Trekking to ABC: Days 1-4 — Kaylee Travels

My friend, Kirsten, is an adventurous physical therapist with whom I had the pleasure of working for a time in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She and I became friends through many things, including similar senses of humor and the desire to travel. We kept in touch after working together and when she invited me to join on a mission trip to India and a trek to the Annapurna Base Camp after, I readily agreed.

It turns out that trekking is a challenge. I mean, a real challenge. Kirsten just finished all the fourteeners in Colorado before we left, so she was more than ready. I was in good shape, so I thought, but not quite trekking shape. But I suppose I would be by the end of the trek. It was eight days of stairs, waterfalls, beautiful scenery, and amazing food. I would hurt worse than I thought possible and smell weirder than I knew I could. In the end, even with the misery I felt at times, it was one of the best things I have ever done.

The following are excerpts from the journal I kept during the trip.

Day 1:

It's so hot. I was so hot. Physically, I don't think it was too bad, but I could not handle the heat. Kirsten took some of my load, which was hard for me to allow her to do. I hate it when I think that people feel sorry for me. I hate being the weak one. But probably no one cares but me.

The staff at the tea house just killed a snake that was at least 5 feet long. They said that with the monsoon, they come out more. We asked if it was poisonous. They said it wasn't really poisonous. Just a little poisonous. Reassuring.

Day 2

Today we woke at 6 and starting out by 7, hoping to avoid the heat of the day while climbing a set of 3500 stairs. I took my time and it was not as terrible as it could have been, although I did sweat through my wicking shirt which is apparently hard to do.

The afternoon was in the rhododendron forest. It looked ancient, and it was absolutely stunning, with moss growing over everything. As we approached Goripani, our stop for the night, it began to rain. And that is when the leeches came out. I did not get bit, but I was not very ladylike with my mild freak out as I asked Raj to get them off my pants. Our tea house tonight is beautiful!

Day 4

Today we left at 6:45 to hike to the top of Poon Hill to watch the sunrise. It was brutal, as yesterday was all stairs and today we started off with stairs, plus I had nausea. I didn't care if I would make it to the top or not. But I did, just in time for a breathtaking sunrise that made all the pain dissolve.

After sunrise, we hiked down and had breakfast, and then we were off. Today was an aggravating mix of intense climbs and long and steep descents. All. On. Stairs. My knees are killing me, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to die at points today, but I kept at it. Plugging away. I will not win awards for speed, but I am not giving up, either.