During the COVID-19 pandemic many people have been missing their ability to travel. Saltcoats resident Shevon Wilson has been a world-traveller and adventurer and I had the privilege of talking to her while she reflected on some adventures she had that were a little bit off the beaten path such as trekking in Nepal.
Shevon’s first experience with trekking in Nepal came in July of 2016 when she went for a 10 day trek in the Himalaya mountains. She booked her trip with a trekking company called Peak Endeavour Trek with a trekking guide named Norbu.
Norbu planned a 5 day route for the trekking group along part of the Annapurna circuit, one of the most famous treks in Nepal. The goal was to reach the lookout point at the top of Poon Hill (3193 meters or 10 475.71 feet) to experience the famous view of the Annapurna mountains.
However, unbeknownst to Shevon at the time, July happens to be the rainy season in Nepal. “It is not the best time to trek as the trails are wet and slippery and there are leeches. Yes, blood sucking leeches that hang out on anything green. Then when you walk by and the long grass brushes your ankles they leap – onto you. They immediately bite and begin sucking your blood. Often you don’t realize that you have a leech until you find this large blood stain on your sock or pants or shirt. They love to hang from leaves in the trees and drop on your head, face or neck,” Shevon says.
“We were not lucky with the rain gods,” says Shevon. “It rained everyday on our trek. It was slow walking and the trails were muddy and slippery. Luckily a hired porter carried my heavy duffle bag. I only had to carry my day pack, umbrella and leech spray. I thought our trekking guide Norbu was making fun when he insisted we buy umbrellas and bug spray before we started the trek. At our last stop in town before we began our slow jeep journey up rough mountain roads we visited a small local market where Norbu demanded we purchase trekking supplies. Of course he was right. During the rainy season you want an umbrella as it keeps your head dry but more importantly it keeps your face and neck safe from leeches that drop from above. You are so happy when you have bug spray to kill the leeches as they land on your shoes. It is a glorious feeling to be able to get rid of these pests before they start climbing up your leg.”
“So, we trekked along and each night I attempted to dry out my wet clothes by the fire and wash out the blood stains from any leech attacks during the day. We were not always the happiest of trekkers as this adventure did not fit the way I imagined trekking in the Himalayas would be. Norbu was always happy. He would be laughing and singing and telling jokes. He wasn’t bothered by leeches or wet clothes or falling in the mud. He pointed out all the different plants and flowers. He stopped to take photos of the fungus growing on a tree. He found joy in the present and the small details of the trek. When we summited Poon Hill we were surrounded by clouds. We didn’t get to see the famous view of the Annapurna mountains. So I vowed that I would return. I would come back to Nepal and NOT during the rainy season.”
Shevon did return in October of 2019 when she joined 17 other Canadians and embarked on a longer (and drier) journey to the Annapurna Base Camp (also known as the ABC trek). The goal was to reach 4,200m (13,779.5 feet) at the base camp. The trek lasted 15 days. “Trekking in Nepal is rather luxurious in comparison to hiking in the Canadian Rockies as each person is assigned a porter. Your porter carries your main pack with your heaviest items. My responsibility was to carry a day pack with water, warm clothes and my camera. Each night we stayed at a tea house. This was a small dorm style room with a bed. All our meals were eaten in a small restaurant in the tea house. So it was very luxurious hiking by Canadian standards. I did not have to carry my own gear, pitch a tent upon arrival to the camp or even cook my own food.”
“Each day we walked between 15-25km depending on the trail. We were very lucky with the weather and we only had one day when it rained on us in the afternoon. We always had a long lunch break with a chance to relax and take our hiking boots off. Our porters would always beat us to each tea house as they were extremely fast hikers even though they were carrying 100-120 pounds.”
Shevon says that while the trekking that she did was not technical, it was important to be physically fit as it is quite demanding to traverse long distances over such difficult terrain everyday. Another thing that the trekkers have to contend with is altitude sickness. Shevon says she certainly felt it while they were in the base camp as she had a headache and felt extremely fatigued. It is possible to go trekking in Nepal without a guide, but Shevon says she wouldn’t recommend it. She appreciated having a guide as he knew the routes, the culture and language.
Shevon says that the highlights of her trip include walking across many suspension bridges (the longest was 287 meters long and 135 meters high), drinking masala tea, eating dal bhat (24 hour dal bhat power was her guide’s favourite saying), meeting locals in the mountain villages, visiting a local school and playing volleyball with the students, stunning mountain views of the Himalayas, attending a harvest celebration with traditional dancing and music, watching porters carry all of their stuff without complaint, watching the filming of a bollywood movie in Chhomrong and trekking 135km in 15 days. She hopes to go back to Nepal again.
During her trek, Shevon had many encounters with the locals who live in the mountain villages. These villages have no road access and what roads are near are in extremely bad condition, filled with boulders and divots, making traversing the roads cumbersome. Shevon says that traveling 30 km on these roads takes 4-5 hours, which is quite astounding when we are used to traveling that distance in Saskatchewan in less than half an hour.
Everything in these villages including farming and harvesting and processing crops is done by hand as they have no machines to aid them in their tasks. Pack mules are used to transport goods or the people carry the goods themselves. The villagers try to grow enough produce that they can carry some down the mountain to the city so they can sell it.
Shevon says that in every village they passed through, they were met with kindness and excitement from the locals. The villagers all had some kind of business that they operated from their houses in order to earn some income from the trekkers that pass through regularly. Some operated restaurants, some had rooms for trekkers to stay in and others sold hand-made goods.
Shevon was struck by the happiness of the villagers. Compared to the privileged lifestyle we are used to here in Canada, these villagers have nothing and yet there was no feeling sorry for themselves or complaining. Shevon says that they really embrace the attitude of being present and happy, enjoying each moment for what it is. She says that energy in the villages was always light and friendly. The villagers were always warm and friendly to the trekkers and were also extremely curious about Canada and had many questions for the trekkers.
However, these wonderful people have been going through a difficult time over the past year as a result of the pandemic. Their livelihood depends on the trekking business and with international travel restrictions there haven’t been any trekkers. Not only are the villagers suffering without the business of trekkers coming to their villages, but also the trekking business itself.
Shevon’s trekking guide is the chair of a charity called Uphill Both Ways. “Uphill Both Ways was developed after a trip in 2005, when a group of southern Albertans went trekking in Nepal. After witnessing the state of extreme poverty, they decided to make a small contribution to improve the state of one rural school. A simple act of generosity involving a few hundred dollars was sufficient to purchase an incredible volume of teaching supplies, books, and educational resources. A dilapidated shack full of eager young children was turned into a classroom, and the start to an incredible chain reaction,” says Shevon.
The group that Shevon trekked with in 2019 from Lethbridge had actually organized a fundraiser before the trip and presented a village school with school supplies which caused a huge celebration in the village.
If you are interested in helping the people of Nepal by donating to this charity, you can visit the website at https://www.uphillbothways.net/.
If you are interested in trekking in Nepal, you can find the website of the trekking company that Shevon went with at https://www.trektohimalayas.com/.
Not only did Shevon trek in Nepal, but she also volunteered at a local school after her trek. I will write about her experiences there in another article.
By: Jessica Farquharson