Day 1 - Lukla & Phakding (8,563 ft)
The flight from Kathmandu to Lukla (9,383 ft) was stunning. At one point we came over a ridge and the snowy peaks rose up before us like a wall to the sky. It feels so nice to be back in the mountains of Nepal!  The airstrip in Lukla is the shortest I have ever seen. It is sloping upwards as you land and ends abruptly at a wall. There is little room for error when landing or taking off. We landed safely. The walk to Phadking (8,563 ft) was beautiful, a short 4 miles. It took us three hours to get there plus 1 hour for lunch. The mountainsides are covered mostly with pine trees. In places we saw blossoming peach and cherry trees and flowering rhododendrons. Our walk took us high on the sides of a deep river valley, giving excellent views the whole way. Clouds came later, obscuring views of higher elevations. I love hiking here.

Day 2 - Namche Bazar (11,286 ft)
Rush Hour! There was a tremendous rush of trekkers this morning. I think everyone hit the trail from Phakding around the same time. It was a constant flow and created a traffic jam in places, especially with a long mule train coming the opposite direction. Traffic lightened after lunch. The highlight of the day was seeing some of the snowy peaks. Wow! We are around 9,000 feet.  We crossed many suspension bridges.  The last one was very high. One lady was scared crossing it and a man was holding her and helping her the whole way. We are now in Namche Bazzar (11,286 ft). Our trek was 6 hours (plus an hour for lunch) and took us about 9 miles. As we entered Namche Bazar, I started taking photos of some kids in a doorway. Soon the family and neighbors were in the doorway. I love meeting the local people.