Tiger Balm Tales Vol 16 Carbo Loading Whoever said carbs aren’t good for you never hiked in Nepal. When hiking for 2 weeks, carbs become your ally. This is probably the one time when you can get away with eating carbs at every meal, so my best advice is – enjoy the hell out of [...]

Tiger Balm Tales Vol. 15 A River Runs Thru It The sign read Welcome to Marpha! Delightful Apple Capital of Nepal. I wondered if Johnny Appleseed was the mayor of this little town along the Annapurna Circuit. Aside from the Thorung La Pass, Marpha seemed to be the highlight of the circuit. We had been [...]

Tiger Balm Tales vol. 14 Motorized Travel It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from our brains. For the first time since we started hiking the Annapurna circuit – I was free of worry and it was a beautiful feeling. It’s amazing how much anxiety the Thorung La pass can cause internally [...]

Tiger Balm Tales vol. 13 The Longest Day KLOMP, KLOMP, KLOMP The sounds of hiking boots on wooden floor echoed outside my door. I poked my nose out of my warm sleeping bag cocoon, breathed in the cold air, and let it out only to see my hot breath evaporate into the darkness. I’m aware [...]

Tiger Balm Tales vol. 12 Beware of Falling Rocks All I heard was Bishnu yell “Runnnnn!” My heart raced and I felt as if I were moving in s-l-o-w m-o-t-i-o-n. I sort of knew why I was running, but the gravity of the situation was fuzzy to me; it felt as if my mind were [...]

Tiger Balm Tales vol. 11 Day 10 – A Mouse in My House After 10 days of decreasing temperatures and increasing wind my body is rebelling. My lips have become as dry as the Gobi Desert , my nasal passages feel like hard booger craters have invaded it, and my hands are so dry they [...]

Tiger Balm Tales Vol. 10 Day 9 - No Room at the Inns… By some miracle I woke up on Day 9 with a small trace of a headache, aches, and pains of the day before. Apparently 24 hours of sleep and antibiotics were just what the doctor ordered. I woke up feeling about 80% well; [...]

Tiger Balm Tales vol. 9 Paralyzed What started as a slight headache the night before had manifested into my complete paralysis the next morning. My head was throbbing, but worse than that, my body had felt like it had gone through a medieval bone crusher in the middle of the night. Every movement I made [...]