Preparations for our Upcoming Trek to Everest Base Camp

Cathy is always searching for new challenges and ways to experience the great outdoors at an affordable cost (without sacrificing common sense to some degree!). Well .... why not base camp of Everest? This year, we are preparing ourselves for our trip to Nepal to experience not only the hike to Everest Base Camp but the Budhist culture and people and simply celebrate life and the gift to be able to do this. In our preparations, we have received our first set of injections and have purchased our flight tickets and down jackets, a necessary item for its warmth, lightweight and packability. We will be four friends joining an outfitter from Kathmandu to take us to Lukla, Nepal at approximately 9,000 plus feet ... here are some pictures of what we will see and maps of our route... such as inside a tea house, sectioned pools for growing rice to feed the community, base camp itself with all its tents and leftovers of canisters and garbage from previous hikers - a project that has been underway to clean up and carry out over the course of time. Still lots of reading to do and absorbing the traditions and signs of respect and simple courtesy and special words such as Namaste. Here is its worthwhile-knowing definition according to a yoga teacher and more tangibly, a gesture done by my yoga teacher at the end of each session:

The gesture Namaste represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra. The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another. "Nama" means bow, "as" means I, and "te" means you. Therefore, Namaste literally means "bow me you" or "I bow to you." To perform Namaste, we place the hands together at the heart charka, close the eyes, and bow the head. It can also be done by placing the hands together in front of the third eye, bowing the head, and then bringing the hands down to the heart. This is an especially deep form of respect. Although in the West the word "Namaste" is usually spoken in conjunction with the gesture, in India, it is understood that the gesture itself signifies Namaste, and therefore, it is unnecessary to say the word while bowing. We bring the hands together at the heart chakra to increase the flow of Divine love. Bowing the head and closing the eyes helps the mind surrender to the Divine in the heart and free from the bonds of ego-connection. If it is done with deep feeling in the heart and with the mind surrendered, a deep union of spirits can blossom.

The definition goes on, beautifully as well ... certainly something to reflect on.

We still have a wait before leaving in October and as we wait, we will prepare physically with elevation hikes to acclimatize with our breathing and simply expanding our lung capacity. To do this we are treking to Colorado for some camping and hiking in the 13,000 feet range. Stay tuned!