Never Take for Granted the Top of a Mountain...

Nepal is like the trekking capital of the world. People flock here from all over the world to hike the numerous and varied mountain ranges. There are treks that can take up to 3 weeks - The Annapurna Circuit and the Everest Base Camp. We chose something a little shorter - the Helambu Trek - which took us 1 week. It was a pretty intense hike with steep inclines; some days spending 3 or 4 hours of straight uphill. On day 1 my my right ankle was sore and by the end of the day it was purple and swollen. I spent the rest of the week limping up the mountains with my ankle wrapped in a bandage and a bamboo pole as a walking stick. I felt really old.

The trek took us through a diverse landscape of rice terraces and deep green valleys, moss-covered trees and flowing waterfalls, past picturesque monasteries and gompas. We stayed in remote village teahouses where the accommodation was as simple and basic as you could get. The nights were cold and there was never any insulation in the buildings. Fresh running water could only be found in outside wells and could never be drank. Showers didn't exist; to bathe we had to pay usually about 50 Rupees (a little less than $1) for a bucket of hot water. Electricity was rare and when it did run it was used for a single light bulb in the common room where we ate our meals. All the toilets were squat toilets. And at least one teahouse was literally infested with cockroaches! The people lived simply in these villages - and I use the word "village" loosely. It was usually just a single family living on a secluded mountainside with no roads in or out - the only way to get from point to point was by the narrow, rocky foot trails. Chickens, goats, cattle and buffalo (I'm really bummed I never saw a yak) roamed freely around the teahouses.

The days we spent on the trek were long and exhausting. Most days we spent between 6 and 8 hours hiking. Day 2 was our longest day. We started in a village called Chisipani (meaning Cold Water) early in the morning and walked for about 10 hours, mostly uphill. As the sun started to set that evening, a cloud moved in around the mountain and we found ourselves walking in a fog so thick we couldn't see 10 feet ahead of us. Then we felt a drop of water. And then another and another and then the sky just opened up and poured freezing cold mountain rain down on us! The guide told us we were only 10 minutes from our teahouse. Michael made a run for it - as best he could. By now the sun had disappeared behind the mountain and the trail had turned into a muddy river torrent. I didn't have my headlamp and waded slowly through the trail. One of our porters, Gokol a Brahmin, caught up to me and grabbed my arm to help guide me through the river-trail. He was carrying 20+ kilos on his head and he was holding me up and helping me not to slip - and he was at least 4 inches shorter than me - and he was just wearing flip-flops! These porters are just incredible! We arrived at the teahouse about a half an hour later, soaked to the bone. But there was a warm fire waiting for us and there was peanut butter on Tibetan bread for dinner!

Nothing else too exciting happened during our trek. Gokol the porter idolized Michael and followed him everywhere, picked him flowers and gave him an Avril Levine pin. The guide kept our minds occupied while we climbed by teaching us Nepali. I now know how to say "What's your name?" (Toepai Ko Nam Kiho?) "Are you OK?" (Toepai lai tchick-sa) and "Don't be lazy!" (Timi alchi nagara)

I discovered a couple things about myself on this trek: first, people who grew up in a state with barely one mountain have no business spending a week hiking in the Himalayas, and if I was to ever attempt to climb Mt. Everest I would definitely be the one to not make it back. I did have a wonderful time, but I will never consider things like hot showers, insulated homes, electricity, and western toilets anything less than luxuries ever again!