Trek Details:
Goecha La, Sikkim
Altitude: 15000ft
Distance Covered: 83kms
Trekking Party: Sunil, Sachin, Makarand, Milind, Keerthana, Nitin, Arun, Sridevi, Sandipan, Tejas, Deepak
Difficulty Level: 7/10
Day-1: Arrival at Yuksom
I left the hotel early in the morning to ensure I got the best seats in either of the two cars arranged by Indiahikes for the ten of us. From the outset I was concerned about travelling like canned-sardines on the treacherous and tumbly road to Yuksom. Thankfully, Sachin and Makarand concurred and after some looking around, we arranged a separate car for ourselves which ‘appeared’ to be more comfortable. We even manged to agree on Rs.800 less for the ride as compared to the cars organised by Indiahikes. A couple of kilometers into the drive and the driver told us to switch cars as he didn’t have a permit for Sikkim! Personally to me this really didn't make too much of a difference, but Makarand and Sachin were quite peeved, and I also felt a bit cheated. Anyways, all said and done, three in a Bolero was still a far better bargain than five or six. At NJP I also met up everyone else except Tejas who was going to get to Yuksom by himself a day before the rest of us. The trains were running late so the gang arriving by train was slightly grumpier than usual, and so were we since we had to wait till 10am before we could get started.
We arrived at Yuksom after an 8 hour drive through some of the most scenic albeit broken roads in the country. The amount of dust was simply overwhelming, and by the time we reached Yuksom everyone had darker skin and greyer hair! On the way we stopped at a number of locations to absorb the natural splendour of the lower Himalayas – the scenery was simply too beautiful to ignore. Yuksom was the erstwhile capital of Sikkim – long, long ago when Kings and Queens ruled the land – so it is reasonably well developed. It has a hospital, a couple of schools, a market etc. Another thing that I noticed was the amount of infrastructure development going on throughout West Sikkim. Highways were being widened and repaved, new bridges being constructed, new dams being built; the state was simply abuzz with development activity. You generally tend to see such large scale infrastructure development only in larger cities, so it was indeed heartening to see this even in the remotest corners of the country. Hopefully the next time I visit Yuksom, the 180km journey takes me fewer hours and/or is more comfortable.
On arrival at Yuksom, we met up with Tashi Bhutia, our trek leader. Following that, we quickly checked into our sparsely furnished rooms and as soon as we’d settled down a little bit, we noticed how cold it was. Coming in from Siliguri, which was nice and warm, Yuksom felt freezing. What helped immidiately though was my high altitude Balaclava which I had pre-ordered through Indiahikes. I practically wore that thing every second of the journey from that point on. A good lesson was learnt here in cold weather survival – no matter how many layers you wear on your body, you’ll still be cold if your head’s not covered. As soon as I’d covered my head, I was able to get rid of a couple of layers and was still nice and warm. Overnight at Yuksom and the night was uneventful except one minor incident. At about 3-4am I got this nauseus feeling and I was scared beyond words thinking I’d caught some tummy bug or something, and that my trek was going to be ruined. However, a short stroll in the cold, fresh air outside cleared all nausea, and I was back in bed in a fit of deep, restful sleep till dawn. For the first time in several days, I woke up by myself i.e. without anyone or anything waking me up..and it was still only 6.30 in the morning! Reminds me to petition with the Indian Govt to have a separate time zone for the eastern parts of the country - the sun rises at 5.30am and sets at 3.30pm, so what’s the point following the same time as someone in Gujarat or Mumbai where the sunrise and sunset actually happens a good couple of hours later! The hilly terrain added to the problems as the light faded as soon as the sun went behind the surrounding mountains. Long nights followed where there was little you could do except sleep! Turns out this was going to be the trend for the next 10 days of my life..how convenient..except your body simply cant sleep for so long when its not used to!
Day-2: Yuksom to Sachen
We woke up a little after sunrise at Yuksom. The weather was absolutely fabulous, the sun warming up the place nicely enough, and hot tea felt fantastic especially with the clean air and rustic surroundings. We were to begin our trek today and I was super excited! Once everyone got ready without any notable incident, we assembled at the starting point for the trek. While our stuff was being loaded up on Yaks and Mules, we took turns taking group pictures, borrowing and lending sun-block cream, and exchanging pleasantries. At about 10 Tashi returned with the news that Sikkim Police had graciously cleared all of us to go visit the mighty Kanchenjunga. The hike started off with a reasonably steep climb from behind the Lanam Cottage (where we spent the night). The trail from Yuksom to Sachen basically runs through 2-3 adjascent mountains meaning we have to climb half-way up one then descend, cross a river, climb up again and so on till we reach the third bridge which is also the longest. From there, the trail becomes rather steep and just continues to rise (though at a moderate rate) till Camp Sachen appears on the left and you’re left thinking you will live after all. There are several streams on the way so you don’t really need to carry too much water with you unless you don’t want to drink river water directly. The river water worked all right for me so it should definitely be good enough for most people. From my ‘extensive’ reading about the Goecha La trek on various blogs, I had somehow formed an impression that the first day from Yuksom till Sachen is easy-moderate; this myth was busted in the first few minutes itself. I can’t say whether it was my lack of trekking experience, or my expectations of the first day, or the fact that I was doing any physical activity after a good 10-15 days, but the first day nearly killed me. To compound my myseries, my day-pack gave up mid-way and I had to carry out field repairs on it…so much for quality equipment. Lesson learnt – spend money, but top quality stuff! Whoever said Yuksom to Tshoka could/should be done in one go is obviously either super-fit or a sadist…Haha! For the most of us, Yuksom to Sachen was tough enough for Day-1. Sachen was also the only place where we did not have proper toilets, and the camp ground was quite small. Be that as it may, it was a relief to stop there for the night. Sachen was also my first of several subsequent experiences of washing utensils in cold water. While it was reasonably cold outside, the tents were nice and warm inside, and once we were settled into our sleeping bags life wasn’t too uncomfortable. Three people inside one tent also added to the general sense of warmth inside the tent.
Next morning we discovered that Milind had a tummy upset and the poor guy had to step out of the tent in near freezing temperatures twice or thrice at night. It was looking like my worst concerns about this whole trip were playing out in front of my eyes except on this occasion the victim wasn’t me. I guess I am a bit selfish after all cause I did thank god it wasn’t me. What started that night for Milind stayed with him for the rest of the trek – but hats off to the man – he simply did not give up. I’m not sure whether it was the right decision to persist, but all I can say is thank god he came back safely from the campaign.
Day-3: Sachen to Tshoka
Today was the day from when the trail was supposed to turn harder each day, and this wasn't inaccurate at all. We all woke up with the sunrise, and the weather changed immediately once the sun appeared from behind the hills surrounding us. Not that the night was uncomfortable inside the thick sleeping bags, but a little bit of warmth is always appreciated. Off went the jackets and on came sun-hats, sun-blocks etc. After finishing off a light breakfast, we started off for Tshoka. Today however, my body responded splendidly to the challenge, and the Gatorade showed why it is trusted by athletes world wide. What also helped was a little bit of technical help from the experienced trekkers on the style of walking, the pace, the length of your steps etc. Not that the climb was any easier – in fact it was much harder – but I did really well in terms of the pace I set. From this day on, for the rest of the trek, I consistently finished most days amongst the first few trekkers – me, Tejas, and Deepak basically kept together most times while the rest followed behind. It wasn't that I felt I needed to lead or anything – it was simply a way of motivating myself by staying with the fittest two people. I thought that by staying with people fitter and faster than myself I would always be able to push myself better, and that approach helped me immensely. Every time I was tired and I wanted to break, these two would encourage me to go another few minutes, or cross another ridge or get to another viewpoint etc. It also helped me form a good friendship with Tejas because we were practically walking together everyday discussing myriad things such as Relativity, Physics, Trekking etc. etc.! A little after mid-way came the village of Bhakim. Here’s where the three of us took a few snaps, had some tea and ordered some Momos before the rest of the troops walked in. Even though it was warm and we were tired from the physical activity, the tea felt great and so did the Momos. From Bhakim too I left way earlier than the rest of the group to ensure I stayed well in front, and well motivated. After another round of tough climbing, I turned a small blind corner, and out came one of the most dramatic views I've seen – the majestic snow-capped Himalayas! Tejas and Deepak followed soon after and after some clicks, we scooted along the trail to reach Tshoka! Tshoka is a neat little camp and overlooks Yuksom, Pelling and Darjeeling. At night you can easily spot the town lights. Our tents were setup on the edge of the Tshoka cliff, so the view first thing in the morning was absolutely stunning. There was Mt. Pandim and the rest of the Kasturi range on our left, and the lower Himalayan valley (Pelling, Darjeeling etc.) in front of us. Tshoka also had better toilets and camping facilities, so we were a bit more comfortable though I still wasn’t entertaining any thoughts of going to the loo after bed time! The weather was, as expected at 3000 meters above sea level in Mid-November, very, very cold. I could’ve sworn the average temperature after dusk was sub-zero but the locals did not agree. They were betting on it being a much balmier 1 degree celcius!
Day-4: Tshoka to Phedang
Ideally, we were supposed to climb from Tshoka to Dzongri today, and we started off with great intent. However, something caught up with some guys – I suspect it may have been altitude sickness but I can’t be sure of course. Milind of course was struggling from day-2 but today even a couple of others started feeling a bit weird. The trail from Tshoka to Dzongri basically starts with a steep climb up on to Deorali top and from there it is a bit easier..as we walk along the ridge line. However, mid-way is the pleateu of Phedang. As with the days before, me, Tejas, and Deepak reached here first and had just about finished our lunches when Tashi informed us that given the state of the team, we’d have to rest at Phedang overnight. Heart of hearts I loved the decision as I was dead tired already, and I wasn’t looking forward to another hard climb on the way to Dzongri. At the same time I started feeling a bit uneasy that thanks to the change in this schedule we may not be able to make it to the final viewpoint of the Goecha La. The ‘people’ factors were obviously more pressing though, so without too much of a discussion we camped at Phedang. As I said, Phedang is a bit of a pleateu surrounded on the north by the Kasturi range, and on the west by Deorali mountain.
Day-5: Phedang to Dzongri
The climb from Phedang to Dzongri was uneventful to say the least. We hit the slopes right away and were soon the midst of dense Rhodendron forests. I can just imagine how pretty this place must be in April-May when the flowers are in full bloom. There were literally thousands of Rhodendrons lining the wooden pathways. On the topic of the wooden pathways, I am not convinced they make trekking any easier, at least in the dry seaons. In fact, they make the climb harder as you can’t really take mini-steps…your steps have to match the length and breadth of the wooden steps. So it’s less walking and more like climding stairs..endless stairs to nowhere. In the rainy season though I can imagine why these damned things are so helpful – they protect you from the muddy slush and are generally less slippery than rocks and hence are more stable. Anyways, so we climbed through the Rhodendron forests and after a really steep climb of about 1-2 hours reached what’s called the Deorali pass/top. At several times during this climb I felt I needed a break, but Tejas kept egging me on to go on for a bit longer. At one point though I simply sat down and unilaterally declared a drinks break rather than asking for one..haha! In spite of our sluggish pace, the three of us reached Deorali first and were welcomed by some stunning 360 degree views of the entire Sikkimese Himalayas. The Kasturi range flanked our north wing whereas the Kanchenjunga itself along with the Kabru peaks stood to the north-west. This was also my first ever view of the Kanchenjunga itself, and magnificient as it was, I liked the Kabru and Pandim peaks more for their natural beauty. The Kanchenjunga being further north of these two peaks actually looks smaller from this point. A brief photography break at Deorali, and we continued our hike to Dzongri along the ridge. Not a lot of climbing but a lot of ups and downs ensured that we were thoroughly tired by the time we reached Dzongri. This time though Sachin led the way and as a fun thing, we let him enter the camp ground first, through a pergola of raised trekking poles in proper style. It was a picture perfect moment, and we had a good laugh about it later! The strenuous climb apart, Dzongri was one hell of a cold place. It is basically situated at about 4000 meters above mean sea level, and even the simplest of things takes some doing thanks to the thinner and colder air. The camp ground is large enough and there’s a trekkers’ hut but we didn’t stay there. The camp ground has a semi-frozen stream which runs right through the camp, and is flanked on the north-east by what the locals called Dzongri top.
Anyways, while we were basking in the early afternoon sun, we came to know that one of the porters, while humbly trying to shove mustard oil down a 600-kilo Yak’s throat, found the same Yak sticking it’s own horns down his throat! What drama! The man probably missed death by a few centimeters and got away with a deep cut on his chin. Fortunately we had a Russian Surgeon amongst the tourists (not our trekking party) and while she couldn’t speak a single word of English, she did a commendable job of sewing up the wound in field conditions with limited equipment. I’ve been careful around these Yaks (what I previously told everyone were ‘docile’ animals) ever since! For some reason, I also noticed that the Yaks took special interest in me right from day-1. The trails are for the most part extremely narrow – meaning if a herd of Yaks is coming in, or going out, people have to stand on the edge of the trail or find a corner in which to hide. I found on more than one occasion on the way to Tshoka and Dzongri, the Yaks coming after me even when I was out of their natural path. On both these occasions, I had to grab their horns and push them away. I do love animals and I had no idea they loved me back so blatantly…lol! Coming back to our stay at Dzongri, as soon as the sun set, we realized why a Brit at Camp Tshoka was calling that a warm place. Dzongri was absolutely freezing and to add to the problems, we did not get the cottage to stay in – meaning I was going to get my first night in sub-zero conditions, outside in the open (well in a tent, but you get the point!) Out came the thermals and out came the army sweater, and I was nice and warm in four layers including my jacket, my balaclava, gloves etc. etc.! Dinner was served inside the cottage and we felt we never wanted to get out of the cottage, but eventually we had to. Without any time wasted, we all snuck into one of the tents and the collective body heat of 7 people inside one tent made us feel better for the moment. Going back into our own tents was another struggle though. Even with the four layers, I was freezing out in the open. I slept in the heavy duty sleeping bag with all my 4 layers on me..unable to move much. The exhaustion brought about a good, sound sleep and though I kept waking up frequently, thank god I didn’t get any nature’s call till the next morning.
Day-6: Dzongri to Thangsing
We were all kind of not looking forward to this day at all. Thanks to our unscheduled stop at Phedang, this day was going to the toughest yet. The plan was to wake up at 4.00 and leave for Dzongri top, watch the sunrise from there, and then return to base camp, have breakfast, and then leave for Lamuney via Thansing. Overall, about 12-13 hours of walking in bitter cold weather at a high altitude. Since I was hell bent on going all the way to Goecha La, it took some convincing on Tashi’s part for me to agree to go to Dzongri top. I had earlier thought this was a waste of time given we were going to the pass itself anyway. However, I am glad I listened to him as it would dawn on me later than the view from Dzongri top was absolutely unmatched and not worth missing. So we woke up at 4.00 after a night of bitter cold and sleeping inside the sleeping bag in 4 layers. I have to say, it did take some courage to open the tent and step outside in the wind where the mercury was easily several notches below zero. I also noticed that the boiling water the crew had given me last night had turned into a lump of hard ice as I’d left it outside the sleeping bag (inside the tent though)….so the day started with a gulp of hard ice! But more than the cold and the icy water and the hot chai served by the crew, what I truly remember about that morning is the number of stars in the sky. In thirty three years of my existence, I had not seen as many stars in the sky as I saw in just a few minutes that I could stand outside my tent in total darkness. I counted several constellations, saw a few meteors, noticed the milky way, and also noticed a satellite in orbit. Venus was brighter than I’ve ever seen, and I am sure I could’ve seen some close-by planets had I stood there longer. It was easily one of the highlights of my entire life – leave alone that trek. Coming back to the ground, we left our camp by about 4.30. The whole scenery was enveloped in total darkness with only small flashlights lighting our way up the Dzongri top. I can’t say how much we climbed in meters but this was an absolutely gruelling task. As I’ve said before, even brushing your teeth takes some effort in minus 5-7 degrees at 4000 meters, and here we were, straight out of bed, no warmup, climbing a steep hill! In due course we reached Dzongri top and boy what a spectacle we were in for. Sunrise was still a few minutes away so we took the opportunity to set up our cameras et al. The first view of Kanchenjunga turning red with the first rays of the sun will stay with me forever – it was ethereal. I don’t know what it is about Kanchenjunga, but of all surrounding mountains, she was the prettiest in the early morning light. Soon, the Kanchenjunga turned from red to golden as more and more sunlight illuminated all the snow and ice around it. What natural beauty! Some of the pictures I took from here have become my favorites for the whole trip – and will take some beating. However on the topic of pictures I realized how useful or rather critical a tripod is when shooting in the dark. Also, a wide-angle lens would've been so useful given we were photographing landscapes and the 18-55mm lenses simply don’t see the world in all its grandeur as the wide-angle lenses do.
Once we’d taken our fair share of pictures and groupies, we started our climb down till we reached the base camp at Dzongri. Here for the first time I simply loved the breakfast of Alu Paranthas and Egg Omelettes, and literally hogged. It was also necessary as we were in for a long day ahead. After breakfast, we packed up and left for lamuney via Thangshing. The trail fortunately bypassed the Dzongri top and took a ‘relatively’ easier route. After a little bit of a climb, we pretty much walked level for a long time, ascending a little here, descending a little there. The road to Thangsing is easily one of the prettiest on this trek. It’s basically not a typical mountain hike but more of a meadow walk with beautiful mountains surrounding you. After walking for a couple of hours, the trail begins a steep descent through to Kokchurong. Kokchurong is where we took our lunch break. Though Kokchurong did not have too much of a view of the Himalayas, it was truly serene with a part frozen river flowing right next to the trekkers hut, and dense forests flanking the small camp. After lunch, the trail became harder and we were made to pay by mother nature for descending at Kokchurong. The path from Kokchurong till Thangsing was only about one thing – ascent! On reaching Thangsing we noticed that a few members of the trek were not doing too well and were feeling a bit tired. Given that Lamuney was another couple of hours away, albeit without too much of a climb, Tashi decided that it was best to camp at Thangsing itself. What also added to the argument was that Thangsing had a proper trekkers hut whereas lamuney didn’t have one and was much colder and windier. Given we had already seen what sub-zero nights mean (at Dzongri) we were not too keen on sleeping in the tents at Lamuney which was supposed to be even colder. So we all agreed to camp at Thanging. As expected the night was bitter cold and even inside the trekkers hut I had to wear 4 layers to bed, including my heavy body armor (my woolen thermals). I had saved this woolen thermal for the worst night and this decision turned out to be the right one. Ultimately I had another two layers remaining in case I needed it, but 4 was about enough. However, the worst affected body parts were the hands and the feet. In spite of two layers of protection for the hands, my fingers had gone totally numb. My feet too were freezing even inside the thick hiking boots and two layers of woolen socks. The weather meant we had no enthusiasm for any socialising in the evening/afternoon, and we were pretty much in our sleeping bags by 6.30-7.00 for another early start the following morning.
Day-7: Thangsing to Goecha La to Kokchurong
Having stayed in the relatively ‘cozy’ huts overnight, we were now ready for another 12 hour trek. We were to start from Thanging and walk all the way to Samiti Lake, from where after a short break we were to hike to the Goecha La, and back to Thangsing. I don’t know whether the crew forgot to wake up in time, or whether they purposely decided to let us sleep some more, but instead of waking us up at 3.00 they came in with hot tea at about 4.15. This meant we were quite late to begin with and with that the chances of making it to the pass were dimmed. Thanks to the delay, now we were never going to have enough time to trek to the pass itself and back. While this was dissapointing by itself, we were advised by Tashi that thanks to the heavy snow and ice on the pass, we may not be able to go to the pass even if we had the time. This piece of advise slightly counter balanced the dissapointment. As with the previous night, we started the hike in complete darkness and bitter cold. This time the wind chill was further complicating matters. The trek from Thangsing to Lamuney was easy enough but after that it was a bit of a challenge till we reached Samiti Lake. Samiti lake is a high altitude lake located at about 4300 meters and is just gorgeous. When we reached the lake, it was frozen but the sun had started to heat things up and I witnessed for the first time the thawing of the lake’s icy top layer. With each crack in the ice, a loud thunder reverberated. Initially I thought it was an avalanche or something but Tashi told me it was the ice cracking. Once the ice craked partly, we were able to see the pristine blue and green shades of the lake; Samiti lake has to be one of the prettiest things I’ve ever seen. We had our brekkie at Samiti lake and from here on the next leg of the journey would take us to 15000ft atop Goecha Pass, weather and terrain permitting.
I don’t know whether it was the high altitude, or whether I was simply tired, but I found the trek from Samiti Lake till what we’ll call viewpoint-1 of Goecha La extremely, extremely tiring. I had to break at several places and each step felt heavier than the one before. My heart was beating as fast as it can, and the lungs were feeling the pressure like never before. Arun and Sachin too were probably experiencing the same issues so they returned to Samiti mid-way. I however wasn’t about to give up something I had worked so hard for. With all the will power I have ever had, I climbed the last few meters to reach a point where the summit was within reach. But here’s where things turned ‘interesting’. By this time, there was heavy snow all around us and some ice on top of the snow which we couldn’t really make out until we slipped on it. To reach the summit, we had to walk along a 1 foot wide ledge along the side of the mountain with at least a 400-500 meter sheer drop on the left and a thick near vertical wall of ice on the right. For the first time in my life, I felt the risk perception turn to alarming levels. Initially I wasn’t convinced that was indeed the way forward and I waited for Tashi to ask him if there was an alternate route. However, he soon confirmed that indeed was the only way up, and with some hesitation and utter caution, I continued forward. Taking care to put my foot into the depressions already made by people who had taken that trail before, I played safe and after what felt like an eternity, I was successfully on the summit itself which is a bit of a pleatue and therefore less risky to walk around on. Feeling safe again, I let my other emotions come into their own. I had successfully made it to the Goecha La, and though the real pass itself was still about a couple of kilometers away, I felt a surge of happiness and a sense of accomplishment run through me. In spite of having a number of health issues at sea level, I had made this most arduous journey at high altitude, fighting my own physical and pshycological demons all along the way. At several points during the trek, I felt whether I had in me to carry on, and whether it was all worth it – but thank god I did not give up. It was all MORE than just worth it. This was going to be an experience of a life time, an experience that could change me forever. Once the rest of the trekking party arrived, Tashi went across to see whether the trek to the Goecha La final pass was feasbile. Sadly, he came back with the news that there was a lot of ice down the slope and that it would be pretty dangerous to hike beyond where we had reached. I don’t know what I’d have done if the news had been otherwise – but at this point I was perfectly happy to call it a day! For argument sake if we assume the trek was doable beyond viewpoint-1, I would’ve really, really struggled to decide whether to go on or not. Physically I was drained, but mentally I wanted to do the pass. It would’ve been a bloody battle between will-power and common sense, but I sense will-power would’ve won. But, who knows! Thankfully, the choice was not presented to me and we stopped where we did.
The trek back from Goecha la was solitary. I set a scorching pace once we had reached Lamuney and I was back in Thangsing in record time. My own reasoning was that I had taken a pain killer for back pain earlier, so I wanted to reach home before the effect of the pain killer subsided – stupid I know but this worked! I was back in Thangsing before my back could start aching again. Upon reaching Thangsing though we were told by Tashi that we’d have to leave for Kokchurong the same day. While this was not something I was anticipating ( I was looking forward to some rest after a long day), we marched on, and after another practical sprint down the slopes, I reached Kokchurong. With the benefit of hindsight, I can say that this was the right decision. The trekkers hut at Kokchurong was much warmer and the overall temperature here was also much better. Besides it was next to a river, so water was never a problem. After two consecutive days of worse-than-freezing nights and marathon walks, we finally had some group fun in Kokchurong. The stench created by people’s socks apart, the evening in Kokchurong was well spent with eight of us huddled into one room, playing Uno. Dinner was reasonably all right…I think it was Rajma Chawal so we all ate well and drifted soon into a well deserved slumber. For the first time in three nights I slept sans my hat and jacket, and slept well.
Day-8/9: Kokchurong to Tshoka to Yuksom
Days eight and nine were basically uneventful. On day eight we walked from Kokchurong to Phedang. The trail was much harder than I had expected..it was full of ups and downs (as I’ve learnt all mountains always have). I think it was the general tiredness and the attitude that the trek was over, that I got really exhausted on the way to Phedang. Thankfully, from Phedang the way to Tshoka was much much easier. It was only one thing – descent, and it felt good to not strain the thighs and the calfs anymore. At Tshoka and the chef dazzled us with his best show yet. He made Paneer, Chole, and even managed to bake a Cake for dessert – complete with icing. Needless to say we all had a great time that evening. Next morning we left Tshoka after one last look at the snow capped peaks and I once again set scorching pace to march from Bhakim to Yuksom non-stop and reach almost 90 minutes before anyone else arrived. In the morning I had sprained my back so I wanted to reach home as quickly as possible before the pain-killer’s effect subsided. That’s my usual mentality…lol! A funny incident happened though on the way to Yuksom. On the way, there were three fully loaded Yaks on the narrow trail and I was trekking all alone as I have way ahead of the pack. I couldn’t spot the Yak minders so I decided to do something myself. Somehow I sqeezed past the first yak literally brushing the fauna on the side wall on way. With great finesse and some cooperation from Yak-2 I was past him too. But the third one was simply immovable. Unable to move it out of the way, and unable to go back up the pack, I was stuck between three yaks, very much part of their world. For several minutes I exchanged flirtatious stares with Yak-3 and on one occasion I even raised my hiking pole to shoo it away, but when it waved its horns at me in response, I knew he was in love with me and wasn’t letting me go anywhere! After just sitting there for several minutes I started yelling for the Yak minder…and the idiot was only a few meters away behind a bush eating tobacco! Ergo, he obliged and the Yak obliged too, and I was once again on my way home – safe and feeling loved. The big motivation to reach Yuksom asap was also to avoid the mad rush that would ensue for the bathroom once everyone arrived. Not that it helped though…being the first one I realised the water wasn’t heated up, and I had to bath in ice cold water! So much for the sprint! Anyways, back in Yuksom we all went out for a great dinner and though the food was ordinary, the time spent with the group in a relaxed atmosphere was something to cherish. Next morning we were to return to our loved ones, we were to tell them the stories and fabulous tales of our adventure. Next morning we were to return to civilization!
