When I first met the people on my trek I was a little surprised to discover that I was the youngest by quite some margin!
They had me sharing a tent with Graham a retired Engineer from North-East England. Despite being more than twice my age and at times reminding me of Marvin the Paranoid Android, he was an experienced camper and an excellent tent-mate.
The rest of our intrepid party included:
Kate, an Irish nurse who was very fit, always up for a beer and generous to the point of ridiculousness.
Ruth, an outgoing Canadian Obstetrician/Gynecologist who talked more than the rest of us combined. She was called upon on more than one occasion to provide life or death medical advice.
Two nurses from Adelaide, both in their 50s. Margaret, who reminded me (somewhat disturbingly) of my own mum, and Di, who was reserved at first but came to have a clever, dry sense of humour.
Rita and Graham, a very fit couple from Brisbane who always led the way but mostly kept to themselves.
Looking after the 8 of us were no less than 28 Nepalese staff. Bikash (our guide), Amrit, Chiring and Purvor (our sherpas), Narhine (our chef), 4 kitchen Staff, 1 foreman and 18 porters.
Daily life on trek was similar to what a monarch might have experienced travelling in a previous century. We would be woken at 6am by one of the sherpas and presented with a cup of hot tea and a bowl of warm water for 'washy washy'.
Eventually I'd repack my overnight bag and be the last to stumble into the large dining tent. Although breakfast was different every day it was approximately porridge, eggs and toast with various condiments.
By about 7:30am we'd be ready to grab our day-packs and wander off. While we were commencing our daily stroll the porters would dismantle the tents, chairs, tables sleeping mats and all our heavy items, devide them into loads of 35 to 40 kilograms and carry them on their foreheads. Meanwhile the Kitchen staff would wash our dishes along with all the pots and pans, dismantle the kitchen and pack it into smaller loads (15-20kg) before quite literally running after us along the trail.
By about midday we would arrive at our lunch stop, usually the dining room of a hotel or restaurant. Our kitchen boys would already be there with stoves ablaze and a hot lunch on the way.
After lunch we'd walk for a couple more hours before arriving at our campsite. The porters would arrive soon after with our overnight bags and we'd have the afternoon free while they assembled the tents in time for afternoon tea at 4:30pm. Dinner at 6:30 was a 3 course affair, starting with soup then a main course of bread, pasta or rice accompanied by a selection of curries and stir-frys. We'd finish dinner with tinned fruit, hot chocolate and a briefing from Bikash about the next days plan. Margaret would ask how far uphill we would have to walk, we'd all laugh and then head to bed. After 3 weeks of luxury camping regular camping won't ever be the same again.
Best camp site ever?
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