This is enough..

 I started a new book last night, Ascent into Hell by Fergus White. It is his story of his attempt to climb Mount Everest. I am enjoying the early chapters as he is telling of his experience hiking from Lukla to EBC. Most stories about climbers attempts on Everest tend to skip this part of the journey. He had hiked to Island Peak ( the attempt to summit was cancelled do to poor weather) the previous year and he struggled with altitude sickness. This time he is taking extra precautions and shares some great tips about how to acclimate better in his story. 

While I have really only just started on the book there is one thing that bothers me. It is that he really is not an experienced climber. I don't understand why someone that has never climbed a 8000m mountain would take on Everest. I also do not understand why (except for greed)  these climbing companies take on inexperienced climbers. The mountain has become so crowded over the years with so many attempting it within such a short climbing window that it adds to the dangerous conditions. You then add inexperienced climbers that can slow down and even block faster ones it just multiplies the risks. I personally wish they would set minimum experience levels before they are even allowed to even begin to climb. Unfortunately there are people that just want to impress and tick this off their bucket list. I will be interested to see how this story goes, but I'm guessing by the title it will be pretty hellish, but I can assume he makes it out alive as he does write a book about his experience. 

Everest Base camp is daring enough for me. The goal of trekking there and then climbing Kalapathar for the amazing views will be enough. To just view the highest point in the world will be incredible.  I don't feel the need to stand atop it, I never have. 

                                View from top of Kalapathar, Everest is the gray mountain - center back.

Inspiring

 I wrote a few weeks ago about being inspired. The stories, people and nature that inspire me to train to complete my goals. But it is not just being inspired to do this, it is because I want to be an inspiration to others and to tackle what they feel may be an impossible goal. I want to inspire my own kids to live life to the fullest. I want my grandkids to look back and remember their grandmother as one hell of a lady that didn't sit around. That their grandma did amazing things until the day she died. I want them to all to say - I want to grow old like her. If I die doing what I love, well it's a great way to go. No regrets. 

My oldest son died just days before his 21st birthday. He lived life fully every year he was alive. No fear, no regrets, just a zest for life and going after his dreams. Even though his life was cut short he lived a full life. 

I think I have lived my life well so far. I have been able to travel to some amazing places. I have had some wonderful experiences and have successfully achieved some of my dreams. I have raised 5 kids- some I gave birth to and others I adopted. I have a grandson I was lucky enough to spend lots of time with while he was young. I look forward to doing so again with more grandkids in the future. My life while not always very exciting has been an adventure in itself. My marriages may not have been successful, but they did lead me down some fantastic paths so that I do not have any regrets. 

Now I have  new things to look forward to. Alaska in a few months, Camping and hiking in West Texas and New Mexico in the next two years and then the big one... NEPAL! 

Accomplishing Goals

 Today I awoke with a renewed enthusiasm to succeed in this journey to EBC. Even after my crappy workout this morning i stayed positive. My yoga went great, my Wim Hoff breathing was a minor struggle and the stair stepper was a total bust again as my knee started hurting almost right away even though I had on my knee brace. I have ordered some new ones and they should get delivered tomorrow. I hope that they will help. I looked up online what type of exercises I should be doing to help strengthen and improve my knees. I'm pretty much doing it right. Several of my yoga positions were recommended so I really need to focus on them. I just have to remind myself to take it slow... I've plenty of time to build up my strength and get in shape. The only thing I feel a bit of pressure for is to be in half decent shape for Alaska. We don't have any big hikes planned, but hope to do a few short ones (less than 2 miles). 

Maintaining the enthusiasm to train for the EBC trek has been more difficult than what I had imagined. It would be so easy to just throw in the towel and take an easier path in life. I could go buy an camper and just hit the road seeing things as I fly past them on the highway. That was pretty much how I saw things as a kid when vacationing with my parents. Honestly, we went to the Grand Canyon on our way back to Texas from California, We entered the park, parked the car, walked up to the upper edge of the South Rim, looked over the edge, took a few pictures, got back into the car and then continued the drive home. I like to go to one place and spend time there. I want to explore the area, try the local cuisine, get to know the people and culture and just savor the experience. I like to go to new places, some of them maybe off the beaten path. I like new experiences. I love adventure. I don't want to grow old sitting in front of the television. I want to go to EBC and be able to boast about it! I want to tell people to get out and and live, enjoy life, don't let age get in the way of pursuing your dreams. I want to feel that sense of accomplishment of achieving a really big goal, a dream, a life well lived. 

A different day

 What a difference a day makes. Last night I felt rotten.  I was tired and my muscles ached and I was feeling a bit depressed. I had a cup of chamomile tea, took two Tylenol PM's and headed to bed early. I slept okay, woke up every few hours and just felt like I wasn't getting a good rest. I was awake by 5:00 am but it took me till 5:30 to decide to face the day. Once I was up and going I got into my morning yoga and workout. I immediately felt better. I put on the knee brace before tackling the stair stepper and was able to complete over 200 steps (yesterday I was in pain by 10). I was then off to shower, had my coffee, dressed and played with the dogs before heading to work. I feel so much better today! Yesterday I was really doubting that I could accomplish my trekking goals, today I am ready to go. 

I need to know I will be confronted with set-backs and obstacles in my journey. Nothing is ever simple in life and especially at my age. I do have an attitude though that you are only as old as you feel, and I do not feel any older than I did ten years ago ( I would say 20 - but I honestly felt better in my 50's than I did in my 40's). I have to keep reminding myself that I will be 65 on my next birthday. I do keep getting little reminders in the mail as I get Medicare info in the mail weekly. Decisions will have to be made in the coming months regarding that. Age may be just a number - but as far as the government is concerned I'm a senior citizen. 

Well I've not much else to share today. I haven't had any sudden moments of enlightenment or clarity.  Just a renewed belief that I can accomplish the goals before me. 

Summer Doldrums...

 This morning was tough. I was awake by 4:00 am and never really fell back asleep. I finally gave up at 5:30 and decided to do a light workout. Wednesdays are usually my rest day - little or no workout. I hop on the stair stepper aiming to do 150 steps when after the first few I get a shooting pain in my left knee. I maybe got 10 steps done before I had to quit. This is my biggest fear about doing a long trek - knee pain. My left knee does not like staircases, this is one of the reasons I got a stair stepper is so that I can hopefully strengthen my knees and not have any issues on a long hike. The EBC trek has a lot of stairs carved into the hills. Personally I prefer a gentle slope, but to each his own I guess. I do plan on wearing a knee brace when I go even if my knees are not hurting me then. I'd rather be safe than sorry. I guess I may need to do the same when working out at home. I just worry that my knee pain won't improve and I will not be able to attempt the EBC trek. 

So since I scrapped my workout I went outside to feed the birds and water a few plants. The temperature overnight only dropped to 78, but with ridiculously high humidity it already felt like the mid  to upper 80's. So with that and crazy allergies I started feeling pretty rotten. I came close to calling in sick to work, but decided to take two ibuprofen and see if I improved. By the time I was heading out the door to work I was feeling pretty low. I really hate summer in Texas, well I hate the heat no matter where I am. Summer is so depressing for me. I really just want to hop in my car and head to the mountains for a few days. But it is an 8 hour drive to the nearest range in New Mexico. I hate how depressing summer is for me.  Two months and three days until I depart for Alaska - Hang in there. Step by step, day by day, it will be here before I know it. 

EBC Trail - Stairs

Denali National Park, Alaska

An Introverts View

I think one reason I like hiking is that it is the perfect activity for an introvert like me. It is socially acceptable to hike alone, avoid conversation and just listen to the sounds of nature.  I find if I need to break off for a few minutes I can stop and pull out my binoculars (or camera) and pretend to view something interesting. This is easily done if you are also a bird watcher like myself. 

I sometimes think about why I became so introverted. I wasn't always this way. I suppose the first  life experiences that made me a bit distrustful was being bullied in Junior High School. I also never was part of a large group of friends, I always did prefer a tighter group or just a few close friends that I could trust. I found that when the group got large there would be discontent and gossip about whoever wasn't around. I could never trust a group that did that.  As I got older the close friends became fewer as family and work created more demands. I now find that I have family left around me and that is pretty much it. I am fine with that, but I am at times a little bit lonely. 

The losses I have faced in my life have also led me to withdraw more. Deaths and divorces just added to the withdrawal from people. I found that after my son died that people were often uncomfortable around me. They didn't know what to say, or worried they would say something inappropriate. I think they also thought I wouldn't want to get out and have fun and laugh. Maybe I didn't, I know I did enjoy my own company during that time. I had a lot to think about and work through. 

As I grow older I find that crowds (especially the noise) adds to to my stress and anxiety. I really do try to avoid them as much as possible. I am also withdrawing more from society due to the collapse of kindness. I am in shock at the rudeness of others, the name-calling, hatred, racism, homophobia etc. that is now rampant in our society. The lack of acceptance in differences have become mainstream by many in our society. It is enough to send me fleeing into the wilderness to stay. Gun violence and the lack of our leaders to tackle it is shocking. The fact that people accept it, even more so. 

I do not want to live in a society that is like this. I am too tired to take on the battle and face the inevitable defeat. 

So instead I go hiking.

Alone. 

Weather or not...

 Another week has flown by. It wasn't a bad week, but nothing exciting either. It is a three day weekend due to the new Juneteenth holiday on Monday. I plan on going to Waco to get an oil change and do a bit of shopping. Other than that I will try to get out early each day and get some yard work done before it gets to hot.... but with the forecast that is going to be hard to do as the lows are upper 70's with high humidity and daytime highs will be in the 100's with heat indexes over 110f. 

This heat/humidity has put the brakes on my weekend hiking. It's just too dangerously hot to be out in it. It looks like the next three months will be yoga and stair-stepper in my nice cool air-conditioned house. I'll just be dreaming of Alaska at the end of the summer and hopefully getting to do a bit of hiking in the nice 50-60 degree days! Oh but don't these weather reports look good right now! It is nearly 30 degrees warmer here in Central Texas.  Fairbanks is forecast to get to 72f today. It is already 10 pm Friday in Namche but tomorrow is forecast to get to 53f with some rain. 

Current Weather Fairbanks, Alaska

8:13 AM

59°F

Clouds and sun

RealFeel® Sun 60°

RealFeel Shade™ 57°

Max UV Index

1 Low

Wind

N 7 mph

Wind Gusts

7 mph

Humidity

49%

Indoor Humidity

36% (Slightly Dry)

Dew Point

40° F

Pressure

↔ 29.36 in

Cloud Cover

71%

Visibility

10 mi

Cloud Ceiling

13300 ft

       

     

Current Weather Namche Bazaar, Napal               9:56 PM

54°F

Some clouds

RealFeel® 52°

Wind Gusts

15 mph

Humidity

60%

Indoor Humidity

36% (Slightly Dry)

Dew Point

40° F

Pressure

↑ 29.85 in

Cloud Cover

51%

Visibility

7 mi

Cloud Ceiling

30000 ft

Wishes

 My days are filled with thoughts of the Himalayas. In my head I imagine my journey and the time I would spend there. I think of volunteering with kids in a rural school, do I volunteer for four weeks? Six weeks? Eight weeks? Where else do I travel while in Nepal before I return back home? Will this be a once off trip or will I get a chance to return? So many questions. Answers... not so many. 

I do plan on taking a four day excursion to Chitwan National Park. It is located in the southern region closer to India. It is a jungle climate with loads of wildlife. It looks to be a pretty amazing adventure. I've also been looking at the possibility of doing a short mountain trek when I first arrive just to get a taste of what the longer EBC trek will be like. It's just an idea. Maybe something in the Annapurna region of the Himalayas. 

I am so obsessed with this trip I am already looking at and adding things to my Amazon wishlist. Hiking boots, trekking poles, backpacks, and well pretty much anything that crosses my mind. I do love that Amazon has a wishlist feature. My daughters are great at buying off of it for me when they are getting me a gift. It is also a great way to save things  for later rather than trying to locate them again. 

So anyway here's a few pics that keep me motivated for my goal.

Chitwan National Park

Annapurna

Creating my Story...

 Sunday morning I was watching a news interview with the author of Lessons in Chemistry. She is 66 years old and just wrote her first published novel, it became a best seller on the NY Times list. The final sentence in the interview was that "You can change your story, it is never too late". 

I'm not sure if I am changing my story or taking ownership of the story I wanted. I guess that either way I am writing a story for myself that is a bit unexpected, but yet was dreamed of. I know now that I am sixty-four I cannot delay chasing my goals and dreams. If I want to change my story I had better get busy doing so now. 

I try to keep myself inspired by reading and watching stories about people who go after their dreams. On Saturday I watched a documentary "14 Peaks" . It was the story of a Nepalese man that was aiming to climb all fourteen 8000+ meter mountains in one season. It was something that was unheard of. The first person that accomplished climbing all 14 was back in the 1970-80's and it took him sixteen years to climb all fourteen. The record when Nims Purba began this quest was seven years.  It was inspiring to watch. Thankfully I have no desire whatsoever to climb any 8000 meter mountains. I am impressed with the fortitude of those that do so, but  the risk factor is way outside of my comfort zone. 

So with inspiration come determination. A few weeks ago I purchased a stair-stepper. I have been doing pretty well getting on it daily (except for a day or two after I over-did it and made my knees hurt). I am taking it a bit slower and will gradually build up my workouts. This weekend I added Hatha yoga to my morning workout and Wim Hof breathing exercises. These will be a big part of my summer workouts as I don't do heat, and Texas in the summer is hot 24/7. I think it's my aversion to heat that has led me to decide to trek in the Himalayas in November when it is much colder than in the Spring or early Autumn. 

I am excited to see what my story becomes. 

Sickening heights...

 One of my concerns about trekking EBC is the altitude. It will take me higher than I have ever traveled. I have been to Cloudcroft New Mexico numerous times at 9000 foot elevation with no problems, but the last time I traveled in Colorado I had a headache for days that I could not get rid of. Many of the trekkers recommend and take Diamox (a altitude sickness preventative prescription) and swear by it. I looked into it but I would not be able to take it to to certain drug allergies and sensitivities that I have. I posted a query on the EBC trekking FB page about natural alternatives and most recommended take it slow, allow time to acclimate and drink lots and lots of water. There were a few other hints too - Garlic, Ginger, Advil. A few people swear by a all natural OTC pill called Altitude RX. It is a Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Alpha Lipoic Acid, and Ginkgo Bilba Extract.  I might give it a try when I head off to Cloudcroft next year and see how I do. 

On a side note, as of today I have exactly two years and seven months until I retire. 

Step by step, day by day...

Alaska First

 Lately I have been too focused on getting to Nepal in three years. but in less than 3 months I am traveling to Alaska for a trip of a lifetime with my daughter Fantu. She's my nature documentary loving adventurer. She didn't hesitate to offer to go when my friend backed out of the trip a few months back.  Last night when I wish I had been sleeping I got to thinking about the trip and started to get excited. The trip was booked through Alaska Rail.

We will be flying into Fairbanks arriving quite late that night. We will have one day to explore before taking the train (traveling in the Goldstar class) to Denali National Park. We will have 2- half days and one full day there to explore. We will be taking the Denali bus into the park as far as it can travel ( which due to a landslide is only 40 miles instead of 80). We will hopefully get to do a few short hikes and then see what we can explore after that. From there we travel to Anchorage for a quick overnight before catching the train to Seward and a catamaran cruise around Resurrection Bay hopefully seeing whales, seals, otters, puffins and eagles. Hopefully we will get lucky and see a glacier calving too. We are also planning on a hike in Kenai Fjords National Park to see the Exit Glacier. We will be there overnight before returning to Anchorage. We will be wrapping the the adventure by taking a flight on a seaplane to Lake Clark National Park and going out by boat onto Crescent Lake to view the Brown (Grizzly) bears feasting on salmon around the shores of the lake. We will have a day to explore Anchorage before catching our long flight home.  

It will be a busy trip and hopefully filled with fun and adventure oh and lots of salmon and halibut to eat!

Am I fooling myself?

 I think I may have over-done the stair stepper - oh my aching knees. I'm giving them a bit of a break with just a minimal workout on it for a few days then slowly build back up. I did go on a nice hike on Sunday. I wore my good knee brace and didn't have any pain. The trail wasn't challenging, a few steps and minor ups and downs but was mostly flat. I do live in Central Texas after all so it is challenging to find hilly hiking locations without driving a few hours (or days). 

I get discouraged when I get pain like this. It is a reminder that I'm not as young as I usually feel. Why do joints and muscles just start to ache without any injury? I'm just not ready to hurt just because my body is aging and wearing out. I am really hopeful though that I can get it back into shape and strengthen the joints and muscles that aren't wanting to cooperate right now. I just have to remember to keep it all slow and steady. I've plenty of time to get into shape. I just hope I'm not fooling myself thinking I can do this. 

In the EBC Facebook group I follow I see people posting that are in their 50's and are talking like they are so old. They have an attitude of can I do this at this age - or I can't believe I did this at my age. I'm just like FFS I wish I felt as amazing as I did in my 50's. I honestly felt like I was in my prime then and felt better than I ever had. I honestly still have to remind myself that at 64 people see me as old. I guess I am, but I certainly don't think of myself as old. On most days I don't feel it. Am I fooling myself? 

EBC- 130 kms round trip -  80 miles trekked over eleven days,  hiking from 9000 ft elevation to over 18,000 ft. 

Temperatures below freezing, inside and out. 

I'll be 67 years and 10 months if I do this when I have it planned. 

Am I fooling myself?

Oh I hope not. 

Inspired

 Another week has flown past and a new month has begun. May was successful in kicking off my workouts to start getting into shape for a hopefully dream trekking trip to the Himalayas and EBC trek in 2026. I received my stair stepper exerciser and hop on it multiply times a day for short workouts. As I get stronger I hope to do two workouts a day for much longer periods. I have already doubled the amount of steps I do in just a week. I did two Sunday hikes in Mother Neff State Park, I would've done more but the weather didn't cooperate. As it was I did one of the hikes in a light rain. 

I have been regularly watching YouTube videos of the EBC trek to keep myself motivated. I also found a book on Amazon that I have really enjoyed reading. Doofus Dad does the Everest Base Camp: One of Earths Epic Adventures told by a slightly-less-than-epic-guy by Mark E Johnson. He's a great story-teller combining the adventure and experience of the trek, a good bit of humor and inspiration. He's honest about the difficulties faced due to the challenges of the terrain and the altitude. His excitement about being there and the joy and awe of what he saw and experienced has further inspired me to accomplish this trip myself. I am now even considering adding the Gokyo Ri to the trek if I can really get my fitness level up to a higher level. It is a more challenging side trip that crosses a high pass, 2 glaciers and a stunning climb that rewards those who succeed with amazing views of seven of the highest peaks in the Himalayas. It also adds three additional days to the trip taking it from 14 to 17 days. But you only live once and at my age I need to not waste any opportunities for adventure. 

                                                The view from Gokyo Ri Summit

I love Mountains!