To be frank, I was
pleasantly surprised by the quality of the 3rd-AC coach of the
Humsafar Express. Perhaps because it is a relatively new train with new
coaches, the train was fairly clean. What surprised me even more were the
modern sanitary facilities like a jet-spray and a hand wash! The coach also had
a feature of displaying the station which we were approaching, like the metros.
It seemed like fiction! On the return journey, we were booked in a sleeper
class coach, which was more ‘real’ – more like what I had expected on train
journeys. I shall tell you more about it at a later stage.
As per schedule, we were
supposed to reach NJP at 4.30 AM while our pick-up was at 9.30 AM. The train seemed
to have understood my apprehension about having to spend five hours at a
railway station and hence, by the time we reached the station, it was 9’o
clock. Feeling an urgent need to use the washroom upon alighting, I was
directed by the station staff to the washrooms near the second-class waiting
room. While in the queue, I saw another person standing guard close to a
toilet. I clearly understood why when my turn came – the toilet doors had no
bolt on the inside! Having asked my friend to be with the luggage in the
waiting area, I had nobody to guard while I was at my business. That was when I
decided to resort to the universal code of coughing, whistling and singing! This
code came in handy at our camp site in Sandakphu as well. There is another
fairly interesting story about that campsite. But then, we will have to get
there slowly.
We met some of our
co-trekkers over breakfast at a modest hotel outside the station.
Post-breakfast, we set off in three vehicles towards Jowbari (or Jaubhari), our
base camp. My friend, Naman (he personally asked me to mention names – his
name, at the least) and I were grouped with four others from IIM-A along our
journey. I found it unique that a group of young men and women should choose a
trek as their grad-trip than perhaps getting drunk in Goa or a road-trip to
Ladakh – things which are trendy. One of them is a pretty good singer and he
sang along most of the Rafi and Kishore Kumar’s songs which were played during
the drive.
The setting was perfect
– beautiful music, cool wind and majestic mountains. What was missing was,
perhaps, coffee. Those mountains can silence us into introspection. Reflecting, I
realized how insignificant we are. Yet, we humans bore through mountains to
create tunnels and roads, stamping our authority on nature. However, would we
have been able to do something had nature willed against it? All it takes are a
few seconds for any earthquake or landslide to destroy all those symbols of human
conquest, along with our ego!
The journey was pretty
uneventful and by the time we reached Jaubhari, it was late afternoon. Fog
was setting in and the weather was turning cold, prompting us to wear multiple
layers of clothing. We were let off for a while to socialize, call up home and
rest. I spent time looking at the mountains till they disappeared behind the
veil of fog, trying to understand what I was looking for on this trek.
Here, we met our trek
leader, Sushant. Along with him was Karthik as part of the Green Trails, a
highly commendable initiative by India Hikes. The idea is to collect any waste,
plastic especially, which we come across along our trek, in the “Eco-Bags”
which were given to us and deposit them at the next camp for disposal. Thus, we leave the mountains cleaner than they were when we entered
them. Over tea, we were given our health cards and our BP, pulse and oxygen
readings were taken. For the next six days, our pulse and oxygen readings would
be taken thrice a day – in the morning, upon arrival at a camp and in the
evening. What caused anxiety was the fact that in the health card, it was
written that any parameter below a certain level mandated immediate evacuation.
Everytime the oximeter was put on to take my readings, I sincerely prayed that the score was favorable, just like while waiting for results of an exam!
We were served hot soup,
the first of the many delights that we were served through the trek, and
Sushant explained the itinerary in some detail, with special stress on the
no-smoking and no alcohol clause. There was also a mini ice-breaker session. An
interesting observation about our batch is that the youngest member was 11
while the oldest was 52 years old. Dinner was good as well. Perhaps one reason
why I would recommend India Hikes is the amazing food that they serve.
Throughout the trek, at all camps, we were served quality food, not to forget
the sweet dish and ‘hot drink’ (no euphemism there – we were provided Bournvita
or ginger water!).
I was surprised to find
myself happily going off to sleep at around 9’o clock, unlike in the hostel,
where an average day ends at 1’o clock in the morning. I went to sleep
wondering if the ensuing week would reset my biological clock to timings which my
parents would be proud of!
The next morning, after
a moderately heavy breakfast, we were set to begin our trek. With backpacks,
shoes and trek poles, we looked professional. Through the clouds, we caught a fleeting
glimpse of the snow-capped Himalayas, beckoning us and off, we were.
To be continued…
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