Armchair Traveler Lecture Series:
Trek to Annapurna Base Camp in the Nepal Himalaya
Thursday, 30 January 2014
7:00 - 8:30 PM

The VIC's 2014 Armchair Traveler Lecture series kicks off with a presentation on 30 January by Tom Boothe on his 2010 trek to Annapurna Base Camp in the Nepal Himalaya. The lecture begins at 7:00 PM in the VIC auditorium. $5 per person. Free to season pass holders and Friends of the VIC. Underwritten by Friends of the VIC.

Tom was a career Naval officer, having retired as a Captain after 30-plus years, during which he and his wife Betty moved 15 times and lived all over the world.  He says that Saranac Lake is the best place to live of all those places!  He was a Civil Engineer Corps officer, taking care of bases, doing construction, environmental work, and facilities contracting in places like Iceland, Norway, Maine, California, and of course, Washington DC, where all good naval officers end up.

Taking advantage of the phrase “bloom where you’re planted,” he and Betty did a lot of traveling, and learned to love the areas they were stationed.  The Adirondacks always beckoned, however.  Tom’s parents took him on a two-week canoe trip through the Adirondacks (basically following the ’90 miler’ route) when he was two years old, and that must have taken root deep in his psyche.  (He’s done the 90 miler 15 times!)  In 2001, they bought a cabin in Paul Smiths, and a year after retiring from the Navy they moved to Saranac Lake.  You can usually find Tom outside somewhere cycling, mountain biking, paddling, hiking, skiing, and generally enjoying life in the North Country.

Trek to Annapurna Base Camp

In 2010, Tom had an opportunity to travel to Nepal and trek up to Annapurna Base Camp, thanks to his friend Mike Rechlin, who frequently travels to Nepal for professional reasons (and who speaks fluent Nepali).  Mike organized a October – November trip.  Tom, Mike, Mike’s son Nathan, his friend Rigel, and Dr. George Cook flew to Kathmandu, then flew to Pokhara.  They took a two-week trek, first up to one of the finest views in the Himalayas, Poon Hill.  Then on to Annapurna Base Camp via Chomrong, and back out through the Himalayan foothills.  Annapurna Base Camp is one of the most spectacular places on the planet.  You won’t be disappointed by the views from there!

Tom has assembled a slide show from photos taken by all the members of the trip, and you will see some spectacular pictures of the Himalayas, their flora and fauna, and the people living there.  And it’s a fun and interesting story of their trip, too.

Photos: Tom Boothe