These Boots Are Made For Walking

April 24
Kathmandu, Nepal

I was scheduled to start volunteer work at an orphanage in Kathmandu on May 3rd. This left me with precious little time to do what I really wanted, which was attempt to trek to Mount Everest Base Camp. It is an arduous but extremely popular trek. However, including both distance and acclimitization time, it takes about 15 days, which I did not have. I could have done other, easier treks in different areas of the Himalayas, such as the Langtang or Annapurna ranges. Several people had actually recommended I fly to altitude and do some easy day treks. But I've read too much about the Khumbu region, and wanted to have a Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park trekking permit as a souvenir. So I spent part of the day before I left Delhi doing some research on reputable trekking companies, and settled on one that is popular with women traveling solo. It is entirely possible (not to mention a fraction of the price) to do the trek without hiring a tour company or even a guide. Some folks grab a map, hire a porter to carry their stuff and just hit the trail. Had I been with people who knew what they were doing, I might have opted for that choice. But since I was on my own, and definitely out of shape and practice, I arranged for a custom built trek that would fit both my schedule and ability, along with a guide/porter who was trained in high altitude medicine. Puru, the man who runs the company, picked me up at the airport and took me straight to his office to arrange things.

It's a good thing I booked the trek, because Kathmandu immediately presented itself as low on the list of favorite places I've visited. In fact, it might be at the bottom. I had gotten a window seat on the left side of the plane so that I could have a view of the mountains when flying into town. I kept looking and anticipating, along with everyone else on the flight, for that first glimpse of the snow capped Himalayas. We waited and looked at first out the windows, then around at each other. The mountains never came into view. That's how smoggy and polluted Kathmandu is - it sits in a bowl of dust and smoke and exhaust that totally clouds any view of the surrounding mountains. It made the view you get flying into LA seem crystal clear. As we made our way through town, I was less impressed. What I saw was dirtier and dustier than India, if you can imagine that. I got an instant headache and what's worse, felt like I was back in Laos. My lungs hurt and I developed an immediate cough. I don't know what scientific instruments measure air quality, but that of Kathmandu has to tip the scales. We got to Thamel, the main tourist district and area where I was staying, to learn that the electricity was out until 9pm. The government somewhat regulates their power cuts in that at least citizens generally know in advance how many hours they will be without power (in India the power would just go off without warning), but that also means 4-6 hour blocks, sometimes two per day, without electricity. Thamel was tight and crowded with lots of dirty burnout hippie types, as well as backpackers. I was not impressed, and was glad to be getting out.

I had planned on having my gear (boots, long underwear, good socks, down jacket, etc.) meet me in Nepal rather than lug it around for 3 months. Thanks to the volcanic ash cloud over Europe, I could not count on any of it to arrive in Kathmandu before I started my trek, so I canceled the shipment. This meant that I would be buying or renting everything from gloves to a sleeping bag, and it unfortunately included boots. You can get pretty much any kind of trekking (and to some extent mountaineering) gear you need in Thamel; tourism is Nepal's biggest industry and they come in droves in the spring and fall to trek in the mountains. The one thing that all books, message boards and people will tell you is the exception: you can't get good boots in Nepal. Of course they are the one thing you rely on most when doing a trek. Of course you would not want to break in a brand spanking new pair of boots during the trek of a lifetime. And of course, that's exactly what I would be doing. All of the gear is knock off stuff, and so long as a down parka keeps me warm at 14000 feet, I don't care if it says "Mountain Hardware" or in my rental case, "Everest Hardware." Most of the gear I got was just fine, but the boots left something to be desired. They were actual leather, but they were heavy and clunky and they made me nervous. I suspected they would give me trouble down (or rather, up) the road, but my only other choice was to not trek. My tropical weather footwear consisted of a pair of slip on pumas and a Nepali-made (read: short shelf life) pair of flip flops. (My good flip flops were stolen by the security woman at the Delhi airport; she and her partner gave me an extremely hard time and a brutal frisk, and only when I was boarding the plane did I realize that my stylin' Reefs had gone missing. I hope she steps in a lot of cow shit with them). Neither of those would be a good choice to walk in for the next 9 days, so my only option was to buy the clunkers and deal with any problems later. How I'd be cursing the volcano somewhere around 13,000 feet.

After we got my gear, I met my guide/porter, Phurba Sherpa. I was glad he was a Sherpa, as where we were headed was his home terrain, and he seemed like a nice enough guy. He showed me my plane ticket from Kathmandu to Lukla (one of the scariest airports on the planet), walked me to my guest house, and told me to pack light. He would be there at 6 AM in two days to pick me up. I requested a room on the 5th floor and walked up and down the stairs as often as possible for the next 36 hours, not entirely sure what I'd signed up for.