A Trail

by Chandni Ghimire (Nepal)

I didn't expect to find Nepal

“A few more minutes and you will be there”. It was cold and all I was talking to myself. I was on my sore knees, nervously questioning at the arbitrary and odd choices I had made. The thought of dreadful uncertainty crept in and my hope dissipated. On 24 March 2019, I was heading alone from Nayapul to Annapurna Base Camp with almost 17 kg of a rucksack. It was my first trekking in order to add some adventure to my life. On the way, I was mesmerized by the beauty of nature. Forest was tannin brown, and the aroma was fresh, grasses were crisp under my feet. I was surrounded by the serrated mountain loomed and lots of magnetizing glimpse of the creation. Well, trekking is not an easy task. At the end of the day, I had to crawl and drag myself to reach the hotel. Uphill used to demotivate me, broken tiny wooden bridges used to scare me. But I did not give up I kept on walking. After walking THREE straight days on the trail, I was in Deurali and Finally, I was heading towards Annapurna Base Camp. It was not easy to climb above 3200m in heavy snowfall. By tussling and brawling, I reached Machhapuchhre Base camp. When I talked to the hotel owners they told me it’s almost impossible to reach ABC as the weather was brutal. They were telling the horrific tales and incidents of mountains but even then I chose to walk through the storm to quench my thirst for adventure. After climbing straight uphill like a nose for about an hour. As I reached the top I witnessed the breathtaking view. The wide range of vampire white mountains with peaks like harpoon tips. The air was chilling and numbing. The place was as silent as a graveyard. There was no sign of green or any human being. Suddenly, I started to struggle for breathing. My walking pace had decreased drastically. I grabbed my bottle only to found the water in it turned to ice. I felt like my body was giving up. “THUMMMPPPP” I heard a bellowing sound with a tsunami of Snow sluicing down the flank of the mountain which was right in front of me. It was an AVALANCHE. I was cold, numb, lonely and scared. I called for help but the wind drowned my voice. All I could hear was the wind howling. I saw snow erasing my fresh footprints. I was lost in the white. By struggling a lot I took out my mobile and what I saw in the camera was, my blue wrinkled lips, snowy white eyelashes and my cheeks and nose which were as red as ripped tomatoes. Scary thoughts started to haunt my mind. I started complaining, blubbering and cursing myself for the choice I made. I felt helpless. It was horrifying than my worst nightmare. “I don’t know how I will die in the future, but one thing that I am sure is I will not die here sitting,” I told myself and immediately got up and started walking. After walking for 90 minutes I saw something blue. First I thought I was hallucinating but it was there. I felt someone blowback breathe on my mouth. When I reached that board. Big letters were engraved and those letters were Welcome to Amazing ABC. It was the moment of my life. As I entered the hotel’s dining room, the people there started clapping and hugged me. I was overwhelmed by the warmth in that icy cold weather. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of a helicopter. They were searching for three people who were missing since last night's storm. It wrenched my heart to know that but at the same time, I was grateful for the life I had. Today, when I look back, it was a great learning which pushed me beyond my limits. It made me realize how miniature we are in front of nature. I learned to stand when I was on my knees. I learned to take responsibility for the choices I made, and more importantly, it teaches me to help myself when I’m helpless.