Destination: Adventure

The real adventure begins tomorrow, but today was exciting and interesting in its own way. We all enjoyed a good night of sleep after arriving last night. This morning we woke to the sounds of a heavy thunderstorm, which quickly cleared.

After a nice breakfast we hiked 2.5 miles thru the city to Swayambhunath Stupa, a Buddhist temple that legend says evolved spontaneously out of a primordial lake nearly 2500 years ago. The walk thru this vibrant city of 2.5 million was a bit of an obstacle course of muddy streets, honking cars and motorcycles, and various construction projects (… Nepal is still rebuilding from the 2015 earthquakes). And for any aspiring electricians out there, I would not recommend getting your license here… the electric lines look like a tangled mess of black spaghetti, creating an overhead maze of wires.

At the temple we got some practice climbing at altitude while ascending several hundred stairs. Along the way we encountered pilgrims, merchants and monkeys… yep, you read that right, monkeys, damn monkeys! In fact one of these monkeys was so bold it actually swatted my hand while I was taking its picture. Our guide, Dilip, said that these monkeys will often snatch things right from the hands of unsuspecting visitors, so I was pretty lucky he didn’t succeed in taking my phone!

Later we picked up some last minute equipment at very good prices, and tomorrow morning we head back to the airport for our short flight to the village of Lukla, where we will met our guides and yaks (which we have already given the good Nepalese names of Eeny, Meeny, Miny and Mo)… stay tuned for what lies ahead!

After a 13.5 hour flight, we arrived safely in Dubai, UAE for two days of rest and an opportunity to adjust to 8 hour time difference… CUT, CUT, CUT!… that whole part about “rest” is a total lie!

In actuality, we arrived around 9 am, and after making our way to the hotel to check-in and drop off our bags, we were off to explore Abu Dubai during the day, followed by 7pm tickets to go to the top of the highest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, and finally ending up back at the hotel around 11:30 pm.

By my count, we were essentially awake for 30 hours with a few opportunities for short naps to re-energize throughout the day.

After a well-needed good night of sleep, we set out to see some of the major sights in Dubai. We began the day at the souk, the main shopping area where merchants from all around the Persian Gulf, sell their wares. We got very good at fending off aggressive merchants who strongly felt we needed a fake Rolex or Omega watch, or Lacoste and Polo shirts!

Then it was off to a desert adventure that included riding ATV quads in the desert, an exciting ride over the sand dunes in a Toyota Land Cruiser with a self-proclaimed “expert driver,” and finishing the night enjoying a desert safari show that included camel rides, traditional dancers, and a desert barbecue.

Tomorrow it’s off to Kathmandu to start the Nepal leg of the trip… tallest building in the world, checked off the list; highest mountain in the world awaiting in the weeks ahead!

Today we embark on our adventure… months of planning and preparation will now be put to the test on the trail between Lukla and Mt. Everest Base Camp. Hopefully, all of our hikes and gym prep will pay off so the next couple weeks won’t be too much of a struggle.  Today it is off to Dubai for a couple days in order to adjust to the time change.  Looking forward to sharing our experiences with you!

Baggage weigh-in was a fun little opportunity for a competition to see who was the most efficient packer… results below:

• 1st place: Don @ 17.4 kg
• 2nd place: Tie between Karen and Deb @ 18.2 kg
• 4th place: Alan @ 18.6 kg
• Last place: our Army logistics expert, Ron @ 20.4 kg

For those new to the blog, this is a re-post of the very first blog entry to provide some context for what this adventure is all about.  Ron, Karen, Don (me), Alan, and Deb leave the U.S. on Apr 3, 2018, with a two day stop in Dubai before arriving in Kathmandu on 6 Apr. Once there, we will join up with 2 additional clients and our Nepalese trek staff, Kalden Sherpa (Head Guide), Nigma Sange (Support) and Tsering Dorgee Sherpa (Support). We will do our best to provide regular updates and include as many spectacular pictures as the limited availability of WiFi allows…

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Re-post of 1st blog entry from Nov 10 2017:

Let’s start with some history… This crazy idea for a bunch of 50-somethings to voluntarily hike over 70 miles at altitudes ranging from 9,300 to 18,200 feet above sea level started with Ron (the oldest in our group at 57). Simply put, Ron has a lifetime goal to visit 100 countries and thought that a trek to Mt. Everest Base Camp was an exciting way to experience one of those countries, Nepal. He asked me (Don-54) if I was interested and without hesitation I agreed. Then we shared the idea with the rest of the family and were surprised at the interest… In the end, Karen-55, Alan-53, and Debra-53 (Alan’s wife) all decided that this would be a great adventure, made better by the shared family experience.

In Nov 2017, we began to explore trekking options… We discovered that there were quite a few trekking companies who offered guided trips that included all of the logistics (transportation from Kathmandu, lodging, food, porter services, and expert knowledge of the culture, climate and terrain). For our part, we had to commit to a dedicated fitness plan to prepare our bodies (as much as we could) to endure two weeks of hiking at high altitude.

We selected Ian Taylor Trekking, based in Vail, Colorado, made our deposits, and now we are committed!!…

First of all a disclaimer for those of you who expressed concern about all the medications shown in the picture above… see “I sure hope I don’t need any of this!…” for an explanation!

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Technically we are limited to 15kg (33lbs) of gear during our Nepal trek. The main reason for the limit is the flight from Kathmandu to Lukla (a small, high altitude airfield that we fly into to begin the trek). The airline limits us to 10 kg for checked baggage and 5kg for carry-on. Everyone has begun the process of packing and weighing gear. Although we may be slightly over our individual limits, we can probably figure out some creative ways to “reduce” our overall weight by wearing/carrying some items so they won’t be included in the baggage allowances.

Getting down to the last couple of hikes before the big trek begins, with our departure date in just over two weeks. Today’s hike was an 11 miler with about half of it following either the Staunton River or the Rapidan River. After all these hikes, it was nice to have a sunny, no wind day with temps in the high 40’s. With the cool water beckoning and my feet needing a little love, I decided to treat myself to a foot soak. The water was very cold, but it really did feel good.

 

An important, but not pleasant to think about, part of the trip planning is preparing for the possibility of experiencing any number of potential ailments ranging from a mild headache and Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), to something much more serious like High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) or High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE). Other potential health issues, particularly when living with rudimentary sanitation and basic personal hygiene for two weeks, are stomach issues and nausea.

Ok… have I painted a graphic enough picture? Clearly we hope to avoid all, or at least the most serious of these health issues. In the event any of us do encounter a health issue, we have all visited our doctors to get prescribed a range of medications… in essence we are all walking pharmacies!

Another precaution we are required to have is evacuation insurance. In the event of a serious illness or injury, this insurance will guarantee immediate evacuation by helicopter to a medical facility and ultimate return to the U.S.

Karen and Don both went hiking this weekend, albeit separated by 3000 miles (Karen in Oregon and Don in Virginia)… So, we get to do a little compare and contrast:

• Weather: Karen enjoyed a clear, crisp day after some recent snow, so she got to hike thru 8” deep snow.  Don also enjoyed a clear, crisp day in the aftermath of 2 days of 40-60 mph winds, so he got to experience hundreds of trees that had been blown over (many directly on the trail).
• Fun things to do while hiking solo: Karen photographed her footprints in the snow along with her shadow (I should have copyrighted my “Me and My Shadow” post!). She also couldn’t resist the impulse to make a snow angel! Don on the other hand got to climb over, under, through and around the oh so many trees that had fallen on the trail.
• Distance to trailhead: Karen has a distinct advantage here… she lives within 5 miles of the trail, whereas Don has to drive 60 miles to get to his hiking spot.
• Selfie comparison: Karen / Snow Angel / Don…

Anyhow, both continue to train hard for the upcoming Everest Base Camp adventure… less that one month until we depart for Nepal!

Finally, if you’re interested in some short videos here are a couple of clips from Don’s hike:

• Video (0:38): Downed Trees on Trail
• Video (0:50): Camera Experiment