Hiking in the Himalayas...

The goal of going to Nepal was for the entire team to earn their Gold International Awards. They were each responsible for completing months of a skill (Veronica takes singing lessons), a sport (she runs) and community service (and she’s the co-chair of the school’s Environmental Committee). The time in Mainapokhari qualified as their one-week residential stay. The final requirement was the Gold Expedition, a four-day trek that they were lucky enough to complete in the foothills of the Himalayas. This was the longest bridge that they crossed; strangely, on the far side it wasn’t even finished as it still needed railings installed.

They travelled with a guide from Himalayan Leaders and brought along their own cook. They slept each night in a different guesthouse, where they drank a lot of tea and ate a lot of rice with lentil soup. The first day, Veronica had a difficult time breathing because it was stifling hot while climbing up 2,625 feet (800 meters) with a heavy pack at a much higher elevation than she’s used to. She described it as “complete hell and yet at the same time incredible.”

That first day she also had her first experience with leeches, “my socks were drenched in blood, despite the bites actually being very tiny.” She had the distinction of getting more bites than anyone with a total of eleven.

Day two was still painful. They hiked to a yak cheese factory at 10,150 feet (3,100 meters), the highest elevation Veronica has ever experienced. The following day, the hardest of the trip, they saw these yaks on the hillside. Poor kid’s hips were bleeding from her pack rubbing. Despite it being too cloudy to ever spot Mount Everest, she thought the scenery was “postcard perfect.” The final day was rather short; she drank her first Coke afterwards to help replenish her sugar levels.

Veronica had a hard time choosing which photos to include when she wrote an article sharing her adventures in Going Dutch, so she made this collage. She also made this short video showing the highlights of the trip. I’m so thrilled that she could have such an incredible experience!