There is something about the mountains.
Life is such a paradox, right? You want greens, you have to bear the rain. You want those peaks at the summit, you have to forget about sleep and poo. And yet! Yet, every time, Nature wins. The allure of the mountains is so maddening that you forget about sore calves and rain-soaked socks. You keep going through those winding trails and by those gurgling streams...just to lose a lot of yourself and then find some of yourself back.
Life is a paradox. Maybe that’s what keeps us grounded.
Delhi to Kathgodam to Gogina :
My point being - the morning of our pickup at Kathgodam, we woke up to find heavy rain. After a lot of ifs and buts, MD, Manpreet and I had set off on our trek to Ranthan Kharak with Indiahikes. This trek falls in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state in India. From Delhi, we had taken a train to Kathgodam and had been waiting for a pickup from Indiahikes to take us to the start of the trail.
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| Kanchi Baba Ashram on the way... |
Rain even before we could start was definitely not welcome! Especially, at 5 in the morning, every little hurdle hurts twice as much. With groggy eyes and much annoyance, we boarded the bus. Some of us, particularly Indrani (back then, just a stranger with a huge trolley bag) boarded the pickup bus completely wet. To make matters worse, half of the bus was filled with a group of seemingly rowdy Delhi boys. Bad omens from all sides - I squinted my snobbish nose.
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| When we stopped for Lunch... |
On our 14hours long and delayed journey (courtesy - Kanchi baba and a landslide!), we all remained strangers with a courteous smile or two. Though, the almora sweets (Singori and Bal Mithai) offered by one of the Delhi guys who sported multiple ear piercings (I think MD found it cool even! I definitely did not!) did make a segway to friendship.
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| Bal Mithai, Almora |
The weather got better in due time. And as the bus went deeper and deeper into the mountains, my mood automatically perked up. I am home. Again.
Gogina :
Gogina was our base for this trek. It is a very simple little village with a handful of houses. We met our trek leader, Rohan as soon as we got off the bus. We were to stay the night in a homestay called - the Namik homestay. Namik being the next village, there was this obvious question - Why would you name a homestay in Gogina after the name of the next village? Of course we laughed only to find out later that it’s basically named after the Namik glacier and not the village.
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| In all fairness, it did say, Namik Glacier Homestay! |
After a quick briefing and a hungry dinner, we retired into our rooms for a well needed sleep. MD, Manpreet and I shared the room with Indrani, Prasanna and Tanmei and a lot of flies! The mixtape of Tanmei’s loud snoring and the flies’ low wheezing formed the background score for the entire night scene.
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| Gogina village - simple & pretty |
The next morning when MD and I walked out of our room, our first peak of the trip glistened from the corner of the sky! It really just takes that much to get us excited! I think it was a glimpse of the Dang Thyal peak that stayed with us all along pretty much for the rest of the trip.
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| The First Morning from Gogina... |
The homestay had an expected buzz and clatter of baggages and boxes and mugs and walking poles. We had our breakfast and got our vitals checked. Rohan gathered everyone in a circle for a summary of the day followed by a warm up. The rule was - the last one to turn up for the briefing would be punished. Two guys from the earlier group in the bus were the victims. They had to do 25 pushups each, which they did too! And that’s why I am never late!
After a few rounds of smiles, some quick sets of stretches and a few selfies here and there, we set off with rusty feet. The magic show is about to start now.
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| Let's Go! |
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