T-Minus 6 Days: The Grand Adventure Approaches!

Ashwyn k -

Are you an uphill or downhill person? I’ve always preferred going downhill, it’s just more fun! There’s something exhilarating about jumping down from big rocks while descending. Going uphill, on the other hand, requires more strength and perseverance, whereas descending challenges your joint stability and balance. I feel like most people enjoy going downhill more, but I’m curious—what do you guys think?

Welcome back to my blogpost, readers! This past week wasn’t particularly eventful—just my usual workout routine, lots of pickleball with friends, and my weekly hike, but this is all in preparation for EBC in 17 days!!

For this week’s adventure, I tackled South Mountain. Honestly, it wasn’t as challenging as I had hoped. The elevation gain was minimal, but the view from the top was pretty nice—we could see most of Tempe and downtown Phoenix, but it will never compare to the stunning views of Picketpost and Flatiron. We spent about 2.5 hours hiking roughly 4 miles, but compared to my previous hikes, it felt pretty mediocre. South Mountain has a network of smaller trails that all connect to the longer National Trail. If you wanted, you could spend an entire day exploring, but my friends and I opted for a shorter route, hiking the Ranger Trail and part of the National Trail.

The view from the “top” of South Mountain (it wasn’t very high, so it’s weird to call it the top).

I also reached out to one of the NAU track team advisors to see if I could ask them a few things about acclimatization, but I haven’t heard back yet—hopefully, I’ll get a response before I leave for Nepal.

Speaking of which—I leave for Nepal in exactly six days! I’m beyond excited to start vlogging my experiences for you all. I even found a GoPro, fully charged it, and got some tech help from my sister to connect it to my computer (because, let’s be real, I’m not the most tech-savvy). I’m all set to capture everything!

Before I go, I’ll be doing Flatiron one more time for fun with some friends. Other than that, all my pre-trip tasks are complete. My first week in Nepal will be packed with preparations for a cultural ceremony (which, fun fact, will involve me shaving my head completely). But I’ll save those details for next week.

Until next time!

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Comments:

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    meggiles
    Ashwyn, Holy cats--it's a cliche, but time flies. I *LOVE* that you found a GoPro--so cool. I can't wait to see what you film. There is an interesting article in the New York Times on drones doing some of the work for the porters on Everest. . . . Take a look: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/world/asia/mount-everest-drones.html Bon voyage!
    March 18, 2025 at 12:29 pm - Reply
    rohit_p
    Hello Ashwyn. It's nice to know you're getting near your grand hike. With all of your preparation, you will definitely be ready for it. Are you going to be practicing more in Nepal before actually going to EBC, or is it just your cultural ceremony in mind for that week?
    March 19, 2025 at 10:09 am - Reply
    ashwyn_k
    Hello, Ms. Giles! After having read the article you sent, I really am curious as to how this will affect porters if it can become widely utilized. $70,000 is no joke, but if this can be produced and sold to all the major trekking companies, I wonder how the salaries and livelihood of porters will change. If the companies truly care about their workers, then I would hope their salaries would stay relatively similar, but who knows. Really interesting article though, thanks for sharing!
    March 19, 2025 at 2:08 pm - Reply
    ashwyn_k
    Hey, Rohit. That's the tough thing about that week before my trek, because I'll likely be very busy with ceremonial preparations. Ideally I would like to go on hikes in Nepal prior to EBC, but with time constraints I might only have time to go on walks in the morning or do quick at-home workouts. Although, if I can work out a way to hike in Nepal before EBC then I will 100% take that opportunity!
    March 19, 2025 at 2:11 pm - Reply

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