TreknMike

“Mysterious and Exotic, Nepal holds prime position in the imagination of every mountain lover and trekker in the world. It is home to the bulk of the Himalaya and, of course, Mt. Everest, planet Earth’s highest peak. In fact, of the world’s 14 highest peaks, 8 are in Nepal. It is also the birthplace of Buddha and home of the famed porters and mountain climbing Sherpa. This mixture of mountains and ancient culture make Nepal a magical land of superlatives and an absolute delight for trekkers.”

Pictures

Here is a link to pictures… Click here for pictures.

Great Flight

I flew out of Sacramento to Los Angeles on March 20 where I met up with Terry at LAX. We caught an 18-hour flight on Thai Airlines to Bangkok, Thailand. After a 5-hour layover, we continued on to Kathmandu, Nepal arriving in the afternoon of March 22. Kathmandu is the gateway for most Himalayan Treks.

Our flight was pleasant. Asian airline carriers rock! “Economy” on Thai Airlines is leaps and bounds above economy on American airline carriers. The spotless Airbus had plenty of leg room (at least 1-foot wider) allowing me to straighten my legs. Well-dressed attendants delivered steaming hot hand towels for washing before meals, menus with a couple of meal choices, real silverware, tasty food, and unlimited drinks.

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Repeated this hike March 14.   New boots did better.  Time to hike 17 miles with 4000 feet elev gain:  11:05 AM to 3:45 PM.  Nepal, ready or not, here I come.

Repeated this hike March 7.  This time, it was a beautiful, sunny spring day and about 60F.  Serious spring fever.  Breaking in a new pair of boots.  Only 3 little blisters.  Time to hike 17 miles:  11:15 AM to 4:05 PM.

Completed a 17 mile hike in Point Reyes National Seashore with 4000 feet elevation gain.  Down hill hurts.  Bear Valley Visitor Center – up Wittenenberg Trail to Sky Trail – Sky Trail down Meadow to Bear Valley – Bear Valley up Old Pine to Sky – Sky down Baldy to Bear Valley – Bear Valley up to Sky – Sky down Wittenberg and back to Bear Valley Visitor Center. 10:30 AM to 3:45 PM.  Link to a few cool pics.

I hiked 16.2 miles from Washington (CA) west to the Missouri Bar trail to the spot Terry and I hiked from the opposite direction the week before. No way was Handy going with me this time – not dealing with those tics! Handy still has red bumps on her skin from the tic bites the previous week.

(I repeated this hike on Feb. 7.  Again, Handy didn’t go – sorry little buddy.  This time, I pulled one tic off me and a week later I still have a little red bump/bruise.  All this to try and get in shape for Nepal, which is knocking on the door in less than 6 weeks.)

My good friend, Terry, and I hiked 16 miles along the South Yuba River from the South Yuba Campground, near Nevada City, east to the Missouri Bar Trail. First real hike of the year. I was a little sore the next few days. As usually, Terry was ready for another 16 miles. Handy went too. She had fun until we returned home and I pulled more than 50 tics off her!

On Nov. 4, two good friends I made in Patagonia met at my home after work – Robert from Germany and Nicole from Washington. This was Robert’s first trip to the States. We saw the election returns. Robert will never forget where he was when the next President of the United States was elected.

You can see a few pictures here…  see my pictures.

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