"If We Die... I Love You!"

We’ve been going through photos and reading our journals from this time last year. It’s been really fun and at times heartbreaking to see where our minds were at, day by day, as we slogged through the ups and downs of days on the trail. I remember getting to this spot (picture above) in Kagbeni and having a peach ice tea at the ‘Applebees’- by far the most delicious thing we’d had in weeks, and deciding to fly back to Pokhara. It had been a long dusty walk to Kagbeni and the following day we would have a... let’s say exciting bus ride on a dry river bed to get partway to Jomsom where we could catch a flight the next morning. It was a tough day. We were checked out of trekking and had only a couple days to get to Pokhara to meet up with friends inbound from the U.S. Flying would save us from another tortuous full day bus ride. It seemed like a good idea at the time. We booked our flight and spent a long day at our guesthouse next to the airport. We were first to arrive for our 6 A.M. flight the next morning hoping beyond hope that it would be calm weather. Flights only go once a day because by 9 A.M. it’s usually too windy to fly.

After some airport shenanigans and a bit of mass chaos, we somehow ended up at the end of the third and last line waiting for the ‘tourist’ plane standing outside in clear view of the single runway. There were three De Havilland Twin Otters making the flight up from Pokhara. The first one comes in to land ever so smoothly and pulls up to the first line. The second one greases the landing too and pulls up to its line of expecting passengers. Then we wait. We spot the third plane. That’s us. It’s coming in to land and wobbles a bit. It goes to touch down, bounces and does a slight skid. We have a front row seat to this rough landing. Mia immediately turns to me and says, “If we die, I love you.” We hug each other. That long dusty road and a few more days on the trek suddenly seem more appealing. Our confidence in this situation is not high. The plane sputters to a stop right in front of us. Our gear is unceremoniously chucked into the back and we climb in. The plane is so small we all have a window seat. Before we can reconsider, the engine fires back up and we are off on the quick flight to Pokhara. 🐾