2012 — First Trek to Everest Base Camp
My first Nepal trip. Just wanted the challenge. Ended up hooked on the country.
I built Nepal Trekking Insider because friends kept asking me the same questions: Which trek should I do? Who can I trust? How much will it really cost? What should I avoid? This site is my honest answer to those questions, scaled beyond my own circle of friends.
I’m Derik Goodman, and I trek in Nepal. Not for a living, not as an operator. As the person who got hooked and never stopped going back.
My first trip was Everest Base Camp in 2012. I’d just finished Kilimanjaro and Elbrus and was hunting for the next challenge, and EBC was supposed to be another peak on the list. It turned into something completely different. They say the first trip to Nepal is for the mountains, and every trip after is for the people. And that was exactly my experience. Walking the trail to Base Camp, it was the villagers, saying namaste to the kids, stopping to pet the trail dogs, the warmth of every teahouse, that got me. The mountains brought me there. The people are why I’ve been back seven times since.
Across those trips I’ve trekked a good chunk of the country: Everest Base Camp, the Annapurna Base Camp trek, the full Annapurna Circuit over the Thorung La, Island Peak, an EBC helicopter trip, plus weeks in Pokhara, rafting, mountain biking, and paragliding off Sarangkot. The trips I’m proudest of, though, are the ones I shared with my kids. I’ve trekked with both my daughters in Nepal: Callie came with me up to Poon Hill and on to Annapurna Base Camp. Camryn came with me on the Everest View trek in 2022, and we finished it with helicopter flights up to Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Lakes — a great option for families who want the base camp moment without the two-week itinerary. Bringing them into the mountains I love, in the country that changed how I see the world, is about as good as it gets. I’ve learned Nepal the slow way. By going back, getting things wrong, and figuring out what actually matters.
Somewhere along the way I became the de facto go-to for friends and family planning a trip to Nepal. It’s so far away and so foreign to most of us in North America that having someone you actually know to bounce questions and ideas off of is genuinely helpful. Which route, when to go, how to acclimatize, who to book with. This site is just that, scaled up: the friend you happen to know who’s been seven times and will give you a straight answer.
Friend who has been to Nepal seven times. Not a guide, not a booking agent. Here is what that means in practice.
If you want my full take on every Nepal trek in one place, start with Best Nepal Treks for Americans: The Complete 2026 Guide.
A lot of Nepal trekking sites are run by operators or get paid to push whichever company bids highest. I’m not on anyone’s payroll. I do earn a referral fee if you book through the one operator I’ve come to trust after seven trips. And I think being upfront about that is part of being trustworthy. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, and I’d never point you somewhere I wouldn’t send my own family.
If you’re an American planning a first trek in Nepal, the hard part usually isn’t the walking. It’s the decisions before you go. That’s exactly what I help with, for free, because I’ve made those calls enough times to save you the guesswork. And one more thing off your plate: all the permit logistics for the treks I recommend are handled by Third Rock, so you can stop worrying about Nepal’s permit alphabet entirely.
Tell me your budget, fitness level and timeline and I’ll point you in the right direction.
If you read one post on this site, start here: the common mistakes I see Americans make planning a Nepal trek.
Seven trips and counting. Here are a few of the moments that got me here.
My first Nepal trip. Just wanted the challenge. Ended up hooked on the country.
A day off between treks. Fell in love with the valley.
Between treks in Pokhara. Rafting, paragliding, and the doongas on Phewa Lake.
Took my daughter Camryn on the Everest View trek and helicoptered up to base camp together.
Back on the Poon Hill trail — one of my favorites for a shorter Nepal trip.