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Technology

What Eight Days in the Himalayas Taught Me About Modern Technology

July 16, 2018

Namaste Base Camp in the Himalayas

Eight days, zero communication with the outside world. Here’s what I learned.

 

By: Rebecca Haber

Have you ever needed a break from the modern world? Had the impulse to hop a plane, just a toothbrush and a copy of Kerouac’s On The Road in tow? This past autumn, I was feeling overwhelmed with city life and found myself wondering – what does it take to truly disconnect? I pictured myself roaming the Himalayas, meditating above the cloud line with picturesque views of snowcapped peaks. So I packed a bag with just the essentials, and bought a plane ticket to Kathmandu.

I decided on the Annapurna Base Camp trek (ABC) in Nepal. Despite the fact that it’s very well-traveled, this would be by far the most off-the-grid experience I’d had to date. You’re at the mercy of the elements. If you get injured, there’s no easy way down. If there’s an avalanche, there’s nowhere to hide. If there’s a family emergency, you won’t know about it until you get back to civilization. Eight days, zero communication with the outside world.

Here’s what I learned

BACK TO BASICS

When you’re trekking for six plus hours a day, life is really whittled down to the basics. Eating, sleeping, drinking water and going to the bathroom. The logistics of everyday life seem to fall away — there are no plans to make, no emails to answer, no social feeds to scroll through.

At first, it seemed a bit strange. I would arrive at a teahouse (basic accommodation) with a few hours of daylight remaining…and had nothing to do. As a type-A New Yorker, relaxing has always been somewhat of a challenge for me. I found myself impulsively checking my phone, even though all communications were switched off.

But soon enough, I got the hang of it. I’d meet people, sit and talk. Share a meal, play cards, read or take naps. Oh, and I’d marvel at the 24,000-foot snowcapped peaks all around me. It wasn’t long before calm and simplicity became my new normal.

UPS AND DOWNS

While life became simpler, it wasn’t without hardship. During many days, there were points where I felt I couldn’t go on. My feet became blistered, it rained, I almost ran out of money, I took a few falls.

But then there was the constant changing landscape, a pack of baby goats, a colorful clothesline flapping in the wind flanked by gorgeous terraced gardens and deep valley ravines. I was surrounded by so much beauty that it was hard to be frustrated for long. Once I realized that the bad was only temporary, it didn’t seem so hard to endure.

ONE STEP AT A TIME

Many stretches of the trek were made up of stairs. Thousands of them, up and up and up. At times, it seemed never-ending. I’d be exhausted and frustrated and finally get to the top of a section, only to turn the corner and find more steps going straight up and out of sight. If I had ever stopped to think about what I was doing, the amount of climbing I had to embark upon over the eight-day span, it would have seemed impossible. But I found that if I took it one step at a time, eventually I’d get to the top.

In today’s tech-savvy society, we tend to want things right now. We want that job, or the house, or the car or the perfect relationship – and we want it now. Sometimes we’re so fixated on our goals that we forget about the work that goes into achieving them. When I got to the top of ABC for example, I noticed that there were helicopters flying people up for the views. I suddenly felt grateful that I had climbed all the way up on foot. The vistas were spectacular, sure, but the real reward was knowing that I had done the work to get there.

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