Sometimes, no matter how prepared you are, the mountains have other plans.

As you’ll see in Part 2 from my recent 18-Day Everest Three Passes Trek, things didn’t exactly go as planned. High altitude, unpredictable weather, and raw human limits? Yep, this part of the trek brought all of that and more.

The Day I Couldn’t Keep Going

The trouble started the day after we arrived in Dingboche, sitting at over 14,000 feet. I started to feel… off. Not terrible, but definitely not great. A few others in our group were also struggling with the jump in elevation, so we made the collective decision to spend an extra day in Dingboche. One of those days would be an acclimation hike up to 15,000+ feet.

From there, two women in our group made the hard—but wise—decision to descend back to Namche Bazaar with one of our porters. They were showing signs of altitude sickness, and in the mountains, you don’t mess around with that. I debated going with them, but since I wasn’t experiencing classic altitude sickness symptoms, our guide encouraged me to keep going.

So, I did.

We made our way to Lobuche, over 15,000 feet above sea level. The air was razor-thin, and the peaks felt like they were breathing down our necks—in the best and most humbling way. But by the next morning, I was wrecked. No fever, no nausea, no headache, but I was battling what turned out to be a nasty upper respiratory infection. Constant nose blowing, a deep cough, congestion, sore throat, and a wave of full-body exhaustion.

That morning, as the group prepared to continue on to Everest Base Camp, I had to make a decision that gutted me: I stayed behind in Lobuche.

In bed.
At over 15,000 feet.
In the middle of the Himalayas.

I handed myGoPro to the group and told them, “You’ve got this.”

And you know what? They so did.

They trekked to Base Camp without me, filming each other along the way and capturing the moments I didn’t get to witness in person—but later experienced through their lens.

This Is Why I Built This Community

That day reminded me exactly why I created The Confident Solo Female Backpacker System. Yes, it’s about learning how to backpack solo. But even more than that, it’s about finding your inner strength—the kind you don’t know you have until you have to call on it. It’s about building a community of women who lift each other up—whether that means sharing gear, cheering you on, or carrying your GoPro while you recover at 15,000 feet.

Check out Part 2 of the Everest Three Passes Trek vlog on my YouTube Channel. You won’t want to miss this one.

And if you’ve been dreaming of your own adventure—whether it’s an overnight hike or a big multi-day trek—but don’t know where to start, I’d love to connect.

Doors are currently open for The Confident Solo Female Backpacker System, my self-paced online backpacking program built to help women go from “I could never do that” to confidently hitting the trail on their own.

👉 Click here to schedule a free 1:1 Zoom call with me to learn more about the program and see if it’s a good fit for your goals.

Thanks for being here—and for letting me share the real and messy parts of the journey. That’s where the magic lives.

Until then, happy trails and keep on truckin’ ✌️