Getting there is one sixth the fun

I met my goal—I made it to Everest Base Camp on November 12!

There, I've violated all literary tradition and given away the ending, robbing you of all the suspense I could have built up by blogging about each day of the trek, hinting at my worries that I would miss a plane, get turned away at a border, freeze to death, break an ankle, fall off a mountain, or get carried away by a yeti to be "peeled like a potato".

But my friends will probably want a few more details, so I will oblige. I'll start at the beginning, which is, I am told, a very good place to start.

I woke early on October 31 (Debbie's birthday) and Ellen drove me to the airport (thanks, Ellen!). We picked up Tomas along the way and met Mat at RDU. All went well (it's a big relief when the agent takes my info and gives me a boarding pass—"Yes, I'm here on the right day! My passport has not expired!"). After a brief but crowded 5:50 AM flight, we met Thomas and Tiffany in JFK and boarded a 777 for Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific really sticks it to you, making you walk past Business Class mini hotel suites/cubicles on the way to Economy Class.

The flight to Hong Kong was pretty cool, even from seat 67K—lots of movies, plus live plane-cam shots of arctic ice, and animation (alternating between English and Chinese) of the plane flying over the North Pole. It's a long flight, about 15 hours ("How much fuel does a 777 carry? What is my CO₂ footprint?")

We grabbed some breakfast (or was it dinner? ...we're now 12 hours ahead of Eastern time) during a 3 hour layover in the Hong Kong airport, then catch the next flight to Dhaka, Bangladesh to connect to Kathmandu.

Wow, I'm actually in Kathmandu! At the airport, we get our first experience of a bathroom in Nepal, which is not the way you really want to be introduced to this country, which is truly wonderful (except for its bathrooms).

Arriving in Kathmandu

Our driver Kumar was there to meet the five of us, holding a Tusker Trail sign (a welcome sight after 30 hours of travel) and we each get a lei at the van (Tusker really does everything right). Our driver takes us through the city: the houses are lit up for Divali, the festival of lights. Then, amidst the construction/destruction/rubble that is the road that is not a road, we arrive at the Hotel Shangri La, an oasis in a dirty, poor, crowded city. Among other amenities, the Shangri La has nice bathrooms.

Matt, Tomas and I checked into a large room the first night (we booked an extra day at the beginning of the trip to help get over the jet lag; it was a good idea). It was 1:00AM local time, so we went to bed.

I was up a little earlier the next morning, so I put on my Tusker Trail cap and went downstairs to get some pictures of the grounds before breakfast. Amy Micks-Frank, our Tusker Trail lead guide (and co-owner) saw the hat and came over to introduce herself, and we chatted until the others came. Several other trekkers had arrived and we all had breakfast at the Shangri La buffet, which was good.

The sights of Bhaktapur, Nepal

We hired our driver Kumar and a van for the day and he took us to Bhaktapur, one of the old capitals; there is a really cool old palace there. We hired a guide, "Roger" who took us around; he spoke excellent English so we learned a lot. It was a fascinating place with many cool photographic spots, even though most of the area was a heavy tourist area. My favorite memory, though, was spotting some kids playing kickball from the second-story window of a shop.

The next day we visited Patan, and Amy's longtime friend Archana was our guide. Patan is another cool palace and old capital of an independent region from before the three separate kingdoms merged into the country of Nepal.

The sights of Patan, Nepal

The rest of the crew had arrived at the Hotel Shangri La, and we anticipated a nice authentic Nepalese dinner together on Sunday night. Getting here has been fun. I won't say it was half the fun, but it was a grand adventure.

Then, we learned from Amy that there was heavy snow up on the trail and some groups were turned around before getting to Everest Base Camp. Also, the Tenzing-Hillary airport in Lukla, where we are scheduled to fly to at 6:30 the next morning has been closed for the last three days and has a huge backlog.

The next day, maybe, we would fly to Lukla and start our trek.

Maybe.

The triple 14ers

14ers day 3 of 3: (Read Day 1, Day 2)
We saved the "combo" for Wednesday. Originally scheduled for Tuesday, we thought Quandary would be an easier (though longer) recovery hike after our hard first day, because of its Class 1 difficulty rating on 14ers.com. Ha, were we (or 14ers.com) wrong, wrong, wrong! Quandary was much harder than we thought it would be. We met hikers who thought we were pretty insane for doing back-to-back 14ers... then we told them we were doing three days in a row... and then we told them we came from 400' elevation in NC and NJ!

The view north, from the saddle between Mt. Democrat and Mt. Cameron, after a climb of about 1,450' from
the trail head. We took the trail to the right to ascend Mt. Cameron, another 750' up.

When we arrived at Kite Lake, we judged the hike to Mt. Democrat to be too hard for us to do and still summit multiple peaks (I know, wimps, right?). Instead, we decided to climb Mt. Cameron (14,239') and Mt. Lincoln (14,286'). Unlike the 750' descent/climb between Mt. Democrat and Mt. Cameron, the saddle between Mt. Cameron and Mt. Lincoln is only about 200'. This climb had a much gentler profile than the first two days, although it certainly had some steep parts. Wednesday also brought us the best weather of the three, although all three days gave us great hiking weather and no rain.

Your humble author at the peak of Mt. Cameron, with Mt. Lincoln in the background.

Like Mt. Sherman, the peak of Cameron was constantly hidden from is as we went up the ridge, turning and climbing. However, from Mt. Cameron, the view of Mt. Lincoln is great - although the short peak to the 11th highest peak in the continental US was the steepest climb of our entire three days, really a scramble up on hands and feet. Tomas and Tiffany then took the trail past Mt. Bross (the Bross summit was closed) and I returned across Mt. Cameron (my third 14er of the day!) and hiked down with Matt. I'm glad I did, because the descent from Mt. Bross was very steep and I did not want to risk knee or foot problems. (Tomas said the Bross descent was so hard—he had to back down at some points, holding onto rocks because the fine gravel was so slick—that it made one woman cry.

Tomas and Tiffany head for the final ascent to the peak of Mt. Lincoln, 14,286'. The snow visible in the previous picture (which showed Mt Lincoln in the background) is just to the right of this section of the trail.
You can also make out three other hikers on the summit.

Most of the mountains we hiked were on private land, but the owners allow hikers on the trails (although Mt. Bross was closed this week.) The trails are maintained by Colorado Fourteeners Initiative volunteers.

The 14ers.com site was a great asset in planning our hikes and ensuring our safety.

Day 3 synopsis: Hike distance: 5.9 miles; elapsed time: 5:36; elevation gain: 2,600'; average grade: 16.4%; GPS track. Lessons learned: Regular breaks helps a lot; Teamwork gets the job done on the mountain.

Tomas' bling from Breckenridge

14ers synopsis:

Mountain	Hiking distance	Total time	Elevation gain	Average grade
Sherman	4.70 mi	5:30	2,100'	17.2%
Quandary Peak	7.25 mi	6:50	3,500'	18.6%
Cameron/Lincoln	5.90 mi	5:36	2,600'	16.9%
Totals	17.85 mi	17:56	8,200'	17.7%

Lessons learned: Training pays off; at altitude it is forgivable to ask "Pass me my halogen" when you really mean "Pass me my Nalgene"; it really helps to go with friends who can encourage and inspire you.
I am so fortunate to have had this opportunity to go out to Colorado and really push myself, build my strength, endurance, and confidence. Nepal/Everest Base Camp - I'm coming for you next! We leave in three months.

“Thousands of tired, nerve shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity; and that mountain parks are fountains of life.”
—John Muir

Quandary Peak

14ers Day 2: (Read Day 1 of our 14ers trek, if you missed it.)

I took the luxury of sleeping in until 5:45 Tuesday morning because we were going to tackle Quandary Peak in the Tenmile Ridge, just south of Breckenridge. At 14,265', it is the 16^th highest peak in the continental U.S. The trail head is much easier to get to... at the cost of being much lower: 10,800', which meant a climb of about 3,500 feet over 3.6 miles, and a round-trip hike of 7.25 miles. We allotted 7 hours for the hike. The lower half was beautiful, coming up through the forest, past wildflower glades and spectacular scenery. Quandary Peak lived up to my expectation for these mountain hikes - the nature of this mountain and surrounding vistas was very different from Mt. Sherman.

View of North Star Mountain (the Western Continental Divide)
from the East Ridge Trail of Quandary Peak. That is Tomas in his orange backpack.
Note the spectacular, deep, blue sky.

Just out of the treeline (near 12,000'), there is a steep grade, consisting of steps made out of stones set in the hill. Just past these steps, we met a large group of young girls (Girl Scouts, we presumed) who were descending. They started their ascent at 2:00AM!
After this, we turned up the ridge, heading west toward the now visible peak, one a half miles ahead and still 2,300 feet higher. You can see the line of hikers stretched out ahead, just starting to tackle the toughest, final leg of the climb.

Quandary Peak rises up above us.  (Challenge: spot Tomas and his orange backpack amongst the climbers at center left.) The climb in the distance is about 1,000' climb in about 6/10 mile - about a 31% grade.

Tomas kept walking while we took a break to drop some layers now that we were in the sun. While I was trudging up that steep slope, a female trail runner zoomed past me. That level of fitness is pretty humbling. I rationalized it by telling myself, "She's not carrying a 25 pound pack... or 25 extra years" Yeah, right.

A mountain goat ignores the hikers on the Quandary Peak trail

I kept on moving on and up. I found a good, steady pace for the toughest part of the ascent, stopping to take pictures every once in a while. (I carried my Canon 40D DSLR and a Tamron 10-24mm wide angle lens in a camera case attached to the front straps of my backpack.)
I reached the crowded summit shortly after Tomas, after four hours of hiking. It was pretty cold and windy up top, but it was worth it—the view from the summit was simply spectacular.

The view from atop Quandary Peak. Nothing higher than us anywhere close by.

The 2-½ hour trek down was long and pretty hard on my old knees; my leg muscles were shaking when I had to step down. Happily, I didn't need any Vitamin I (Ibuprofen) on this or any other day of hiking.

Tomas and your humble author at the summit of Quandary Peak.
I can easily say that Quandary Peak was my favorite hike of our three days.

The U.S. Coast & Geodedit Survey marker at the top of Quandary Peak

Day 2 synopsis: Hike distance: 7.25 miles; elapsed time: 6:50; elevation gain: 3,500'; average grade: 18.6%. GPS track. Lessons learned: Moleskin is an essential piece of gear; there is always someone who is stronger/faster and I'm OK with that; when rating trails, "moderate" in Colorado does not mean the same as "moderate" in North Carolina.

14ers

No, 14ers is not the saga of some young teen skater boys. 14ers is the name given to mountain summits that surpass a height of 14,000 feet. (For my metric-fluent friends, that's 4267.2ers.)
14ers was my challenge this week as I sojourned to Breckenridge, Colorado with three friends, Tomas, Matt, and Tiffany. We all share a common goal, to trek to Everest Base Camp in November of this year. We came to Colorado to try not to fall off a mountain while getting in some altitude training.
We came home with much more than that.
We arrived on Denver on Sunday, hopped in a rented 4WD Dodge Journey (trading up from the Ford Fusion they had given Matt when he reserved a car) and drove two hours to Breckenridge, where we moved into a townhome we rented for four days from a friend of Tomas. Sunday evening, we planned our next day's hike to Mt, Sherman. We planned on a 6 hour hike - 4 hours up, 2 down.

Mt. Sherman is part of a large
but abandoned mining area

Day 1: Mt. Sherman is a 14,036' peak in the Mosquito Range, 10 miles east of Fairplay, CO. We got up at 5:15 and left shortly after 6:00. Just south of Fairplay, we turned up up a dirt road and drove about 10 miles, past an abandoned mining building, then parked near the end of the road at 12,000'. We put on our packs and started hiking! The mining road continues into the old complex. We hiked abut a half hour on a steep, steady incline, and I was getting very tied and out of breath. Welcome to altitude!
I was not sure if I could handle four hours of this kind of exertion. We stopped for a water break and some rest, after which I felt much, much better. On the east face of the ridge, there is a huge rock fall and we followed another hiker a few hundred yards up the steeply angled path across the shifting boulders on this death trap (well, bodily-injury trap). I put away my hiking poles so I could balance better by putting my hands down on the boulders.

Tomas going up the Mt. Sherman ridge

There were several other very steep sections. Mt. Sherman slowly reveals itself to the hiker. The trail is mostly up a ridge line, with very few switchbacks, so it's mostly steep climbing. The fog and the ridge line constantly hid the summit, so the climb became a set of small, independent challenges to be met.
We reached the top to find white-out conditions, but the fog parted somewhat to reveal the vistas. It was quite gusty at the top. Previous hikders had stacked up several wind breaks made out of small boulders. We made our way to one, and as we started taking off our packs, another hiker came over to inform is that this was not a windbreak, it was the summit bathroom. We moved on to another windbreak and spent about a half our at the summit.
Mt. Sherman really contradicted many of my pre-conceived notions of a mountain. The landscape was bleak; the mountain (and those around it) so much more, well, crumbly than I expected. They looked like the Creator just poured rocks and boulders into teetering mounds; the terrain felt more lunar than earthly.

Tiffany, Matt and Tomas behind me on
the tricky rock fall descent.

Our descent was pretty difficult, especially when we got back to the rock fall, which was extremely tricky. Luckily, rocks were the only thing tumbling downhill here. Tomas also felt very ill on the second half of the descent, probably the effects of the altitude. I was amazed that he pushed on and finished. He told us his condition, but never complained. We later found out that we had missed a turn on the ascent, and that the real trail completely bypasses that rock fall.
On the drive home, we stopped at Hoosier Pass, where Route 9 crosses the Western Continental Divide.

Day 1 synopsis: distance: 4.7 miles; ascent: 2,100 feet; total hike time: 5:30; average grade: 17.2%; GPS track. Lessons learned: I feel stronger after getting warmed up and in the groove of climbing, I can find a pace that works for me, I could do much more than I thought I could... and we need to read our maps more carefully.

Mt Mt Mt Mt Mt Mt Mitchell

Ma Ma Max Max Max Headroom

The image of Max Headroom (well, to be more correct, the voice of Max Headroom) came to mind as I looked at the map of our Black Mountains training hike route. All laid out, north to south:

Mountain: Potato Hill, 6,475 ft
Mountain: Balsam Cone, 6,611 ft
Mountain: Cattail Peak, 6,583 ft
Mountain: Big Tom, 6,581 ft
Mountain: Mt Craig, 6,647 ft
Mountain: Mt Mitchell, 6,684 ft

Yup, all those mountain peaks lined up: Mt Mt Mt Mt Mt Mt Mitchell. (Now say it like Max Headroom would...)

Then I looked at the topo map and see our starting point at 2,750 ft at the trailhead of the Colbert Ridge Trail.... then the 6,684 ft elevation of Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi. That's a 4,000 foot net elevation change from start to end, but with the gaps and saddles between the peaks, we had a total vertical ascent of about a mile ahead of us. Awesome!

Even if it is 10,000 feet below where I will be in six months, this would be some great training for my Everest Base Camp trek in November! The Colbert Ridge Trail and the Deep Gap Trail (aka Black Mountain Crest Trail) are much steeper and on much more technical ground. We had to climb under and over logs, and at times use ropes to ascend a steep rocky incline.

Vista from the Colbert Ridge Trail,
the best view we'd get on an
overcast (low cloud cover) April day. 

David M. and Ashton planned the route and we were joined by Omar, Tomas, Amy, Janice (and Janice's dog, Nikki) for the April 27th hike. We arrived Friday at Carolina Hemlocks Campground, a very nice spot on the South Toe River, just west of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Burnsville, NC. We planned to get up and leave by 7:30... and managed to start walking by 8:00. We had a 3/4 mile walk to the trailhead. Then it was up, up, up.
No switchbacks here - just straight up the ridge. I was wearing my heart rate monitor, and for most of the climbing stretches, my rate was 145 to 150, reaching 165 on some of the really steep pitches. It took us 3 hours of climbing to reach the end of the Colbert Ridge Trail where it meets the Black Mountain Crest Trail at the bottom of Deep Gap, elevation 5,800 ft. We had a another climb of 700 ft. to get to our first peak, Potato Hill. The section of the Black Mountain Crest Trail we hiked crosses five peaks, each around 6,600 ft until we got to Mt. Mitchell.

Trails of the Black Mountains.
The Colbert Ridge Trail is trail #178 near the center. The Black Mountain Crest Trail is trail #179.
North is roughly to the right along the line of the crest trail.

We got lucky with the weather - predictions were for rain on Saturday. It was fairly dry for most of the climb in the morning. We had one clear view while on the Colbert Ridge Trail; once we got higher, we were above the clouds and it was whiteout conditions (same as every other time I've been to Mt. Mitchell...) When we reached the crest trail, some light rain was starting, but there was no wind at all. It was amazingly quiet and quite lush - a beautiful trail to be hiking in April.

We got to Mt. Mitchell around 3:00PM and it was raining more heavily. One of our party had had severe cramps for most the the crest trail hike, so it would a true

I meet Big Tom (peak 4 of 6)

hardship to do the remaining nine miles back to the campsite (or to leave him there while we hiked back and brought a car back.) There were few visitors at the peak (a brother and sister from Michigan and San Francisco who met to climb Mt. Mitchell because their last name was Mitchell!) and no one to catch a ride with. We called our wonderful camp hosts at the campground, and Jerry offered to bring a van to pick us up. The park ranger kindly opened up the museum so we could wait inside for the 45 minutes it would take Jerry to reach us by road. We had a nice, warm, dry ride back to camp. Luckily, we had covered our firewood with a tarp and David M. had no trouble getting a nice fire going.

This was a great weekend for me. The hike was fabulous- challenging and draining, but also extremely rewarding. My knees and ankles survived without any pain or injury; my gear served me well and kept me warm and dry and comfortable. I'm used to the extra weight and bulk of a full backpack. Those Mt Mt Mt Mt Mt Mt peaks were knocked down one by one, and the companionship of a great set of outdoor-loving folks and kindness of new acquaintances was ice ice ice icing on the c-c-c-c-cake.

Getting there

Quick flight synopsis:

1. Raleigh to JFK, New York, 1h35m
2. New York to Hong Kong, 16h20m
3. Hong Kong to Dhaka, Bangladesh, 4h20m
4. Dhaka to Kathmandu, Nepal, 1h40m

Start at 6:00 AM on October 31. Arrive 30 hours later at 10:20PM on November 1. Total time in the air: about 24 hours. We spend a few days in Kathmandu before flying to Lukla, where the actual trek begins.

This flight is not for the weak of heart. No, let me correct that. The flight is cake. The landing and the takeoff at Lukla is what requires either a strong heart... or some heavy sedation.

The Tensing-Hillary Airport in Lukla is up on a mountain side. Arrivals land—smartly—on the 12% uphill grade which helps stop the planes before they encounter the much steeper mountain side that is guaranteed to really stop them.  Takeoff goes in the other direction—the downhill run helps the planes accelerate to rotation speed before reaching a 2,000 foot drop-off immediately at the end of the 460 meter short airstrip.

Don't fret for me or my fellow trekkers, though! The Lukla airport has been called the safest  airport in the world, except for every other airports in the world.

Once we get get to safe ground in Lukla, the rest of the trek begins. The actual trekking to Everest Base Camp and back takes about two weeks, I think to allow time to build up our nerves (or to forget our anxiety) before we get back on the exceedingly well-maintained twin prop plane for the breathtaking 3D HD Lukla departure.

I think I'll pack lightly.

Tusker itinerary

Here is the itinerary of the Tusker Trail Everest Base Camp trek. Our trek will be Nov 2 - Nov 18, 2013.

DAY 1-2: KATHMANDU  4,390-ft / 1,388-m After arriving at the airport you meet your Tusker guide at the well-known Shangri-La Hotel, one of the nicest hotels in the Kathmandu, a city renowned for its fantastic shopping, cultural wonders and fascinating markets. Your two days in Kathmandu are spent wandering the narrow streets of Thamel, the bustling center of town, and on a tour of old Kathmandu City, Durbar Square and Swayambunath Stupa, known as the “monkey temple”. This is one of Kathmandu’s oldest and most important Buddhist shrines, which scholars believe dates back to the 1st century.
DAY 3: FLY TO LUKLA / HIKE TO PHAKDING 8,702-ft / 2,652-m - 5 hours trekking  After a short flight through the Himalayas we land at Lukla. Here we meet our full crew of cooks and porters, and, after a cup of Nepalese tea, start our hike to Phakding, on the chalky Dudh Kosi River. Just before we arrive at our lodge, we cross one of the famous hanging bridges across the river. After this first day “downhill”, many a trekker has been fooled into thinking that the famed Everest Base Camp trek is a simple walk in the park.
DAY 4-5: NAAMCHE BAZAAR  11,306-ft / 3,446-m - 7.5 hours Nestled in a protected corner of the Himalayas, Naamche is a centuries-old trading center between Tibet and Nepal. As we arrive on the outskirts we get our first view of Mt. Everest. Quaint with cobblestone streets and little shops, it is the last town on the trek before reaching base camp. Naamche teems with Sherpa life, while yaks roam the streets, the sounds of their bells making beautiful music. Naamche is abuzz with excitement as people from all over the globe pass through, on their way to and from base camp. We spend two nights acclimatizing here. Views of Everest, Nuptse, Ama Dablam and Lhotse are spectacular as we view them from the top of the hillside town.
DAY 6: KHUM JUNG  12,300-ft / 3,750-m - 3 hours  Commonly called the green valley, the short trek to Khum Jung is one of the most interesting hikes of the trek. You will revel in fantastic views of Mt. Everest, Lhotse, Kangtega, Thamserku and Ama Dablam. We visit the Khumjung Gompa (monastery) which displays a skull that supposedly comes from a yeti.
DAY 7: TENGBOCHE  12,687-ft / 3,867-m - 4 hours  Tengboche Monastery sits on a hill at the confluence of the Dudh Kosi and the Imja Khola rivers, with a clear view of Everest. It’s a tough hike up to the hilltop to one of the most important spiritual centers for the Sherpas, with 35 monks residing in the monastery. With a little trekker luck, we will witness the Lama (high priest) perform a riveting ceremony accompanied by monks chanting their magical hypnotic songs. We spend the night at a lodge across from the monastery.
DAY 8-9: PHERICHE  14,200-ft / 4,328-m - 6.5 hours Pheriche is situated at a critical location just a few days from Everest Base Camp and at and altitude where mountain sickness begins to bite. That’s why we spend 2 days here – acclimatizing. Our two-day stops are designed to allow our trekkers to adjust to the thinning air and have proven very successful in helping Tusker bodies adjust to the altitude.
DAY 10: LOBUCHE 16,126-ft / 4,915-m - 6 hours After a good rest and breakfast, we head out on the trail and up the broad valley of Pheriche. At Dhukla you notice the big hills of rough rock piles, which is really the terminal moraine of the Khumbu Glacier. Further along the track we spend a quiet moment at the site of the stone memorials for fallen Everest climbers, called “chortens” in Tibetan.
DAY 11-12: BASE CAMP / GORAK SHEP / KALA PATTAR  Gorak Shep: 16,942-ft / 4,915-m - 3.5 hours Base Camp: 17,585-ft / 5,360-m - 2.5 hours Gorak Shep: 16,942-ft / 4,915-m - 2 hours Kala Pattar: 18,513-ft/5,643-m - 4 hours
On this exciting day up to Everest Base Camp, we stop at Gorak Shep to freshen up and have lunch. We hike along the Khumbu Glacier moraine to our goal – Everest Base Camp. After celebrating our success, we trek back down to Gorak Shep for the night. Back in 1952 Gorak Shep was used as the base camp for the Swiss Expedition up Everest.
Early in the following morning we take a 4-hour climb up Kala Pattar, at 18,513-ft/5,643-m. This climb gives us extraordinary views of Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse. We may only spend one night at Gorak Shep, depending on how strong the group is. In this case we will spend an extra night on our descent, to be determined by our guide.
DAY 13: DINGBOCHE  14,114-ft / 4,302-m - 5.5 hours  We start our descent through the Khumbu Valley. DAY 14: PANGBOCHE  13,078-ft / 3,986-m - 3 hours  We spend the night to break up the long downhill trek to Namche.
DAY 15: NAAMCHE BAZAAR 11,306-ft / 3,446-m - 6.5 hours  It’s a full day hike, but you’ll appreciate the oxygen. You browse the maze of streets, picking your way through the local shops for Nepali handicrafts. DAY 16: LUKLA  9,384-ft / 2,860-m - 8 hours Our last day hike finds us back at Lukla for the night. DAY 17: KATHMANDU 4,390-ft / 1,388-m Check in to the Shangri-La hotel. The rest of the day is free to relax or wander around town. Group dinner at our favorite restaurant. DAY 18: FLY HOME Transfer to Kathmandu airport.