Trekking the Himalayas

The Conception

After Eurailing around Europe back in 2012, I was keen to make another epic journey after I've garnered enough vacation leaves at work. I had been itching to go to Turkey or Croatia but with my ankles and stamina getting weaker, I wanted to first go somewhere that I may not be able to go to when I’m older. I wanted to see the spectacular views of the Himalayas. So, when I learned about the Everest Base Camp trek, it became part of my very long bucket list. Originally, I planned on hiking to Mount Apo (the tallest mountain in the Philippines) and Mount Kota Kinabalu in Borneo before the Himalayas. But after hiking Mount Bulusan in July 2014, I concluded that hiking and I just weren't congruent …. And so, I decided to just go straight to the Himalayas.

One of my favorite views along the trail

 The Preparation

I've been hiking here and there the last two years and I was completely aware how physically unfit I am. I get winded after climbing a flight of stairs—and I've been climbing a flight of stairs to work every day for the last two years. I’m the slowest hiker in all the hiking groups I've been with. After struggling to the summit on a hike, I’d be on zombie-mode going down the next day. And, I usually get sick after a day of strenuous activity.

I created an exercise plan but since August 2014, I've been getting sick every two weeks. I later learned I had a lung infection and probably had nasal allergies. I didn't get to follow my exercise plan but I was able to do some Muay Thai (i.e., two sessions of Muay Thai) and a hike to Mount Kanlaon during the last quarter of the year, and an overnight hike to Mount Damas 6 weeks before the trip.

A month before the trip, I finally visited the doctor and gathered that I should bring a lot of anti-allergy medications and an inhaler to EBC. Before the trip, I was still out of breath after a flight of stairs but I was mentally prepared. Although my previous hiking experience had not physically prepared me, I knew my limitations very well and I was already pretty much used to panting my way up to a mountain.  Luther had mentioned before that although on a physical level I was way below average, my will power was way above average. True enough, there wasn't a single moment where I thought I couldn't make it to EBC or Kala Patthar.

The Plan

I’m not a fan of tour agencies. I usually prefer to travel independently, which would give me more freedom. But I was not confident of my hiking skills (if I had any) to do a trek alone. I was leaning towards just getting a packaged trek, when I came across Gina Sales’ blog. Her blog had been very helpful in my planning and preparation for this trip, and led me to the Himalayan Planet. I estimated the cost of doing the trip independently and taking a package with Himalayan Plant. Like Gina, I didn't find the difference of the cost to be substantial. I believe that the difference was just right to compensate for the effort needed if I organized everything myself. Besides, if I were already in zombie-mode by the second day of hiking, I didn't want to worry about my accommodation and meals when I arrive in a village.

I didn't want to join a trekking group because I know I’m very slow and if I were with a group, I would be pressured which wouldn't make the trek fun anymore. I told Himalayan Planet about my concerns and they said I could do a solo trip. They assured me that they had a client before who was very slow (i.e., Gina) who nevertheless made it to the Everest Base Camp. So, I took Himalayan Planet's Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar Trek and I believe I made a good choice in doing so.

Mount Everest from Kala Patthar

The Companion

Who did I go with? Well, let’s start from the beginning. I’m very picky with who I travel with. Angela is my default travel partner. She and I both have the same budget and she forces me to visit museums and places that I wouldn’t have otherwise thought of visiting. But Angela doesn’t hike and she was very clear in telling me that she didn’t want to spend 12 days trekking to see the Himalayas. So Angela wasn't an option. I had two other options: Luther and Leo—my favorite hiking buddies. I was always the last one every time I trek and I trust Luther and Leo to accompany me while I catch m breath. Luther was very reluctant—I asked him almost everyday for months to join me but he had plenty of excuses. Leo, on the other hand, was not yet sure but he was very much interested. I wanted to go around October or November 2014 but Leo asked if we could move it to 2015. So I did… I moved it to February (I later moved it to March since my aunt and my new cousin were visiting us in February). However, at around the 4^th quarter of 2014, Leo told me that he couldn't come. At that point, I was pretty much okay to trek with anyone. I asked random friends but of course, how many people are willing to spend $3000 to trek? By December, I was pretty much set to the idea of hiking alone.

2015. It was New Year and I had just told Himalayan Planet that I was going to book with them. Drunk with excitement, I told almost everyone who gave their greetings online that I was going to EBC. Leo and Luther both said that they wanted to come too but didn't give their commitment. Among the random people I chatted with that night was a guy named Victor, a friend’s friend, whom I've met in Cebu one drunken night. I arbitrarily announced to this acquaintance that I was going to EBC alone due to lack of willing companions. He then said that I should have invited him. I told him that he could still join me and he said he’ll let me know of his decision in a week. 5 minutes later, he sent me a message that he was coming.

I felt happy for a moment as we briefly chatted about our next steps. But a few minutes later, I wasn't sure if I made the right decision to invite him. After all, part of my excitement was doing this trek alone. But after a couple of weeks, I was glad Victor was coming. It was nice to have someone to talk to about the trip—to discuss which gear to bring, which airline to take, and so on. Now my only problem was that I didn't know him well enough. I was going with a guy I've met once while I was drunk. I was spending a lot of money (and vacation leaves) for this trip and I didn't want to ruin it just because of awkwardness or incompatibility. I spent the next three months chatting with him online and I already warned him that 1) I was very slow, 2) I snore and drool while sleeping, 3) I was really very slow, and 4) I wasn't planning on taking a bath for two weeks (my plan was really to bathe every other day). Finally, a day before our flight to Kathmandu, we finally met for the second time.

Note: For my expenses, I spent less than US$3000, inclusive of airfare, taxes and shopping, in my Nepal trip. Himalayan Planet, a local Nepali company, offers a really good and professional trekking packages at affordable rates.