In November 2018, I will be trekking for three weeks to Everest Base Camp and the Gokyo Lakes area in Nepal. This expedition is part of a personal journey to expand my expedition planning knowledge, experience higher altitude backpacking, and continue the transition into who I want to be. In addition, I will be applying aspects of my graduate studies in space and positive psychology to this experience. Much like my master\’s degree, this is all part of my plan to leave the desk behind and get out into nature.
Earlier this summer I learned that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had a long standing partnership with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) as part of the astronaut training program. Astronauts participate in at least one of their expeditionary courses learning unique extreme environments and team building skills that directly apply to spaceflight. Examples of a few NOLS courses similar to what the astronauts participate in are the Alaska Backpacking and Sea Kayaking and Wyoming Backpacking Adventure course. This new knowledge inspired me to increase my participation in outdoor adventure activities and put myself in more challenging environments to better understand what future astronauts may endure in training.\r\n\r\nThroughout next year’s Everest Base Camp trek, I plan to catalog, in detail, my experience from mental challenges to physical stamina. I am also in the process of developing mental training curriculum that I will test while out in the field. I am continuing with my physical fitness training program and plan to be in peak shape by next year. The company I am trekking with, Mountains in Mind, have graciously accepted my request to shadow and support them while learning from their experience. This week they are headed out on their 2017 trek and I wish them a safe and enjoyable journey.
