Great Himalaya Trail

What better way to deal with a breakup than run the 1,400km Great Himalaya Trail solo? Andrew Porter did it, and did it quick, setting a new record of 28 days, 13 hours, 56 minutes. This is his journey.

In the distance, I can finally see the ridge marking the border to India. There is a 1,000m deep valley between us, but with over 60,000m altitude gain behind me, this final hill is actually a formality.

I take occasional shortcuts through the jungle and bamboo, but stick mainly to a road. I thus cover 40km, but just as it is getting dark I reach the border post in Pashupatinagar.

I have crossed the width of Nepal, west to east, and have completed the Great Himalaya Trail in a new record time of 28 days, 13 hours and 56 minutes for the 1,406km route. This beats the previous record of 49 days, 6 hours, and 8 minutes set by Sean Burch in 2010.

It marks the end of eight months of intense planning, training, and preparations. I blame the idea to attempt it on a book by Robin Boustead, The Great Himalaya Trail - A Pictorial Guide which dodges the real truth that this journey was actually an overreaction to a breakup.

ROBIN, NAWANG, THE ROUTE

I received assistance and useful advice from Robin Boustead while planning. He then hooked me up with the Thamel based trekking company Adventure Mountain Club.

I had a dedicated guide, Nawang, who assisted with resupply points along the way and with issuing permits. I also received plenty of useful advice from both Nawang and the trekking company. Without them, this trip would not have been possible.