I have now crossed the 10,000 foot altitude threshold and the big Himalayan peaks draw closer every day while the day and night time temperatures continue to drop. Even as I look back down from where I have come the mountains loom large in comparison to the little villages where I rest each night.

As I continue to advance ever higher, the lush pines start giving way to a much more arid environment with little vegetation.

I have been covering from 7 to 10 miles per day thus far. As the trail gets increasingly steeper and higher, however, my travel distance is limited by a maximum elevation gain of 500 meters per day. It is necessary to follow this precaution to ensure the body has sufficient time to acclimate. Hot water for showers is now non-existent and it is necessary to sleep with my hydration bladder to keep it from freezing at night. The skies remain as blue as I have ever seen. I have been reading for several hours each night and thus far have completed “Born to Run” and “The Lone Survivor” both providing different forms of inspiration as I trek. I also have with me the complete works of Sherlock Holmes which I hope to put a major dent in.

Pictured below is a long wall of prayer wheels, to be passed on the left hand side with the wheels to be spun clockwise. According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, spinning such a wheel will have much the same meritorious effect as orally reciting the prayers that are written upon it. Traditionally, the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum is written in Sanskrit on the outside of the wheel. The wheels are to be found in and between every village as well as inside and around temples, monasteries and religious monuments.

As the altitude increases, so apparently does the height of the frequently encountered waterfalls. This is due, no doubt, to the fact that the canyon I am travelling in is gradually growing narrower and deeper with each passing day. The one pictured here is actually incomplete. Missing from the wide angle photo is the top and bottom third of this unbelievable cascade. The trail now is sometimes literally carved from the rock walls and the consequence of a poorly taken step is less forgiving. During the course of a day I will typically encounter a half dozen or so other trekkers and a dozen or so locals. I have gotten to know many of the folks doing the circuit as we tend to meet up during the evenings or at lunch time. It is wonderful to share the day’s stories with each other but I still prefer to trek solo. My style is to pause only for photos and to move at a pace which I can sustain indefinately. During an ideal day, I will stop to take off my pack only twice. Once for lunch and once when I reach my destination for the evening. In between, I find myself scanning the horizon for interesting photo opportunities while my mind relaxes into what I might describe as form of meditation.

“Working Mother” is the title I have given to the image which follows. This woman was one of a dozen who were carrying huge rocks on their backs from a quarry to a nearby construction site. Back breaking labor is to be seen everywhere in Nepal and I am struck by the amount of it which falls to women and children.

My trekking ended in Upper Pisang today where a Buddhist temple is located. The monks here routinely survey the village from their high vantage point and I enjoyed a hot lemon tea with one of them while enjoying the views. The day started with a very steep section of the trail that lasted for 2 hours. So far I am having no problems with the altitude and am feeling quite strong. The trick for me is to adjust my pace so that I can always breathe through my nose even if it means reducing my stride to a matter of inches to do so. I think of this as my creeper gear and I am willing to put one foot 6 inches in front of the other for hours on end. It is the equivalent to eating an elephant one bite at a time. Younger hikers invariably zoom past me but I generally overtake them all as they stop to rest or snack. Think tortoise and the hare. During these very steep ascents is when you really get inside your own head. It is a rhythmic form of intense meditation for me during which your entire focus is on your breathing and on the next step. Nothing else.

The Annapurna tea house has long since given way to what I would describe as a guest house or lodge. Rooms are sparsely furnished with a bed, foam mattress, quilt, and occasionally a night stand. Thus far toilets have been of the Eastern (squat) variety and generally shared with other rooms or occasionally located outside the lodge building. I have started taking the drug Diamox which climbers use to help speed acclimatization of the blood to high altitude. Given the trouble I had 100 meters from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro I am taking no chances this time out. One unfortunate side effect of the drug is a need to urinate every hour or so which does not lend itself to a restful night’s sleep. Most of my non-sleeping time is spent in the dining rooms where a stove or fire pit provides heat and other trekkers congregate to pass the time. Upper Pisang offers spectacular views into the valley in both directions and tonight’s lodge was one of the nicer I have stayed in so far.

Evening temperatures are starting to get quite cold. My sleeping bag is very toasty but I find myself quite cold inside the unheated guest houses during the hours between trekking and sleeping. Generally, there is a fire or stove in the dining room and guests will huddle around it for hours rather than spending time in their rooms. One shares the trail with all manner of beast, from horses and mules to goats, yak and cows. It is wise to always take the high side of the trail when passing animals on the path. In the event one becomes startled or agitated and pushes you it will prevent you from falling downward.

Valley views are gradually giving way to snow-capped mountain vistas. Every turn of the valley or ascent to a ridge top offers dramatic new views of the high Himalaya in what I would describe as a slow reveal.

So far trekking between villages has involved large ascents followed by large descents. Today was no different as I worked my way up the Marsyangdi valley. Although not of the mountains, the views thus far have been very wonderful.

I passed no less than half a dozen waterfalls today, each one grander than the last.

At every turn one observes the local villagers of all ages involved in back breaking labor. The young girl on the left was breaking large rocks into smaller ones to be used for footings being prepared by several men. Women of all ages seem to be the primary haulers of firewood to the home.

Starting very early this morning I hiked for a total of 8 hours pausing frequently to photograph the local folks. The trail steadily gains in elevation at a very modest rate and daytime temperatures are in the low 60s making for very comfortable conditions.

When I reached the village of Ghermu I noticed that it was almost empty. Upon further investigation I discovered a soccer match underway some five minutes from the trail. I hung out for a bit enjoying the game which was played with reduced numbers on a tiny dirt field.

As I continued on my way, I eventually encountered a number of villagers who were butchering some type of beast. In that moment I decided I would not be eating any meat for the balance of my visit.

I caught the earliest bus for Besi Shahar, the official starting point for the Annapurna circuit, this morning. The 20 minute taxi ride ($5) to the bus station from my hotel cost more than the bus ticket for the 7 hour trip ($3.75) to the trail head. Of course the taxi driver did need to stop and remove a large boulder from the road that was blocking our progress which I reasoned was good justification for the higher fare. By contrast the driver of my bus at one point hit a pedestrian, knocking him off his feet. This, however, did not warrant a stop, only an exchange of profanity, mostly from the driver. Riding the buses here was quite an interesting cultural experience. The bus crew includes a driver and what I call a “barker” who constantly hangs out the door trying to drum up passengers. He calls out the destination of the bus to anyone who looks like they might need a ride. When he hooks a rider the bus slows down but does not quite stop as the passenger jumps on board. If there is baggage, the barker hauls it to and lashes it upon the roof of the bus, all while it is moving. All vehicles in Nepal beep their horns constantly to signal their presence and warn pedestrians and other vehicles of their intent to pass. The horn is used in lieu of turn signals and to deal with the absence of traffic lights of any kind. The capacity of any vehicle is roughly three times the number of seats it contains. When the bus reached Besi Shahar I was very ready to hit the trail and did so immediately after obtaining my TIMS permit. I hiked until the sun set at roughly 5PM and then selected a lodge in Bhulbhule where I found myself at that time. For the next ten days or so I will be following the Marsyangdi River, pictured above, to its source. I find both the young and old here to be very photogenic and pause frequently to make portraits.

My flight arrived in Kathmandu 4 hours late, around 11AM. A driver from my hotel was there to meet me and I was able to persuade him to drive me directly to the government office which issues the Annapurna Conservation Area Permit which is required before entering the trekking circuit. I knew that the office closed at noon on Saturdays and it was essential that I obtain that document today or I would immediately lose a day from my schedule. We arrived just in the nick of time. Also required is a Trekking Information Management System (TIMS) permit but that office closed before I could get there. Fortunately, the TIMS permit can also be obtained at the beginning of the trail head so I will pick it up tomorrow. I spent the balance of the day exchanging currency, picking up a good trekking map, and stocking up on small food items for the trail. I am staying in the Thamel section of Kathmandu which is trekker central. There must be two dozens stores where you can obtain every manor of trekking gear, countless agencies which will arrange for local transportation, guides and porters, and several bars where solo trekkers post listings to find partners. Unfortunately, my hotel is situated right in the center of the action which means that it is noisy as hell well into the early morning hours.

I have many impressions of Kathmandu which I will share in later posts. For now let me just comment on the obvious lack of planning and thoughtful infrastructure. This photo is typical of the wiring that can be found throughout the city. No apparent rhyme or reason with old wires abandoned in place and new ones connected point to point with no coordination or master plan. The same principles at play here can be traced into every other aspect of civil infrastructure (roads, water, sewage treatment, zoning, etc.) contributing to a very low standard of living and safety. Despite an abundance of hydroelectric power, for example, one can expect rolling blackouts everyday because most of the power is sold to India at discount rates (no doubt the result of government corruption and special interests).

You can’t throw a stick in Thamel without hitting a store or stand where tourist type gifts can be purchased. I will wait until I return at the tail end of my visit before making any acquisitions so that I do not have to carry the items with me while hiking.

I left Boston yesterday beginning 26 hours of continuous travel to Nepal. I flew first to Dublin, from Dublin to Istanbul, and from Istanbul to Kathmandu. I passed the time reading more about Nepal and finalizing my trekking itinerary. Several delays and the near failure of my checked baggage to connect in Dublin made for a less than relaxing journey. Because of the 10 hour and 45 minute time change, I made an effort to start making the day for night sleep schedule transition even as I was in transit. My plan is to spend one day/night in Kathmandu where I must secure various travel permits and then immediately begin my trek the following day. This view from the air while on final approach gave a real appreciation for how the Nepali use terraces to turn mountainsides into farm land.

The entire family, plus Jeanine’s sister Susan, participated in a 5K Turkey Trot this morning to raise funds for Open Table. The family took a moment to model the complimentary shirts we received and this somehow evolved to include funny hats and eventually Nala was dragged into the scene.

I leave for Nepal this afternoon and will not be posting again until I return on December 22nd.

I just came across this video on YouTube of an interview Nico gave to Prove People Wrong more than a year ago. If memory serves me, he earned $1000 for his participation which he donated to the Concord Carlisle Soccer Team.

This photo (not mine) is for a very brave person I love.

A huge shakeup at work today as the CEO announced a new leadership reporting structure which did not include Jeff Beck, my boss and Chief Operating Officer. The General Managers of our three business units will now report to the CEO, the head of Operations will report to the CFO, I will report to the CTO, and the position of COO will no longer exist. This change came as a complete surprise to the entire team but transitions such as this often do. Jeff was the driver behind the most impressive business turn-around I have personally witnessed and is easily the best boss I have ever worked for. I am very sad that he is leaving but grateful for all he has taught me. My new boss was the former CEO of Evolution Robotics, a company which we acquired about a year ago. He is now the Chief Technical Officer and is based in Pasadena. He is an extremely bright technologist and insightful strategist with a proven business track record. We already have a good working relationship and the new reporting structure unifies the entire engineering organization in a way that I think will be highly beneficial for the company in the long run. Tomorrow I will embrace all the new possibilities but today I can only lament the departure of someone who I have truly enjoyed working for.

I put in my final training hike today, an 8 mile excursion from Mount Misery around Walden Pond and back in just over 3 hours. The temperature was in the low 20s with an average wind of 15 mph and gusts to 40mph, perfect conditions to prepare me for the higher altitude sections of the Annapurna Circuit. It was a little chilly when I was exposed to the full force of the wind but otherwise I was quite comfortable. My boots felt great, my pack felt great, and I am feeling like my body is ready for the challenge that waits from me in Nepal. Given the temperature, I did not stop often to take pictures but could not pass up this flock of birds as they swooped into feed on what I can only imagine was a large worm convention.

Both boys are now home for the Thanksgiving Day holiday. I picked up Nico from the airport late last night and Kyle with his friend Omar this afternoon. Somehow both have evaded my camera thus far but I did manage a photo of Maya midway through the process of taming her hair. I don’t quite understand the entire process or chemicals involved but her hair starts small, then grows VERY big, then is knotted into submission somehow. It seems like a lot of work compared to my routine which includes exactly one step: wake up.

Earlier in the week I described some modifications I made to my pack that allow me to access my tripod and trekking poles independently and without removing my pack. A colleague who follows the blog requested that I post an image of this arrangement. I am very pleased with the setup and I know it will save me time and energy while on the trail. The black padded pouch at my waist holds two cameras. Both are Canon SL1s which are the lightest and smallest DSLRs on the market today. One is paired with a 10-22mm zoom and the other with a 50-250mm zoom. In full frame equivalent terms, this gives me a focal range of 16-400mm which will handle everything but distant wildlife. Having two bodies gives me redundancy in the event one fails and eliminates the need to swap lenses in what is sure to be a dusty and windy environment.

Software engineers in general don’t make very good mechanical engineers (and vice a versa). Not so at iRobot, where the software department produced some very high quality catapults during their offsite team building event. I am looking forward to seeing some photos of these bad boys in action. It is too bad we have not preserved all of the artifacts from the most recent team building events. We could have staged a relay race with cardboard cars and boats, being filmed from above by camera carrying gliders, all while being bombarded with projectiles launched from catapults and balloon launchers. Do a search here for “team building” and you will see all the necessary elements.

Marie, my sister-in-law, is in town on business and arrived this evening to spend the night with us. We rarely get to enjoy her company without some number (from one to four) of my nieces and nephews and/or my brother. While we love the whole clan it was really nice to spend a few hours in adult conversation with no distractions. Regrettably, she is set to fly back to Minnesota tomorrow and our time together will be all too brief.

Jeanine requested that I leave her with a map so that the family can plot my progress as I begin to traverse the Annapurna Circuit starting next week. The one pictured above has distance in miles on the horizontal axis and elevation in feet on the vertical axis. The entire trek generally takes anywhere from 17 to 21 days to complete. I plan to take it slow and give myself plenty of time for acclimatization to the high altitudes. Thorung La is the summit pass located 17,769 ft above sea level. In December there is a strong possibility it will be impassable due to snow or threat of an avalanche. If this is the case, I will wait a few days for conditions to improve or turn back and return the way I came. The Annapurna Circuit is widely regarded as one of the top ten treks in the world with many placing it at the top of the list. It has long been an aspiration of mine to make this journey and I find myself filled with great excitement and a certain measure of trepidation as the day of my departure for Nepal grows near.

Just over a week now before I leave for Nepal to trek the Annapurna Circuit. Upon arrival I will need to obtain a visa, a TIMS (Trekker Information Management System) card, and an ACAP (Annapurna Conservation Area Project) permit. Each requires 2 passport-size photos. Bringing these with me and filling out applications in advance will save considerable time when I arrive in Kathmandu where I would rather spend my time exploring the city than navigating the bureaucracy.

No better way to start the week with a bang than to have a power utility transformer explode and catch on fire. The folks I was meeting with were happy to continue working despite the loss of power until we were ordered to evacuate the building. The Fire Department was on scene and the fire was out before I could make my way to the designated rally area. A power crew was quick to follow and electricity was restored to the building within a few hours.

Jeanine joined me this morning for a return to the Middlesex Fell Reservation. We covered 4 miles in 2 hours under grey skies. I spent the balance of the day refining my backpack to optimally carry my tripod and trekking poles. Normally these items are fastened by straps to the sides of the backpack. To access them, you must stop and remove the pack. This not only takes time and energy, it is also unpleasant. During strenuous trekking, the back of your shirt becomes drenched in perspiration. When you remove your pack you get an immediate chill and putting the pack on again is just as bad. By sewing on some additional straps, I have devised a way to carry both items on my chest and above my camera bag. Either can be deployed in seconds and neither prevent me from getting to my cameras without obstruction. This arrangement, although a little strange looking, also serves to place the load I am carrying more directly over my center of gravity, leading to better stability and less fatigue while hiking.

Middlesex Fells Reservation, often referred to simply as the Fells, is a 2,575-acre Massachusetts state park located in Malden, Medford, Melrose, Stoneham, and Winchester. Today I completed a 4 hour, 8-mile hike with a 30 pound pack on what turned out to be a glorious day.

I principally followed the mountain biking loop trail as it featured the most aggressive ascents and descents. So far this training hike has come the closest to what I can expect in Nepal. When I finished, I was tired and my feet were sore but I felt I could do the whole thing again tomorrow (which I may) a good sign of my readiness for the Annapurna Circuit. Obviously, the AC involves much greater elevation changes and will eventually reach an altitude of 17,769 feet which presents entirely different challenges. Still, I am pleased with my progress and am confident my calf muscle has fully recovered and will not be an issue on the trek. Jeanine and I dined with the former President of Open Table and his wife at 29 Sudbury, a newly opened restaurant featuring modern American food with an Italian influence. The meal was delightful as was the dinner conversation.

A work week abbreviated by the Veteran’s Day holiday came to a tasty end as iRobot employees threw a mini baby shower for one of our colleagues. The cake did little to help my efforts to trim down for Nepal and Jeanine’s homemade risotto dinner only added to the challenge. I am sure to lose a dozen pounds on my trek but it would be so much healthier to lose those pounds before I start. The weekend weather forecast sounds good and I plan to put in some serious training hikes which should offset the caloric damage done this week.

The Concord Police department has begun to use automated license plate scanners mounted on their patrol cars. These devices record the license plate numbers for all parked and moving vehicles that cross their path. The plate numbers are compared to a database for stolen cars and outstanding bench warrants in near real time. On average, these broad and indiscriminate sweeps are said to identify 5 stolen cars for every one million plates scanned. Given that no additional effort is required of the police officers these systems are very popular with law enforcement agencies and have been widely adopted. They are increasingly becoming the source of public controversy and I believe we will soon see a case which makes its way to the Supreme Court, testing the limits of this form of surveillance and the length of time for which the records can be archived. This technology will soon evolve to support facial recognition and the costs will drop allowing fixed systems to be placed in every traffic light.

Meet the Roomba 880, announced by iRobot yesterday. It uses an entirely new cleaning system that is superior to our older products in every way and sports a much more sophisticated industrial design. I am extremely proud of the team that delivered this program which is being viewed as a great success internally and based on early press coverage is being very well received in the market as well. It will be available exclusively from the iRobot online store until we have ramped up production volumes sufficiently to meet the demands of our normal distribution channels. Stay tuned for another new ground breaking robot that will be announced in the near future.

I have had to wait three months for an interview with the Logan Airport TSA to complete my application for the Global Entry program which allows participants to clear US customs through an automated kiosk, presumably in less time. Unfortunately, my appointment overlapped a very interesting training session on negotiating skills that I was attending. Earlier in the day we completed a simulated pricing negotiation exercise with the goal of maximizing profits through a series of 8 pricing actions against a competitor who was also striving to maximize profits. My three person team achieved a perfect profit score, an outcome realized by only 3% of the participants who have ever taken this test. Riding high on this outcome it was tough to pull myself away from the class to drive down to Logan. I was expecting light pre rush hour traffic but got delayed on Storrow Drive where some moron had ignored signs prohibiting truck traffic. Judging by the debris field, someone driving a Penske rental truck sheared off the top of the box truck on not one but two low clearance bridges. It appears as if they just kept driving with a progressively shorter vehicle. Once I arrived at Logan, I had little time to spare and Central Parking was all but full slowing me down even more. I sprinted from the garage to the TSA office arriving just in time for my appointment. It must be said that you probably do not make a good impression by sweating profusely during a security interview. The agent took my picture, scanned my finger prints and asked a few questions which I apparently answered correctly. As I left the airport the sun was setting over the terminal and I paused for a quick photo.

The Veteran’s Day holiday afforded me time for a long training hike today. I walked mostly along the Bay Circuit Trail from the Old North Bridge in Concord to downtown Bedford, a 9.3-mile round trip. I had planned to turn around at the Bedford Depot and pause for a snack and beverage. Unfortunately, I found it closed for the holiday and had to forge on further to find food and drink. I completed the excursion in just over 3 hours averaging 3.2 miles per hour over the essentially flat trail carrying a meager 5 pounds of camera gear. With a half mile to go, I started to feel a few hot spots on the balls of my feet which turned into blisters before I had finished. Fortunately, they are relatively small and will turn into callouses in a day or two. Maya returned from New York City with tales of go-cart racing, water taxis, fine dining, shopping, and an evening out at a comedy improvisation club.

I watched from the sidelines as my soccer team concluded our season with a 0-0 tie, good enough to earn us a fourth-place finish in our Division 1 league. Even though my calf muscle is feeling quite strong now, I did not want to risk re-injuring it this close to my Nepal trek. After the game, we joined the Concord O-30 and O-40 squads for a cookout during which we recruited players who will turn fifty this year to move up to our team. We will be getting at least one lightning-fast forward who will make us much more competitive next season. Our backyard Japanese Maple produces some of the most beautiful fall leaves and this may be the final weekend before their season comes to an end as well.

Jeanine and I had planned to climb Mount Washington today as a tune up for my upcoming Himalaya adventure. A quick check of the weather forecast, however, advised against it. Temperatures ranging from 7F-21F, 1.5 inches of snow and average winds of 50 mph with gusts to 100 mph were forecasted. While I may encounter these conditions on the Thorung La high pass during my trek, the goal of today’s climb is to verify that my calf muscle is up to the task while carrying my fully loaded pack and to test drive my new gear. We opted to climb Mount Monadnock instead with temperatures in the high 30s and no precipitation. We utilized the White Cross trail, a 4.2 mile round trip with a total vertical ascent of 1800 feet on grades up to 30%. It took us 2 hours to reach the 3165 foot summit where we enjoyed crystal clear views and could easily see the Boston skyline some 65 miles away. Windchill temperatures on top were sub freezing so we lingered there for only 15 minutes before starting the 2 hour and 15 minute descent. Going down took longer because of our aging knees and the icy conditions on the steep rocks. My calf held up well under the weight of my 30 pound pack and my new boots were extremely comfortable. I did discover several small gear issues which I will need to address. The bite valve on my hydration bladder does not provide sufficient flow (will replace with a better one), my down hat allows perspiration to drip onto my chest mounted camera bag (need some kind of sweat band or different hat), and I need to provide easier access to my toilet paper when needed for a runny nose. Maya is visiting several of her Farm & Wilderness camp friends in New York City this weekend so Jeanine and I enjoyed a nice date night at Paparazzi to celebrate our climb.

UPDATE: The satellite image below was taken in 2024 as the memorial to this event fades into history.

Jeanine’s lemon tree has produced a bumper crop of lemons this season. The miniature tree has yielded 4 huge, very yellow lemons which I hope to consume soon in the form of a refreshing beverage. The tree occupies a corner in our breakfast nook and receives fairly good sun for half the day. I believe the tree was a gift from Jeanine’s father and I am sure these lemons hold a special meaning for her. When my father passed away, I requested his lambskin slippers. I think of him every day as I slip them on.

Occasionally I still get an opportunity to contribute to product concept ideation. While I am not at liberty to explain my crude prototype, pictured here, I can say that I have thoroughly enjoyed participating with members of my organization, wearing my engineer hat in place of my VP hat, to solve an interesting design challenge for a future iRobot product. Work has been incredibly demanding over the past month or so as my team readied two major new products for launch, the first ones to be developed entirely on my watch. I am extremely proud of my engineering team and all that they have accomplished. I can’t wait till these new babies hit the shelves.