If you ever find yourself on a suspension bridge in Nepal with a yak approaching from the other side, listen to your Sherpa and run.

That’s a crucial lesson Jane Tucker, her daughter Megan Iverson and husband Matt Iverson learned while hiking to the Everest base camp in March.

Tucker came up with the idea for the two and a half week trip to the other side of the world.

“I’ve always wanted to do it,” said Tucker, a graphic designer. “I thought it was a good time to do it while Megan still wanted to hike with us.”

The family of three spent a day in Katmandu and then took a plane to the town of Lukla, considered by many to have the most dangerous airport in the world.

“There’s a cliff and then a runway and then a mountain,” said Matt, who works in video production.

After surviving the landing, the family met up with their Sherpa Suman, three porters and three additional hikers, and started their 40 mile hike to base camp.

Tucker and Matt prepared for the trip by running every other day during the four months leading up to the trip, while Megan, a 15-year-old student at Falmouth Academy, did an occasional run.

But with Suman leading the hikers at a slow pace to make sure they acclimatized to the high elevation, the family said they didn’t feel out of breath. Plus, there was plenty to look at.

“It looks like a postcard. I can’t believe we’re actually here,” Matt told himself.

Seeing Mt. Everest for the first time, six days before they got to base camp, was also exciting.

And along the way, the three got a picture of life in Nepal.

“There are no roads. All the towns are connected by this path that connects the villages,” said Matt. “The way they deliver goods back and forth is either by yak or by porters.”

Porters carrying their own body weight in lumber, food and even propane stoves passed them often along the way.

And of course, there were the yaks. During one encounter, the family had to run to get off a bridge before a yak got on it.

“I don’t know what you do if you run into a yak on a bridge,” said Tucker.

Luckily, they didn’t have to find out.

At night, the family slept in simple, usually unheated buildings called teahouses. The accommodations were better than Matt expected. But he said, “They made Motel 6 look like the Ritz.”

In addition to yaks and porters, the hikers passed kids on their way to class, including some that belong to a school started by Sir Edmund Hilary and expanded by Marion’s own Sally Hunsdorfer.

“It was really interesting to see a different culture. It was shocking to see how they lived,” said Tucker. “It definitely makes you appreciate what you have here.”

Matt and Megan also began to crave some of the things they couldn’t get on the path to Everest.

Captain Crunch cereal suddenly sounded better than it had in years for Megan, and the yak burgers were tempting for Matt. After seeing meat carried without refrigeration, he waited until he was once again stateside.

Eight days into the trip, the family reaches their destination.

The best part of the trip according to Megan? “Getting to Everest base camp.”

Given the nickname Super Fairy by Suman, Megan said she loved hiking in the exotic locale, even if her friends would rather be sunning on the beach.

“I don’t think they really understood it,” Megan said of her trek. “They didn’t even know where it was.”

Now back in Marion, the family agreed that the trip was worth it.

“I think we’d do it again,” said Matt.