hotel Namche. Thank you. Oh, it smells fantastic.
We just changed into some warmer clothes, and now we're gonna go take part in a Nepalese tradition.
Tea time at the bakery.
I don't know what's at the bakery, but a bakery sounds fantastic right now.
And it's on the roof right over there.
Yum.
I'm so in love with this bakery. Chocolate carrot cake and the cappuccinos on the way. This is the best way to end well, politically, I.
In many respects, the people of Nepal.
It'S as good as it looks of Democrats.
Better than a lung.
Melting.
You know? Recognize that I perceive it to be very political.
Not only is it not Nescafe instant coffee, it's really, really.
Did not expect to have stuff like this on our train.
When we first got here, like, two and a half hours ago, we couldn't see anything in the surrounding areas. I had no idea. There are mountains all around us now.
Look at it.
So many mountains.
Look at the snow on that one.
So cool. I'm so happy it cleared up and it only rained for, like, two seconds.
Traffic jam in the street of Namche.
Why are you just laying in the middle of the street? Can I touch your horn? Yeah. Oh, no. Okay.
