In April 2015, Boone, North Carolina residents Ashton Caton and Nathan Jackson boarded a plane for a month-long backpacking trip in Nepal, specifically trekking the Annapurna Circuit and the Everest Base Camp Trail. Ashton and Nathan began planning their trip over seven months prior with the intent of finding adventure and pushing their limits in some of the toughest terrain on earth. For Ashton, this trip was also a personal declaration of a simple but difficult philosophy: Do not delay the dreams inside of you. Roughly 40,000 people annually take the beautiful trek the duo was embarking on, but this particular trip would be remembered for far more than adventure and beauty. The two friends landed in Katmandu, Nepal and embarked on the first phase of their journey along the Annapurna Circuit, a route which typically takes 15 to 20 days on foot. This trail is the more diverse of the two trails the men aimed to trek through forests of Fire-Blue Pines and East Himalayan Oaks, over rivers spanned by wooden suspension bridges, and through scenic alpine meadows through several different climate zones. It took Nathan and Ashton 14 days to complete the circuit. After a couple days of rest, the two friends flew into Lukla, Nepal and prepared for their second, more grueling hike to the Mount Everest Base Camp. Unlike trekking the Annapurna Circuit, hikers on this trail, upon reaching the end, must turn around and take the same path back. The terrain here is both bleak and majestic. Mountain peaks tower above as hikers dare themselves forward. Nathan and Ashton reached Mount Everest’s Base Camp on day five, savoring their accomplishment and witnessing a view only dauntless explorers are blessed to behold. On day four of the return journey as the men passed through the small village of Phakding, something akin to an alarm rang through the valley. Ashton first thought it to be a fleet of fighter jets as the sound echoed all around them and the ground shook back and forth like an ocean making it impossible to stand. Buildings in the village cracked and crashed; the second level of a nearby building flew out onto the road a few feet from Ashton. In this moment he doubted he would escape the narrow street alive. Within a few moments, the roar dissipated. Ashton looked for Nathan who had been a few minutes ahead of him but couldn’t find him. Cries from people in the village began ringing through the air, sorrow in a language he didn’t speak. Yelling
for Nathan, Ashton sprinted down the trail, finding him quickly and, like Ashton himself, miraculously safe. Bewildered, the pair continued the two hour stretch back to Lukla where, upon arrival, they learned the breadth of what just occurred: a magnitude 7.8 earthquake had hit Nepal and Katmandu had been hit the hardest. Ashton’s flight was scheduled to depart from Lukla and land in Katmandu for a connecting flight. Meanwhile, estimates for the death toll in Kathmandu were over 1,000 with many people unaccounted for and likely trapped underneath rubble. With no running water and most communications down, tensions were escalating and rumors circulated that Kathmandu was turning more chaotic and dangerous every minute. When Ashton and Nathan finally reached the Lukla airport, they witnessed body bags being carried off of the plane Ashton was scheduled to board. Upon hearing that the hospital in Katmandu had no room left for the deceased and bodies were being brought to Lukla instead, Ashton realized he wouldn’t be able to board the plane. The duo searched for a safe place to stay, but most buildings were too unstable as aftershocks continued both day and night. Each aftershock was equally traumatic, bringing a constant stream of uncertainty as well as an alarm that awakened the primal impulse for survival. During the night, as Ashton attempted to sleep, the earth again rumbled. It was only a tremor but before any logical thought could process, Ashton’s body
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