Doofus Dad Does Everest Base Camp: One of Planet Earth's epic adventures told by a slightly-less-than-epic guy

by Mark E. Johnson

"Mark Johnson has a magical way of picking you up from your comfy reading chair and dropping you off in the heart of the cold and at times unforgiving Himalayas. I read the whole book in just a few quick sittings and constantly found myself laughing, biting my nails, and undeniably identifying with every ridiculous thing Mark found himself doing on his journey. If you enjoy grand adventures and a fair share of "dad humor," add Mark's EBC chronicle to your bookshelf now." Tim Moore, The Penny Hoarder

Imagine yourself trekking through the epic Himalayan wilderness to Everest Base Camp - 17,600 feet above sea level and the gateway to the planet's most iconic mountain. Experience the world's most startling, high-altitude landscapes, interact with the welcoming Sherpa people, and struggle to catch your breath as you narrowly avoid being trampled by an oncoming train of enormous, shaggy yaks loaded with climbing expedition supplies. Now, imagine living this adventure without leaving your favorite reading chair.

"Doofus Dad Does Everest Base Camp" brings that scenario to life.

In April 2018, Tennessee writer Mark E. Johnson embarked on a life-changing, grueling, and often-hilarious adventure - a 12-day, 80-mile trek to Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal's Himalaya Mountains - after launching an improbable trekking company a year earlier. This was Johnson's first excursion out of the continental U.S., and this journey into the exotic country of Nepal was indeed a trial by fire (and ice).

Hike alongside "Doofus Dad" on each part of this bucket list quest, from the starting point of Nashville, Tennessee, through a mind-numbing 23 hours of air travel, into the suicidal traffic of Kathmandu, and on every day of the trek with equal parts lush detail and sly humor. Experience Kathmandu's Hindu and Buddhist temples, visit the infamous Yeti's Scalp of the Khumjung Monastery and join in on a hysterical salsa dance lesson at 14,000-feet.

"Doofus Dad Does Everest Base Camp" is a gripping adventure story that also serves as a practical resource for future trekkers. It includes:


A standard EBC trekking map
An EBC itinerary
Daily trekking statistics including elevation changes and hiking times
The gear lists of Mark and his wife, Holly
A Nepal trekking training guide
The foreword is provided by mountaineering legend and Everest blogger Alan Arnette, called "one of America's most respected chroniclers of Everest," by Outside Magazine. "This book is a must-have for the bookshelf of yesterday's, today's and tomorrow's traveler," says Arnette.

The audiobook is read by Johnson and even includes sound effects from the trek itself.

Johnson is a longtime freelancer and blog writer, best known for his Dave Barry-esque stories about parenting, rural living, and health and fitness.

Genres: Travel

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 13, 2018

About the author

Mark E. Johnson has been a writer in some capacity since he began penning poetry as a six-year-old. Over the ensuing years, he has worked as a road musician and Nashville songwriter; a journalist/editor in the fields of agriculture, rural living, and wildlife conservation; a freelance writer for various magazines; and a humorist/blogger.
Given this white-bread, run-of-the-mill career trajectory, it was only natural that he would launch a Nepal trekking company in 2017 from his home base of Middle Tennessee.
Mark lives in Kingston Springs, Tennessee, with his wife, Holly, their three kids — Sam, Ava, and Pete — and two cats, CeCe and Greta.

Reviews

[Josh reading]

Having been an Everest aficionado for years and having a trek to Everest Base Camp on my bucket list, I couldn’t resist picking up this title. Mark Johnson not only does a great job explaining the various components of the trek including the destinations along the way but does so in a light, and some parts incredibly hilarious way. Even if you are not a big fan of travelogues or epic once in a lifetime adventures, the book is so much fun to read. One almost cannot help but root for these travelers as they diligently and in some cases painfully make their way towards Everest Base Camp. I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it, especially for a light hearted, inspiring change of pace.

[Lois Ash]

This book is a well-written, enjoyable, informative and entertaining account of the trek to Everest Base Camp. The author is a ‘regular’ person, which makes his adventure more relatable to an armchair trekker like myself. I’ve read many books about Everest but they mostly focus on the climb to the summit and barely mention the trek in.

I bought the book for my kindle and really appreciated the links to extras. There are some really spectacular pictures. There are many videos too (I haven’t gotten to those yet).

[Bob Dowst]

Informative

I am planning my hike to EBC and found this book. I prefer to read a common man’s version of what to expect. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I would have loved more detailed info of the tea houses and food. But I guess I will experience that for myself. Your experience was very encouraging and entertaining.

[john sergeant]

Great read

Enjoyed reading this book, esp so having only recently completed the EBC trek myself. So much of their experiences struck a chord with our trek.
I would recommend reading this book if you are thinking of embarking on your own EBC adventure as it gives an accurate account of the highs and lows you will likely encounter on the trek.

[Susan Joslin]

A breezy read with some good tips

Written in a Dave Barry-esque style, Johnson tells a fun story about he and his wife embarking on an EBC trek. As someone taking the trek this spring, it contained a lot of useful info on what to expect that might not be in a traditional guidebook.

[Karen]

Fun read, very entertaining, and a writing style that makes the reader feel h/she is part of the journey. Armchair traveler read!

[Marsha Altman]

Why would an American "doofus" dad create a company to guide people on a mountain trek he's never been on? The book makes it sound like he was interested in some adventure to prove he was still cool, but I suspect it was so that he and his friends could expense the trip to the company they formed for that purpose, then monetize it with a book. The "doofus" shtick gets old fast, and the trip isn't wildly successful. Nobody dies, but this is the trek to base camp, not climbing Everest. Some people do have to turn back because of altitude sickness and his wife suffers quite a bit from knee problems and has to be helicoptered back to Lukla while he's bragging about how fast he's making it down the mountain. I guess if this is the ONLY book you read about the base camp trek before going it's got plenty of good information, but it shouldn't be the ONLY book.

[Mary Ellen]

Funny and inspiring

I loved this book. I’ve read at least a dozen books about Everest. This book is one of the best. The author is funny and realistic at the same time. Don’t miss this one

[Dr. Kshitija]

This was one of the books I read in preparation for the Everest Base Camp trek. Unlike the concise guidebooks, this was an entertaining read, and it took the edge and anxiety off. It is the true story of an American man who travels to Nepal and opens his own trekking company there.

[Katherine Roy Moholt]

I guess I was hoping for more, but still a good read.

[gary auerbach]

quite a tale that really makes me want to take a hike

Hard to imagine that climbing to Everest base camp is even possible yet I’m quite inspired to try and if I do I wouldn’t hesitate to do it as a Hobnob trekker!