I Had No Business Being There—And Made It Anyway

I’d never done anything like this before. No trekking experience, no idea what altitude sickness actually felt like—just a bucket list and some stubbornness. Booked through eBcTrails after reading through their itinerary, which actually explained why each stop was where it was, not just listed the days.
Our guide figured out within the first two hours that I was slower on the ascent than I thought I’d be. He never made it awkward. Just quietly adjusted my pace and kept talking about whatever I wanted to talk about. At Namche he sat with me for twenty minutes going over what the next few days would look like, which honestly calmed me down more than anything else could have.
Made it to Base Camp on day ten. Cried a bit, which I wasn’t expecting.