The flight San Diego to JFK. Four and a half hours. Was short and uneventful. I slept most of it with the help of a1/3 Ambien.
JFK is so old and beat up. The signs to the air tram were pointed the wrong way. Construction was everywhere. San Diego T 1 was lucky to have the room for construction or it was planned better. I walked in all of the gateways trying to decide where to eat. Each gateway had two place open for the 45 some gates. I chose an Irish Pub. Still only breakfast which I am not a fan of. The bar was pretty quiet. I had two Aperol Spritz’s. Good for my anxious stomach, not good for the sugar.
I have tried to upgrade this trip a few time but it has always been full so I at least have window seats.
Just flying over Nottingham UK. It’s 2:30 pm in San.
Lots of waiting around to board. I had taken my two prescribed Diamox and I felt dizzy so I was anxious to get on the plane and sleep. Sometimes the flight attendants will let you sneak in early. I didn’t have to worry about overhead space.
There were many families traveling , especially Indians and Middle Easterner. You could tell the Back Packers and Trekkers. I hate the way people stand so close. I had to stick my backpack between the person behind me so he wouldn’t get so close.
Sitting with a nice Indian couple, had to help them get the people in front of us to keep their chairs forward while we ate. I also helped another could find PSA and a short cut. Becky Geiss has just told me that she needed to help people at the post office so she inspired me to offer help.
Will board the plane in about an hour. Just having a little wine and calamari at Prado at the airport. Today, well the whole week was hard to concentrate on anything but this journey. It’s more intense to pack and plan for this, than some of my other trips.
After work and after packing the rest of my things I went to watch the Padres. Too bad that they lost. Spent a few minutes with my daughter, her boyfriend and my friend Becky.
My dog, Paisley and George’s dog knew something was up. All my chores got done at the house. I think all the animals are set and hopefully no invaders will come in. Like the 5 raccoons on my last trip!
Looking at these great photos all day!
Excited, nervous, worried, giddy. So many feelings.
I fly 5.5 hours tonight to JFK, then 5 ish hour layover. Then fly to Doha, Qatar short 3 hour layover and then Kathmandu! Should arrive on October 4, my brother’s Birthday, around 6pm.
I had to check my bag. Kinda makes me nervous. But I can buy everything I need in Kathmandu.
Here’s my last pile of stuff to get in my back pack.
And diamond pillsTravel clothes
So excited! Time to fly and sleep! Thanks for reading!
I leave the evening of Oct 2. I am pretty much finished packing. I can get just about anything in Kathmandu. Natalie will stop by today to see if I am missing anything. Now it’s just getting my office and house ready to leave for a couple weeks. Arrangements for my sweet dog Paisley have been made. I haven’t see Lloyd the cat in a while. The turtles will hibernate soon and the fish can fend for themselves if needed.
Photos from Hans
Today friends will come over to watch the Green Bay Packers. I will do a little light training this week. I walked 8.5 miles yesterday. I am ready!
So many people have asked how I am training for this epic hike to EBC….
I made this decision on March 2nd on a boat with a friend. I suggested that we do this hike. We were both so excited but it wasn’t going to work out with her schedule. I am experienced in Solo Travel, so why not go Solo. My daughter’s boyfriend had a connection of a woman named Nimmi. I contacted her and we decided on dates and itinerary and gear etc. We communicate through WhatsApp. She will be my guide and I will have a porter for my gear. Both are called Sherpa’s but more about that later.
I have been working out with a trainer once or twice a week for years but now I had a different goal. My workouts had been just to keep injuries at bay, now I needed strength and endurance. I work out at Coronado Fitness Club, with Carter, Jake or Chris, and Kevin. They are all very encouraging and excited for me.
So first thing, I needed to grow my hair out. Sorry guys, you don’t understand some things. I wanted to be able to braid my hair during the hike. It’s the longest I have ever had right now. I knew that finger and toe nails have to be short and no polish , so as of today, I will have no more gels or color.
I started walking and biking more in Coronado and hiking our tallest peak in San Diego, Cowles. In June I hiked with my daughter, Natalie at Banff, Alberta Canada. Height 4500 feet. A couple weeks ago I hiked in the Sierras with my son, George. We started at 8000 feet and hiked to 10,000 feet, spent the night and hiked down. This was a total of 6 miles but it was the toughest and most beautiful hike that I have ever experienced. This hike should be about the same as day 2 at EBC.
In Washington DC last week I walked 6-7 miles five days in a row. Shin splints were an issue.
Diet wise, I eat pretty clean at home, not so much out to dinner or at friends houses. I am mostly gluten and sugar free. Now concentrating on proteins like, salmon, chicken, pork and eggs. Veggies always. Adding bone broth, avocado and more simple fruit , like berries
Will start adding carbs in two weeks, like pasta! And decreasing alcohol! Ugg! I like wine.
I have discussed this hike with my GP, Integrative MD and Cardiologist. All are supportive. Cardiologist wanted to come with me!
I just started adding electrolytes and salt. Next week I will be pushing water. I don’t drink very much water but I have been told by Richard Bailey, my daughters Boyfriend, that I will need to drink two liters each morning before I hike, two liters during the hike and two liters after hiking each day. That’s a lot, so I need to get used to that. I prefer wine!
I started doing more breathwork too. I am following the principles of Dr Belisa Vranich. Look her up on YouTube. She makes a lot of sense.
I’ll be hiking more in September in California and Arizona. Finalizing my gear and getting excited
Still left to do….find out why my visa is not ready, find dog/cat/house sitter.
Someone asked about costs:
Guided hike, tea houses, porter and transportation about $2500, flight $1600, visa $80
Still hoping to meet up with my friend from Australia. We will be within 800 meters of each other during the hike. Another friend from Coronado might be doing EBC too.
Gear so far
Thanks for reading. Remember I am not responsible for incorrect sentence structure, grammar or misspellings!
“You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.”
This weekend I will hike in the Sierras with my son and our dogs. That’s all I know. He is planning it.
Exciting that I might see a dear friend that I met in Australia in 2020, just before the pandemic, during my trek. He is doing Three Passes going clockwise and I am doing EBC which is counterclockwise.
Ok time to get serious. I just spent a wonderful week with some of my favorite people on A Girls Wisconsin Road trip. I showed them sights unbelievable to California girls! Taverns, corn fields, lakes, rivers, wild animals and more. Will post photos when I get more storage.
Today I asked Chat GOT for a training schedule. It is intense but I will try to follow it. I work out with a trainer now but I need to work harder. I did do a burpee challenge recently. Day 1 was one burpee then I added one each day ending on 30 burpee’s! Wow that was fun! But I did it. I haven’t done one since!
I will also go back to cleaner eating, which is my typical diet. I had more deep fried food this past week than I have ever had in my life! So good, so good as the song goes…
Also need to drink more water. Richard Bailey says.A liter before each day of hiking and several liters during the day. At this point I prefer wine!
Why do I wake up so early? Six am every morning! More time to read I suppose. I went to the beach and sat by the pool. I had a zoom call which was fun to do in this setting. Time to try out Zippers, a close by surfer restaurant on the beach. I could walk. Fish and chips sounded good.
More reading and then to the Art Show in the Historic area of San Jose. It was busy and festive. The night air was a perfect temperature. I stopped in a few shops and then looked at the beautiful art. Some was incredible, some good and some wtf. It’s Art! Stopped by to see my new friend Sergio that I met on Tuesday. Had a nice Spicy skinny Mezcal margarita. Almost bought a piece of art
Last stop, a restaurant that fry’s with Beef Tallow. The new healthy fat. It just lard! Healthy again. Out with seed oils!
Travel Pig 