Our Himalayan Trekking Adventure!

Hello Family and Friends!

Wow.
That's the first word that comes to mind when reflecting back on the amazing experience we all had hiking through the Himalayas. Our first day we came together immediatley as a group--bound by the unified joy of being out in nature. We had been itching to get to the mountains since Calcutta and we had finally made it! And thank goodness we had those high spirits because day one was a challenge to say the least. We walked for 8hrs that first day, which began with blue skies and a friendly sun shiny down on all of our smiling faces. We certainly got our fair share of the Himayalas however, when we were greeted at our first base camp by an overcast sky, snow flurries, and COLD! When I finally reached camp I rememeber not knowing whether to cry, collaspe with exhuastion, or burst into hysterical laughter. Despite these mixed emotions though, we were all able to join around the dinner table that night with the aura of satisfaction.
That night, Kathryne and Devon gave me my first real lesson in astronomy, and I can't imagine a better sky for it! It was truly as if the earth had never been touched by civilization. I saw more constellations then I even knew existed! We fell asleep that night to the soft brightness of the milky way shining down on us as we were serenaded by the quite jingling of the bells that were around our pack animals necks.

We woke to another full day of hiking, this time all up hill. The hike was made more than bareable however, as we climbed into the thick rhondadendrone forest that covered a majority of the mountain that day. The reds and whites of the fowers encompassed us as we hiked along the trail. Deep green moss covered almost every inch of the ground, which was also sprinkled with purple flowers and bright orange butterflies. The scenery that lay before us had an almost mystical atmosphere. After this day, the common theme for the trek actually became a "Lord of the Rings (movie one hehe)" setting. Thankfully there were no black riders.
The higher we climbed, the colder it became--another example of the extremities of the Himalayas. When we reached the "one hour to go" mark, the snow was already an inch thick. It was crazy thinking we had been boiling the day before. SO much can change with just a few thousand feet! Sarah and Stacey struggled with their health especially on this day, but we thankfully all made it up in one peice and in happy spirits. We had finally made it to our highest base camp!

Day three was a relaxing one, where we were woken up to a hot cup of steaming tea served to us right in our tents--a much need amenidty for all of us, seeing as it had snowed a good three inches during the night. It was definitely a good tactic of our guides for coaxing us out of our tents! We proceeded on with the day with a leisulry day hike with the intention of reaching a mountain lake a couple miles out but naturally, the group became side tracked when we started taking pictures. Hopefully we'll be able to upload some onto the blog for you all to see! By the time pictures were over however, the snow had begun to fall again, splitting the group into those wanting the warmth of our "tea tent", and those wishing to strive even deeper into the mountains. We were brought back together again that night with momos and hot mushroom soup to fuel us for our early next day.

We were woken up the 4th dayto see the sunrise at 4am. The morning was fridgid, dark, and all that could be heard was the heavy breathing coming from beneath our coats. When we finally reached the top of the ridge, we had reached our highest point in the trek--14,000ft. Despite the anxiety I felt of maybe not having any fingers left, when the sun began to illuminate the mountains I knew everything would be well worth it. As we huddled against the ridge together, prayer flags blowing in the wind that also was cruel enough to whip across our bare faces, there was a sense of peace as the pinks and yellows of the suns rays began to speckle the largest mountains I had ever seen.
Our trek back down was filled with mixed emotions of wondering where the time had gone, and excitment to be getting back into the warmth of the sun. After the sunrise we had breakfast, packed up our campsite, and made our way back down our first camp site. We got in early enough that we all had a much needed nap time before dinner. To commemorate our last night, our cooks made us a delcious spice cake.

We walked so much down hill that last day I rememeber finding it hard to imagine how we had accomplished it the first day! Bob's youth came out again as he ran/bounced down the trail. Saoirse on the other hand, realized she probably should have taken it a little slower when she almost fell of the trail! Thankfully her trusty side kick Kathryne was there to help her back up, but our last day definitely could have turned into something more than a simple hike down a mountain! I think by the end of the day we were all so tired that we were glad to be moving on, but I know that it was hard for us to leave such a beautiful place. Nature can bring people together in a different way than most things can, and we were lucky enough to experience that.

Much love to everyone,
Laura

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!