



The area is amazingly beautiful. This is the highest mountain range in the world, containing 14 of the tallest 20 mountains. But soon enough the dramatic views became customary and I learned to stop looking at them and watch the ground instead. You know that split second of terror-sweat after almost falling or slipping? That has been effectively trained out of me after going through this 30 times a day. There are plenty of places on these trails where a single misplaced step will cause you to careen down a mountain side for hundreds of feet. There have been a number of travelers who have gone missing in recent years, causing the Nepali government to consider enforcing a law requiring all trekkers to have a guide. Lucky for me, the rule is not enacted yet.





Hiking alone was not a common theme in the mountains. I only saw or met 3 other solo hikers, meaning no guide, no porter, and no companions. This is the shoulder season though, the park had about 3,500 visitors last September and 9,500 visitors in October. This was the perfect time to go as the trails weren't crowded, I was able to hike without much interference from others, and the weather is warmer, allowing my bag to be a lot smaller. Each day, I'd sleep in an unheated guesthouse where I had the chance to meet other people. I avoided hiking with others whenever possible for if they were slower than me, I'd get frustrated having to wait for them, or if they were faster than me, I'd be huffing to keep up. As it turns out, I was a fairly quick hiker, and I refused to take breaks along my route. Once you start and stop, it takes a lot more will power to get going again, plus you get cold quickly if you aren't moving higher up the mountains. At no point did I spend more than 6 hours on the trail, usually arriving at my destination before noon, allowing me plenty of time to rest for the next day.





It took me 8 days to get to the top. BC is situated at 17,635 feet above sea level. Ironically, you cannot see Everest from here. The worlds largest mountain is hidden within other peaks. In order to get a clear view and avoid the clouds you have to wake up early (4:30 usually), put on some warm clothes, and hike about 1,000 feet up to a viewing point called Kala Pattar to reach 18,200 feet. It's rough going that early in the morning, but if you manage to make it, the view is mediocre at best. Even from this point the mountain looks small in comparison to those around it because of the distance separating you and the fact that 85% of the mountain is hidden by others around it. By the time I had reached the top, the clouds had set in and i couldn't see it anyway, but from the pictures I saw of others who went, I didn't miss much. The same goes for BC itself. As I mentioned previously, had it not been for this one expedition of Italian climbers setting out to be the first to reach the top then ski down a particularly dangerous face, it would be hard to know if you'd arrived. In the high season for climbing Everest, May and June, there are hundreds of tents setup among the seemingly inhospitable terrain, with specialists setting up bakeries, bars, and salons among other things. None of that this time though.





Overall, my experience was good, e ven though reaching BC wasn't spectacular, and I missed seeing the worlds tallest peak from the viewpoint. This isn't the start of an illustrious mountaineering career, but it did put me into a midset of doing other, shorter, versions of this. It was a lot of hard work, but certainly worthwhile. For me, it really put into perspective how difficult it actually would be to climb any mountain, not just Everest. An incredible amount of training and determination are required, along with a sizeable checking account. Those who have achieved the ultimate summit have been raised a little higher in my eyes.





Now that my trip is nearly over, I wish to leave you with two quotes. One, succinctly summarizing the importance of travel, and the other a classic:





"If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name. Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, cruler than a mirror glass. A long road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet introspection." - Patrick Rothfuss





And the second which has long had a chokehold over my consciousness:





"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference"

- Robert Frost













After grimacing against the preposterous slopes and ankle breaking rocks, walking across a bridge of melting glacial ice no more than a foot wide, getting scarily lost in the Himalayan hills, and searching for over three hours, I finally reached my destination for the day: base camp. If it weren't for the single expedition that were attempting to climb the slopes of Everest this time of year, it would be impossible to know if you'd reached the base camp of Mount Everest. It is situated on a glacier, so any permanent settlement would quickly be destroyed. There are no signs or banners declaring your victory, no one to greet you, boosting your ego with generalized statements of accomplishment, nothing to signify that you've finally reached your hard fought goal. Base camp is a desolate moraine field, with endless jagged slate colored rocks hidden within the small hills and valleys of the glacier. Once you've been told that this is it, there is a certain sense of, "Oh. Alright.". There is no elation or jubilation as you realize what you've done because the goal is so anticlimactic, you can't help but feel cheated.When I first planned my trip to Asia, I hadn't intended on going to Nepal at all. It was on a whim sometime later that I made the decision after finding an article about the possibility of hiking to base camp (BC). The article didn't mention the difficulty or the gear needed or even the amount of time it would take, it merely mentioned the possibility. After some quick and dirty googling, I'd done a minimal amount of research and booked a flight. I'm a rather unorganized traveler, I make it up as I go along, and this was no different. Upon arriving in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, I still had nothing planned for my trek; I needed a different backpack, a host of other accessories, and a flight, not to mention that at this point I still didn't know much about the trek, even basic data, like how long it would take or how much it should cost. Luckily, I met another traveler going through customs with me. He had a guide waiting for him and over the next two days would be preparing him for a separate trek in a different part of Nepal. Perfect, so over the next two days I leeched all the information I could from the guide and my new friend Sanjay, and after two extremely hectic days, everything was organized. I had a flight, gear, and was set to go. Except, I've never done any long term hiking before. I'm sure that my longest hike before this was a few hours tops. This was to be a 12 day journey into the Himalayan mountains at altitudes 4,000 ft higher than any peak in the lower 49 states. But do I need a guide? "Nope.", I confidently told myself. Granted, this decision was mostly based out of monetary concern rather than my own well being.I had an early morning flight into the worlds most dangerous airport, Lukla . Partially due to the fact I had to be up so early to get to the airport, I was asleep for most of the half hour plane ride into Lukla. Riding in a small prop plane with a single row of seats on either side, it was easy to see into the cockpit and out the windshield. Coming into land, all that you can see is a large cliff face directly in front of you. Misjudge the landing even a little and there is no way to correct. This time there were no problems, and we arrived safely. However, upon arrival, I was disoriented from my lack of sleep and got off to a great start by going the exact opposite direction I was supposed to. Good. I don't need a guide.Each day I had a very clear objective: make it to the next village. This seemingly simple goal was anything but. The trails are often terrifyingly steep, contain endless amounts of stairs, are filled with jagged rocks, or any combination of these. At these altitudes, it becomes dangerous to ascend too quickly, or the threat of altitude sickness kicks in; headache, disorientation, pulmonary and cerebral swelling, and hemorrhaging from the eyes are some symptoms. Altitude sickness can, and does, kill people on these mountains and rescue helicopters are heard at least once a day. I definitely do not need a guide.