To the top and back. (June 2010)

In the middle of 2010, 4 of us decided it was high time we saw the Himalayas in all its glory for Real. How long were we to wait for the universe to get us in shape? It was high time we took action! So we jogged some, cycled some, gymmed some and walked some but we also drank in litres, we ate sumptuous meals. So at the end of 2 months, were we ready for the Himalayas? If only that mountain could talk!

(Day 1) So in late June, we reached Dehradun, the starting point of our trek up Rupin pass (4500m or 14765 ft). Tired but excited after a long ride through the hills of Uttarakhand, we finally reached our base camp at Dhaula.

(Day 2) The next morning we started our trek to the next camp which was at Sewa. We saw eagles on the way, I huffed and puffed my way up. We stopped at Sewa to check out their temple which doesn't look like any other I've ever seen. Our camp was outside Sewa on the bank of the river. It was a nice evening with a bonfire, some charades and of course plates and plates of food for us hungry trekkers.

(Day 3)The next day was a long one. We were going to climb up to Jhaka which is a village at 2650m. The last 2 hours we trekked in unforgiving train. The valley looked green and beautiful in the rain while we struggled for happy thoughts walking up what seem like an unrelenting climb. We kept meeting villagers on the way and they kept saying it's just 15 minutes away. After 1 hour of being told it was 15 minutes away, we finally reached Jhaka and were welcomed by warm smiles from our hosts and hot tea! That night we stayed in a wooden house in the village with its warm rooms and one bathroom (which the girls got! hell yeah!)

(Day 4) After a good night's sleep, we were all pumped up for the next day. The next day we saw the landscape change. We started with a walk through a pine forest and as we walked further, the trees got scantier the river bank got wider, we could see green meadows and at the end we finally got a look at Rupin pass! Snow capped and FAR away! We reached our camp at Saruwas Thatch just before lunch. This was a nice camp with lots of bushes at the back.

Our biggest problem or obsession you could say on this trip was to find a nice shady spot far from prying eyes to "dump" all our troubles away :D. All we seemed to discuss was, what was a good spot to go, when and where to go for best coverage. Since we were 3 girls at this time and we got one whole side of the camp to choose from, there were a lot of spots at first but later on they were harder to find and by the end of it, we just got creative. So this camp at Sarwas thatch was probably the best place coverage wise! :P

(Day 5) The next day was a pretty short trek. Since we were gaining altitude every day, we had to make sure that we were acclimatized. A very serious problem at these heights is Altitude sickness. It strikes especially when you gain altitude to fast. The best way to avoid that is to keep a slow and steady pace and always let others know if you're falling ill in anyway. Rakesh our trek leader, thought that we needed a nice rest day with a short walk so that's we did. We strolled to our next camp at Dhanderas Thatch, playing near the water since it was too cold to go in! We reached our next camp and did some river crossing. It was shoe-flinging, toe-freezing fun! We climbed up a mountain-side for a beautiful view of the waterfall we were to climb up the next day and the other waterfalls that surrounded us on all sides.

(Day 6) This day was a doozie! We had to cross a waterfall on a section that was frozen. We started early although, it wasn't the best of weather. It was rainy and cold all morning. Slowly and steadily I clomped up the side of the waterfall. The icy crossing was pretty scary as we had heard about a farmer who was crossing a few weeks earlier and had lost his balance and fallen and died.

So we were very careful while crossing. We were aided by our ever helpful and extremely brave team of porters! We reached camp surrounded by clouds and the river just in time to avoid 2 hours of continuous rainfall. When nature was done showing us who's boss, we got out of our tents to be awestruck by the beautiful valley we had just crossed. We had a view down the waterfall we'd just crossed. It was just beautiful! That night we got a clear sky with stars and the snow shining bright through it. It was probably one of the most striking night skies I've ever seen.

(Day 7) Everyone was excited, we were finally going to reach Rupin pass and what a beautiful day to do it on! Clear skies, puffy clouds here and there and gleaming snow! We trudged up a mountain-side till we finally got a look at Rupin pass and the snow field that surrounds it! In 6 days, we went from thick forests to pine forests to meadows to snow fields. We were all pretty kicked and felt an energy burst for the last stretch to Rupin pass. The gully that heads up to Rupin pass is pretty steep. It was probably the most exhilarating part of the whole trek. When we got to the top and looked on the other side, the struggle to get there was worth it. We got a view of the whole range and we were finally there at Rupin pass which was not the top of the world but felt like it for us! We celebrated being there with some screaming, back slaps and of course celebratory photos. Our porters and guides said a pray to the Goddess of Rupin.

Then it was time to continue, make our way down from Rupin to our next camp. To make our way down from the past was another adventure. We made use of a very useful body part:

Our butts. We slid down about 400 ft on our butts! It was like a roller coaster (more like a butt-o-coaster). All of us were screaming and bouncing on ice! Everyone was cheering each other and squealing in delight like kids. After 3 times, our butts were frozen and we decided they had done their job. We continued to trudge on to our camp. We kept running into small streams and beautiful vistas on our way. We finally reached camp around 4! It was a long an eventful day and we were all tired but happily so.

(Day 8) We all woke up, happy and content. I was happy thinking that there was no more climbing. It's all downhill from here! That can't be too hard. How wrong was I? It was probably the most painful day (i had huge blisters on my toes at the end of it)

Anyway, before we could leave, we were startled by a herd of yaks! We could see them some ways up the hill from where our camp was and they suddenly started charging down towards us! We couldn't look away although I may have hidden behind a few people while doing that. Rakesh told us that they are attracted to the smell of salt and since we had just breakfasted, they were here to finish it up! We then started down to Sangla. All of us keeping different paces, laughing, joking and having a good time walking down. About 5 hours in. My feet had had it. They were blistery and painful but I continued on. I thought changing shoes might help, it didn't. Just had to suck it up and finish it!

When we finally hit Sangla, I have never been happier on seeing civilization! We all took showers and freshened up for celebratory lunch and some beers to go along with it! We talked and we laughed and we celebrated end of this trek but the beginning of many others.