Kay Petterson Shaw - Nepal Trek: A Woman Alone

Im at the Kathmandu airport, and its hard to believe Im already on my way home. I would have enjoyed more time in Kathmandu, but with Thanksgiving next week and photo orders to tend to, I need to get home.

Suwon, from the Foothills Trekking travel agency that took care of the trekking arrangements in Nepal, and Tensee came to the hotel, but only Tensee went to the airport. A young man staying at the hotel rode with us. It turned out that he had gone on the same trek the previous week, the group

I thought I would be part of. There were eight trekkers in his group, four guides and eleven porters! He figured there were twenty staff in all. He said a hail storm came through the night they camped at Gupha Pokhari, whereas we didnt have any precipitation the whole trip. I decided it was another case of my making a mistake and having it turn out to my advantage. I was very glad I went when I did, and by myself. I know I had better, more natural interactions with the Nepali people on my own than if a group had gathered around.

Getting into the airport was a real zoo, and there was a chaotic baggage check-in right away. Then things improved and went smoothly. I was able to get a seat assignment for my Singapore to JFK flights hand written boarding passes, which I expected. They must have just one computer to work from to do the boarding passes. I dont usually buy things in airport gift shops, but I found a lovely lavender blue, soft pashmina shawl I couldnt resist. A few months later I read that they were a hot fashion item!

Later. On the plane I sat next to a man from Vancouver, BC, who had climbed one of the high mountains (didnt catch the name) and was gone a month in all. Nice flight to Singapore. As we were disembarking, I mentioned I needed to get a book to read on the rest of the trip, and he suggested The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiesen. I immediately went to the W.H. Smith bookstore at the airport and found it! It proved to be a great read for someone who had just been in Nepal.

I had several hours until my next flight, so I watched a Chinese dance program depicting a Chinese wedding in the Entertainment Center. I also bought several gifts of clothing, things Id seen on the way over but I didnt want to buy then. The Singapore airport is the largest one Ive ever been in, and reminds me more of a small city than an airport, with its vast array of shops and entertainment possibilities.

When I went to the gate to wait, I happened to sit next to Louise, from Vermont, who had been trekking in the Everest area. She hoped to get to the Everest base camp at 17,000 feet, but wasnt able to make it. Her whole body swelled up, and though it didnt hurt, she said it was pretty scary. Our flight from Singapore to Frankfurt leaves about midnight and gets to Frankfurt at 6:00 a.m.

Later JFK Airport. The flight from Kathmandu to Singapore was 4 hours, to Frankfurt 12 hours, and to JFK 7 hours. Now I take a TWA flight to St. Louis, that I just found out stops in DC first! Then the final flight to Minneapolis/St. Paul. Saving money on my domestic add-on is using up a lot of time. I wish I had taken a shuttle to Newark to get a direct flight to Minneapolis/St. Paul. Too late now, but I am very tired and hope to sleep on this flight. I did get some sleep on each of the flights between Singapore and JFK, but airplane sleep is never very restful.

My total flying time home was 26 hours. I didnt want to figure out how many hours I spent in airports!

I did it, and I am glad! But although Id like to return to Nepal with my husband, who couldnt come on this trip because of a heart condition, I would not go on a trek again. It was more strenuous than I expected, but at least I didnt get sick or have any serious effects from the altitude. I figured we covered about sixty miles. The trek was rated easy. I decided that the rating was done by a twenty-something young man who had at least trekked to Everest base camp, so he decided this route was easy.

I learned: Dare to live your dream. You will find that dreams, like real life, are full of surprises.

Copyright 2014 by Kay Petterson Shaw.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at the address below.

Printed in the United States of America

Rev. date: 03/04/2014

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I dedicate this book to the memory of my parents, Paul and Edith Petterson, who allowed their only daughter to take risks and live her dreams.

I also dedicate it to my husband, Stewart Shaw, whose love and encouragement have followed me around the world

Special Thanks to:
Marian Hopkins and Harvey Benson, for their honest reading of my text, and to Marcia Chaffee, for title suggestions.

It is better to travel well than to arrive. If ones mind is open to what happens on the journey, one doesnt have to arrive.
-Tibetan proverb.

There is something deliciously exotic about the sound of that name Kathmandu. It evokes images of a city where strange things happen, and where people live in a way unlike anywhere else in the world. However, when I arrived there, it didnt feel that strange. In fact, I felt quite at home as my mind went back forty-five years to India, where I had spent a summer as a college student, and where my dream of going to Nepal was born. I had just turned twenty in 1954 when I left on my life-changing trip to study in India under the SPAN (Student Project for Amity among Nations) program. It is based at the University of Minnesota, but includes students from participating Minnesota colleges. Students today think nothing of jetting around the world to study and play. When I was in college, it was a rarity for anyone to travel abroad, except for service people during the Second World War which had ended several years earlier. SPAN itself was started in 1947 by World War II veterans, who were convinced there had to be better ways to solve conflicts than shooting people. They believed that if our people could understand people in other countries, and they understand us, foreign relations would improve. Most students went after their junior year, as the year before leaving was spent in orientation, preparing an independent research project, and language study if needed. However, the 1954 program was opened to sophomores because more applications were needed. Our group of seven, five men and two women, was fortunate that a SPAN group had gone to India the previous year and could provide us with good practical advice like, always stay with your luggage when a porter at a train station carries it for you.