Chitwan

We planned a few "buffer" days for the trek and since everything went smoothly and we didn't use them, we had a few extra days in our hands to explore Nepal. At first I was just going to poke around Pokhara- I had heard it was such a lovely place and relaxing by the lake was enticing   A 4-day kayaking adventure caught Bryan's eye and he signed up for it right away.  That afternoon, it started to rain pretty hard and I had a feeling my time at the lake everyday would be interrupted by a pre-monsoon rainfall-- so I decided Chitwan National Park was the cure.  

It worked out so that Bryan and I still had a whole day in Pokhara to explore, then leave for our various activities and we'd meet up in Kathmandu a day before we leave.... Perfect timing!! 

Chitwan National Park is in the southeren region if Nepal, bordering India. It's home to elephants, rhinos, lots and lots of birds, and Bengal Tigers :)  Tigers are, of course, rare to see on the wild, but that won't stop me from looking!!! 

I went for an elephant ride, jeep safari into the jungle, canoe ride, bird watching, and helped bath the elephants. I stayed a a relaxing hotel. For the majority of the time, I was the only guest, so I got a bunch of one on one attention. 

The weather was hot and humid!! I found that my favorite spot was in the shade on a hammock reading a book during the middle of the day. One evening there was a terrific thunderstorm. 

Thorong-La Pass Summit

We made it!!!! Today (April 29) we woke up at 3am, breakfast at 3:30am and left for the pass just after 4am. The trail started steep and didn't relent. We ascended just over 3000ft in 3.8 miles (14,600ft to 17,769ft) to get to the pass. It was really hard! The air was thin and we had to stop several times just to "catch" our breath... I realized that at 17,000ft, you don't ever really catch your breath.. You just keep moving. We made it and I couldn't be happier!

On the descend ( just as brutal, 5000 ft in 6 miles), Bryan asked me what my favorite part of the hike so far was. I told him I'd have to think about it for a minute, then stopped myself short cause I had the answer. 

For me, my favorite part was accomplishing what I set out to do. I know that I've achieved my goals in the past, but lately I've had a lot of negative self talk about me not accomplishing my goals, so this was a great achievement. 

When preparing for this trip, I told myself to avoid any negative self talk that could get in the way. Also, I used doe visualizing techniques to picture myself climbing and climbing until I got to the top. I my phone, the screen saver is a picture of the sign at the pass and the background is a panorama of the Annapurna Mts. That way, when ever I used my phone, I had a reminder of what my goal was. Also, when climbing a steep incline on the treadmill at the gym, or hiking in Alaska, I would visualize that I was on the trek completing my goal. 

Sometimes a negative thought would creep in and I'd have to work at replacing it with a positive one ( yes, I work in the psychology field.. Can ya tell 😊). While coming down from the mountian top village I volunteered at, I fell twice!! I don't really know what happened, I stepped down with my left foot, but I rolled and I lost my balence and fell. And, I had my camera in my hand so I tried to protect it from hitting the ground... So embarrassing! I got up and said to myself "and you think you can hike Annapurna??!??!!!"  Well then, I did the same thing and fell again!!!!  This time I told myself, "no more negative self talk.. You just stepped wrong, that could happen to anyone anywhere. You trained for the trek and you will complete it!"  I didn't fall again, on the hike out if the village or in the trek. In fact, aside from breathing hard with mild excursion (and major excursion), I didn't suffer from other acute mountain sickness symptoms. Visualization works!! Try it on your next goal! 

I also realize I could not have done the trek without a lot of help. My porter was amazing! Very fast up the hills, kind, and patient. I met a bunch of great people along the trek and we were all on the same schedule. We'd see each other through out the day and just had a great time getting to know them!  And of course Bryan, my "adventure buddy." He's been a great travel and trekking partner. He's way tougher than me!  

So, with the hard part over, we have a few more days walking to get to Jomsom, then we'll try for a flight to Pokhara and spend a few days there relaxing. We leave the wonderful country of Nepal next week, Wednesday May 7th. 

Annapurna- Manang

Manang is a lovely town and at 11,614 ft it's a perfect place to spend 2 nights acclimatizing. We got in about 3:30 pm yesterday and looked for a good place to stay. If you linger outside a lodge too long, the owner comes out and persuades you inside saying " come look at my best room, I save it just for you." The owner we met yesterday also added, "this room was talked about on Lonely Planet."  Right... just like every other room in Manang. But, when he opened to door, I was in love! This room is quite luxurious compared to the other rooms we stayed at. There is a toilet and solar shower INSIDE the room, soft mattress, extra warm blankets, and amazing views of the mountains out side the window. 

Annapurna III (7555 m; 24,787 ft) on the left and Gangapurna (7454m; 24,455 ft) on the right. 

Annapurna - Upper Pisang

Namaste!! 

There is an upper and lower part to the town if Pisang. We chose to stay in Upper Pisang for the incredible view.  I can't believe we are here!! It's just so wonderful. 

(The view from our room)

The hike today was not as hard as yesterday.. Or maybe I'm just getting stronger.. Not sure.  We're at about 10,860ft right now. I don't feel too much effect from the altitude. Slow and steady is the way to go!!  Although, earlier today at lunch Bryan and I had a rough time with our conversion of meters into feet. At first we thought we had 7500ft yet to climb, but no, only 750ft! We chalked it up to the altitude affecting our math skills!!

Tomorrow we trek to Manang where we will spend 2 nights to acclimatize.  Hopefully I'll find wifi and I can upload these posts there. 

Hope all is well in the States! 

Love, Kami 

Annapurna- Chame

Hello from the Annapurna Curcuit!!  We are at the town of Chame and have out first view of Annapurna II -- the pointing Mt in the picture. It's 7937 meters high. 

The trek so far has been good. A steady incline. Sometimes I don't think I can go any further, then it levels out a bit. Bryan had been dealing with a head cold and I've had some stomach issues. But that's not stopping us!!!! We've met some great people on the trail.. Mostly from France, so it's kinda fun to try and communicate when we don't know eachother's language. 

I got a porter and I'm so thankful!! He is great and makes sure we are doing ok. 

All in all this is a beautiful part of the world and I'm just so thankful to be here. Sometimes I'll just stop mid stride, look at the mountains in complete awe for their majesty. 

The internet along the trail is spotty, so I might be uploading all these posts at the same time. :/ 

Until next post... 

Samibhanjyang

I'm on a bus headed west from Kathmandu for the second time. The first bus ride was significantly more comfortable than this current ride. Right now I'm crammed in the back seat that was clearly not designed for a 5"11' person. The leg room is about 5 inches too short and I can not seem to find a comfortable position.  The silver lining is that Bryan is next to me and we can lean on each other (literally and figuratively) for support. 

   

As I travel down the road, my mind wonders to the people and families I met in the village of Samibhanjyang, Nepal. As I worked side by side with the ladies of the village painting school benches, with several people hoping to expand their businesses, and with elderly men in dug out pits I felt a connection to these people... A connection that will last forever. 

As mentioned in earlier blogs, I cane to Nepal with a non profit group called SHe (Singular Humanitarian Experience). They have partnered with CHOICE Humanitarian who has worked in Samibhanjyang and othe villages through out Nepal. What I didn't know before coming was that Dr. Jim Mayfeild, the co-founder of CHOICE, would be on the trip along with a film crew, Scott, Maureen, and Mariah Proctor.  CHOICE has a goal to lift people out of extreme poverty and a specific goal in this area of Nepal thatin 3 years every home will have a smokeless kitchen. This trip was the first of many CHOICE trips to assist the villagers of that goal and to document the  progress. Dr. Mayfeild talked with us many times about the need for sustainable assistance in communities, not just coming in, doing work or giving service and then leaving. He explained that over the past 50 years of assisting those in need there have been many ideas, theories and practices that all have  "unintentional conveniences." However, he feels, and I agree, that bottom-up assistance sustained by local villages is currently the most effective method to end extreme poverty. 

We worked on several projects hand in hand with the CHOICE Nepal team (that has a constant presence in this village and others) and with the people of the village. 

The first day I was asked to assist another SHe menber in showing the school headmaster how to work donated microscopes. He was so eager to learn and watched with great intent as we showed him the different slides, power levels, and how to focus. We also gathered things like potatoes and grass to splice, stain, and examine. Blood is a great substance to look at under a microscope, so I made the small sacrifice and cut my finger to donate my blood for science. It was well worth it!! 

While painting school benches with about 20 Nepalese woman I met a new friend, Sunita. She is a teacher at the school, is 30 years old and has 2 sons. She was baffled when I told her I did not have children, and wasn't even married.  I can only assume that Sunita told the other ladies that I wasn't married cause they all looked at me with sad eyes then proceeded to touch my hair, face, stomach, and hips. All the the whole talking to me and to each other in Nepalese. I like to think they were saying "How? With this beautiful hair and skin is she not married!?" Sunita then said, "you are big, I am small, I should be like you. You are good to get married to."  Being big in Nepal is good for marriage!!  Just another reason to love this county! The ladies then took turns posing for pictures.  Some things are the same no matter the country. 

I found that technology was very different in the village than I anticipated. Most people had electricity for lights, cell phones, and cable TV. 

We also lead a discussion on how yo help the villagers be more successful in their businesses. Most of the people had livestock that they either sell for meat or sell products from the animals. They were looking to double their numbers. On man had an already large veggie greenhouse; he was looking to expand because the demand for his product is so great. I learned that the people were very able to grow their businesses, they just needed the tools and opportunity to do so. 

The main project of the week though was  building bio-gas digesters. The first step, which we participated in was to dig 5.5 ft deep by 10 ft wide holes in the Himalayan foothills. I soon found that Nepal has a healthy supply of rocks! We used picks and sledge hammers to break up the ground and rock. Everyone in the SHe group were rock stars (pun intended), but no more so than Bryan, whom the group affectionately called Thor through out the week. When people asked Bryan if he was having a good time he responded, "I get to break rocks with hammers, of course I'm having fun!" We all had our "Thor" moments as there were plenty of rocks to go around. My favorite scene though was to come back after lunch to find that the head of the house had cleared an area or a large boulder by himself. The CHOICE team explained that the hikes would get done with it without is as the people wereotivated to have a smokeless kitchen by cooking with the methane gas the digester provides. We were there to assist families that were not able to fully complete the digging by themselves. But, they did what the could and we're tremendously grateful for our help. 

In the evenings we were treated to music, dancing, tika blessings (red dot on forehead), and games. The best game was "cupatea." Ok, it's not really called "cup-of-tea," but  that's what it sounds like when the Nepalese say it. Basically you're on two teams on a court with a center line. One person crosses the center line and tries to tag a member of the other team without being captured, aka tackled, by the opposing team... All while exhaling and saying "cupoftea, cupoftea, cupoftea.."  It's painful and totally fun! 

My bus ride is almost over.. It's been a long day in the back of the bus. I'm excited to get on the trail and start the hike!! 

I'm sorry I don't have pictures of the village to add on this blog post. I kept my phone off and buried during my week in Samibhanjyang. I will add pics when I get home. 

Namaste,

Kami

It starts tomorrow!!

Only one day until I leave for my big trip abroad! I’m going over the last little details of my To-Do list, but basically I’m ready to go. 

Four months ago I decided to embark on this adventure of a humanitarian project and trekking the Annapurna Circuit. Four months to prepare for the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual demands for a trip like this… I hope I’m ready.  

The physical demands come mostly with trekking the 90 miles from Besi Sahar to Jomsom on the AC.  It will take Bryan and I about 2 weeks.  The trek continues on for another week to Naya Pul, but due to time constraints we are opting to fly out of Jomsom.  The trek starts at about 2,500ft and ends at about 9,000 ft. We’ll reach a max altitude of 17,769 ft as we summit the Thorung La Pass on day 12.  We’ll most likely trek 6-10 miles a day. 

The emotional and mental demands come both during the trek and humanitarian experience.  I’ve never attempted a 2 week long backpacking trip.  I’m not sure if I have what it takes to complete it, but I’m going to give it my best shot and hope for the best.  I like to think that I’m tough, but sometimes (ok, often) I take the easy way out and give up too soon.  I’ve been trying to visualize myself walking every day for 2 weeks and pressing on despite thoughts to turn around and go back.  I think this is my biggest fear… I hope I can conquer it!!

I’ll be serving in a village so remote we have to walk 90 minutes from the road to get to it.  We are helping to renovate a school house and assisting the women of the village with their animal co-op and by giving them basic business tools and practices to turn a profit.  That’s a big goal and we have little time in the village.  I know their life will be far different than mine and even though I’m there to teach them something, I have a feeling they will teach me more.  I hope I’m open to learn from them.

Nepal is a spiritual country.  There are many Buddhist Temples and pray flags. Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) was born in Lumbini, Nepal 2500 years ago.  I am not Buddhist and I believe strongly in my Christian beliefs, but I feel that there is truth in different religions.  I’m really looking forward to learning more about the Buddhist religion and the people the practice it.  I’m also looking forward to communing with God through nature, service, and prayer.  I believe that we are all children of God, and therefore we are brothers and sisters.  I’m looking forward to understanding the people of Nepal, my brothers and sisters, in a deep spiritual way.

 

Stay tuned… I’ll let you know how everything works out…

 

Love, Kami

Trip Preparations

Tickets for Nepal are bought!!  Trip dates are:  April 5 – May 10^th 2014

 

It is two months before the trip and preparations have flooded my mind.  I’m the type of person that wants to know EVERYTHING (well... almost everything) about a place before I go.  That way I can make  educated decisions about what to do, where to go, what to see, and all the other little details (like does the airport have a luggage storage so I don’t have to tote around my backpack on my 7 hr layover in Tokyo?) it takes to travel.   I envision a big box of possibilities, and then when I get to my destination I can pull from the box different things I want to explore.  That’s not to say I’m not without spontaneity.  Naturally I can’t learn everything about a place via the Internet and travel guides.  There is always the unforeseen event that cannot be planned for.  Also, inevitably, something is going to come up that I “just have to do” which I didn’t know about before.  When that comes, I have no problem crunching up my box, tossing it over my shoulder and moving forward with reckless abandon in full knowledge that the adventure before me is way better than anything I had read about in a book.

 

My last major international trip was to Europe in the Fall 2007.  I did a solo hostel to hostel trip with only a backpack from London to Venice for about a month.  I then met up with friends in Venice for a 12 day Mediterranean cruise to Rome.  I learned a lot from that trip about international travel and about myself as a traveler.  The biggest difference in that trip and this one is that I won’t be by myself.  I’m looking forward to that.  Although there are many advantages of traveling solo (go where you want, when you want), I realized that most of my joy and fulfilment from travel comes by experiencing it with someone else.   The people I’m going with have become great friends of mine while living in Alaska, and sharing this trip with them adds more meaning to the experience.   I think the most important aspect of travel is not necessarily where you go but who you go with.  And… I think I have some pretty great travel partners.  

 

Nancy is the one that introduced me to the humanitarian experience in the first place and started this whole adventure.  She is an engineer on Alaska’s North Slope, works with Engineers without Boarders doing various projects in Africa (she’s actually in Africa right now!), and is very well versed in International Travel.  Nancy and I met on a hiking trip through a friend.  I liked her instantly – fun, down to earth, intelligent and outdoorsy- just the type of person I like to surround myself with.  Since then, we’ve gone on many adventures together, had deep conversations, and have created a great sisterly bond.  We are alike in many ways, but Nancy is much more focused and driven than me.  She has the ability to persevere and thrive despite challenges and makes the hardest things look so easy and doable.  She’s taught me to trust and believe in myself. She has inspired me by her strength of character, her commitment to friends and family, and her humanitarian efforts.  I’m looking forward to experiencing this trip with her!! 

 

Nancy and I at the start of a weekend Backpacking trip: Hatcher’s Pass, AK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nancy: Hatcher’s Pass, AK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nancy and I at the beach in Homer, AK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bryan found out about the SHe trip totally unrelated to me.  In fact, he had wanted to go on a previous trip a few years ago but due to various reasons, could no longer go.  He found out about this trip to Nepal and mentioned it to my roommate.  She told him I was going and the next day we meet up to talk about the project and an extended stay in Nepal trekking around; it didn’t take much for him to say, “I’m in!”  Bryan is quite the adventurer! He and I met within the first few weeks of me moving to Alaska, then spent the summer playing phone tag trying to set up a weekend to go fishing together.  That finally happened and we had a blast dipnet and fly fishing for Salmon on the Kenai River.  That trip is on my top 10 favorite adventures of being in Alaska... it was so fun! Bryan is definitely “An Alaskan Man.” He’s never without moose meat at a campfire or a Robert Service poem to recite.   Bryan and I will stay in Nepal for a few more weeks after the humanitarian project and hike the Annapurna Circuit (Nancy already took lots of time off this year from work and needs to go back).  I’m really grateful he’s going on this trip.  Bryan is always great company and if anything were to go wrong, I trust him to help me get down the mountain safely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bryan showing me the fly fishing technique used to catch Salmon on the Kenai River.

 

 

 

 

 

Bryan and I on the Cross Pass Trail, Girdwood, AK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We saw some Mt. Goats along the trail, Crow Pass, AK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I feel that our three personalities with mesh together well.  We are all easy going, have similar expectations for the trip, and enjoy the same types of activities.  Although, you never REALLY know until after the trip.  When it’s all said and done, I’ll let you know if I still feel the same about them J

Thank you to those that have supported me in words and deeds.  Your encouragement and support mean a lot to me. 

If you would still like to contribute to the cost of the trip, you can do so via paypal or through the mail.  My email address is kamicia@gmail.com.  My address is: 3335 Kendall Loop, Anchorage AK 99507. 

 

 

All my Best,

Kami

Nepal - April 2014

So much for my goal in 2013 to become a blogger.. only 2 posts…  shameful!   On the bright side however, I’ve saved blog post #3 for a very exciting announcement-  

I’m going to NEPAL in April!!!! 

photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal

I am beyond excited to finally go to a country that has been on my bucket list ever since I knew it existed (somewhere between 4^th and 6^th grade when I found out that the tallest mountain in the world, Everest, was in Nepal ).  And, I’ll be doing humanitarian work there… which means this trip is bringing together all of my favorite things:  traveling, helping people, mountains, hiking, learning about different cultures, and accomplishing goals (i.e.:  a check off on the bucket list).

The main reason why I am going is for humanitarian project assisting the community with business development and renovating a school house.  The organization I’m going with is SHe (Singular Humanitarian Experience).  Their mission is two- fold: facilitate meaningful and unforgettable opportunities for single LDS young professionals and their friends to serve together anywhere in the world in sustainable humanitarian development projects. Basically, SHe was formed by a group of Mid-Single LDS friends that wanted to create more meaningful opportunities for other LDS singles besides the ho-hum of dances and game nights.  And I’m so glad they did!  Not that I don’t enjoy a good game-night (bring on the reverse charades, apples to apples, and scategories!) but I do enjoy spending my time in more meaningful ways. 

Photo: http://www.singularhumanitarian.org

For this trip, SHe has partnered with CHOICE Humanitarian.  They’re a NGO that specializes in village based sustainability projects in many different countries, including Nepal.  CHOICE’s website states,

“We connect motivated villages to resources and tools that allow villagers to change their lives. By building skills, capacities and leadership of the villagers, entire communities can break the cycle of poverty. Communities continue to move forward by defining objectives and leveraging connections.”

The village is located in the Duradanda Region of Lamjung District which is North-East of Kathmandu, near the Annapurna Mountains. 

Which brings me to an added bonus of going all the way to Nepal:  Hiking the Annapurna Circuit. Now, I have to admit that the Annapurna Circuit wasn’t on my bucket list, but hiking to Everest Base Camp was.  This desire came about due to reading WAY too many books about climbing Mt. Everest, and about mountain climbing expeditions in general, “Into Thin Air,” “Left for Dead,” “Touching the Void,”  to name a few.  I realized after hiking to the top of Mt. Timpanogos (11,752 ft) that I didn’t really have the desire to go to the TOP of the mountains (much less a 8,000+meter mountain) but that I enjoyed the hike…regardless of the final destination.  So, climbing Mt. Everest was out… but hiking to Base Camp- that was more my style.

However, I never even knew about the Annapurna Circuit until good friends of mine (shout out to Claire and Travis Staley) hiked it on their tour of Asia a few years ago.  Since then, I learned many amazing things about the Trek and thus updated my bucket list.  I’m not taking Base Camp off completely, but just adding Annapurna to it.  Because of the proximity of the humanitarian project, the length of time it takes to complete either Annapurna or Base Camp (2 weeks or more) and the limited I can take off from work… Annapurna wins this time around. 

So, what is this trek?  In total, it’s a 145 mile semi-circle trail around the huge Annapurna Mountains. 

Photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annapurna_Circuit

Annapurna I is the 10^th highest mt. in the world at 8,091 m (26,545 ft).  In the mt. range there are thirteen additional peaks over 7,000 m (22,970 ft) and 16 more over 6,000 m (19,690 ft).  The trek involves walking from village to village along the trail and staying in family run teahouses.  Additionally, it will be necessary to summit Thorong La Pass at 5,416 m (17,769 ft) which is the highest point along the trail. 

 
Photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorung_La

 

The area is equally rich in culture and scenery.  Again, do to time and other constraints I won’t hike the entire trial… I’ll end in Jomsom and fly out from there, which is about a 12 day trek if everything goes smoothly with acclimatization.  I haven’t been able to find the exact mileage, but I’ll let you know when I’m done.  This will easily be the longest backpacking trip I’ve ever done.

This chart shows the elevation gain in meters from each major village:

Photo: http://www.summitpost.org/altitude-profile-of-the-trek/286713

 

So there you have it… my trip in a nutshell.  I’ll be gone for 5 weeks… April 5^th to May 10^th.

I’ve already sent out a letter to some friends and family asking for donations to fund the trip. I’m so grateful to those that have donated!!!!!  I couldn’t do this trip without you!!!! 

If you would like to donate, you can do so through pay pal. I have an account and the funds will be delivered directly to me. Enter your email, my email (kamicia@gmail.com) and the amount you wish to donate.

If you don’t have a Pay-Pal account, you can create one – it is fast, easy and free to create an account. Pay-Pal is a convenient and safe way to transfer funds between bank accounts. The system stores your account information and links it to your email address. I never know your account number and you never know mine.

If you would prefer to send a donation through the mail, my address is:

3335 Kendall Loop, Anchorage, AK 99507

About 60% of the cost of the humanitarian experience will go toward providing materials for the community. The remaining 40% will be for my in-country transportation, food, and lodging. I am hoping to raise $1500. None of the cost will go toward SHe... they are a 100% volunteer program. For my part, I am working extra shifts at work and have established a strict savings plan to fund the airfare and any additional money I will need while there.

 

Thanks for reading.. I know that was a long one.  And stay tuned for more!!