Trekking in the Himalayas

by Bhagyanath Menon M B MANALAR (India)

A leap into the unknown India

Himalayas always hold a mystical charm for me. So when an opportunity opened up to trek 50 kms from Pehelgam at 9000 ft to Amarnath at 14000 ft, I did not think twice. Our itinerary first took us to Kashmir, another first time visit for me. The region and the atmosphere left me gasping - truly heaven on earth. The laid back life and the shikaras in Dal Lake as well as the various gardens with exotic flowers and roses, had an aura of its own. Our trek started from Pehelgam, another nature's wonder. Situated at 9000 feet, with the mountain range looming over it, the valleys and the greenery took one to a different mental state altogether, and set the tone to the upcoming trekking experience. Rain delayed the trek by two days and it only added to the excitement and the thrill of experiencing the unknown. Finally, the trek started. The initial enthusiasm slowly started giving way to self doubts when the Himalayas started looming in front of you and looked to grow larger and larger as one walked towards it. The incessant rain only added to dampen the spirits and the pushing and jostling of the crowd, suddenly made you realise the gravity of the task in front of you. Slowly, the pavement became a rough track and zig zagging the way up the mountain. Apart from the trekkers, one had to handle the returning trekkers as well as the mules travelling both ways with people and luggage on their back. This, coupled with the drizzle and the loose earth and pebbles beneath your feet made trekking or rather, climbing an ardous task. The increasing elevation slowly started taking its toll on the body. Decrease in oxygen and high moisture content in the air made breathing a laborious process. Throat became dry frequently, compelling one to stop and sip water at intervals. The initial enthusiasm gave way to skeptism and there seemed to be no end to the looming mountains in front of you. Frequent stops and the unfriendly terrain only added to your woes and suddenly, 52 kms certainly seemed like a tall order. However, after an hour or two, with these internal struggles, a sudden calmness befell me and the legs started functioning on auto mode. Mind was focussed on controlling your breathing and forcing your mind to take a step a time. Suddenly, I find myself on an even terrain, where out of ecstasy, I flopped down on the floor of snow and ice, and let the coldness seep in through my winter clothings. The cold jerked me awake and I sprang to my feet, realising the folly of resting my body and letting the cold get into me. The sun was out of the clouds, rain decided to take a break and for the first time, I was forced to be aware of the paraphernalia and suck in the beauty of the land. The grey snow covered mountains, the blue sky, the green lake, the black trekking path with ice formed on both sides took my breath away. Trekking from that moment, was a pleasure, sucking in the surroundings, watching the day light playing music on nature and soon it was dark and time to find the camping site, which I reached by late night. And what a tent! Accomodating 4 persons, with a wooden plank on top of an ice block cut out as a bed, couple of blankets over it and a sheet to cover them and couple of blankets to cover you. All I remembered was tucking in, cold biting all parts of the body and opening my eyes to a beautiful morning. Trek continued for the second day but this time, it was in sync with the surroundings and greatly helped by the even terrain and lesser crowd of trekkers. My endurance was tested twice enroute by climbing up two more mountain ranges, and finally the destination is in front of me. The satisfaction, the sense of achievement suddenly blanked my head and peace was reigning all over the body and mind. All the physical exertion suddenly disappeared. Sense of deja vu set in.