Exodus

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05.30:16: Exodus

Two weeks ago, seven people congregated at the Hotel Pilgrims in the Thamel District of Kathmadu: two Southerners, a Brit, three Californians and an Aussie- with very little in common except an uncommon desire to trek for two weeks through the Himalayan Mountains to get a glimpse of Mount Everest. It is now time to leave the Mountains that have towered over us for 14 days and return to covilization. And while we're all eager to get home, we're also savoring the last few days we will all be together as a team.

We arrived in Lukla a day in advance with the hopes of catching an earlier flight to Kathmandu. While still on the trail, we were hearing rumors that flights had been cancelled for the last few days due to bad weather, and there was a backlog of travelers stuck in Lukla. Had the weather been nice yesterday, the backlog would have cleared, freeing up seats for us, but there were limited flights out of Lukla. So we wait. Weather permitting, we will board our twin-prop bucket of bolts later this morning and launch off the side of a cliff towards Kathmandu. As of now, the weather is marginal at best.

Three days into the trek, I gave my first impressions of our team members - how little I knew about this tough and smart group! I know much more about them now - and when people ask about my trip - they will be the first and best memories I share. Simply put, I could not have asked for a better group to share this experience with. I will miss them all dearly.

The team - we entered the mountains together and we leave together. Back row from the left: Kimberly, Kumar, Argun, Ramesh, Dilkumar, Mani Kumar Rai, Me. Front row, from the left: Mazi, Dave, Sam, Dan, Ariana, and Mark.