Beyond words, sounds and images, there’s a real window to see the world called travel. People travel for reasons as different as the spectrum of a rainbow. However, I undertook this particular journey to tick “a real trek” off my bucket list. At the same time to test my physical and mental endurance capacity.
Photo by Varun SabooIn those seven days in Nepal as we hiked up to 16.400 feet and walked a total of 85 kms, my maiden trek turned out to be a constant curve of realizations and collecting memories.
Honestly, when we set off on the 4th of April 2021 I had only anticipated fun and excitement without really knowing the extent of challenges that I would face in particular. This is the best thing about doing something for the first time, not knowing what to expect you dive into it headlong with an unfettered mind.
We drove from Kathmandu to Chame from where began the real venture. Our josh was pumping as we set off for the 15 km hike to Upper Pisang against the gurgling cyan blue Mashangi river, blooming wild mushrooms and flitting little butterflies. The terrain kept shifting from pine tree-lined paths to austere rocky and sandy motorable way.
The walk wasn’t any stroll in the park but the banter and cheer of our six-member team kept replenishing the energy. We stopped at Dhukur Pokhri for a short break where we even managed a Bollywood dance gig right on the road. These are the crazy moments you remember long after you’ve forgotten the trek statistics.
After a 6-hour hike over craggy uphill terrain, we reached Upper Pisang to howling cold winds. Sleep isn’t really your ally at minus 5 but the prospect of numbing your fingers to brush or even wash your face with freezing water is torturous enough to get out of the bed. So, you learn to brush with half a glass of warm water because that’s what’s left in the thermos from the previous night. The value of little things in life and the atrocious consumption of our privileged lifestyle comes stinging at your conscience without relent.
The next day was a demanding one. Though I didn’t know how demanding yet! The treacherous climb had twenty-two hair-pin bends until we reached Ghyaru which wasn’t even half way there. My stamina started dwindling but I kept reminding myself of the tortoise story all the way to Ngawal until lunch.
The thought of hiking another few hours seemed horrendous, but my purpose to be on this trek kept coming back to me. I am a firm God believer and there came a point when I literally begged Him to flatten out the terrain or just lift me to the destination. In ten minutes, the trail evened out. I have come to a state where I do not defend or justify my idea of God. It’s an experience of personal faith.
We were still walking endlessly and my physical endurance was way past absolute exhaustion. It was the sheer motivation and support of my trek mates and the thought of not letting down my dad, husband and son for different reasons that I managed to lift my legs through my tears. That evening as we were warming by the fire, I was sincerely grateful for my affectionate mates. I realized destinations are made of places but journeys are always made by people.
Photo by Krishna MawaniAfter a half day acclimatization at Manang, we geared up for our hike to Khangsar post lunch. This was not a long and stiff one which gave the chance to marvel at the changing landscape around us. You find yourself in almost solitary existence in the middle of arid grandeur. There’s a certain sense of achievement to be standing there in that moment. But a strange fear of being stranded lurks behind because it’s not you and your urbanity that calls the shots here. It is the unending, beastly sculpture of gorges and mountains that dictate your move.
Well, the next day is one that I shall remember for a long time to come and so will my mates. I woke up feeling queasy with a nagging headache but undeterred with eyes on the target. I managed to reach Sri Khadka slowly. However, beyond Sri Khadka my first symptoms of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) became quite pronounced when I threw up every sip of water that I took in. I got breathless every few steps. I shortened my strides considerably, took deeper breaths, slowed down frequently but I felt no good. Altitude sickness hit me hard.
All this while, my brother and his friend, kept encouraging and cheering me to stay put on that unforgiving trail. It was ghastly narrow, inclined and barren where the sun comes down on you harshly. Soon enough, dizziness set in where I could actively feel my mind and eyes shutting down forcibly and others voices registering indistinctly. It is the scariest feeling I have known.
Photo by Ashutosh KhetanUnfortunately, I also chose a rather unsafe landslide stretch to go into this tizzy. I struggled summoning whatever was left in me but there came a point where I gave up physically and slumped. The porter carrying my luggage was kind enough to pull me by the hand and literally drag me through a part of the stretch.
However, my legs and breath couldn’t keep pace with his pulling and that was no longer an option. I was pretty much out of all options by then. The only choice I had at 13,700 feet in the middle of nowhere was to gather every shred of my physical and mental strength and push it to another limit. And two people made me do this, @varunsaboo @karanbhimsaria. I cannot forget how they both never let me give up on myself and walked every step beside me till I did make it to the base camp on my own two feet.
Photo by Ashutosh KhetanI experienced what we’ve read several times, the power of mind over body but I realized something more primal. The mind powers itself on love and positivity which I was lucky to have received in abundance from all my trek mates.
Though my AMS had mostly settled the previous evening but we all knew I couldn’t take a chance of it hitting me again on the most arduous hike with an extreme ascent, gruelling weather and time not being our luxury. It was neither advisable nor prudent for me to risk my health and jeopardize others’ summit trek. So, while the others left the base camp at 5.30 a.m. to ascend 2600 feet in 4 hours, I took a pony 2.5 hours later to take me up and reach the summit at around the same time.
Going up on a pony for the summit trek was not my original plan, but I am not embarrassed to admit that I ended up that way. Pushing yourself is different than risking yourself and others and it’s wise to know the difference. But once at the summit, nothing can rob you of the sense of exhilaration coursing through you. The sense of victory over your fears and yourself is palpable.
Photo by Ashutosh KhetanAll the while as you trek you feel miniscule against the invincibility of Nature, yet every step draws you closer to conquering it. But the adrenaline is not in conquering the summit, it is in conquering your personal challenges and limitations.
However, as my brother noted that at 5000 meters if forest fires fog your sky, you got to be worried. So, maybe we have indeed conquered too much, claimed much more than was meant and it’s coming back to bite us in one way or the other as people are literally dying over lack of air as I write this.
This trip was one of the most wholesome travel experiences of my life. A trip of realizations, of gratitude, of accomplishments, but most importantly of experiencing the strength of human connect. At the end of any day, week, year and a lifetime, it’s the people you met who will matter. And I owe this one to the very loving and generous hearts of Ashutosh, Karan, Krishna, Priyanshi and Varun.
Written by Radhika Mimani
I travel for the joy of discovery, read for the power of the written word, cook from the passion of my heart. But I write for the validation of myself, trying to make sense of this fascinating existence. A food artist and a freelance writer from Chennai, I host Dinner Pop-ups and blog my thoughts at https://soul-spice.co.in/
Week 18, May 2021
