As I admitted in a previous post, I did very little research before tackling the Overland Track in Tasmania. Beyond booking the trek and transportation and equipping myself with standard trekking gear, I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into.
I just showered and gorged on vegetables for the first time in a week and IT FELT AMAZING.
Instead of being kind to my body and giving it those things it craves on a near-daily basis, I put it through hell these past 6 days while hiking the Overland Track.
I don’t know about you, but the trips I take tend to be planned around one particular thing I’ve been aching to see or do. In the case of my 2012 road trip around the Big Island of Hawaii, the one thing I just HAD to do was the Waimanu Valley hike, on the Muliwai Trail.
Now’s about the time I pat myself on the back for having my trusty analog journal to keep diligent track of my every move and thought during my 5 weeks traveling solo in Italy in May/June 2007, including hiking the Amalfi Coast.
A quick google search will tell you that Tayrona National Park is beautiful, gorgeous, stunning, insert any superlative here. It didn’t take much convincing for me to allot nearly half of my time in Colombia to this tropical oasis.
I certainly kept myself busy in Chiang Mai, what with the cliff jumping, clubbing, cooking class, night market, and prison ladies massage. But all of these activities were secondary to my #1 priority here: to go trekking in Chiang Mai.
In February of 2013, I quit my job and set off for my biggest trip to-date: backpacking through Asia.
The whole impetus for the trip was hiking the Everest Base Camp Trek, something I’d been saying I’d do the next time I was in-between jobs and could afford to spend at least 3 weeks in Nepal.
The traditional Everest Base Camp trek begins in Lukla. Fortunately for you, I’m not traditional, and that’s definitely not my style of travel! The off-the-beaten-path Everest Base Camp trek that I completed begins SOUTH of Lukla, in Phaplu or Jiri.
First thing’s first: no one camps while trekking in Nepal. That’s because all of the trails are populated with affordable guesthouses – aka tea houses – so there’s really no need to.