It was during our infamous, 25 day trip throughout Pakistan that we first met Margie. Margie was the trip’s M.D. who would travel with us throughout and be there in case of emergencies. This gives you an indication of the trip severity since Wilderness Travel has an M.D. accompany trips for only what they consider severe circumstances despite mandatory medical evacuation insurance. Let’s face it. If something serious happens to you out there, there’s a more than excellent chance you will die on the spot. Medivac will never get to you in time.

Margie’s credentials are awe-inspiring. The first woman to be accepted into UCLA Medical School with children (at that time), Head of Surgery, etc. but if that isn’t enough, she and husband, Art trek, hike, downhill and cross country ski, climb Half Dome in Yosemite, grab ice axes, put on the crampons, and raft Grade 5 rapids.

Margie is always up for something new like Segways. If that isn’t enough, she is so darn nice, has a wry sense of humor, infectious laugh and perfect balance on the steepest terrain. Don’t you just hate people like that?

Margie and husband, Art in a Pakistan tent
Acting as a trip’s doctor, Margie was on the first trekking group into Mustang – a remote area of Nepal recently opened – (without Art), had an audience with the King and Queen of Mustang and mentioned to her tour leader that she thought the Queen had peumonia. Would they allow her to examine the Queen? Her story is hilarious about how she had to examine the Queen of Mustang through layers of clothing and leave behind some very strong antibiotics, stressing over and over again the importance of not taking them all in one swallow. Margie left Mustang a very worried woman, hoping that she wouldn’t be the one who killed the Queen of Mustang.

Is Margie a young sprout? In spirit only, and passed the 60 mark a year ago. We’ve only been able to travel together once again in the Caucasus because of her penchant of traveling on treks way beyond ex-Marine’s and my capability. For example, the Baltoro Glacier at Concordia (4,600m/15,901′), one of the longest glaciers in the world and extremely rugged. Not satisfied with just that, she opted for the uber challenging trek out of Concordia by going over the Gondogoro La Pass at 5,600m/18,372′. The route up and down the Gondogoro La is maintained by a local team from who fix ropes for trekkers and you need crampons and ice axes on the Vigne side of the pass. It does have are several sections with fixed ropes in place to clip a karabiner and sling onto the rope for safety…right…catch us doing that! The slope starts at a 50 degrees on snow. That’s almost straight down, and I could just barf thinking about it.

Ex-Marine never pays much attention to trip details but when I mentioned the Baltoro Glacier Trek, he dredged a National Geographic special out of his memory bank and asked, “isn’t that the one where they winch you over a river on a cable?” Yes, that is the one and that settled that. Margie did con one couple into going and tells the story of how when this woman got to the top of the Gonda La and looked down, she immediately burst into tears, sat down screaming she wasn’t going down that, and the sherpas had to drag her down on her bottom, shredding all her Gortex on the way.

Mount Rainier with ice axes? No sweat…. Kilimanjaro? She probably did that one without breaking a sweat… Hang gliding or parasailing? Margie will try it. Ah, Margie. You are one of a kind and a truly Gutsy Woman Who travels!