Thanks so much to those of you who have been following the reports of our group’s trek in Nepal. There was a period of about 12 days when we hiked beyond Namche that we found we had no more Internet access and we were unable to post any more updates. It seems a few of you were a little concerned for us, so I guess that’s a good sign that someone was taking an interest in our project. Thanks also for your comments along the way. On the days when we were able to check in on SherpaTrek we were delighted to hear news from you (though we were in a rush considering the exorbitant rates) and you gave us a lot of encouragement (except for Brett, who sent us into a funk for a little while, longing for some distant comforts). Let me respond to a recent question though about the state of our stink and whether we had any trouble with bugs. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said we had some really nasty laundry leftover from the trip. Considering that none of us were able to do any really effective laundry during the whole month of the yeti lifestyle (doesn’t that stir your imagination). We even had to store some of our stinkies in a safety deposit box in the hotel while we were up in the mountains for three weeks, then we had to resort to wearing them again for the trip home. Hey, they were relatively clean compared to what we’d been wearing.

Tourism is doing remarkably well in Nepal despite the country’s status with the US State Department as being a security risk. They consider travel outside of the Kathmandu valley to be dangerous, but then they probably haven’t taken a ride in a taxi or tried to cross the street there in the city. The State Department warns of extortion and the threat of violence from the communist guerilla insurgency. They urge Americans to “defer non-essential travel to Nepal” or to at least maintain a low profile. First, I have to ask what really is “essential” travel? We don’t even have to get up out of bed in the morning, so why don’t we defer non-essential waking up? Next, they might as well urge Americans to stay in bed because there’s no way they can maintain a low profile, especially outside of the United States. This recent post from the Nepali Times lays out the irony of how the Maoists are a tourist attraction. Trekkers just consider the mandatory donation to be another official fee to pay along the trail, just a permit or a National Park entrance fee. Sure, the guerillas seem like fine, upstanding young men, but the money does not go to support orphanages or for defensive driving classes. The money is going to support more donation enforcement and ultimately to cause grief and death for the people of Nepal. I’m just offering a little perspective.