First off. I’m pissed. I just got back to Kathmandu a few hours ago. Happy, relieved and grateful for the past three weeks of walking. I’m at my hotel, picking up my stuff that was sitting in storage. “Where’s my tent?” – “Your tent? It’s missing?” – “Yes.” – They watch me search for a long time for it. – “Oh, was it black with one pole?” – “Yes.” – “A tourist took it. Don’t worry. I’ll call him and it will be back in few days.” – “What?! You let a tourist take it? How do you know it has one pole? How do you know what color it is? It was in a stuff sack.” Obviously, they are lying and something is fishy. But really, all that I care about is that I GET MY TENT BACK. The dude looked kind of worried when I totally poked holes in all of his lame theories that it was a mix up. And he made some major slips. Like letting it be known that he was present when the tent was set up in the yard. That he was present when a “tourist” “borrowed” it. And letting it be known that he could (and did) call said tourist on his personal cell phone to get it back. He definitely got concerned when I pointed out that it was a “special” tent that couldn’t be bought in stores, that it costs $250 and that the police would be called if it didn’t come back. The guys of the hotel are nice dudes (I’ve stayed there for about five nights so far), and this pisses me off. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I’m 30% hopeful that I’ll get my tent back and 0% hopeful that I’ll get money for it if it’s not returned. ARGH.

ANYWAYS………. Again, hiking has been excellent. I did a mishmash of treks. Flew to the tourist hub of Lukla, hiked to the Everest region. Got really sick (vomiting, dehydration, diarreah). Got snowed on. Went around the first pass due to snow and weakness. Hiked to Everest Base Camp and up the Kala Patar view point. Hiked off the Everest superhighway over Cho La Pass. Hiked up the Gokyo Valley, across the glacier, up to the many lakes, Cho Oyu Base Camp, and Gokyo Ri view point. Hiked over Renjo Pass and got further off the superhighway. Back to Lukla. Then from Lukla to Tumlingtar, fully off the beaten track.

Nepal tea house trekking can be quite nice. It’s nice to dodge out of storms in to hotels. It’s nice to sit around fireplaces and socialize with other trekkers. It’s nice to have a bed and someone else cooking. And it sucks to be in the bubble of tourism. I spent most of my time in Nepal in the bubble and had little nepali food and even less contact with normal nepalis. It’s trekking, not traveling. But from Lukla to Tumlingtar, it’s been a perfect mix of the two. Only one hotel that we stayed at had had another tourist within the last three weeks. The villages are really inhabited! Locals going on about their lives! Even at a guesthouse you have to get them to open up operations. And there is no pasta to eat, no snickers to buy, just Dal Bhat all the time. One night we were even invited over for a homestay. Slept outside on a box bed on the second story overlooking their fields. Everything but the sugar and spice was grown on their land. Even the flour for the morning pancakes was made on the spot. Talk about fresh and local. I was invited in to numerous other houses as well. Simply by virtue of being a tourist. And the fact that it rained lightly almost the whole week so people were gracious to take me out of the rain. It was the “middle hills” region and we lost and gained a ton of altitude. Up a valley side, down a valley side. You can look across the valley at the next tiny village. It looks not far, but might take four hours to get there.

The Everest portion of the trek was quite different. High altitudes made me sick from the dry air. The walking was sometimes laborious. The views when the clouds parted were epic. It’s obvious and yet doesn’t strike you until you experience it. The mountains are huge. And there is a higher density of big mountains than in the Annapurna region, so it was more dramatic. And it was nice to have the snowstorms. A dusting of snow on everything made it all the more beautiful.

I should write more. But I just got off the plane from the boonies and don’t feel like it. Next up… getting an India Visa (which may take over a week) and trying not to get pissed about my tent and the touts selling me flutes, rugs and drugs.

I had a mushroom and bean tostada for dinner, ratatouille for lunch and a croisant with espresso for breakfast. I’m no longer on the trail and I’m most definitely no longer in Myanmar. Nepal is quite different. Since I’ve arrived a few weeks ago, I’ve had little interaction with locals who aren’t in the tourist trade. It’s been like being in a bubble, isolated from the country.

This isn’t a complaint though. I’ve come here for the same reason as most people. To hike. And the hikes are worth it, and understandably isolated from the “real” Nepal. Locals simply didn’t set up towns at the high elevations that I hiked through. Shortly after landing I picked up and went to the Annapurna region. I hiked the Annapurna Circuit, with three days of side trips to Ice Lake and Tilicho Lake (”The Highest Lake In The World!”), then I added a trip to Annapurna One’s Base Camp. All very excellent. It took 16 days, with plenty of short days, but that’s still considered blazingly fast. They typical fashion would involve almost thirty days of hiking a few hours per day. That’s understandable in the high altitude region. Or in parts where the trial is stairs. The stairs are brutally steep and go for a long ways. It can be quite a pounding on the knees. But for a good portion of the trek, fast miles make sense in my mind. You’re transitioning along ROADS through lowland areas that at this time of year have few views due to the poor visibility of pre-monsoon polluted skies. Nepal has decided to build roads up many valleys. I’m sure that it’ll benefit many. But in the case of the Annapurna Circuit I’d be surprised if it didn’t kill the trek and thus the thriving economy of the area. And they’re building them for the express purpose of increasing tourism. Seems like a bad management choice to me! BOOO road building.

The towns, villages, settlements, and solitary guesthouses are one of the highlights of trekking in the area. Some have “real” components that are amazing stone enclaves that seem to date from perhistory. Imagine Mesa Verde at 13,000 feet and still inhabited. Then there are the guest houses. They make their money on the food as rooms cost anywhere from nothing to two dollars. Meals hovered just under $4. They’re a great place to meet others. Very social vibe.

As for meeting others. Here’s a mind bender. At a bus stop on the way to the trek I met a girl from Davis, Amber (she’s from Idaho). Small world. Then at the side trip to Ice Lake I met Andy and Katie (also from Idaho) who are excellent friends with my enemy (I mean good friend) Ben who worked with me in Utah. Andy and Katie knew Ben in college in Colorado. Small world. Then during this conversation, they started talking amongst themselves when I mentioned that I had I lived in Davis. They said something about blah, blah, blah Amber. They were talking about Amber, who they went to high school with, and I went to college with. And who I had just run in to after five years and hadn’t mentioned. Now THAT’S a small world.

On other fronts. I met a lot of other cool people and hiked with them on and off. The french guys who carried two wheels of french cheese, a whole smoked ham, a bottle of wine and two homemade liquers were of course a highlight!!

And so were the mountains. And it’s for the mountains that I’m extending my visa and continuing to walk for another three weeks in Nepal. Off to the Everest region.