I was surprised to see that some of the fellows had been there for two hours, had a good nap and bathed and ready to attend a grand party that would start in a few minutes. Had we climbed the steep ascent of 2 kilometers on foot instead of by Land Cruiser, it might have taken few more hrs or effectively night in reaching Gunji and everybody acknowledged that fact.
Satellite phones are available at Gunji, infact at every camp on Indian side and its advised that you take Matrix Sim card for Chinese side as international roaming is quite costly there and it works everywhere in Tibet. On reaching Gunji we were invited for dinner at ITBP camp, combined with music and singing of Mr. Shastry, proved out to be a memorable one.
This day proved to be long and exhaustive and we trekked 29 kms and witnessed two distinct and contrasting terrains and most importantly were back in India. That night we slept long and hard, and started somewhat late for our next day trek to Budhi.
Budhi is a 17 km trek passing through the spectacular valley of flowers Chia Lekh. It didn’t prove out much difficult especially after yesterday’s 29 km trek and everyone made it comfortably. Budhi is a beautiful location surrounded by apple orchards and the camp here is really good and so is the food. We are again enjoying delicious Indian food since our return from Tibet and now it tastes even better and richer. Evenings here are not really as cold as Gunji and a meeting is called by L.O. to discuss the next day route. We came via Sirkha, Gala but there is a direct route that bypasses these camps and leads to a motorable road that takes you directly to Dharchula, though a relatively more demanding trail, but it was decided to follow that.
The role of L.O. is to coordinate with KMVN Staff, report to MEA about group’s progress on daily basis via satellite phone, coordinating with Chinese Authorities and also with guides and pony - porter handlers. So it’s great to have a good and understanding L.O. who understands group members as there are Yatris of all age groups and you have to talk to them accordingly.
It’s drizzling when we woke up on day 23 and made everybody nervous and happy at the same time. It’s the last day of our trek and gave us opportunity to trek in the wet and slippery surface and made us realize how lucky we were so far and thanked God for that. Instead of going for Gala we broke just a few kms before the camp and followed a steep descent that led us to a motorable road where cabs were waiting to take us directly to Dharchula. Dharchula was another 40 kms and by 7 p.m. everybody reached there. Though it saved us a day or two but it proved to be one of the most tiring treks so far and broke our backs; first a strenuous 14 km trek then ascending thousands of stairs to reach a hill top just before Gala and then descending again in wet and slippery steps to reach the road, drained us completely.
Dharchula where we are back to Civilization which we all left a few days back to feel something much bigger and greater, but this is the reality which we have to accept. It’s a place where your seclusion of 15 days or so ends and you again face life with roads, mobiles and shops. I, Priyanshu, Arvind, Shastriji and few others were among the last to reach Dharchula. Arvind, though very fast, was supporting Shastriji in those wet steps, infact throughout that very demanding and exhausting trek. Priyanshu and I, as usual very slow and not too concerned about time were always among the last, in any case.
Nobody knew it would come to halt this early as we bypassed two camps- The feeling was mixed. Trekking, though difficult, has its own feel and it’s not easy to get rid of it so quickly, especially if your mind is not prepared and so was the case with most of us. In this last stretch we missed the company of Guptaji; he crossed us at the very start at around 8 a.m. and we saw him again after almost 12 hours. One thing he did well, ‘to reserve a room for us both.’
It’s the same excellent KMVN facility with four fellows staying in the same room and when we entered the room we found Guptaji and Vivek there. Guptaji asks, "Itni der kahan ho gayi, hum logon ko to aye 2 ghante ho gaye aur ek nind bhi nikal li.” We couldn’t fetch him with any satisfactory answers. We are now completely wet, exhausted, water soaked through our backpacks and our back is gone. We took out everything from our packs to dry it in the fan that was running full speed, courtesy to Guptaji.
Walking continuously in rain for close to 12 hours put a lot of pain on knees and back and I also slipped once descending those steps but really enjoyed the trek. I didn’t put rain jacket on as you get wet in any case in those long treks, if not outside then from inside due to their limited breathability. So I didn’t mind getting wet one more time inside bathroom and when I came out I found everybody had gone for dinner. I hoped for some dry clothes and was relaxed or surprised to find some inside that damp pack. My back and joints are really hurting and preventing me to go to dinner at ground floor, that I could smell in my room at the first floor, but it means descending some steps again and I couldn’t have any strength left so I fell to bed, feeling cold stopped the fan and slept immediately.
Next day I woke up early at 4:00 a.m., collected all my stuff that was now dry (Guptaji again switched the fan on) and packed, bathed and was ready by 5 and then I noticed or remembered that I had severe back pain last night and now I didn’t have any. It’s all gone miraculously, my knee joints felt normal and I felt pretty relaxed and refreshed.
The day 24 leads through the beautiful hill roads to Mirthi where we had a very good lunch and were given back our photos of previous session. There was a video playing, showing our activities when we entered there last time and the samosas are as tasty as ever. We also purchased some very good stuff at a very reasonable price from Army shop. We reached Pithoragarh by 4p.m. and had plenty of time to explore the small but picturesque city, often called the Kashmir of Uttarakhand. Nature has painted it green everywhere with deep valleys and imposing mountain ranges at distance, and if the weather is clear you can gaze at the mighty snow clad Panchachuli range.
Pithoragarh borders with Tibet and Nepal and one can find many Nepalese here. It’s a small but really beautiful town and the KMVN facility here is top class. The weather is mild at this time of the year and you can explore the nearby market. We explored all the lanes of this small market due to somebody’s insistence. Guptaji has run out of his entertainment, "Gutka” and his favorite brand is nowhere to be found here and that made us walk almost the entire town.
We reached Jageshwar the next day. Jageshwar is a small but breathtakingly beautiful hill station perched with Devdar trees everywhere and is famous for centuries- old Jageshwar temple from where it got its name. There are several temples and the main is devoted to Lord Shiva. There is a small museum also and a Kuber temple as well. We reached Jageshwar in just 3 or 4 hours from Pithoragarh and almost had a full day to explore the town. Jageshwar is a place where you can just sit and relax, appreciate its beauty and can take a small walk as there is not much to explore.