Trekking in the Himalayas with SPOT October 11th-30th

[pwc]

This isn't exactly a vehicle dependent expedition, but it will be undertaken with a SPOT device, so I thought I'd post it up and the moderators can remove it if they see fit.

As some of you may or may not know, Kim and I are heading to Nepal for a 19 day trek through the Himalayas in the Khumbu (Everest) Region. This will be Kim's third trek in Nepal and my first, including our first together. I have purchased a SPOT Satellite Messenger in hopes that it will work well enough to help our daughter know where we are while she remains at home. Looking at the maps at findmespot.com shows Nepal is in the fringe of the useful area, so it may or may not work all the time. But it’s worth the shot.

More info on my blog at The Carey Adventures where I'll attempt to post an update or two, but honestly, posting to a blog won't be my highest priority on the trail. I will be typing up a recap when I return.

The Shared SPOT page can be found here. it currently shows some test data, but from October 11th-30th will show, hopefully, somewhat live data.

 

[articulate]

Fantastic trip! Will you be sharing some of your experiences and interaction with the culture there?

Also, what's the nature of a trip like this in Nepal? Are these commercially guided, and are you through-trekking from one location to the next day-to-day, or base camping?

Fascinating trip you have here.

 

[pwc]

I'd be glad to share. There's a reason this is my wife's third trek in as many years to this particular country. It's from the people she's met and friendships made.

In our case, we latched on to a local guiding service in Seattle, where we live. It's a small group, just 5 clients (we being 2 of them). We know the lead Sherpa on this trip so it's also not exactly a large company kinda trip. More like hiking with some new and old friends. The company is called Himalayan Guide Services Inc and is run by Matt Fioretti. He's lead 26 treks and climbs in Nepal and we really like his attitude and mentality about not overworking the Sherpas and porters and paying them fairly. A lot of companies don't treat the help so well for a number of reasons.

We'll be making a loop and if I had a decent mapping program I'd draw it out. It starts in Lukla then heads to Namche then up to Gokyo, over Cho La Pass (18,000' give or take) then down the valley back to Namche and out to Lukla. It's a fairly standard route and we'll be teahouse trekking, staying in teahouses but sleeping in sleeping bags and on mats. In the past my wife has gone with groups that'll camp in tents but that takes a lot more porters.

The picture on the post is from Gokyo Ri, a 17,000' ridge with awesome views of Everest and a lot more 8000'm peaks. It was taken by my wife on her first trek. More can be found at Hidden Creek Photography.

My hardest decision now is whether to carry the 5D with 28-300mm lens or the XTi and 18-200mm lens.

 

[Lost Canadian]

Fantastic! How is the altitude treating you, or are those old pictures?

Edit: Disregard, I see you said "heading" meaning not there yet. Doh! How much time are you giving yourself to acclimatize?

 

[pwc]

Fine right now. I'm about 120' above sea level though.
I leave for the trek next week. I've had a history of mountain sickness (But not AMS or the other acronyms) when climbing in Washington above 10,000, so we'll see how it goes. The trek leader and head Sherpa are big on watching for AMS and taking it easy. This isn't some mad rush trek to say we did X,Y and Z, which I like.
That being said, I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[pwc]

As for time to acclimatize: we'll be spending a rest day in Namche, in Dole and Gkoyo. After that and the Cho La pass, it's ll downhill. We'll be checking O2 levels each morning with some piece of medical hardware I don't completely understand. If you're below a certain level, you don't go up that day. The leader is far more concerned with safety than goals. He's seen a number of people die in the area from lack of knowledge on symptoms and treatment for altitude related illness.

 

[SunMan]

Exciting! You will no doubt have a trip of a lifetime. I made a 28 day trek from Jiri to Everest Basecamp and finally out at Lukla back in 1994. To this day nothing has surpassed it travelwise. The people are simply amazing.

I was fortunate enough (after over a year of letter writing to the Nepalese Gov't) to help the Sherpa who was my guide get a visa to come to the U.S. Over two years after my trek there he was in my living room, pretty surreal, but I digress. Enjoy your trip. Hope to hear about it when complete.

 

[pwc]

Greeting from Nepal!
Our trek is just bout over and I'm in Namche for a day of rest and then a couple days trekking to the airport in Lukla. It has been a great adventure so far with many, many miles put on my shoes and legs.

I am very glad to have made this trip although I do miss my daughter so. It'll be good when I can hug her again. Until then, the people of Nepal have been very welcoming and warm and that has helped. It's a great country and I encourage anyone thinking of making the trip to start planning today.

I have taken notes and starting the first week of November will be posting daily entries from the trek, with pictures, GPS data, maps and all that jazz much like Ari's but without Spirit , on my blog. I'll also be including a gear review every other day or so as I know others have questions about what helps and what's useless on a trek. Sign up now to get the posts automatically.

I'm happy to say the SPOT device has worked well. Here's the last 7 days of tracking information. Hit the satellite view as there aren't any roads. I left it on tracking mode every day we moved and the batteries are still on their original pair. SPOT told me reception might be a problem but it seems to have worked quite well.

Hope all is well where you are. It's time for dinner!

 

[DaktariEd]

Nice! :26_7_2:
Thanks for posting the SPOT page.
I love to see where folks have traveled.... :bike_rider:

 

[pwc]

Back in the USA, all safe and sound with the family reunited. Where'd all the leaves go???

Trip report will start next week with plenty of pictures. For those in the Puget Sound area, I'll probably be organizing a slide show most likely after the holidays. More details later.

Awesome trip and we even brought back a Sherpa. No, I'm not joking, she's a friend of the family and visiting for a while as the trekking season winds down back in her home.

 

[pwc]

Nepal Trek Trip Report Day 1

And we’re off!! Step one to trekking in Nepal is getting there. Even before that, we had to say goodbye to Sabrina at the airport and that was the hardest part of this trip. This was our third weeklong or more trip away from her and the longest by far at three weeks. She had told us she wasn’t a fan of us going. As this is Kim’s third trip to Nepal for three weeks or more, Sabrina knew a bit of what to expect but that didn’t make her any happier about both her parents leaving on the same trip. There were tears all around as we said our goodbyes and Grandpa took Sabrina back to the Island. He did mention on a phone call later that after leaving the airport she cheered up quite a bit.

At the airport we met other members of both the trek and climbing expedition. Half of the group is climbing Pumori on the Nepal-Tibet border.
[MORE]

 

[pwc]

Nepal Trek Trip Report Day 2

Waking up was early today. Or late, depending on how well some of us adjusted to the jetlag. For me, there really wasn’t any. Maybe it was the constant daylight on the flight from Seattle. Or maybe my body is just goofy. Kim did mention it is easier to adjust going West. At any rate we were up 5:45am and after some meditating, a shower and stretching, I was feeling pretty good. Matt, however, must not have been awake as he ended up putting soy sauce on his french toast. And after waiting for David to finish watching Scooby Doo (it was the only English show) we all boarded the bus for the airport.

All seemed well until we tried heading to the security checkpoint. [MORE]

 

[pwc]

While I didn't bring along an Overland Journal to photograph in the Himalayas, I did wear my OJ hat constantly (except for the two days I showered on the trail). Here is the obligatory shot

 

[XXXpedition]

wow, thanks for sharing
love the pics
(but i admit, it would be too cold for me ))

 

[pwc]

Nepal Trek Trip Report Day 3

It’s our first, and only, full day in Kathmandu! And it’s an early one, up at 3am. 3AM??!?! The going theory is most people are so discombobulated by the time they reach Nepal that 3am shouldn’t be a problem. It’s a problem for me, though. I’m doing quite well adjusting to the whole ‘dark out=sleep’ thing. And while my bed is not the most comfortable one in the world, I’m enjoying ample sleep. But alas I must follow the masses and we amble out of our room and head to Swayambhunath Temple, otherwise known as the Monkey Temple due to the large infestation of rhesus monkeys living there.

Will it be safe wandering the streets of such a large city at 4:45 in the morning, more than an hour before sunrise? Check out The Carey Adventures for the rest of the story...