The Ministry of Happiness

Himalayan Travelogue, Part 9 – Lobuche, David Breashears and a surprise

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Michael Kane

Himalayan Travelogue Part 9 – Lobuche, David Breashears and a surprise

I’m re-posting my Himalayan Travelogue posts from one of my other blogs, given my upcoming adventure, hiking the Appalachian Trail, I thought these might be an interesting look back as I prepare ~ Rev Kane

If you wait for the perfect moment when all is safe and assured, it may never arrive. Mountains will not be climbed, races won, or lasting happiness achieved. ~ Maurice Chevalier

I was feeling better this day as evidenced by my appetite returning with a vengeance, I ate a big breakfast, a big lunch and snacked constantly all day until dinner where I ate well. The walk was long and beautiful, down through Dingboche again lunch at Thugla and then up a really tremendously large hill behind the lodge. At the top we were in a field full of markers that commemorate lost climbers, it was a truly somber and beautiful place. We stopped there and took some time to recover from the hill and take in the monuments.
We proceeded up the valley to Lobuche(16,190 ft) and got settled in for the night. We had noticed that David Breashears was also staying at the lodge and it created quite a little buzz in our group.

The group got even more excited when Breashears came to join our group, turns out he had previously met with one of the people in our group. David was kind enough to sit and talk with us for quite a while and tell us about his glacier project. David is taking comparative photographs of glaciers, essentially taking the same picture that was taken decades before and comparing them to determine how much the glaciers have retreated. It is an interesting project and I was fortunate enough to meet with David again this fall and they are really making a lot of progress with the photography and the development of the website should be pretty amazing.

The next day was a hard walk, it was windy and cold and we moved slowly up the mountain along the valley containing the Khumbu Icefall.

The Khumbu Ice Fall, a river of ice

These were my exact thoughts when I hit Gorak Shep (16,975):

“This place (Gorak Shep) is stark. It’s a climber’s place, lots of reminders of past expeditions and treks. Seeing some familiar faces from the trail, met a beautiful Spanish girl who is heading for base camp at Island Peak. It’s cold here, and going to be a cold night’s sleep.”

The day was also my friend Mark’s birthday, Mark is an incredible hiker and even with a pretty severe chest infection led our group most days. He’s pictured here below:

We had put together a little bit of a celebration for Mark scrounging together some candy, chocolates, cheeses etc… and a couple of us who knew in advance were carrying small presents for him. The manager of the lodge even put together a little present for him. Unfortunately as I went back to my room I got the sudden urge to go to the bathroom, I say unfortunately because the urge trailed the action. I moved as quickly as I could under the circumstances and spent the next couple of hours squatting in the lodge’s bathroom.

My lack of energy two days previous now made sense, it was when the intestinal infection I had picked up took hold and zapped my energy. That I had picked up the infection was not a shock, it’s common in fact and I came prepared with ciprofloxacin and that little miracle antibiotic would cure me in less than 24 hours. The real issue was my soiled long-johns, it was cold, and base-camp was in two days, and there wasn’t a lot of heat in the lodge. The solution was to do some impromptu tailoring by cutting the soiled portion of my long-johns away with a knife. It wasn’t pretty and surely not to become a fashion (sorry I called you Shirley), but it was a necessary to stay warm in the mountains.

The second surprise of the evening was that the snow that had started as we reached Gorak Shep was picking up. The reason this is surprising is that November is typically a pretty dry time in the Himalayas and one of the reasons the treks run at that time of year. I slept hard that night and let the medication work its magic. The one thing I really liked about Gorak Shep was the view at sunset.

Posted in Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness | Tagged backpacking, everest, gorak shep, happiness, hiking, khumbu icefall, nepal, trekking | 1 Comment

Himalayan Travelogue, Part 8 – The Everest Marathon, skirts and up and down days

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Michael Kane

Himalayan Travelogue, Part 8 – The Everest Marathon, skirts and up and down days

Nature teaches more than she preaches. There are no sermons in stones. It is easier to get a spark out of a stone than a moral. ~John Burroughs

We had a couple of people in the group who haven’t been feeling well, a number of people in the group had a chest infection. We hiked up to the Periche Aid station today to get people checked out, happily everyone turned out to be ok. Also in Periche I saw my favorite sign in the Himalayas, here it is:

In all fairness English is a tough language and you see a lot of funny signs overseas when people translate, I was just happy to be someplace where they try. After leaving the clinic we popped over a little 600 foot hill and dropped down into Dingboche(14,105 ft) for the night. Before going over the hill, we were getting our gear together and we hear a bell ringing and we look up to see someone actually running down the hill we are about to climb, and then another, and another. We were actually witnessing training for the Everest Marathon, yes folks for some runners a marathon at sea level isn’t enough they have to go run one in the Himalayas.

We started out the next morning walking up the Chhukhung Valley heading to Chhukhung at 15,580 ft. The valley is a wide gently sloping valley with a small river running through it with amazing peaks rising up on either side of the valley, truly spectacular and even the skies that day were amazing.

At one point on the way up the valley I saw a woman hiking in a skirt, I really thought I was mistaken until we met again later that day at our lodge and I confirmed she really was hiking in a skirt. She also turned out to be an amazingly beautiful and cool woman and we would run into her and her boyfriend a number of times on the trail, this is them below:

It also turned out to be by far my worst day on the trail, I had no energy, absolutely none and I was walking like an 80 year old man. It was amazing, no matter how hard I tried I could not force my feet to move any faster. It was a day to learn how great my hiking companions and my guides were, people took turns hiking back with me and Lhakpa and Kim were absolutely amazing. That day as the sun set we were treated to one of the most amazing sunsets I’d ever seen.

Posted in Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness | Tagged backpacking, everest, happiness, hiking, marathon, nepal, trekking, ultra-marathon | 1 Comment

Himalayan Travelogue Part 7 – Higher than I’ve ever been

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Michael Kane

Himalayan Travelogue, Part 7 – Higher than I’ve ever been

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. ~Lao Tzu

We headed out of Namche on what passes for flat in the Himalayas, this then led to a climb, a very long climb up to Mong La on the top of a mountain for lunch (12,795 ft) this was the highest elevation I’d ever achieved and it felt great. I needed the rest at that point and we had a leisurely lunch. Then it was down, down, down to the river and then up a really magnificent hill to Phortse at 12,400 ft and a really great lodge. My favorite part of the lodge was the owner’s grandson who was a bit of an urchin and who was utterly fascinated by my beard which he proceeded to try and pull off of my face.

Also had my first experience with an Asian squat toilet, they’re hell on the legs, must be one of the reasons the locals have such strong legs.

The next morning I made the mistake of running up the stairs and suddenly felt lightheaded, so I grabbed my back and went outside to try and get my breath back and feel a bit better. About 10 minutes later one of our guides, Lhakpa, comes jogging around the back of the lodge to get me, the group was already well up the mountain ahead of us. The adrenaline burst took my mind off how I felt and I slowly climbed my way back to the group.

We spent the rest of the day on exposed trails heading to Pangboche, a really difficult day hiking for me as I started out feeling off and running late. Plus exposed trails really wear me out mentally, not to mention that we ended the day at Pangboche (13,040 ft), and during the day on the hike we hit (13,500 ft) my new highest point, a recurring theme for the next couple of weeks.

We’ve been passing a peak form different angles over the last couple of days and it is quickly becoming my favorite, it’s called, Khan Tega and it is pictured below:

Took a very cold shower in Pangboche and then walked out to take some shots of some truly magnificent vistas behind the lodge, an example below.

We would be doing an acclimatization day in Pangboche and the optional hike was to go to base camp for Ama Dablam, the mountain shown below. The peak of Ama Dablam is over 22,000 ft and features a huge ice climb.

Upper base camp at Ama Dablam which we visited is at 14,800 ft, which is higher than any mountain in the continental United States, so I decided to go and here I was only a few days into my Himalayan experience standing at a point higher than anything in the continental US. It was an accomplishment that hit me at the time, one I was proud of and also hit me because I was feeling the effects of the altitude and was happy to drop back down the 1500 ft back to Pangboche.

My actual notes for the day:

“It was cool to see base camp at Ama Dablam today with all of the tents set up. Walking through the valleys it was amazing clouds, snow and 6-8000 meter peaks (20-26,000 ft) and so quiet, except for the sound of the occasional far off avalanche.”

Posted in Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness | Tagged backpacking, blog, happiness, hiking, himalayas, mt. everest, trekking, writing | 1 Comment

Himalayan Travelogue Part 6 – Moonlight Lodge and the Yeti Skull

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Michael Kane

Himalayan Travelogue Part 6 – Moonlight Lodge and the Yeti Skull

Today we start to go uphill, after doing some walking and crossing several suspension bridges we really started to climb, and at the two and a half hour mark we stopped at what I started calling a Himalaya Rest Stop, where several local women were selling fruit to the trekkers. I was excited to make friends with one of the ladies and buy the “last banana” at least the last one until we were up the trail I’m sure. The stop had a much bigger significance however, it was the first spot where we had a view of Mt. Everest.

As the day closed we arrived at Namche Bazaar (11,315 ft) essentially a giant swap meet in the middle of the mountains. Namche is the place where Tibetans who have walked over the mountains, often in sneakers, come to sell their wares. The village also has internet shops, bakeries and most importantly hot showers and the last sit down toilets on the trail.
Getting to Namche was great and I was thankful for an acclimatization day the next day as I wasn’t feeling great, but then again, 11,000 feet, a tough day walking and a bit of sunburn will do that to you.

The next morning has me very excited, I’m a big believer in Bigfoot and its Himalayan cousin the Yeti, to the point that my brother and I produce a website related to this and related topics, www.dystopiantimes.com. I’m excited because today we will visit a Gompa in Khumjung where they monks have a purported Yeti Skull.

Me and Stretch on the way to the Yeti Skull

Acclimatization day does not mean rest day, in fact the goal is to go up a thousand feet or so and then come back down to sleep lower than you climbed. We climbed up above Namche with amazing views in the clear November skies including Ama Dablam, Everest and Lhotse. The crazy thing is way up here on the mountain at 12,000 feet we came across a dirt airstrip and actually got to see a plane take off, it was wild.

We walked to Khunde for lunch and visited one of the mountain health clinics and then the big attraction for the day, the Khumjung Gompa and the Yeti Skull. Arriving at the Gompa we had to make a donation to get the caretaker to open the case with the skull in it, but once he did we got to get up close to the small glass container that contained the skull. Unfortunately the glass and the lack of light made getting a good shot almost impossible so here’s my best one below:

I’m a big fan of cryptids like the Yeti, but I’m also a scientist and the fact is the Khumjung skull is not a Yeti skull, it has been previously investigated and it turned out to not be the real deal, the link below can give you more information. The history of the skull, and a link to a picture of Sir Edmund Hillary with the scalp and it’s debunking. All in all it was still a thrill to be in the land of the Yeti and be talking to people who truly believe in its existence.

On the way back to Namche we stopped and took some photos including my favorite one of me in the Himalayas and here it is.

Rev Kane and a hiking friend

Posted in Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness | Tagged ama dablam, backpacking, bigfoot, everest, happiness, nepal, treking, yeti | 1 Comment

Himalayan Travelogue Part 5 – Going To Lukla

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Michael Kane

Himalayan Travelogue Part 5 – Going To Lukla

Mount Everest

We landed at the Kathmandu Airport (elevation – 4300 ft) with all of the associated crowds and insanity, standing in line to get our visas, customs, changing over money and then trying to find our connection and ride to the Kathmandu Guest House (KGH). We did find our connection and a large crowd of gentlemen happy to help us with our bags for a tip of course. The other thing that happened, of course, was we had to wait for another flight and other guests before going to the Kathmandu Guest House. While waiting we got familiar with all of the operations at the airport including the taxi line, and it became obvious that gas prices are high in Nepal.

Gas is expensive, taxi drivers manually moving in the airport line

During the ride from the airport we would find out there was a general strike on, we saw marching crowds in the street and the traffic was unbelievable. At one point our van driver actually leaned out of the window and tried to push the vehicle next to us out-of-the-way. Then suddenly traffic would part for a cow in the middle of the road, it is a Hindu country after all. Finally we made it to the KGH, checked in and met our guide briefly, we were told when dinner would be and were left to relax and nap. Eventually we crawled out to the dining area and met a couple of folks from our trek and sat down for a beer and a snack. It felt good after traveling for two days to finally just sit and relax with nothing to do. We had dinner at a place called the Road House, met the whole gang and got instructions for the next morning, a very early morning call for our flight to Lukla. We did a quick bit of last-minute shopping, had a beer and crashed for the evening.

Up and out pre-dawn we piled our bags and ourselves barely into the van and made our way to the airport. The airport was already bustling with other trekkers and we hustled through the ordinary madness of the airport morning to finally find ourselves waiting on the tarmac for our Yeti Airline’s twin engine otter to be ready to go. It was a spectacular morning as the sun came up and gave us our first clear views of the big hills.

We boarded the plane, listened to the props start to fire up and a lovely tiny flight attendant in full uniform came through the cabin, I believe she actually sat on some of our luggage in the back the plane was so full. She came through the cabin with a tray that contained cotton for earplugs and Japanese Melon candies, actually one of my favorite candies. We rolled down the runway with the engines roaring and took off, flying the route to Lukla with the Himalayas out my window, it was truly spectacular and Lukla loomed in the distance.

Now let me tell you a little something about the Lukla airport, it is the exact minimum length an airport can be. When you are landing in Lukla the runway ends with the vertical rock face of a mountain. When you take off from Lukla, you take off downhill and the runway ends in a 1000 foot vertical drop off. About 10 month before our journey a plane full of German trekkers had not quite made the take off and crashed in the valley. We had been warned, this would be the most intense part of our trek and this is what I was thinking about, looking up through the aisle and out the window past our pilots to see the runway below us. When you land in Lukla you come down to the runway at a desperate angle and can see the runway screaming at the windshield at what seems like an impossible speed. You hit the ground violently and then you see the pilot literally jump on the breaks as the co-pilot drops the throttle and you start swerving back and forth as you fly up the runway. Just as you think you are about to hit the face of the mountain the pilot whips a right turn and drives into the unloading zone. If you don’t like to fly, don’t go trekking in the Himalayas, this was as intense flying experience.

The link below has a perfect set of images of what the trip looks like:

http://delaheaven.blogspot.com/2010/07/tenzing-hillary-airport-lukla-adventure.html

And here is a video of landing at Lukla, you can hear the release of tension at the landing.
It was both a joy and a relief to make it to Lukla (9350 ft), we ate a quick breakfast and hit the trail, our first day walking would effectively take us downhill with our first day ending in Monjo at (9300 ft). We hiked for 5 hours at a calm pace and arrived at Kailash Lodge, a really nice place, albeit with a cranky hiker on his way back down, the lodge even included in-room hot showers. One of the things that you hear before you trek is how horrible the conditions are going to be, smoky lodges with bad beds, no chance to shower, human fecal matter on the trail and terrifying wooden bridges across the gorges. It’s not true for the most part, over my 22 days I saw only one small wooden bridge, only one slightly smoky lodge, enough showers to feel comfortable and absolutely no human waste on the trails. The beds, well hell, you can complain about anything that can reasonably be called a bed, even if it is a wooden frame with a piece of foam for a mattress.

Here below are my exact thoughts that I wrote that afternoon as I made it to Kailash Lodge:

“It was beautiful all along the trail, big mountains, crazy blue rivers, yaks, shrines, paintings, the bridges are all steel cable so not nearly as terrifying as I expected. Sherpas carrying insane loads, happy, dirty, crying and playing children, smiling people greet us, Namaste.”

A good meal, a shower, a snoring roommate and a surprisingly good night of sleep made for a fantastic first day in the Himalayas. Have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane

Himalayan Travelogue – Part 4, I’m goin to Kathmandu

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Michael Kane

Himalayan Travelogue – Part 4, I’m goin to Kathmandu

As I was planning my time off I mentioned to a buddy at work that I was thinking about Everest and he said, “I’m in.” A lot of people say these sorts of things, hell there were at least 6 people who had hoped to join us on the trek, but in fact, he was in. We began the planning process shortly thereafter, reading, researching, looking at all of the trekking companies and guides available was a bit of a daunting task. Some of the things that became important to us were that the guide had some flexibility built into the schedule, that the company was more concerned with the experience but kept the goal in mind, and finally that they had some sensitivity to the local people. We had narrowed the search down to a few companies when my buddy saw a picture of one of the guides and boom; he decided we were going with them. Now to her credit, our guide Kim is a beautiful woman, but even more importantly the group she works with met all of our criteria and then some. Let me save you a ton of research, if you are thinking about trekking in the Himalayas, then you want to go with Kim and Lahkpa of Project Himalaya

Lahkpa and Kim

The Project Himalaya team takes great care of their clients and the locals they hire, they pay them well and treat them with respect. It was a pleasure trekking with them and I’ve recommended them too many friends. Now in planning this trip one thing was apparent, I was goin to Kathmandu, and of course for the full year before this trip Bob Seger echoed through my mind, so listen to Bob sing I’m goin to Kathmandu

The day finally came, after all of the training, gear purchasing and planning we were heading to the airport in San Francisco to leave it was the end of October, 2009. Now you get your Nepal Visa at the airport in Kathmandu unfortunately my ticket agent for Singapore Air at the counter didn’t know this, nor did she believe me. Neither did her supervisor and finally after a 5 minute discussion the clerk from the next window, who had processed my friend in like 30 seconds came over and took the responsibility. So a piece of advice, have your visa forms and pics accessible when you check in to avoid any issues. I will say this, that one glitch was the only negative thing I have to say about Singapore Air they were awesome.

One of the nice surprises that came about in the planning was that we had to overnight in Singapore on the way to Kathmandu, I’d never been there before and had a great time doing the one-day Singapore tour. I really recommend the botanical gardens and a heads up, Singapore is a crowded and interesting big city I had a blast there and plan to go back. Of course we got caught in a horrible thunderstorm at the gardens but 3 lovely lady Brits helped the time and the storm pass with us under an overhang. Below are a couple of pics from Singapore

Christmas in Singapore

New friend at the Botanical Gardens

Finally we boarded the plane and flew into Kathmandu, God how I love the insanity of airports in the developing world. It was great to be on the ground after 22 hours of flying and we were ready to start our journey.

Gas is expensive, taxi drivers manually moving in the airport line

Other Pieces You Might Enjoy!

Appalachian Trail Happiness: Precious Moments

Happiness is Swimming with Whale Sharks

Three Questions & Some Thoughts from Anza Borrego State Park

Mount Everest Travelogue

Posted in Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness | Tagged backpacking, happiness, hiking, himalayas, mt. everest, nepal, singapore, trekking | 1 Comment

Himalayan Travelogue – Part 3, Welcome to Utah

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Michael Kane

Himalayan Travelogue – Part 3, Welcome to Utah

I’m re-posting my Himalayan Travelogue posts from one of my other blogs, given my upcoming adventure, hiking the Appalachian Trail, I thought these might be an interesting look back as I prepare ~ Rev Kane

My family’s cabin in Utah

Truly it may be said that the outside of a mountain is good for the inside of a man. ~ George Wherry, Alpine Notes and the Climbing Foot, 1896

I was fortunate enough during my time off to have access to my aunt’s cabin in Utah. The beauty of that place is almost impossible to put into words, the sage brush, the clear air and the amazing sunsets with a flock of turkeys as my constant company. There is a peace that pervades you out there that is hard to find anywhere else, I was blessed to have that for three months. My schedule for the time there was perfect, get up, eat breakfast and drive over to Bryce Canyon National Park, spend four or five hours hiking and come home. Eat, take a nice little nap, do some reading or work around the cabin, shoot the sunset, eat and the do some writing before bed. Life the way it should be moving exactly at the correct pace. I could spend time in this space today writing about all of the magnificent hiking trails and experiences I had there, but that isn’t the point of this piece, we’re on our way to the Himalayas and it’s time to get there. So instead, from my three months in Utah, today I’ll give you nothing but images to tell the tale, enjoy.

Posted in Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness | Tagged appalachian trail, backpacking, Bryce Canyon, happiness, hiking, himalayas, mt. everest, national parks, nepal, trekking, Utah | 1 Comment

Happy News – October 27, 2014

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Michael Kane

Happy News – October 27, 2014

Tonight our weekly tour around the web to find the kind of happy news local and cable news love to ignore. Have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane

Two 20 year old guys gutted their van and started a laundry for the homeless

Point your phone at a math problem and your phone solves it!

Eight year old with Down’s Syndrome gets to score an amazing TD!

Five year-old with Autism paints beautiful paintings!

Posted in happiness news | Tagged art, autism, charity, down's syndrome, football, good news, happiness, happy news, kindness, painting | Leave a comment

Himalayan Travelogue Part 2 – The Great Glen Way

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Michael Kane

Himalayan Travelogue Part 2 – The Great Glen Way

It was night and I could see a large and calm lake, reflecting the moon. Black mountains rose around it. I arrived from between two of these mountains, I looked at the lake and the moon, and that was it, nothing else happened. ~ Georges Simenon
Traveling is always an amazing thing to me, the simplest things that you do everyday take on a completely new feel in a new place. The Great Glen Way starts in Fort Williams and I arrived there by train and walked up to my lodging for the evening, the Rhu Mhor House, by far the creepiest looking house I have ever encountered, the door answered, of course, by a very old white-haired woman who was expecting me. I really felt like I was in the first scene of a Sherlock Holmes film.

The house would turn out to be fine, a little old, but good biscuits, tea and cocoa in my room and a huge breakfast with the man of the house appearing in his kilt and full Scottish garb. The previous night I made a quick foray into the center of Fort Williams for dinner and at the Grog & Gruel, (yes that was really the name), and had a fabulous plate of Haggis with Drambuie sauce. I also scouted around to find my way the next morning and the entrance to the Great Glenn Way.

Breakfast that first morning was surreal and very good and I also had the good fortune to meet two ladies from France who were also hiking the Glen. The first day was an easy walk along the trail which follows the New Caledonian Canal across Scotland including the impressive lock called Neptune’s Staircase. It was a pleasant first day, twelve miles of walking and a good night’s sleep at the Anoch Mor Hotel.

Day 2 on the Glenn, a total of 14 miles walking from start to my resting place was a nice quiet and very flat walking day along the shores of Loch Lochy, which if you translated it to American English would be Lake Lakey, that little thought amused me all day.
I had been in Ireland for two weeks previous to this walk and up to this point had not seen a single day of rain. That may not sound strange to us here in the states, but in Ireland and Scotland that sort of thing is unheard of, and on the Day 3 of the Glen (11 miles) and I finally got a taste of good Scottish weather. I was heading for Fort Augustus on this day and the rain gathered strength steadily throughout the whole day. At the Kytra Lock I ran into a lad from Liverpool who had inadvertently taken the keys to his wife’s car. She was back in Fort Augustus and initially he asked me if I would carry the keys to her, I agreed, but after a quick call and a bit of arguing on the phone he changed his mind. A little while later a car would come driving down the trail and a man stopped and asked me if I had the keys, not quite what I expected to see when I set out on this hike. Coming into Fort Augustus I stopped for a coke and a Venison burger, it’s amazing how good a hot meal tastes when you’ve been walking in the rain for several hours.
Day 4 on the Glen, a short little 9 mile hop and a great night’s sleep at a beautiful little home where the owner dried all of my clothes for me and set out a really wonderful breakfast in the morning. Though if you ever go to Scotland, prepare to eat a lot of toast, I think the fewest pieces of toast I was ever brought at breakfast was 4 half-pieces and usually it was 8 and I was always asked if I needed more toast. The morning breakfast was eaten with an Australian Special Forces soldier just off of back-to-back tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was a truly fascinating guy with some amazing insights to what he’d just been through.

Day 5 on the Glen, a 14 mile walk to Drumnadrochit the Loch Ness Monster capital of the world! Of course after having the typical wonderful and huge breakfast I headed out and then up the biggest damn hill I’d ever seen. It was an hour and a half walk at a massive angle, a 2000 foot elevation gain and the craziest thing is that it was up a paved road. I can’t imagine driving up or down this road in the rain, unbelievable. The rest of the day was a wonderful walk along a rail line of an old country estate, back up into the hills with some great views of the loch below. Finally a drop down into Drumnadrochit and my extra day to tour the two competing Loch Ness Monster museums and unfortunately I have to say, I wasn’t impressed with either.

During my extra day I did however walk down and tour Urquhart Castle it was an impressive place and was just incredible cool to be someplace I’d seen my whole life in photos. For those of you who are not Loch Ness Monster junkies like me, Urquhart Castle was the place where in the 6th Century Saint Colombia after finding the locals burying someone who had been killed by the monster sent one of his assistants into the water to swim across.

Urquhart Castle

The monster appeared and St. Columbia commanded the monster to go away and the monster retreated as if pulled by ropes. Urquhart Castle is the shot always shown in any footage dealing with the monster. All in all a great day in Drumadrochit.

Day 6 on the Glen, the last and longest day, a 20+ mile day to the endpoint in Inverness and also the highest point on the trail, 1245 meters (4084 feet). The day started with a series of long climbs but after a couple of hours and hitting the highest point it was a pretty flat run overlooking Loch Ness. Seeing Inverness was a beautiful sight from the trail.

Finally I walked down and made my way to the official endpoint of the trail at Inverness Castle and then across the street for a lovely glass of Scottish Whiskey. My first multi-day hike was a success and gave me some confidence for the big hills but I knew I’d need altitude work, so off to Utah. In transitioning back to the states I passed through Edinburgh, a truly wonderful city but the weirdest thing of the whole trip happened, walking the streets of Edinburgh I hear my name look up and see a friend from graduate school I hadn’t seen in years and here’s a pic of us on the streets of Edinburgh.

A friend from grad school and Rev Kane unexpectedly meeting in Edinburgh

Himalayan Travelogue Part 1 – A Beginning

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Michael Kane

Himalayan Travelogue Part 1 – A Beginning

If you wait for the perfect moment when all is safe and assured, it may never arrive. Mountains will not be climbed, races won, or lasting happiness achieved.
~ Maurice Chevalier
In 1924 George Leigh Mallory, a British climber, was asked why climb Mount Everest, he famously quipped, “because it’s there.” So is Mallory, he never returned from that climb and it is believed that his body was found by climbers in 1999. Mount Everest is the biggest mountain on earth, at least above the ocean, and also the most coveted to climb. It isn’t however the most difficult to climb, at least not from a technical climbing perspective, but Sagarmatha as the Nepalese call her is the biggest hill on earth. Something about that fact has always drawn people, me included, to her slopes. Now, I’m not a climber, I didn’t go to the Himalayas to climb Everest, only to step on the base of her slopes at a little over 17,700 feet, and even more exciting to me, the idea of walking on the Khumbu Ice Fall.
The idea had always been in the back of my mind but it wasn’t until I stumbled onto a website for a trekking company that I truly thought about actually doing it. Of course, like most of these things, when would I ever have the time and the money to take that trip? Well that time came last year, after over a year and a half of planning I finally was in a position to take 8 months off of work. I had put away the money to cover my expenses for that time and come up with a plan. That plan including a trek to the base camp of Mount Everest. Now the really nutty thing about this plan was not only am I not a climber, I also had never done a multi-day hike and I’d only been over 12,000 feet once outside of Lhasa, Tibet. Now here I was planning 22 days in the Himalayas with a goal of over 17,000 feet. Oh and just to make it exciting, I can’t take the medicine (Diamox) that most people take to help prevent them from getting altitude sickness. Needless to say the mention of the plan either frightened or was totally blown off by the people close to me; truly, I couldn’t be stupid enough to actually be doing this.

Those same thoughts had crossed my mind as well, but I was taking 8 months off and the best time to trek in the Himalayas is November, so it would be near the end of my time off. So being the logical creature that I am, I decided I’d use the first part of my time off to get fit and ready for Everest. My plan was simple, start hiking a lot before May when my time off would begin. Then start to progressively get ready for the big hills so of course I would start in Scotland, with no mountain over 4,000 feet. There was some logic to this trip; I planned to hike the Great Glen Way over a 6 day period, my first multi-day hike, 73 miles. Next I would spend time in Utah and really start to stretch myself out and get ready. I am fortunate enough to have an aunt who has a house near Bryce Canyon National Park and that would be my home base. For three months I would hike in the park, live at 6600 feet and spend as much time as possible above 8000 feet and some time above 10,000 feet on Bryan Head.

Piece of cake right, first of course I’d drive across country, visit my brother and friends in Texas, dig for diamonds in Arkansas (didn’t find any), visit family and friends in the East and head for Ireland and Scotland for the month of June. Ride a bike around Ireland, hike the Great Glen Way and then land back in Utah by July. Over the next few weeks I will take you across Scotland, up into Bryce Canyon and then into Nepal and up the big hills of the Himalayas, I hope you enjoy the trip.

Posted in Appalachian Trail (AT) Happiness | Tagged adventure, appalachian trail, backpacking, happiness, hiking, himalayas, life, mount everest, nepal | 1 Comment

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