Mandi's Observations - On Trekking

   Before we left for what would be my first trek, I did not know quite what to expect.  I had only been hiking a few times, and those were mostly short hikes, up to 2 hours.  I don't think I really had a reference point as to what a trek would actually be like. Jon told me it was a way for you to get to see things that you could only see by walking to them.  Unspoiled nature, different ways of life, pure and pristine mountains and rivers.  Little did I know how incredible the experience would be, and how it would change me in ways I never thought possible.  

   The physical aspect of the trek was by far the most demanding physical challenge I have ever experienced.  We were walking for hours each day over rough, steep, hilly terrain.  We climbed so many steps, and descended so many different hills, some of it seemed impossible.  As the difficulty of the trek increased, my comments to Jon escalated from "I quit" to "My Mom is going to be so mad when she finds out what you are doing to me".  These comments were in jest, but they did have an undertone of truth to them.  I was exhausted, blistered, sore, and uncomfortable, but overriding that all was a sense of fascination, wonder, excitement, and awe towards all the new things I was seeing.  My body was resisting being pushed beyond what it thought its limits were, and my mind was experiencing a part of life that it had never before known.  

   With Jon's constant encouragement, I continued to push myself far past any limits that my body and mind were trying to impose on me.  When I thought I could not possibly walk for another hour uphill, Jon insisted that I could, and sure enough it was possible.  When I did not think I could go for three days without taking a shower, I discovered that it was possible, and that baby wipes make a "decent" substitute.  When I assumed that bugs and small critters would gross me out, I discovered that I would watch them quietly and marvel at their intricacies.  And low and behold, here I was, enjoying nature immensely.  

   What I was not prepared for, and what still amazes me is how impressive and beautiful the scenery was in the Himalayas.  I figured it would be very pretty to look at and all, but what I did not understand is the fact that I would look with a child-like wonder on practically everything I encountered because it was unlike anything I had ever seen before.  Being surrounded by massive, snow-capped mountains, crossing a river so clear and pristine you could see all the way to the bottom of it, seeing people living and thriving in a habitat so different from my own, and realizing that I was capable of doing this, was all an incredible experience.  It was beyond beautiful, whatever that is, this was it.  As equally fascinating as it was rewarding, an incredible experience in my life, one that I will always remember and cherish.