Natalie Wilson
Natalie, known as Nat, regularly leads treks all over the globe, favouring cold and high places as well as the wild spaces closer to home. Nat first visited Nepal in 2009 and since then it has become her favourite trekking destination.
To date she has led Kanchenjunga Circuit, Dhaulagiri Circuit, Everest region including trips to Island Peak and Mera Peak. She has also leads treks in other areas of world including Mongolia, India, Bolivia, Patagonia, Ecuador, Vietnam, Morocco, China and many more.
Nat grew up in Lancashire (UK) and spent numerous childhood holidays up the road in the Lake District. That is where her love for the outdoors started but it took many years and a number of different careers, including teaching English overseas, managing bands and youth working for over a decade, before she realised that she needed to turn her passion for the outdoors into her profession.
Nat is a qualified summer and winter mountain leader and an accredited practitioner with the Institute for Outdoor learning. She has also attended two day training in Wilderness First Aid.
Getting to know Natalie Wilson
Choosing a favourite trek is always difficult, in fact, nigh on impossible. I have a real soft spot for the Everest region, but only in winter, when it’s cold and clear and there are very few other people around. I like to be in big landscapes with varied terrain, somewhere remote where you feel like you’re right in the midst of the mountains and away from the crowds. Dhaulagiri Circuit and Kanchenjunga Circuit definitely give me that.
My tried and tested essential kit comprises my ‘everything’s all right’ fleecy bed socks as I get incredibly cold feet which really makes it hard to sleep when I’m up high and also my scuffed flask mug combo so I can maximise my hydration with ‘double brews’ particularly in the morning.
My advice to first timers is two-fold. Firstly, make sure you do your physical prep and training before the trip. You want to be totally confident that you can hike multiple days in regular conditions without huge fatigue or niggles. This means when you are on your dream Himalayan trek you won’t be worrying at all about your fitness and instead you will have plenty of mental and physical reserves in the tank when performing at altitude. This puts you in a great position to look after yourself - you’ll have energy and mindfulness to be on top of things when you get into camp and you won’t be ‘just surviving’. This leads me on to my second top tip - be very well hydrated. Every day. It really matters and it does take some effort to achieve. Drinking 3-4 litres of water daily at altitude takes some commitment but better to be proactive than be trying to make it up once you’ve started feeling under par and dehydrated.
One of my favourite places to eat in Kathmandu is Curilo, a lovely little bistro serving tasty food in a nice atmosphere. Oh, but post trek, the very first place I go is the Roadhouse Cafe for a pizza and salad. The food is always excellent and filling.
I did have my own trip of a lifetime planned for 2021, I had booked 4 months out of my diary and intended to cycle from home in the UK all the way to Russia. After a little sightseeing the plan was to take the TransSiberianExpress through to Vladivostok, get the ferry to Japan and continue cycle touring there until it would be time to go home. Looks like I’ll have to keep dreaming a while longer.