Two trekkers, Australian Greg Babbage and Brit Toni Wilson, have walked their way into the record books by becoming the first people to hike the length of the Great Himalaya Trail in Nepal end-to-end in a single season. The pair began their walk back in February and finished up just a few days ago, covering more than 1700km (1056 miles) in the process.
You can read all about Greg and Toni’s adventure on TrekTheGreatHimalayaTrail.com, which is where they posted updates about their journey over the past few months. The duo began their excursion in the eastern part of Nepal, near Kanchenjunga and wandered west to Humla, in the Yari Valley, where the borders between Nepal and China meet. Along the way, they passed over 25 high mountain passes, reaching a maximum altitude of 6200 meters (20,341 ft) in the process. All told, the entire trek took 157 days to complete.
When it is completed, the GHT will be the longest and highest trekking route in the world, stretching for more than 4500km (2796 miles) from Nanga Parbat in Pakistan to Namche Barwa in Tibet. The proposed final route will pass through Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, with the splendor of the tallest mountains on the planet as a dramatic backdrop.
For now however, the route across Nepal is the only section that is completely open for trekkers to hike, and Australian adventure travel company World Expeditions offers travelers the opportunity to take it on – either in sections or as one massive hike. The company is already organizing excursions for 2012, preparing a great trip for anyone looking for a Himalayan experience that is unmatched by any other trek through the region. If you have 157 days of vacation to burn, then I’d recommend you take this walk.
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It can be hard to find a new adventure – I made a similar trek in 1981, but took a year over it. Mind you there were no maps available for much of the way then so I had to make it up as I went along.
Not to mention how different the support infrastructure was back in 1981 Rob. That must have been one fantastic adventure.
Rob, if you can provide route details and a brief report I'd love to include your story on the Great Himalaya Trail site. You can email me through the site greathimalayatrail.com
Happy trails!