Khusbu
Khusbu was born and raised in Janakpur, Nepal. She had a passion for fashion and had a dream of coming to the United States. At the age of 18 her dream came true when she moved to New Jersey and worked her way through William Patterson College where she earned a degree in Business Management.
After she graduated from William Paterson Khusbu went to work helping to run a non-profit organization called Global Reach International. She helped Global Reach raise money to fund multiple orphanages and schools in Nepal to give out interest free business loans to Nepalese women.
Khusbu wears one of her very own hand made Lalu Scarves.
In addition to helping Global Reach, she also started her own import company called Lalu Scarves. Lalu is Khusbu's nickname. "Khusbu" means the scent of a flower and "Lalu" is Napalese for flower. Khusbu personally designs scarves that are handmade in Nepal. .She sells her scarves to boutiques throughout the United States.
Jake
Jake grew up in Highland Park, New Jersey. As a young teen he developed a love for the outdoors and a passion to protect the environment. After graduating high school he attended the University of Vermont where he continued to pursue his interest for the outdoors by studying the environment and joining the Outing Club. At UVM he learned how our ecosystems work and how to keep people safe while guiding them hiking, rock climbing, ice climbing, canoeing and skiing.
After graduating from the University of Vermont he and two friends from high school spent five months hiking the 2,100 miles of the Appalachian Trail. Once he got home Jake got his Masters in Early Childhood Education at Rutgers University and started working as the Program Director at Willow Lake Day Camp, a children's day camp his grandmother began in 1980.
Jake skis at Whiteface Mt.
Khusbu & Jake
After Jake completed his trip on the AT trip he met Khusbu at Lake Owassa. Khsubu lived on the east side of Lake Owassa and Jake lived on the west side. Jake would kayak over to Khusbu's house so that they could have tea in the mornings. Soon, they started dating.
Since then they have had many adventures in the U.S. and Nepal. They have been to the White Mountains, the Adirondacks, Mt Katahdin, the Allagash, and Mammoth Mt engaging in lots of outdoor activities like rock climbing, skiing, ice climbing, hiking, backpacking and canoeing. In Nepal they traveled to Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Nagarkot and Pokhara. One of their favorite summer pass times is to canoe into Bear Swamp, at the south end of Lake Owassa to pick blueberries. It was in Bear Swamp that Jake proposed to Khusbu in November 2012.
They still drink tea together every morning.