Trekking in Nepal!

So of course it is good to have a plan, but I ended up changing it rather substancially because I was making such good time and was not feeling the affects of altitude thanks to the prescription from Dr. Mendery. I trekked not only to Everst Base Camp, went up to Kala Pattar, then went over Cho La Pass to Gyoko, then hiked up to Gyoko Ri, another good Himilayan Panoramic viewpoint. Brief rundown of what I actually did including heights and times:

Tues 9/8 (1): Fly Kathmandu to Lukla(2840m/9317ft). Trek to Namche(3440m/11,286ft) 10h
Wed 9/9 (2): Acclimization day in Namche
Thurs 9/10 (3): Trek to Tengboche (3860m/12664ft) 4h30m
Fri 9/11 (4): Trek to Dingboche (4410m/14468ft) 4h
Sat 9/12 (5): Acclimization day in Dingboche; Hike Chhukung (4600m/15124ft) 1h30m roundtrip
Sun 9/13 (6): Trek to Lobuche (4910m/16109ft) 3h45m *see body wrapped in a blue tarp tied with rope being carried down on a ladder that was brought down by an avalanche (climber from last season)
Mon 9/14 (7): Trek to Gorak Shep (5180m/16863ft) 2h; Trek to mid Base Camp (5364m/17598ft) 1h15m; Trek to Everst Base Camp with expedition 30m; Trek to Gorak Shep 1h35m *see 4 avalanches!
Tues 9/15 (8): Hike to Kala Pattar (5550m/18208ft) 1h40m up, 40m down
Wed 9/16 (9): Trek to Dzonglha (4830m/15846ft) 3h
Thus 9/17 (10): Trek over Cho La Pass (5368m/17600ft) to Thangnang (4700m/15419ft) 4h50m; Trek to Gyoko (4790m/15715ft) 2h
Fri 9/18 (11): Hike to GyokoRi (5483m/17988ft) 1h45m up, 1h down; Trek to Dhole (4110m/13484ft) 3h45m *begin trek down & runny nose*
Sat 9/19 (12): Trek to Khumjung (3780m/12401ft) 3hr30m; Trek to Namche 1h
Sun 9/20 (13): Trek to Phakding (2610m/8563ft) 3h30m
Mon 9/21 (14): Trek to Lukla 2h30m
Tues 9/22 (15): Fly back to Kathmandu!

Teas included: Black, ginger, mint, nepali masala, tibetan tea
Breakfasts included: tibetan bread with peanut butter and/or honey, vegetable hasbrown
Lunches/dinners included: vegetable fried rice, vegetable fried noodle, sherpa soup, potato soup, potato/onion/veg pizza, Daal Bath curry, vegetable steamed momos, garlic soup, vegetable fried spaghetti, rara noodle soup
Snacks on the trail included: nature valley oats and honey granola bars, RJs raspberry licorice from NZ, sour patch kids, a few clif bars, a chocolate bar, dried prunes and apricots, snickers bar, peanut cookies, cashews, saltines!

Card games learned: chapati (like the food), lucha (awesome austrailian game I can't remember quite all the rules!), slam (similiar to speed)

Other games played: chess, gin, rummy, crazy eights, uno
Books I read: Into the Void, Into Thin Air, The Law of Similiars, studied Hindi

Notable people: 3 Nepalis I trekked with day 1 to Namche and helped me find a place to stay; Jounralist Kaci Christian who insisted I stick with the Aussis; Austrailian guided group of 7 that I met in Tengboche and was on the same schedule until Gorak Shep; UK Alex and his guide Harry who I met in Tengboche and met up with again in Gorak Shep to go over Cho La Pass; 2 Germans hiked with to Gyoko;

Exciting news: Saw Brittany, girl from UW program in India, in Namche!

Weight of pack: 17kg/38lbs (approx including water and base weight taken from airport scale) although this decreased as the trek went on as I ate my snacks!