Thanksgiving day hike!

As part of acclimatizing our bodies it is recommended that we stay in namche bizzare for an extra day and hike to a higher elevation for our "reat day."  So we headed up above namche to the two small villages of Khunde and Khumjung. We passed many stupas on the way to both villages with prayer flags attached to them. The Sherpa ethnic group is predominantly Buddhist and stupas are structures containing relics from Buddhist monks and are places of meditation. The religious practices in Nepal is rather interesting because historically Hinduism came from India and Buddhism came from Tibet which has created a mixed practice in much of Nepal. However in the Khumbu valley the dominant philosophy (Buddhism is actually not a religion but a philosophy.) is Buddhism. 

Famous Ama Dablam mountain!

Stupa above Namche Bizarre

High school in Khumjung.

Stupa

Namche Bizzare

Ahhhhh!!!!

We are leaving namche and heading to Dhole. This is going to be a big climb for us today and we will take it slowly so we don't push AMS (altitude mountain sickness) onto our bodies. We are both nervous because most people use porters for this trip and we have questioned our body's ability to complete this trek ourselves. We are going to try it and just pay close attention to our bodies for AMS signs. The care for AMS is to go down in altitude. We do have an option for a shorter day today and we are not afraid to take it. It doesn't matter how strong or in shape you are....high elevation always rules the roost! Oh....we are going to pass Tashi and Lakpa's lodge today so I will send pictures in the next update. Lakpa and Tashi spend their summers in winter park, CO and many locals have grown very fond of them!