Feet off the floor!

When we first met, our conversation meandered towards trekking at least once, when Raj mentioned that he liked it and we should do it. Once married, our first vacation turned out to be a long walk in a dense forest in Coonoor. Among the hills, between the bisons, and the intermittent rain, we walked to the edge of the cliff, reaching a machan, waiting on it, in search of the pachyderm. Long walks marked this vacation, the beginning of a new chapter in our life.

Fast forward a few months, and there we were, in another long walk, on another winding road, amidst dense greenery, the ruins of an ancient empire, with small chirps from exotic birds marking the dusk. The silhouette of Kanchendzonga, popping up ever so often when we could see beyond the dense tree line. Pelling (the town), a small afternoon tea at a quaint shop overlooking the mighty Kanchendzonga, we got into a conversation with a person who turned out to be a local trek guide and explained in detail about the trekking village of Yuksom.

Six months later, there we were, on our first trek together, excited like never before, carrying enough perhaps for more than two treks. Little did I know the amount of physical exertion I had signed up for voluntarily. A little help from the seasoned trekkers(an ex-army person), some information about diamox, fitness, dos and donts, and away we went with Prateek and Dawa Sherpa, followed by Shiben. A week of daily toiling, periodic rewards in the form of views of distant mountains, the rare Rhododendrons, vast green meadows, roaring river and following the rare and beautiful Himalayan birds.

Even before the first trek finished, we assimilated enough information from our co-trekkers to shortlist the next prospective trek. Due to the harsh winters in the Himalayan range, we had to choose between Kedarkantha and Har-ki-Dun. We ended up choosing not one but both. A decision we doubted till the last day of the Kedarkantha trek, the first of the two.

A crude reality check during our trek in Sikkim made it clear that fitness was the key requirement and our key shortcoming. The moment we landed back in Chennai, we made a list of marathons and started our routine alternate day to be able to cross the finish line. No matter where we were, Chennai, Alleppey, Hyderabad, or any other city, we managed to squeeze in a run in our day to ensure that the legs would get ready. And thus, we were ready for our first 21K marathon across the red sandy hills, The Chennai trail marathon. A marathon we finished barely before the organizers headed home. We followed this up with the Spice marathon in Kochi, a few weeks later.

One trek old, and already, we felt like seasoned trekkers, completely at home, looking to guide a new fleet of first time trekkers. But, the harsh negative temperatures beginning right in the evening was something we could never have been prepared for. The shining moonlight on the snow clad mountains reflecting a shade of blue, gleaming and dancing in delight, was so majestic that it kept us going despite the freezing temperatures. After finishing our Kedarkantha trek we embarked on our second trek to Har-ki-Dun. We fell in love with the long walks approaching closer to the majestic Haruki-Dun, Swargrohini mountain ranges with each passing day. Everyday we had dogs to give company to us during the entire day. Just the 3 of us (We and our friend Govind) and our trek guides camping in the mighty ranges was an experience we never had before. We left the mountains with a heavy heart and once back home were planning for our next trek.

 

As we came back, again realising that we were not at the level of fitness we aspired for, this time we signed up for more 21ks. The Wipro Chennai marathon, the Warangal heritage and the Ooty heritage, the last one, a run of unparalleled beauty. These three turned out to be a prelude for our mid year trek — Rupin.

The shepherd’s trail route trek was a sheer beauty every moment with stunning views, deep gorges, tall snow-clad mountains, jumping sheep and lazy shepherd dogs, unbelievable water falls, and near vertical walks, the Rupin trek experience was something that just cannot be put down in words. 

On our last trek, Sandakphu Phalut, we got to see majestic views of 4 of the world’s highest 8,000 metres peaks. Mt.Everest, called Sagarmatha in Nepali, Kanchenjunga called Khangchendzonga in Sikkimese, Lhotse and Makalu 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th tallest mountains of the world. Along with our wonderful guide Jigmay Tenzing we trekked through the Singalila national park with views of the tallest mountains playing hide and seek with the clouds. Criss crossing between India and Nepal we walked through dense forests spell bound by the beauty of the place. We walked through the clouds and the Rhododendron forest listening to the melodic chirping of the birds, having our dear friend a Forest dog aptly named Forest giving company to us. After finishing our trek we came back to Chitrey to stay for a day to visit the Chitrey Gompa monastery and also visit Jigmay’s family who by now had become our dear friend. Every time I think of the Sandakphu Trek, it reminds me of the beautiful people and the villages, mesmerising walks through the jungles, watching the milky way galaxy and a zillion stars with naked eyes in the night never wanting to leave the place.

Six treks down, and about 10 marathons finished, every year, we pledge to go back to the hills, to find that lost part of ourselves, which helps us live as better humans. As Saranbir our trek guide said, we leave a part of ourselves in the mountains, and we come back searching for it.