Episode 163: Cash, Candy & Contraband

The Trek Begins. The trek officially started today with a nice hike to our first backcountry camping site. I’m excited to see just how different this east side of Everest is since very few tourists visit this part of Tibet.

Right away it became clear that we are in a very different world from the popular South and North sides of Everest as we walked near a small village and were visited by a group of very curious schoolchildren. Kids are always fun to come into contact with when trekking and no matter what side of the mountain you’re on the children are curious. What was different about this group of kids was just how amazingly restrained they were when Shakeel started handing out candy! You could instantly tell that these kids were not accustomed to tourist traffic as they each took one piece of chocolate and meekly said thank you. This was in huge contrast to the kids we had met only a day early that were whipped into a grab-and-go frenzy by Roger generously handing out pens.

Today, you could tell that these kids were simply interested in saying hello and meeting our team of trekkers and sherpas. Some of the kids were really enjoying themselves and began to hike out of town with us. If it weren’t for their mothers calling them back, I think a few of the kids would be eating dinner with us in camp right now!

I can’t wait to see what other unexpected details we’ll find on this mysterious side of Everest.

Jon Miller

Total Running Time: 40:55