when you're bored in nepal...you go trekking
- Paula Stokes
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
in 2017, i took a leave of absence from my job. i had 6 months and planned to travel for the whole time. i had done multiple trips for up to 6 weeks and loved it. i felt free and more myself on the open road. this time it was different; home was calling.
i traveled with friends to thailand then went on alone to nepal.
i facetimed my sister and complained i was lonely. it was a new feeling. in the past i wandered around and met up with people but i didn't feel that connection. my heart was not in it.
she said, "go do something. don't waste being out in the world". at the time i was in pokhara, a tiny and very sleepy town. travelers often stop there and go on trek. this is rush hour. happens around 9 AM.
i had nothing planned. she said, "go for a hike". I took her advice and planned a trek to annapurna base camp with the tiny and mighty Kumari Kulung, a (very young at the time) mountain guide. as my sister was my safety check in, i let her know my plan. the conversation went something like this...
"what??!!!" a trek. "how long are you going?" 6 days. "with how many people?" just me. i began to question my choices but decided to go anyway.
i chose kumari because she looked nice and i was trekking alone. i thought it would be less awkward with a female guide. know what? it was and awesome 6 days trekking up in the mountains from hut to hut. i always felt safe, except when we crossed bridges... then i thought i might be in trouble! she took care of every arrival and meal. she is the smiliest person i ever met. in the second picture i asked her to practice a game face. she didn't smile for 30 seconds -- a record for her.
kumari is so strong she offered to carry my pack multiple times. i refused multiple times. i finally said no enough times then i regretted being stubborn on the way up.
despite almost turning around at the first of many scary and sometimes questionable bridges, we made it to machhapuchhre base camp (MBC) and annapurna base camp (ABC). that's me on the left...almost there. kumari is pointing to annapurna-- if you're wondering why, watch the video below.
i didn't understand why people needed to get to the top of the mountain until i did this trek... it was more than amazing.
along way down i pet a buffalo, found baby birds and tiny frogs. i saw a lot of people with a lot less and in some cases fewer teeth who seemed awfully happy.
on one of the last days, i paused on the side of the road and took this. it's one of my favorite photos: just a leaf skeleton on a rock. i find it almost as beatiful as the top of the mountain...almost.
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