A new terrain and a sloshy lane!

Ever had a dream of you waking up after dreaming inside a tent on the edge of a mountain slope?Well, I did. Today morning, I woke up thinking I am transported to the tribal village of Rajgundha valley which is comfortably seated in the lap of Barot valley and Bir-Billing. It is no surprise that as this was the most recent trek I had gone for. The Trekkers’ Stoppe took yet another unconventional route of exploring the Barot Valley along the Uhl River.

Wake up and show up!

Hence, the dream I was seeing in my dream was actually the reality.

That ‘trek’ morning, I woke up with the feel of warm sunrays urging me to get up. Their penetration through the green tarp of the tent was as blissful as someone gently patting me on my shoulder. I have observed that I have had the best hours of sleep in the tent during my treks. No bad dreams, no wrong postures and no abrupt calls. I didn’t bother to check the time as it seemed like it was broad daylight outside.

The previous day had actually been a long tiresome series of bus jerks ending with a rather short muddy trail from Barot Valley to the Rajgundha valley campsite. 

Let me leave my worries here!

On crossing the river, there is a steep gradient which then brings us on the same altitude as the Rajgundha village. This slope was abundant with spiky shrubs and laterally expansive bushes. Most of the part had distinct patches of soil worn out or moulded for human steps. As one reaches the fag end of the slope, the flat land is not visible only one edge is. By now, I wasn’t able to see the path ahead and my two teammates (Nikit and Ashni) were traversing the rocky patches with me. I perhaps overestimated my ability to climb up the steep slope. The tree ahead of me had no holds to grab and step up instead what seemed like rocks were just eroded boulders of mud with wild bushy growth. So, when I turned around, I could just see some barely loose soil on which I wouldn’t be able to firmly put my foot. Nikit asked me why I had stopped and I told him to move back. By that time, Ashni started to panic as she couldn’t see anyone behind and I wasn’t moving ahead. I quickly handed over my bag to Nikit so that the bag and the mattress doesn’t restrict my movement. Jack came to our rescue while Nikit and I helped each other to come back to the trail we had left behind.

A new trekker in the team!

For some time, I don’t think my heart had restored its beat rate! Luckily, I almost forgot the fear I faced on seeing two lambs playing around. Jack picked up one of them, caressed her and whispered that she could make a sumptuous meal! Soon, he realized that it was just too innocent and tender to hurt, so we just clicked a happy picture.

Since we had embarked on our trek slightly late, the last stretch of the trail was majorly like playing darkroom! One can’t see the edge of the mountain and the beginning of the sky but still notice the lightning in the clouds. Wondering if that’s how walking into oblivion looks like? Lo and behold! My mind was now digging deeper into the dark alleys of darkness. I don’t blame my restless mind for it found equilibrium there in the serenity of the seleno-centric surroundings! Anyone would; looking at the saucer sized moon cloaked in silver and pearl! Just so that all of you know, it takes a lot of introspection to be able to appreciate the darkness. The darkness brings with it anonymity and equanimity. It doesn’t discriminate and differentiate. Darkness in the mountains is a beauty that makes the smallest signs of life miracles. It is in the caliginosity i.e. the simultaneous occurrence of darkness, fog and gloom that a fire burns the brightest colour with each of the sparks appearing to be shooting stars flying past. It is a pleasure to stare right into the fire imagining that all the evil and negativity is burning into ashes only to let the light disseminate in all directions. The next day, we walked towards Billing by reaching the altitude of Chianna pass (around 9000 ft). God! I wish something could give as much solace as the scenery in front of me. At such a height, one feels like touching the sky would be easier than reaching the river side below. Alas! That’s not true.

How high is the sky?

Incidentally, we had a comedy of errors on our journey back. Our driver happily reached the wrong pick-up point, some of our rucksacks were left behind in a taxi, we had lost our way to reach the base of the paragliding exercise and we all had gurgling stomachs. However, the silver lining was that once we were together, we all had lunch at a dhaba loading ourselves with curd to calm our tummies. In my limited experience as a trekker, I must admit that I value and treasure the presence and participation of teammates as much as the thrill of the hike itself. Some of those conversations end up getting etched in memory. Jack and I talk across tents and it is fun for us but spooky for others! Nikit and I stumbled on the sloshy path so many times that we were mooting the idea of walking barefoot. It was an absolute delight to see Laboni switching between her two flashy sunglasses and narrating all entertaining one-liners and memes. No one should miss seeing Ambika and I hiking hand-in-hand for it is full of smirky laughter and rock-falling incidents.

This trek like each before it was an energizing break and an ideal getaway. It was on our bus ride back to Delhi that Sheetal and Nikit tutored me how to use Instagram and embrace its utility to connect with people and express yourself. So, hello Instagram from Rajgundha-gram!