Hike Nepal 2016 was a very intense trip. We had been training and raising money for 2 years, since last years trip was interrupted by the earthquake. We found ourselves there in April 2016, and the people very changed from how they were before the earthquake. Our guide was particularly humbled by our visit, as he had used our deposit to get himself and his young family through a very tough period, where a drop in tourism and the fuel shortage threatened the livelihood of him and his employees.
Much of Nepal was still destroyed, and we passed piles of rubble in every city street. Many are still living in tents. However, even though 60% of Nepal’s population is unemployed, it is possible to live by helping your friends in return for food, or committing yourself to a monastery. For these reasons, we did not see abject poverty, just a lot of dirt and some very basic living conditions.
The trip was also intense because we didn’t spend more than one night in any place. We literally woke, ate, packed, and walked for 11 of the 13 days that we were in Nepal, and spent the other 3 days travelling there or back again. We saw a very diverse part of the country, from cities to lakes, rivers, and mountains. We climbed to 4130m at -5 degrees, then down to sea level at 33. We visited villages, national sanctuary’s, museums, and townships. We saw sunrise over the Himalayas, we experienced storms, hail, and sleet!
It was a very profound experience, made richer by a fantastic guide who shared his life with us, and literally nursed our slower team members along the trail. Binod from http://hikenepal.com held Kass’s hand down every set of stairs (she had knee surgery 6 weeks prior), he comforted Mags when she was vulnerable (at 69 years old, Mags was well out of her comfort zone), and he was right beside Dave as he limped in excruciating pain after hurting his back.
We also developed a good relationship with Vikas, the assistant guide, taking him for his very first dip in a river and giving him marriage advice (watching TV is NOT his wife’s hobby!!).
We made a visit to our charity, http://sevenwomen.org , and heard some harrowing stories on the lives of some of the women there. We are so grateful to be able to help out in our small way ease these women’s life experiences.
You can vote in our 2017 gym trip here: https://www.facebook.com/events/795230850576746/permalink/795231507243347/
You can read more about our adventure in our daily blog:
https://into-you.com.au/day-11-hiking