Guys, I have BIG NEWS!

I’M GOING TO NEPAL!

Next September (2018) I will be traveling to Nepal to trek to the Mount Everest Base Camp in the Himalayan Mountains!

 

OK, FIRST, A LITTLE BACKGROUND

Recently, I received a text from a good friend of mine that said, “Want to hike to Mount Everest Base Camp next year?” After I finished laughing at her silly text, I asked her what the heck she was talking about. Turns out, she had stumbled upon the trip of a lifetime, a two week trek through the Himalayan Mountains.

 

THE TRIP

We’ll be travelling with a group of roughly 25 adventure enthusiasts (as of today). My wonderfully persuasive friend not only talked myself into this, but several other friends and acquaintances. And, so far, about 10 of us are loosely connected whether through work, running groups, Crossfit, a bowling league, and other relationships. It’s been a pretty amazing chain reaction of one person convincing another and another to join the trip.

We’ll fly into Katmandu, Nepal in mid-September, spend a day sightseeing, and then fly to Lukla, Nepal to begin our approximately 15ish day hike. The trek to Base Camp is about 8 days with days set aside to acclimatize (get used to the altitude). The trek back is about 4 days. Along the way, porters (or sherpas) will carry our gear up the Himalayan hillsides as we take in the scenery. At night, we’ll sleep in teahouses in the little villages along the way. We’ll return to the States the first week of October.

Apparently, this is a super popular trip for hiking enthusiasts. Each year tens of thousands of tourists complete the trek to Mount Everest Base Camp. A quick Google search to lead you to endless blogs, websites, and YouTube videos of other hiker’s experiences. Click HERE! And HERE!

From what I’ve been told, the most difficult part of the trek will not be physical ability. They recommend you hike very slowly due to the high altitudes. However, we will be walking all day, everyday, for about 2 weeks. (Yes, I know this sentence sounds crazy!) From what I’ve heard from other hikers, the most difficult parts of the trek is the general discomfort that comes from hiking for 2 weeks: blisters, not showering, sleeping in weird places, eating foreign food and so on.

 

WHY THIS IS A BIG DEAL

Well…duh, it’s Mount Everest. My personal travel history includes NO international travel. Guys, as of today, I’ve never had a passport! Don’t get me wrong, I love to travel, however I’ve always stayed stateside to explore big cities and National Parks. This trip is, to say the least, a HUGE leap outside of my comfort zone.

It took me a long time to decide to commit to this trip. I will admit, when I first learned the details of the trip, something truly stirred inside me. I felt that genuine wave of excitement and adrenaline that your body saves for those once in a lifetime moments. I had never planned to see Mount Everest, this trip was not something on my bucket list. As I mentioned, I didn’t even know this was a thing! However, after learning the details, I knew this trip was something I had to do.

Buuuut…I’m a super indecisive person. I am not a risk taker. I am not great at spending money. When it comes to most big life decisions, I like to research everything and weigh out every possible scenario, outcome, and issue that could arise. Then when I have 9,000 bits of information in my head, I overthink each and every one.

This is not a recipe for success. I know. I’m working on it.

However, each time I talked about this trip to friends, relatives, strangers, I was met with the 100% support.  “Why not go?!” “It’s the trip of a lifetime!” “DOO IIIIT!”

The more I talked about going, the more positivity I heard which made the weight of those 9,000 bits of information seem pretty insignificant.

Yes, I’ve never done anything like this before. No, I’m not a hiker. Yes, traveling to foreign places is kinda scary. Yes, yes, yes to a thousand other fears and personal insecurities. Yes, that initial feeling of excitement I felt about this trip out weighs the scariness of it all.

How could I not go?!

And so, with the encouragement of everyone I know, I’m going to Nepal!

Last night, we met as a group for the first time. We met with the leader who is coordinating the trip and hikers who participated last year. They shared tips on gear and travel, and answered all the questions we could think of. Until now, this trip has only been an idea in my head and a flurry of texts, emails, and Facebook messages. The meeting truly made this feel real.

I know many of my fellow trekkers had the same moments of indecision in the last few weeks and I know we share a lot of the same fears and concerns. It is super comforting to know we’re all in this together.

 

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

So, that’s my news. I’m going to Nepal! Can I say that sentence enough? Can you tell I’m excited?!

I intend to share more about the planning and prepping for this trip as time goes on, and I hope you’ll follow me along this journey!

Also, if this is you’re first visit to Everest & Beyond please check out my About Me page for a little explanation on why I’ve created this blog.

If you have questions for me on my trip, please comment below!!

 

I guess next on my to do list is to get a passport! And maybe some gear…