I wrote this article (link below) in 2003 after returning from my first—yet far from my last—glorious trekking adventure in Nepal. It was a watershed experience, a life-changing journey. I made lasting friendships, planted the seeds for Raven Rocks Resources, and returned from the Himalaya with new confidence about my physical abilities and mental stamina.
I was also struck in 2002 by the scant number of tourists in hotels and tea lodges, at campsites, and on historically popular trails—thewell trodden Khumbu region, gateway to Everest Basecamp, dropped from an average 60,000 October visitors to maybe a few thousand. Trekkers and other tourists were afraid of Maoist insurgents, some of who dominated areas foreigners flocked to. By 2010, Maoists had joined the Nepali government and tourists were returning. Then suddenly and tragically in 2015, economic revenue from tourism (trekking, climbing and cultural tours) again plummeted, resulting this time from a massive earthquake. Landslides destroyed villages on trekking routes, many Nepali’s and a few trekkers lost their lives, and dozens of Kathmandu’s precious monuments and historic neighborhoods—a staple of the country’s tourism industry—crumbled into ruins. Reconstruction continues today. So, if I were updating the title of this article, it would read, “Attention Hikers—Nepal STILL Needs Us!”