I’ve been reading a number of other blogs on the topic of Trekking Nepal lately. The recent posts are from adventurers who have recently returned from a soggy jaunt through the lowlands of Nepal. They say everything is fine, and oh yeah, there a millions of leeches lining the hiking trails. An image that comes to mind is the giant, oozing creature from “Princess Mononoke” tumbling across the land, leaving a trail of quivering slug slime. Pema tells me that if you’re in the lowlands during the monsoons, the little creatures leap out of the leaves on the ground and say “Hi!” Amy goes further to tell how they were creeping off of the plants and slithering up her boots. You couldn’t pack enough salt to fend them all off and the idea creeps me out bad. Oh, and by the way it’s a condition of rain clouds that you can’t see tall mountains through them, so the net effect is that the monsoon season is not as popular (as what, getting a root canal?).

Another factor in the summer being a very slow season for mountaineering is that there is an incredible amount of wet snowfall on the high summits. That buildup of unstable snowpack leads to some terrific avalanches. With over 400 trekking companies in Nepal these days, one of them must be a niche provider for extreme misery mongers who would love to be eaten alive (well, slurped alive) by leeches or gently washed away into a crevasse by a pillowy avalanche, all with no remarkable Himalayan vistas, naturally. I admit I try to avoid crowded conditions wherever I can, such as going to movies at weird times (Tuesday at noon). Considering the conditions during the monsoons even one or two Sherpas I know prefer to leave the country rather than endure the season. So I ask any of you whether you save that much money or if millions of leeches squirming across your path doesn’t creep you out. Late Fall is established as the most enjoyable time for trekking, and practically all of us tourists converge on the land like it’s Saturday night showing of a shameless Summer sequel. If we all showed up during the monsoons there would be still be enough leeches for everyone.