Perhaps it was having already done tough climbing on Kilimanjaro and the Himalayas, or perhaps it was the acclimitization to altitude that helped us. It could also be that most people who climb Rinjani are young and unprepared backpackers on their gap year, trekking in Toms and their layered beach clothes. Whatever the reason, we didn’t … More Rinjani part 2: return of the flesh pistons
On our way back to Leh from Tso Moriri we stopped at the Hemis monastery, which is the largest Buddhist monastery in the area. And the Thiksey (also written as Thiksay or Thikse) monastery, which is arguably the most beautiful. … More Ladakh: Praying at Thiksey Monastery
A day that began by combining two days of hiking into one morning ended with a grueling 8 hour rally across some of the most scenic countryside in the world. … More Ladakh: Rally to Tso Moriri and other high altitude lakes
It was on Madok La that the cumulative time at elevation began to affect me (Jesse), which led to poor sleep and appetite … More Ladakh part 2: Thin Air and Brown Water
After about 30 offers of black tea, it was time to get down to business. Our trekking guru/salesman, Javeed, looked us up and down and offered an alternate trek, billed as “challenging”. He waved his hand over some blank spaces on the map with no trail markings and our fate was decided. … More Ladakh part 1: Trek Roulette and Himalayan Narcolepsy
When we envisioned climbing Kilimanjaro, we pictured manageable hikes gaining modest elevation on non-technical slopes surrounded by beautiful views, like from the Shira Plateau, Barranco, and Barafu (don’t forget to read these parts). That all was reasonably accurate until the moment we were awoken at midnight to start our summit attempt, in the dark, up scree, … More Kilimanjaro finale: Uhuru
