Archive for: November 2011

Thanksgiving 2011 in Kaua’i, Hawai’i

Nov. 24 Beaches, Hawaii, Kaua'i 3 comments

We have a habit of spending holidays doing very non-traditional things, taking advantage of inexpensive hotels and less-crowded places. Thanksgiving 2011 was no different as we took the long holiday in our favorite island destination, Kaua’i.

Past adventures

We’ve been here several times together and have found it one of the absolute best islands to pursue adventures like we had hiking around Kaua’i in July 2011, and camping around Kauai in August 2009. We’ve covered most of the island that is accessible by foot and by car, with the exception of the Na’pali Coast, the enormous park that prevents the highway from circling the island. We’ve kayaked the rivers and coast and consider many islanders as friends, undoubtedly because they feel our enthusiasm for their home. Because Kaua’i is much less touristy than other islands, it doesn’t have the same distance between its visitors and the people who live there.

With the holiday dinner still a ways off, we had a few things to accomplish before sitting down to eat:

Sheraton Poipu

This is a great hotel. We wouldn’t rank it as fancy but it isn’t pretentious either. We have always been able to have a walkout room on the first floor that faces the ocean. Mornings and evenings feel like we have a personal patio on the sea in a way that is very un-hotel-like. It has been recently renovated (not that it was bad before) and has a warm and friendly feel in what could be a very touristy place. It sits on Poipu Beach but at the end where the lava reaches out to the sea and makes for great wave breaks so near to our room. From the hotel, there is an excellent five mile run along the sea to the north that we’ve taken many mornings. It passes Spouting Horn as well, a blowhole that spouts both water and makes a ghostly howl regularly.

Polihale

I don’t know why we love driving off road, whether it be dirt tracks or sandy beaches, but it somehow touches a need to do something out of bounds and maybe a bit unacceptable. Since we ride dirt bikes in the mountains and deserts around LA, we often feel too hemmed in when we leave home for places where we can’t take our motorcycles. Polihale Beach is one of the few that allow cars to drive on the sand, although you do so at your own risk. We usually have a four wheel drive (required) and reduce the air pressure in the tires to get better traction. Most importantly, however, we don’t stop unless we need to, and we avoid the deep, white sand that lies beyond the highest tide line. The part of the beach that can be driven is several miles long, mostly deserted, and great fun.

Flying over Kaua’i

After so many trips on the ground in cars, kayaks and on foot, we finally decided to take a helicopter flight. We had witnessed the helicopters dipping into the valleys and providing views of mountains and waterfalls that can’t be approached any other way. We’re no fans of noisy machines interrupting nature, but Kaua’i has such vast stretches that are uninhabited and essentially unreachable, we made an exception. Afterward, we agreed that it was a great exception to make. This was an exceptional adventure that we didn’t expect to have in a place where we normally do much more physically demanding activities.

The flight was what Island Helicopters called an ’earlybird special’ at 8:00am from the Lihue Airport, the main airport on the island. We were up at sunrise, which is never a bad thing on a tropical island. After a quick safety briefing, we boarded the helicopter and met our pilot. From the moment the flight took off, nose low and moving rapidly toward the northwest and back toward our hotel in Poipu, we knew this was no tame adventure.

Isaac, our pilot, was a young, native Hawaiian who was very comfortable skimming low over Kaua’i's jagged ridges and flying in tight to canyon walls to give us the best view. We saw more waterfalls than we could possibly remember, a feral goat perched in the center of an enormous, nearly verticle cliff, and circled over humpback wales breaching off the Na’pali Coast. The last waterfalls we viewed were some of the most amazing…the wettest spot on Earth at Mount Waialeale, where over 1000 cm (400 inches) of rain falls every year.

It was well worth the $173 per person ‘special’. If you go, request Isaac, an excellent pilot who chose the perfect music and provided interesting conversation through the flight. We can think of few better ways to spend a Thanksgiving holiday morning than with a great guide flying over an island paradise.

With a few adventures knocked out, it was time to decide how to have our meal.

Traditional Thanksgiving?

Maybe not, but a great way to have the holiday. We called around to several hotels and restaurants before deciding on the Thanksgiving buffet at the Grand Hyatt Kaua’i in Poipu. I doubt we could have made a better choice. This hotel and its services are truly grand.  Of course, there were the standard turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and cranberry. There were apple and pumpkin pies as well.

But what about several kinds of ribs, crab, shrimp, omelettes, breads, cheeses, fruits, and many different salads. With a view of the ocean and lush gardens, it was a feast for the eyes and stomach. It would be hard to image a better place or setting for a holiday meal away from home. After several hours and too many trips to the buffet tables, we staggered back to our car for the short trip back to the Sheraton. Another holiday well-celebrated.

With Thanksgiving celebrated, it was time to explore more of the island:

North shore

Getting around to the North Shore of Kaua’i is like flying to another island. The wet side of Kaua’i is lush and the vegetation crowds the roads, a green wall only broken by beaches (where parking is anywhere under the trees on the shore) and one lane bridges with a local custom of 5-7 cars alternating passage in each direction. Just before the end of the road, there is even a place where cars cross a shallow stream, reinforcing how much water comes to this side of the island, thanks to Trade Winds that ‘collide’ with the high peaks that dominate the Na’pali Coast and center of the island.

Beach paradise

We decided to spend some time at Haena Beach Park, one mile short of the end of the road at Ke’e Beach, the start of the Kalalau Trail. We picked this spot because it has bathrooms, a lifeguard, and amazing views of the Bali Hai peaks just to the west and a fantastic surf break just to the east at Tunnels Beach. Tunnels, unfortunately, is where a female surfer lost an arm a few years back to a tiger shark. We stayed much closer to the shore than she did, not that we were worried.

Hanalei

Few developed places are more beautiful than the Hanalei Valley. The ancient taro fields that fed the islanders before better choices were introduced by outsiders were in abudance in this very fertile and well-watered valley. The local joke is that taro is only fed to tourists at luau’s, as the islanders find it awful and won’t eat it. If true, that has to be one of the funniest ironies in tourism. We haven’t had any yet, and this didn’t convince us to try it, either.

Seafood

Kaua’i isn’t the place to get hamburgers or even steak. It is the place to get some of the most creative and tasty seafood…especially the fish. It tastes just as good inland, but has a special flair when you can eat with a view of palm trees and blue water. Dinner at Brenneke’s in Poipu is a special treat if you show up early (by 5:30pm or so) and can get a seat along the windows. Our apologies for the low-quality phone photo, but you’ll get the idea. The wind in the trees and the open-air dining were enough to make this a delightful evening. Brenneke’s calls themselves a “beach broiler” and that’s exactly what you can expect, as the meals are simple and the alaskan king crab appetizer is perfect for two.

Sunset cruising

In keeping with our more ‘civilized’ vacation, we scheduled a cruise with Captain Andy’s Charters in Port Allen and ended up with Captain Rick, our boat captain who was part seaman, part stand up comedian, part encyclopedia of all things Kaua’i. From his pre-cruise briefing to being the last to say goodbye at the top of the gangway leaving the boat, he was absolutely great and helped make our trip very enjoyable.

Besides Captain Rick, we enjoyed an exceptionally friendly crew, including Tara, a hard-working mate who shared our passion for hiking and has many adventures similar to our. Our crew successfully  brought us to Hawaiian spinner dolphins, humpback whales and nearly to Kalalau Beach on the Na’Pali Coast despite large swells and very strong winds from the north. We were able to look up the deep valleys that make up this wind and wind sculpted part of the island and to watch waves crashing into sea caves and rocky cliffs.

There were very few dry places on the luxurious 20 m (65 ft) Southern Star catamaran but if you didn’t mind getting wet (and who should in Kaua’i at sea?), it was a fantastic ride. We stayed in the very front of the catamaran for the entire trip, even during our steak, shrimp and asparagas dinner that was brought to us by the crew. Being in the front meant riding the swells more than any other part of the boat, and at times we were dropping and rising 3 meters or more with sea spray hitting us every few minutes. We don’t think sunset cruises are normally such a wild ride, and we were grateful that our captain was able to take us so far up the coast despite the conditions.

Sunsets

Sunset over Ni’ihau on the way back was a spectacular sight, as all Kaua’i sunsets are, but when you stand at the rail, wind blowing steadily, looking at only water between you and the sunset, it takes on a special meaning.

We love the island of Kaua’i and think every day in our lives should end like this. Now to figure out how to make that a reality…

Mera Peak Expedition — Spending a day in paradise

Nov. 16 Mera Peak 2011, Nepal, Trekking adventures 2 comments

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition – Why Basa matters so much

If arriving in Basa was remarkable, spending a day there was incredible. We slept incredibly well after our prior evening of rahksi and dancing…and rahksi. Even though we were in their home village and they slept in their own homes, the trekking staff continued to show the same hospitality they would later show in the jungle or at 5000 meters. The morning started at sunrise with washing water as always.

Computer training

Computer training for the school children started shortly after breakfast. The day prior we asked Asan, Nanda and Dena to choose five bright children who weren’t close to graduation to come for training. We also asked that they choose students who would be likely to help others learn as well…to become masters instead of experts (experts are smart, but master make others smart).

Despite it being a national holiday, five smartly dressed and groomed children were ready for us at the appointed time.  They were patient and listened carefully as we walked them through the basics of operating a computer. We were very glad to see that the children were both Rai and lower-caste Hindu and both male and female.

They learned extremely quickly and also knew to should out “Masters!” when asked, “Do you want to become experts or masters?” It was an amazing experience to be part of an entirely new experience for these children. Their appetite for learning was remarkable.

While we took care of the training, our teammates toured the power generating station, inspected the cabling from the plant to the homes, and talked with villagers about how the electrification program was going.

Family visits

Once the children had absorbed as much as they could, we moved on to visit the homes of our Basa friends. By the second home, it was clear that we would be expected to drink rahksi in each house, and that our cups would never be empty unless we made an effort to turn down refills. The effort required to navigate the steep terraces increased with each home, likely related to our gradually increasing intake of alcohol.

The visits and the rahksi eventually came to a close and we made our way back to the schoolyard for the last time. We packed our bags and watched as the staff broke down our camp and prepared to leave the village. Though we were ready, we were still a ways from our actual departure. The Village of Basa didn’t intend to let us leave without an appropriate ceremony, complete with visiting school dignitaries and speaches by the elders.

Closing ceremony

We were once again presented with beautiful silk scarves and asked to sit in the shade while different people publicly spoke about our visit and the programs that have resulted in so much managed change in Basa. Sitting among Westerners like Jeff and Mike who had created so much good will among the Basa people was a privilege for Jeanne and I. The entire village was present despite the afternoon heat as the each local dignitary spoke.

Leaving Basa

Once it was time to begin trekking, we once again passed an enormous line of children who presented us with garlands of marigolds, leaves and beautiful purple flowers. We were headed to Adheri, the next village up the Dudh Kosi from Basa, but not before one more home visit with our cook’s family. Purna Rai wouldn’t let us pass Basa 8 without another stop to meet his family and to have more rahksi.

Up next: Mera Peak Expedition — Adheri to Namdolingomba

Mera Peak Expedition — Why Basa matters so much

Nov. 10 Mera Peak 2011, Nepal, Trekking adventures 10 comments

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Arriving in Basa

Challenges

Nepal is a great example of what happens when extremely poor meets well-meaning. Westerners have been coming to Nepal in large numbers for several decades because of its amazing mountains and equally amazing people. Westerners have opened their hearts and pocketbooks and donated time and money to the country, especially along the popular trekking routes like the Annapurna Circuit and the trek to Everest Base Camp. The outcome of all of this well-meaning effort and money has been:

  • A great decrease in the infant mortality rate, but this has led to a population explosion in villages that can’t feed ever increasing numbers of people
  • Construction of tourist-serving tea houses at higher and higher altitudes, but this has led to deforestation and pollution of very fragile alpine environments
  • Growth in population of the few large cities like Kathmandu and increasing Western-style services, but this has led to crime and water and power shortages
  • An influx of large sums of money from tourism but increasing disparity between the ‘popular’ parts of the country and the forgotten areas unserved by tourism (exacerbating tension between poor and wealthy and adding fuel to a Maoist insurgency that only ended a few years back)

Every one of these issue came about while the government and the private sector worked very hard to attract tourists to Nepal. There were no ‘brakes’ on economic activity or change.

Effects of change

All change suffers unforeseen consequences, and change without careful thought has disastrous side effects. Most of the changes happening in Nepal are unplanned and the effects of that are moderate to severe in many areas. One of the challenges of trekking has become the opening of new areas to tourism so that revenue can continue to pour in from tourists looking for ‘traditional Nepal’, which in turn affects the new areas so profoundly that ever newer areas need to be opened to meet this demand. A tragic cycle that needs to be interrupted.

Leadership

Positive change requires great leadership, and the village of Basa, high above the Dudh Kohsi in the Solu Region has been fortunate to have leadership that understands the danger of thoughtless change and benefit of community involvement. Basa matters so much because it is emerging as a model of sustainability that might just work as a template for how to bring progress without destroying paradise.

Basa’s advantages

Basa has benefited greatly from managed change that, to date, brought:

  • Two school buildings – The first by a French-Canadian students group in 2002 and the second by SolHimal, a French NGO, in 2006 with strong guidance from traditional village elders working with a newly-created school board to manage educational needs
  • Erosion control - 5000 trees were planted in 2010 by the villagers in a ‘tree farm’ to be a source of seedlings for use around the village, and another 5000 in 2011 by the Basa Village Foundation, a Nepal-based foundation. Additionally, fences were built to protect the seedlings from grazing cattle.
  • Hydro power generation – Electricity came to Basa in March 2011 thanks to hard work by the villagers and capital provided by First Friends Basa Village Project, funded from the US
  • Clean water – Four cisterns were build by a combination of a local mothers group with help from the Nepali government, two of which are still in operation
  • Smokeless stoves – Also in 2011, smokeless stoves were installed in the 62 homes that make up Basa 6. While emphysema is no longer considered a killer in most of the world, it is still a major health problem in Nepal where indoor, unventilated stoves result in significant health issues.
  • Laptops – October 2011 brought laptops to the Basa school and the chance for village children to keep up educationally with their counterparts in Kathmandu and the rest of the world
  • Opportunities for employment with Adventure Geo Treks, a trekking company owned by Niru Rai, also from Basa

These changes set Basa apart from other places that haven’t been ‘adopted’ by outsiders and graced with strong leadership.

Advantages to come

With some of the biggest obstacles tackled, there is still progress to be made. The following have been identified as opportunities to continue the great work:

  • Toilets and septic tanks
  • Fixing/completing the drinking water system
  • Computer training
  • Internet access

Each of these projects will be managed in the same fashion as the previous ones. A proposed design and cost will be created by the village leadership before fundraising will begin. Once the funds are available, the project will be executed by the local people who need to have ownership and continue to own and maintain whatever is put in place. The benefits of this model are obvious when you see the results in this one corner of Nepal.

What it matters

This matters so much because it provides a tangible example of how well-meaning people can have a positive effect in a place that has so many needs without damaging culture or creating dependency. Every change that has taken place in Basa happened with guidance from village leaders and participation by the villagers themselves and wasn’t reliant on outsiders volunteering to bring temporary skills (and temporary benefits). When it was time to install 62 smokeless stoves, it was done in every house in the village, regardless of social or economic status, and it was done quickly. The community is highly involved and this makes change in Basa a positive thing.

Additionally, not everyone can stay and continue farming in Basa due to the increase in population caused by the lowering of infant mortality before the introduction of family planning. By offering a great education, the children who will leave the village won’t simply become an unskilled, unwanted problem in the cities. The real progress is in having choices.

More information

To get more information on what’s happening in Basa, visit Basa Village Foundation USA or  Jeff Rasley’s site. Jeff has been the leader of the First Friends Basa Village Project and has done an outstanding job of raising awareness and funding for Basa. If you’d like to get involved or support these projects financially, please contact us and we’ll let you know what you can do.


Up next:  Mera Peak Expedition — Spending a day in paradise

Mera Peak Expedition — Arriving in Basa

Nov. 08 Mera Peak 2011, Nepal, Trekking adventures 4 comments

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition — Phaplu at last.

The next day’s trek was almost entirely downhill from just above 3000 m. (about 10,000 ft) and ended up at 1800 m. (5900 ft). We were in the sun most of the time, making it a warm but very enjoyable journey into what is a very fertile part of Nepal. We passed large villages that had significant buildings, but were told those were Basa 4 and Basa 3. Just before Basa 6 (there are 9 Basa villages), we were met by several villagers, including the village band. They played traditional music on horns and drums while we made our way further down the hill into the village.

Garlands

Just as we entered the center of the village, we were met with what looked like a crowd of 200 or more, the first being the children with garlands of many types of local flowers and leaves, mostly marigolds of orange, yellow and crimson. As we passed, they each placed a garland around our neck until we had so many that we could no longer see and our necks became very heavy, not to mention the heat that steamed our glasses that were mostly blocked by flowers, anyway.

We made our way to the yard of the Shkhar Babuchhiri Bal Kunja Primary School, built in 2002 (Nepali year 2059) by SolHimal, a French group inspired to generosity by the obvious need for a school they observed when they trekked through.

Once in the schoolyarvillage horn and drum music continued for a while as we spent several sweaty, flowery minutes meeting and greeting. The salutations ranged from kisses on the cheeks and mouth, to two-hand handshakes, to the standard fingers-pointed-up “Namaste.” Our main guide, DB, thanked us for coming and for bringing computers to the village and our group’s leader, Jeff, thanked the villagers for such a wonderful welcome. Wonderful was the only way to describe a welcome that went beyond our wildest expectations and would be unlikely to be topped at any later point in our lives.

Did that just happen?

We shed our garlands and placed them on a table that was placed in front of our dining table for just this purpose. We were immediately served juice and then a full meal of pasta, potatoes and vegetables and told to relax, enjoy ourselves, and that there would be another ceremony at 4pm. Once fed, we were fairly alone to ask ourselves, “Did that really happen?” It was so remarkable and happened so quickly that it had a surreal quality and the heaps of flowers became the evidence that yes, it happened.

We met our friend Buddi’s 75-year-old mother, Maya Rai, adorned with the traditional Nepali nose piercing and colorful Nepali dress, including a colorful cloth wrap on her head. We then met his brother, Dinesh, a soldier in the Nepali Army and a member of the Army Volleyball Team. Volleyball is a popular sport in Basa since it only requires an unused terrace, a ball, and a net. The biggest challenge is that an unreturned spike often results in the ball traveling 16 or 17 terraces down the mountainside. One of the children will run down to retrieve it, of course, and then sprint back up the hill to rejoin the game as though they were on a flat beach instead of a steep mountainside.

The ceremony

The promised ceremony began with speeches by the village elders and the first round of raksi, a local spirit made from barley, corn and millet. The best raksi is made from millet that is cooked, then two types of yeast are added and the mixture is left to sit for one week. At this point, the mixture is sweet and is known as “chang”, the local beer. The chang is then distilled and the resulting alcohol is the final product. We had the chance to try chang when approaching the village and much prefered the final product of raksi. After a few rounds of this delicious drink served up while watching the school children perform dances (dances that look very much like Bollywood steps), we were invited to join the dance.

Thanks to the excellent and sufficient raksi, we had no problem getting up and joining the crowd. The music was no longer the boom box, but now just a man playing a madal (a local drum) and the crowd singing, “Ressam firiri”, which means “silk waving in the wind”. The song continued for a solid twenty minutes with various people performing their own steps as the group moved in a circle. It could only be described as joyful and the ultimate welcome.

That night we slept very well aided no doubt by the excellent ceremony and dance…and maybe even more so, the raksi.

Up next: Mera Peak Expedition — Why Basa matters so much

Mera Peak Expedition – Phaplu at last

Nov. 07 Mera Peak 2011, Nepal, Trekking adventures 3 comments

The following is a continuation of Mera Peak Expedition – Getting in and out of Kathmandu.

After our aborted attempt to fly to Phaplu from Kathmandu on Monday, we were able to successfully fly out at around noon on the 11th of October. The Tara Air plane was a small turbo prop that sat 19 people with two seats on one side and one on the other. The pilots were two young Nepalis who, like the other pilots we’ve seen, were well-dressed by Nepali standards and obviously enjoyed a career well above middle class in this country. Not a career without danger, however, as the same type of aircraft flown by a similar company crashed in a Kathmandu suburb near the airport just two weeks before, killing 19 people. It wasn’t pilot skill but weather that caused that crash, and this was thankfully a bright sunny day.

On to Phaplu

After hours of waiting in many different stages of departure from the Domestic Terminal, it seemed like a surprisinly quick taxi down the runway before taking off to the northeast. As we flew, we followed a ridge, gradually climbing to an altitude of 2700 m., at times no more than thirty meters above the tree tops. We sat in the very first row and saw the GPS constantly flashing either “terrain warning” or “terrain ahead” which are normally the warnings used to avoid collision with the mountain and NOT designed for steady-state flying. The flight was very smooth. Just before Phaplu, we made a turn to the north and entered a wide valley (by Nepal standards).

Soon after and from some distance away, we saw the dirt strip and made a low pass to the right and parallel to the runway and the village of Phaplu before taking what was a course directly toward the tallest mountain. At the very last moment and with the GPS flashing a warnings again, we banked hard left and began a very fast descent to the air strip. The pilots left the flaps up until nearly touchdown so that they could maintain speed just in case they didn’t set down at the early enough and had to take off again. There was a mild bump as we touched the ground and we came to a very quick stop.

As we reached the offloading area (there was no terminal), there was a crowd of Nepali people and cargo awaiting our arrival. Even better, the ‘gate’ consisted of two wooden picnic tables. Within minutes, the aircraft was reloaded and taxiing back down the strip for takeoff. Before we left the short walk from the plane, it was taking off behind us. Curiously, the only ‘official’ presence was the single soldier monitoring the passengers and also manning the small gate in the chain link fence that allowed people to pass in and out of the ‘ramp’ area.

Our first activity after landing was to eat a lunch prepared by our staff that we had only been introduced to a few minutes before. Due to our delayed arrival, they had been waiting in Phaplu for two days for us (though they were in touch with our guides by cell phone). Typical for Nepal, we ate in a guesthouse even though the food was being prepared outdoors in the courtyard.

Trekking begins

Once our lunch concluded, we hiked to the east for a few hours to the top of the 3,000 m. (about 10,000 ft) mountain above Phaplu, stopping at a place called Retnagi (meaning red, bare land, which was very accurate). This was our first campsite and provided us with a great view to the east of the Dudh Khosi, the main river of the Solukhumbu region that flows down from the Mt Everest drainage to the northeast. Through the clouds, we could clearly see snow covered peaks of the Himalaya in the distance, but what appeared to be lower peaks, not the 8,000 m. peaks we were eager to see. Within minutes of stopping, our tents were set up in a flurry of activity, and we were left to talk and relax before dinner.

Day’s end

Dinner was a traditional one, with dal over rice. We were in our bright yellow and orange tents bed by 8pm for a 6am wakeup. Our plan for the next day was to walk to the relatively small home village of nearly all of our trekking support, Basa Village, located in a mostly Rai area along mountains lining the west side of the Dudh Khosi.

Our team

At the end of our first dinner, we were introduced to the kitchen staff, and they were as follows:

  • Dilli Badhur “DB” Rai – Head Guide from Basa 6 (later nicknamed “Da Boss”  or “Da Bomb”)
  • Buddiraj Rai – Guide from Basa 6 and a good friend. He has his own blog found here.
  • Purna Rai – Our head cook from Basa 8. Purna turned out to be one of the most smiley and happy people we’ve ever met.
  • Ganesh Rai – Cooking Staff from Basa 8 (later nicknamed “Super Ganesh” for his speed and strength)
  • Krishna Rai – Cooking Staff from Basa 8. Quiet and very friendly.
  • Sai Badur Rai – Cooking Staff from Basa 8 (later nicknamed “Tokyo Joe” due to his Japanese appearance)
  • Makkar Rai – Cooking staff from Basa 8 (later nicknamed “Happy Makkar” for his constant smile)
  • Subas Rai – Assistant Guide from Basa 6 (later nicknamed “Dr Crevasse” for reasons I can’t quite explain)

We also were able to meet our porter staff of 16 Nepalis ranging in age from late teens to middle age. They were as follows:

  • Dinesh Rai – Porter from Basa 8 (later nicknamed “Sundar Kopal” or “beautiful hair” in Nepali due to his long hair)
  • Sam Bahktar Rai – Porter from Basa 8 (brother of Ramprasat Rai, our cook from last year)
  • Shaibahdur Rai – Porter from Basa 8
  • Padam Rai – Porter from Basa 6 (later nicknamed “Padam Hussein” just because it was easy to remember)
  • Tsuje Bika – Porter from Basa 8 (Bika caste) (later nicknamed “Spiderman” due to his hat)
  • Gopal Bika – Porter from Basa 8 (Bika caste) (later nicknamed “Rockford” due to his similar features to a young James Garner)
  • Dil Bahdur Rai – Porter from Basa 6
  • Purna Rai – Porter from Basa 6 (later nicknamed “Purna Dhoey” because he had the same name as the expedition’s cook)
  • Dim Bahdur Rai – Porter from Basa 6
  • Dipak Rai – Porter from Basa 6
  • Bahkta Bahdur Rai – Porter from Basa 6
  • Prakas Rai – Porter from Basa 6
  • Kubir Dhan Rai – Porter from Basa 6 (later nicknamed “Bizsso” or “wrestler” in Nepali due to his sizable body for a Rai)
  • Katga Bahdur Rai – Porter from Basa 6
  • Yuba Raj Rai – Porter from Waku 3
  • Naran Magar – Porter from Adheri/Basa 9, added when another porter injured his knee on the first day out of Basa (later nicknamed “Naranja” or “orange” in Spanish just to remember his name)

Up next: Mera Peak Expedition – Arriving in Basa

Review of Yaktrax Pro

Nov. 06 Advice, Gear sites no comments

Originally submitted at REI

Regain your confidence when walking on packed snow and ice with the updated, simple-to-use Yaxtrax Pro traction devices.

Let’s be fair, folks…these things work

By Chris et Jeanne from Pasadena, CA on 11/13/2011
4out of 5

Pros: Versatile, Great Grip, Comfortable, Easy To Put On & Adjust

Cons: Bulky

Best Uses: Mixed Routes, Alpine Routes

We bought two pairs of Yak Trax Pro at the last minute in Yosemite for a winter hike up Yosemite Point. While they worked very, very well, one of mine broke but was replaced by the store where we bought it. Since that replacement, we’ve used them several times in California and in Nepal, where we unexpectedly were in snow and ice at 17,000 ft in the Himalayas. Of our whole team, including local Nepalis, we were the only ones who could walk well enough to find the way down a major pass. I’ve read the reviews about how easily they break, but I think for something under 5 oz. that you can through in your pack just-in-case, they do exactly what they should. We’ve seen people since using micro spikes and frankly, they’re no better off than we are with Yak Trax and they struggle more over rocks (much more). I would recommend these to anyone who never quite knows what conditions to expect.

A bird’s eye view of the San Gabriel mountains

Nov. 05 Other adventures, San Gabriels, Southern California no comments

Quite unexpectedly, we were able to take a short, local flight this morning from the El Monte Airport, about a half hour from our home in Pasadena . For an hour or so, we flew in and around the mountains that we love to hike. To have such a bird’s eye perspective and to pass so quickly over terrain that takes us whole days to cross was an excellent experience. The skies were perfectly clear and we could see from a snow-covered Mt Baldy (officially called Mt San Antonio) to Catalina Island, over twenty miles off the coast from Palos Verdes.

The gallery

 

Mera Peak Expedition – Getting in and out of Kathmandu

Nov. 03 Mera Peak 2011, Nepal, Trekking adventures 3 comments

No arrival in Kathmandu, Nepal can beat the greeting that we’re always given by our friends from Adventure Geo Treks, known as ‘AGT’ by us, and ‘Geo Treks’ by the locals. For us, they’re much more than a commercial operation and much more like friends. Though he owns and runs one of the largest tour and expedition companies in the country, Niru Rai always manages to meet us at the airport and take a personal hand in making sure our first moments are smooth and comfortable. In a remarkably friendly country, Niru still stands out for his hospitality and great nature. What’s more, his family and staff have the same infectious enthusiasm.

The KGH

Photos of Kathmandu Guest House, KathmanduVery quickly after our arrival, we were taken in the comfy AGT van to the Kathmandu Guest House. The ‘KGH’, as it is known locally, is an established hotel in the Thamel section of Kathmandu. Thamel is the touristy heart of the city, which could sound like a negative, but it also means that anything you could possibly need is nearby. There are many decent restaurants that keep a higher hygiene standard than those outside Thamel. You can pay less and find quieter places, but there are drawbacks. The KGH is a good hotel by Kathmandu standards. While not a five-star, it has reasonably clean rooms, a beautiful courtyard, and functioning bathrooms. Cleanliness and working toilets/showers may seem a low standard to those used to Hiltons, but in Nepal, these aren’t a given by any stretch.

The Team

Our team arrived over the course of two days from Los Angeles, New Hampshire, Indianapolis, Seattle and Basel, Switzerland. Most of us had trekked in Nepal with AGT before, and all of us were seasoned life-long hikers and adventurers. We ranged in age from thirty three to seventy three years old.The 2011 Mera Peak Expedition was made up of the following individuals:

  • David Hudson – Third time in Nepal and unfortunately the first to drop out due to illness before leaving Kathmandu
  • Karlin and Ursula Meyers – First time in Nepal, but veterans of caving in Mexico and New Guinea, and plenty of hiking in their home country of Switzerland as well as France and Italy
  • Joel Meyers – Two times in Nepal and Karlin’s brother. Joel lives in Seattle and has had a previous trek from Kongol Danda, through Basa, up to Namche Bazaar, and then to Khumjung, home of the highest airport in the world at 3500 m.
  • Jeff Rasley – Twelve times in Nepal and six times with Adventure Geo Treks. Jeff hails from Indianapolis and is the US agent for Adventure Geo Treks.
  • Mike Miller – Four times in Nepal and retired and living in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Mike has had one trek to Tengboche, one to Gorekshep, and one previous time to Basa with Adventure Geo Treks.
  • Dennis Mathews – First time in Nepal and from New Hampshire, Dennis is a serious cyclist and university professor.
  • Jeanne and Chris Taylor – Third time in Nepal and from Pasadena, California. We have two treks in the previous eighteen months. We have trekked Langtang Valley and Gorkha-Rupina La-Tsum Valley.

Our purpose

While we may refer to our time in Nepal as the Mera Peak Expedition, we were in fact there for an even better purpose. We planned to carry six laptops that were donated by Nimbus, an English company recently acquired by Tibco to the Village of Basa, a remote place a day’s walk from the airport at Phaplu or several days walk from the end of the nearest road at Jiri. The plan was to spend time in the village to train both teachers and students in using the laptops.

Both Jeff and Mike have been very involved in projects in Basa that included bringing clean water, electricity and smokeless stoves. Niru and most of his trekking teams are from Basa and this contributed to the feeling that we were more than customers. Members of our team also checked into the installations of the electricity-generating turbines and smokeless stoves, both projects from this past year. Watch future posts for more about what the Basa Village Foundation has done and what we’re doing to create a new non-profit in the US that will take this work even further.

The Domestic Airport

We were up early at the Kathmandu Guest House, packed and excited about leaving for Phaplu. We went through the normal experience at the Domestic Terminal of standing in line, shuffling along through nearly absent security, waiting in the airline counter area for the employees to show up and the bustle to begin, and then moving to the Departure Lounge. There were significant improvements to the terminal since our last visit, including a working scanner belt (last time they pulled luggage through with a long, hooked pole), monitors that listed flights and expected times in both English and Nepali, and loudspeakers that made announcements nearly audible. The video isn’t ours, but is an excellent depiction of the facility.

Change of plans

The Departure Lounge was as far as we were to get, as the loud announcements every few minutes seemed to be calling out flights to all destinations except Phaplu. We were a disappointed group when at 4pm we were finally told that our flight would not go that day. We had spent eight hours in the hectic, loud terminal only to head back to the parking lot and down to the Kathmandu Guest House for another night. Jeanne was feeling quite sick, so I headed to the Hotel de l’Annapurna with Buddi for something we introduced to him last year: American-style hamburgers, listed on the menu as the “American Burger”. The restaurant was good enough that we were seated at a table immediately next to a former prime minister of Nepal who was having dinner with the American Ambassador.

Pizza Hut?

After decent hamburgers (not so great compared to our own In-N-Out), we walked less than a block and ordered a takeout Pizza Hut pizza for Jeanne and made our way back to the hotel. Pizza Hut in Nepal? Absolutely, and a KFC immediately next door…the ownership and management of both are Indian, the staff is excellent and all ingredients are shipped in from India. The recommended pizza place, if you’re willing to find it, is Fire And Ice in Thamel.

We were in bed early, hoping to have a more successful trip to the airport the next day. It has been said that the trick to having a successful trek in Nepal is to get out of crowded Kathmandu quickly, and we were already pushing our luck.

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