Magnitude of The Beauty

Being in 30’s especially mid 30’s I feel like it’s just about me now. My focus changed to something that I want to do, not something I was pressured or had to do. I got so tired of the regular routine, being in office and the 401(k)-“Is this it? Is this what I’m working for? Is this what I’m living for, just trying to survive and save up?”. I have kids but I always thought they are part of my life not my whole life. I don’t want my life to be just about survival. Maybe it took longer for me to realize that’s not why I want to live, but once it hit me, I decided to travel. Why I chose traveling over any other activity? I wanted to feel vibrant life around me, and I believe you can only experience that from travelling. I decided to do Base Camp Trekking, I know it is a challenging step, but I want to challenge my inner spirit that became more passive over the years. I browsed some companies and based on the reviews and price I booked my trip with Himalayan Wonders. I did not read much about experiences from people who did this trip, nor did I search any pictures online to get the feel of the locations. I wanted everything to be fresh on my mind. I never had experience of altitude so did not even know what to expect. The touring company ‘s website had lot of information and detailed itinerary. I booked everything 4 months ahead and just got back to routine life. When I told my colleagues about my trip, they were all amazed, while I thought naively that they are overreacting. Maybe they all read more challenging facts about this trekking than I did.

I flew to India and then to Nepal. I landed in Kathmandu international airport, which looked like ruins. The company car took me to the hotel. The streets are alike Indian small towns, busy, chaotic with street vendors alongside the streets, people strolling the streets. The hotel was located midst of the tourist area, where the streets are lined with local artwork stores, bright Buddhists flags across the streets and tourists strolling the streets.

That evening I get to meet everyone on the trekking group, complete strangers who are going to experience life changing journey together. Don’t know if we ever get to meet again after the trip, but they all will be forever in my memories. We all were introduced to each other. Some are super energetic, and few are quite or maybe I am the only one quite just looking at everyone. We have been told about the next day flight to Lukla and how unpredictable schedule it can be based on the weather. If you don’t know Lukla, it is one of the most dangerous airports in the world regarding elevation and short runway on the mountain cliff. We were suggested to change trekking routes if we are on a time constraint, but we are all on a time constraint. That news discouraged but isn’t that all these kinds of journey’s teach us- The unknowns in life. With couple of hours wait (felt like forever) and lots of weather luck we got on the flight. After a bumpy ride we landed in Lukla where the bright sunlight showed off the Himalayan Mountain Ranges.

My heart started racing , because now I am on the path. I saw a death procession, it looked like they are celebrating the person’s life than mourning death. I have read in a book, ‘The Art of Happiness’ that Buddhists think of inevitable death everyday so it would be easier to accept.

We walked for few hours through the trails that passed through vibrant villages, people greeting us warmly, mountains green and lush with waterfalls, air filled with freshness. I took deep breaths to fill in all the freshness into my lungs with memories. We reached at a tea house for the first night. The views and the nature sounds near the tea house cannot be compared to any high-end hotels. There was a huge river named ‘Doodkashi’ means white water, a gushing waterfall filling the river, fog covered the mountain tops and rain made that place so memorable that I can close my eyes and think of that place and I instantly feel the nature’s warmth and freshness and hear all the sounds.

Next morning after hot breakfast we started our trekking. I have to say about the food. At the tea houses the menu had wide variety of food. Everything fresh and we were suggested not to eat any meat since there is no faster transportation to the tea houses for the meat to be fresh. As it is a Buddhists land, so animals are not killed on the mountains. But the food is extremely delicious, and we were served hot meals three times a day. I had experienced initial body changes from altitude, headaches, shortness in breath. Since it was my first experience, I felt exhausting. I have later learned that mostly it is the mind more than your body that plays major factor in altitude sickness. The trails are dusty slowly vegetation getting lesser and weather was warm. We were told to drink 4-5 liters of water per day to keep up oxygen in the body. I have never thought of water as source of O2. So, the more I drank the more I had to go for nature calls. We had instant bathrooms, either behind a rock or behind a bush. We reached Namche bazar. It is more advanced and highest Sherpa village in the world and that is where we had to acclimatize for couple of nights. Namche bazar was beautiful with tourist’s buzz, internet cafes, pubs and local stores. We visited local pubs, played fun games, drank, went to a local celebrations. It was so surprising how quickly we formed bond within our group. Long talks on the treks made us feel we all knew each other for a while, even we met couple of days back. We had four females including me in the group. Very strong personalities, different perspective of life, different cultures, different background yet we all are going to have a lifetime experience. At Namche Bazar we experienced incredible mountain views just from our tea houses. On the day of acclimatization, we ascend few hundred feet in elevation and get back down.

Playing cards in tea houses, all the laughs, long talks, taking care of one another – all this in just few days which we can’t connect to anyone in the outside world. That’s the beauty of these journeys. Next day hike was tough as we are gaining elevation and the vegetation became almost arid. I started getting constant headaches, nausea and shortness in breath. I am a runner so I assumed my body can handle oxygen deficiency, but again what I did not realize was I will be in that constant oxygen deficiency state all through our ascend. At tea houses as we are going higher, price for water and any extra food got expensive. There was sporadic internet that too expensive , so I had to make choice for necessities like water over internet. Isn’t that the life lesson? How much we take it for granted regarding the necessities since we have them. I have seen Sherpas carrying heavy weighs on their back, transporting goods to villages and tea houses. They even carry building wood for houses. It just amazed me how their daily routine for survival was compared to constant complainers who are immersed in the comfort world.

Days were foggy and even till 4th day we haven’t got the visibility of the Mt. Everest peak. But that didn’t make any difference since all the mountains are so majestic. I got so fascinated looking at the mountains so high into the clouds and even before the few seconds of fascination passes away there would be another peak higher than that right behind looking down to you. I felt so insignificant, so perishable, so peaceful at the same time just looking at those mountains. I paid attention to every detail in the nature, even the grass flowers alongside the trails adding beauty, with their bright colors, intricate designs. It just made me think, doesn’t matter how small you are compared to the mountains, how perishable you are, as long as you can spread your beauty in your way. ‘Magnitude of the Beauty’ is in everything around you.

As I struggled with my body and mind testing my endurance, we passed memorials built for the people who died while conquering these mountains. Every one’s story was different, some were first time climbers, and some were very experienced, some were very young in their 20’s, some have had a chance to experience more life. But everyone died with one drive. Right then an intense wave passed through my body, not with fear but with life and purpose. Just touching those memorials and reading their stories gave me a tremendous inspiration. None of them had done what they did and took the challenge to show something to the world, but they did it to conquer themselves. “It’s not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves”-Sir Edmund Hillary. Every person in the group encountered physical toll, but we all took care of each other and encouraged as we moved along. When I reached the tea house every night, I felt overwhelmingly inspired how I fought with my inner self to keep going at every step knowing that next day is going to be much tougher.

On the final day I walked slowly as possible. With all the altitude sickness symptoms my eyes started blurring like a camera zoom. It was a strange feeling.Surrounded by huge mountains painted black and white, it was freezing cold temperatures in negatives and at same time warm as we got closer to the sun. Views of Khumbu glacier alongside with its deep blue lakes were breath taking. We heard far away loud sounds like some blasts and then the guide told us that was avalanche over the mountains. Anything and everything around us can kill us, but I am there fighting with myself pushing every step. Khumbu glacier is formed from Khumbu ice fall, the deadliest ice fall which buried many climbers’ lives. Only the peak of Mt. Everest was visible, but the mountains Nuptse and Lhotse are right next to it like identical twins. At Camp 3 most part of The Everest will be visible.Until guide points the Mt. Everest pea to me and lot more in my group it was hard to identify which one is the Everest within that Mountain range. We all reached the base camp and celebrated with hugs and photos. We all walked to a glacier and ice cave near the base camp which seemed to be unrealistic and untouched. After spending an hour or so at the base camp we started heading back. We had only two days to descend all the way to Lukla. So, we moved fast and nonstop, trekking 8 hrs. a day. With all the memories and inspiration and insight filled in my heart this journey made me into a different person that I didn’t knew existed in me.

It’s not the destination that make special but the journey to the destination makes everything different.