Hiking with Apa
Today I went hiking with Apa. It was great. He wanted to run down to a small peak called Kalapathar for some exercise and asked me along. I said, sure, but I’ll slow you down. He laughed and said that was OK.
On the way he said he needed to run an errand to the Poomore base camp, which is much higher altitude than Kalapathar. Sure, I said. A few breathless hours later and we hadn’t found the person Apa needed. Everywhere we stopped, people wanted pictures. Apa obliged.
We then set out to Kalapathar. About half way there, Apa turned to me perceptively.
“We can go back right now if you want,” he said.
I’m not going to lie. Keeping up with Apa was killing me. So I laid down my pride and told him I thought I better get back to base camp.
“I’m a huge wimp,” I said.
To which Apa gave his signature high-pitched laugh and made me feel much better about myself.
On the way back, a group of American hikers saw Apa coming and started whispering to each other. As he passed, one blurted out, “It is him! Get a picture.”
Apa obliged.
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