Pheromones

As you hike and see the same people everyday, you form friendships. On the Annapurna, I loved the Ukrainian couple and our French friend Thomas.

In the Khumbu, I really liked a north Irish couple, Tim and Beverly. Their average age is roughly 40 and they seemed madly in love. Tim would often say about Beverly, "she's going to be the mother of my children!". When I asked how long they had been together, they said 6 months(!). According to both of them, who had both been dating people their entire adult lives, when you know, you know. I was re-encouraged that this love thing can happen past 29.

Tim did, however, suggest I use science to speed up the process via testing men's pheromones to find the right genetic match.  How? Simply smell their pits! Especially in a bar in Namche, full of men who just trekked for 15 days, it'd be easy to at least try the idea, if only to hone my technique on a few "test guys".

Tim then proudly declared, "it worked for us!". Beverly responded, "you were the test guy."