May 2nd
Debuche-Dzongla
Distance: 11mi/18km* (mileages likely +10% underestimated)
Trip Total: ~250mi/402km
Teahouse Elevation: 15,928ft/4855m

We got going by 6:15am, and had clear skies! It was a crisp cold morning, and we had a lot of uphill ahead of us. I mistakenly didn’t take Diamox last night. I thought I could make it one more day before I needed it, but was wrong. I had a slight headache when I woke up, which isn’t a good sign, and soon in the morning, could tell my body was not feeling it. Sloth mode with less oxygen up high. I took the Diamox pretty early, but it can take 24hrs or so to really get in the system, so I’m hoping tomorrow is better on that front.

Clear morning view from our teahouse that was fogged in last night.

We had 11mi/18km to do today, and ended up 3,600ft/1097m higher at 15,928ft/4855m. That much elevation gain in a day isn’t recommended at these heights, but we were hoping we were still acclimated from when we did Kanchenjunga a couple weeks ago. The guys seem to be, but not me.

The views were great, and it paid off to get an early start. Few other were out the first couple hours of the morning. We are overlapping both the Everest Base Camp hike and the Three Passes hike, so there’s no lack of traffic. It was actually less than I imagined. Well, the true high season is Oct/Nov. This is still a high season, but the dang clouds come in almost every afternoon.

On the Three Passes Trek, our route will go over Cho La and Renjo La passes (in the coming days), but not Kangma La pass today. We chose not to take the extra couple days to do the Everest Base Camp stuff. Griggs has done it, Buck-30 is more about the experience as a whole and not having to hit the most visited places in a country, and I’m on the fence. I like to do side trips when there’s time and I’m in the mood, but I’m often turned off by things that people do just because everyone else does. Everyone we came across told us EBC isn’t anything great, but it’s more the sunset or sunrise at Kala Patthar. We are on a tight schedule, we know we should be getting views of Everest, and just aren’t feeling the pull to make that side trip. Our momentum is going so well, and it just isn’t feeling right. I know so many will be appalled that we came so close, but we are seeing so much already and feel like the cup is already full. There’s always future trips to return and do a more relaxed trip up there with friends. Thru-hiking is just a different kind of experience. I feel like I’m getting a great feel for all aspects of Nepal walking the length for 3 months. It’s less about the big views sometimes.

We did have great views today though! We got to Dingboche earlier than expected at 10am, and had lunch. Well, we had been hiking for 4hrs. It was a great spot for views with a wrap around window. Again, my hunger is still high. I had a pizza. I could get used to this type of hiking with teahouses and great food around every corner with views.

After lunch was a nice stretch across a plain with mountains all around us. I was still feeling the elevation and a couple minutes behind the guys consistently.

We got to Thukla at noon, and could’ve relaxed a bit longer, but the dang clouds moved in quick and it got COLD.

We hiked out and headed to our final destination, Dzongla. The clouds came down and covered the tops of the mountains unfortunately.

We got to Dzongla by 2pm, and I was wiped out. At 15,928ft/4855m, this is one of the highest places we’ve spent the night. I have a slight headache and am not sure if it’s just the elevation or a combo of things. I’ve had less sleep with the town stuff and more cell reception. I’ve been up later trying to get things posted. Also, with my eyes looking at the screen so much, I think that’s not helping. I’m hoping I’ll feel better tomorrow. We are still going up quite a bit higher tomorrow to get over Cho La at 17,500ft/5334m. We’ve decided to start an hour later, yay!

Clouds lifted as the suns went down and mountains appeared all around our guest house, Green Valley Hotel.

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Walking With Wired
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Winter Break In San Diego!😎
What a great trip! With so much sun and great weather, it felt more like spring break than winter break. San Diego has definitely won us over. Here is a compilation of some of the many things we did. 
-Coastal walking 🌴🌊
-Biking around the bays🚴🏻‍♀️
-Revisiting the Pacific Crest Trail💕
-Exploring the city 🌇
-Sea World 🐬🦦🦭🎢
-Beautiful sunsets 🌅
-Puzzling:)🧩

#sandiego #winterbreak
Thanks for all the bday wishes! Since my birthday falls on a Monday this year, it was a great excuse to take an extra day off and make it a 3 day weekend🥳. I indulged in puzzling and pasta (artisan jumbo raviolis) over a great fall weekend. Today was a fun day of going to local places for bday freebies. Almost $100 worth of treats and there are more I can get throughout the month! Here’s the list for anyone looking for bday treats. 
*The hand-made artisan raviolis came from Foglia in Beaverton. 
-Dutch Bros
-Einstein Bagels
-Starbucks
-Jersey Mikes
-Baskin Robbins
-Baja Fresh
-Noodles & Co
-Pips (donuts)
-Old Spaghetti Factory
-Cheesecake Factory
-Dennys
The week got away from me and I meant to post this last weekend. Better late than never! Three weekends in a row spent in the Gorge. It’s been a great fall so far and we feel lucky to have all this nearby for quick excursions. Hiking in the gorge, camping at Ainsworth SP, checking out the “fruit loop” in Hood River, and a visit and some trail work at Nesika Lodge with the Trails Club of Oregon.🍁💛🍂🧡
#columbiarivergorge
We finished up our July trip with some days at Olympic National Park. The original plan included a backpacking trip to the Seven Lakes Basin, but we had to cancel it due to a foul weather front that moved through the days of our permit. Someday we will do that one. Once the skies cleared, we spent the remaining time we had exploring the Hurricane Ridge area. I’m a big fan of mountains, ridge walks, and clouds, so it was a good finale to this summer’s travels:)

Included in the photos is our campsite at Heart O’ the Hills Campground and the puzzles we completed over the last few weeks (many of them waiting out that weather the last few days🧩). #hurricaneridge #olympicnationalpark
We moved over to the east side of Mt. Rainier and explored the Sunrise area for a handful of days. Still many grand views of Mt. Rainier, but with even more wildflowers on this side. I even got to visit an old friend;) Feeling fortunate that the weather has continued to be clear, good temps, and minimal bugs. Summer break continues! #mtrainiernationalpark
Back in the PNW and taking a couple weeks to explore and relax at Mt Rainier Nat’l Park. Our first week was spent in the Paradise area of the park with impressive views of the south side of Mt Rainier. The weather was so ideal (and somehow no bugs!) that we easily spent half the day getting some much needed R&R at camp (especially hammocking and puzzling) before heading out for afternoon hiking. It’s great to have this area just a few hours from home. #mtrainiernationalpark
For the last leg of our Northeast Coast trip, we spent a few days camping at Blackwoods Campground in Acadia National Park. We did many of the recommendations for first time visitors to Acadia: popovers at Jordan Pond, hiked the Bubbles, rode bikes along a carriage road, toured around Bar Harbor and stopped for a whoopie pie, walked the popular ocean path, and went up to Cadillac Mountain at sunset.  Overall, a successful trip to the opposite coast. We look forward to finishing up the rest of summer break in the PNW!  #acadianationalpark
Next stop on our northeast coast trip, Cliff Island off the coast of Maine. We got a taste the island life from our amazing hosts Abby, Matt, Joan, and Scott: our own lobster boil, fireworks on the beach, a bit of sea kayaking, biking around the island, exploring the tide pools, puzzling, and collecting sea glass. The best part was reconnecting with Little Lottie who I cared for and bonded with in Portland during the first year of her life. It was great to see the world Lottie lives in now💕🦞🌊🐚🦀
Kicked off our summer break with an east coast trip this year. First up, a couple days in Boston. Great to see friends Andrea and @jdavischi85 again! We were happy to get our legs warmed up for summer hikes with walking and biking around Boston. Even got in some candlestick bowling and my first evah lobstah roll. A great start to our northeast part of the summer:)
Aunt Erin’s Portland Adventures, Days 7&8: Coast Camping Cont’d
The last two days of the visit were more camping along the coast. They were filled with all the things I’d hoped for the boys to experience. They made friends and played with the other kids at camp, feely rode bikes around the loop, played in the hammock, played soccer and frisbee on the beach, ate s’mores, ran over dunes, explored a low tide (Hug Point and Haystack Rock), had a foggy coastal day and a blue bird day, and slept in the trailer making it their little cabin. They really loved the trailer and it was super cute to see then use it so well. They had a great time and hopefully a memorable trip overall of all the things I love to share living in the PNW💚💙.
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