Why You should Trek to the Mountains???
Tags: Himalayas, Mountains, Trekking, Solo Travel, Traveling

2020 was the year of staying home and for people like me who couldn’t stay at a place for more than a month, it was a punishment. With travels banned and borders closed, we were forced to confine ourselves to the walls. Months passed; things hardly changed. The situation improved towards the end of the year and that’s when I decided to go away from the walls, away from everything that limited my vision, my soul and my thoughts. Being from the east coast and growing up seeing the unending seas and falling in love with them to dreaming about the mighty Himalayan mountains, I have always faced this conundrum when asked whether I love the sea or the mountains more, and my answer has always been the same, its not the seas or the mountains, its mother nature, pure, pristine, calm, mighty, strong and beautiful. It’s like given to choose between your organs, which one do you need more? How could one like one part more and the other less? We as mere humans fail to understand that it’s not the organs it’s the soul that drives the mind and the heart, likewise for a nature lover, it’s not about the mountains, seas, deserts or any other wild landscape, its the soul, it’s the beauty of mother nature that drives the spirit of a traveler.

So, towards the end of the year when post-pandemic travelling was picking up, the mountains called I left.

While scrolling through the India hikes website, I stumbled upon the Bramatal trek photos, did some internet research, and felt good about it. I booked the date for 29th December so that I will be high on 1st Jan-12,250 ft. high.

Little did I know: “what you seek is seeking you”.

I reached Rishikesh two days early and went on solo hiking to nearby places, these two days had its own set of freshness. Mighty mountains, serene Ganges and hot tea helped me forget my past, in a way it detoxed me from all the city life and corporate stress. All-day hiking, I did thousands of conversations with myself. I met a few people, who had come to natures lap searching for peace. Some of them became friends, though for a very short time.

29th Dec:

Reaching Base Camp:

India Hikes team had arranged a cab for us, so without delay, we boarded and left for Loha-Jung, the basecamp for Brahmatal journey.

“Lohajung, as the locals say, is the place where Goddess Parvati had a war (jung) with the demon, Lohasur. Hence, the name, which translates to war with Lohasur.”

We were a group of 21 people, some of them had come in groups and few of them were solo like me. After a brief introduction, most of them fell asleep being sleep deprived from all the excitements the night before. One hour into the journey our vehicle stopped, roads were jam-packed and news came that roads have been blocked due to a landslide. Cursing the news, in a half-sleep state, I peeked out of the glass window. With mountains on both sides and the cold wind , the view even in that jampacked road was far better than any skyscraper.

People started introducing themselves, they were- an economist pursuing a doctorate, data scientists, accountants, a journalist working as a creative producer, a nutritionist, software engineers, photographer, a group of friends from a business background, and to my surprise I was the only mechanical engineer in there and they were from all parts of the country. It was like a mini India travelling to the mountains. We discussed each other’s interests like movies, books, and conundrums like why Indian parents are afraid of sending their grownups for an adventure.

A couple of hours passed, agitated we asked our driver bhaiya: “when are we leaving?”, and every time, his answer would we like “in half an hour”, And after many “half an hours”(almost 4 hours) we restarted for Loha-Jung without much halting. The roads were dangerously winding but picturesque. Like a silver lining, the landslide made the group cohesive and the people who had meet hours before for the first time were starting to become friends.

Passing through sinuous valleys and serpentine rivers we reached the base camp late at night; we were welcomed by our trek leader.

THE BEGINNING(30th Dec):

With all the excitement, we woke up to a beautiful sunrise from behind the mountains in the basecamp. The Himalayas looking like a queen adorned in golden crown!! I was hooked to the view right from the first ray piercing through the mountain silhouette till the sun was full up in the open spreading its brightness all over the valley. I hadn’t seen anything as beautiful as that in years, the view was so rejuvenating that I wanted time to stand still, freeze that moment. But me being mere a human with no control over time, the sun rose high up and dawned the start of another day. If the earth had a pulse it rose through the mountains, creating their bold silhouette. To my eye, its peaks are the green line of a doctor’s graph. I saw those rocks at dawn, those slopes that give home to so much life, a foundation for trees and shrubs, grass and ferns, as the sun rose, I knew it would be a good day… I just knew.

After having a delicious hot breakfast in the cold weather and after standard instructions by our trek leader we started our trek towards Bekaltal camp. We were accompanied by two professional guides along with our trek leader.

Passing through big rocks surrounded by rhododendron trees, we didn’t realize when we entered the forest, The landscape was immensely beautiful flowing streams in between tall trees, we walked on the rhododendron filled forest trail. And with every step I was taking I was physically entering the inner Himalayas. I was starting to forget where I had come from. I was starting to forget all those thoughts which were bothering me a couple of days back.

Our Trek leader halted us near a stream and asked us to deepen our face inside the flowing stream.

I did that, I dipped my face inside the stream, the water was icy cold and the experience was exhilarating. The stream was so chilly that, under normal conditions, one could not differentiate whether its a burning or a freezing sensation. It made me think how extreme things, though standing on opposite sides of life seems to give us similar experience.

We reached our first camp: Bekaltal.

Once we reached, our trek leader made us do some fun-filled exercises and stretching activities.

We roamed around a bit, saw the sunset and went for dinner. Apart from the delicious dinner, we were served folk tales and pahadi stories about bekaltal by our senior guide(Who was a wonderful person). And between all these excitement, fun, and positivity going around, the group of people from different walks of life and different part of the country who hardly knew each other couple of days back were starting to form a human connection called friendship.

31st Dec: The beginning of the last day of the year started with the Sun rays kissing the forest trees before spreading over the ground. Our all energetic trek leader was banging everyone’s tent for a pulse check and asking us to go for hot herbal tea else if we delay we have to drink ice tea. After the tea and breakfast, we gathered for the update about our next climb. In his opinion, it would be of similar difficulty to that of the previous day.

An hour into our hike, people had emptied their bottles, it was a complete ascent. We kept on walking with intermittent breaks. Every time we asked our trek leader how long to the next camp, he kept replying 10minutes more, that 10minutes went on for 30/40 minutes, It took us 4 hours more to reach. The road was challenging, the ascent was increasing with every step, and that day we learned 30 minutes even on an atomic clock is equivalent to 10 minutes (said by your trek leader) on mountains. When we reached the camp (Tilandi -11,120 ft), the view was mesmerizing, It was sunny but chilly winds brought the temperature further down. After the usual warm-up and stretching exercises, we planned to host our national flag and sing the national anthem at last sunset of 2020 on Tilandi top and we did.

Tired, exhausted and unwilling to brave the harsh icy winds, we all slept early in our tents cozying ourselves inside the sleeping bag and at 00 Hours we wished each other shouting from within, The tents were close, everyone heard everyone.

The best thing about that day was the feeling when we reached the camp after that torturous ascent and the view of the sunset that evening, bright blue sky changed as it gave away different shades of orange and red, I had never seen so many different shades of these colours and eventually, the sun disappeared, and the sky turned a shade of dark blue like the stormy sea before turning completely dark. The white clouds cleared their way for the moon to shine over us. What a beautiful day, what a beautiful night.

John Keats very aptly said, ‘the poetry of the earth is never dead’ and I totally second his thoughts.

New Year on a High!!:

Morning in the mountains are early, and sipping hot tea at that altitude gives you a heavenly feeling. After refreshment, we marched our way towards the summit- The Brahmatal Top.

The trail to the top was not that difficult per se but one has to be very cautious at times while taking every step, this was a complete ridge walk with so many ups and downs, narrow strip to walk on with steep slopes on either side. if you are not careful, you risk either twisting your ankle or worse-one slip and you will fall into the depths not be found ever. The sun was pleasant, the cold breeze with snow blankets somewhere in between. The rocky trails were, as usual beautiful and we took some four hours to reach the top. The sky was clear and the view was magical, one would wish that those views never go out of sight. The snowclad peaks, the rocky inclines, the peaks with forest greenery, we could see all of this in a single view. Great views of Mt. Trishul which looks like Gods own trident stood majestically at 7000ft above sea level and Mt. Nandaghunti among the other massive mountains.

“Mountains, according to the angle of view, the season, the time of day, the beholder’s frame of mind, or any one thing, can effectively change their appearance. Thus, it is essential to recognize that we can never know more than one side, one small aspect of a mountain.”

― Haruki Murakami, A Wild Sheep Chase

Photos taken that day would only describe a fraction of the actual beauty it was. Our Trek leader asked us to sit separately on that top and just ponder upon the thoughts that crossed our minds in between all those beauty and positivity, he asked us to write a letter to ourselves. We did all that. And after spending some hours, we started our journey back. For the first time in many years, my heart and mind were shouting in unison, Don’t Go. Just don’t leave all this. See these beautifully imperfect mountains being a silent witness to millions of years standing unapologetic and spreading its elegance. Only if we humans could tap their wisdom.

After several calls from our leader, we left.

The best thing about that day apart from the view and the positive energy flowing through us was the indomitable spirit of one of our friend. That day while most of us were excited about reaching the summit one friend was going through excruciating physical pain, she could have given up and returned, but she didn’t, she kept on pushing and with the help of our trek guides, she reached the Top and was in tears(happy tears). I think the view and the emotions of reaching the summit made it through her eyes.

“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.”

-Muhammad Ali

The journey Back:

The Sun was setting and in between the forest trails, singing songs we returned to our next camp. And next morning we left for the basecamp, reached and freshened up.

With a heavy heart, next-day early morning we returned to Rishikesh.

We again met for the last time for dinner. People were sad. For me, It was heartbreaking to see the most talkative and friendly person in our group hardly saying anything. She was leaving that night. I came to see the beauty of mountains and be happy searching myself amidst them and I did, but I also got to meet and befriend these beautiful people, these group of friends were kind of a bonus package of happiness for me. After dinner, we all bid one final adieu and left.

The most beautiful thing about that night was the Group. It’s wonderful how we humans operate. A week before I hardly knew anyone and that night my heart was unwilling to let go of those people, maybe it was the effect of the mountains -it wanted the group to stay and continue the journey together. Those waves of emotions that night took me six years back when I was bidding a final buy to my hostel, my friends with whom I had been sharing my life for the past four years. If I had the power I would have given all my energy to a final try at stopping time in that moment. But you know it didn’t happen and life happened again and in a couple of days, I was back in my office ready to hustle in the city. But this time with a different energy, with a different lesson and accompanied by all the learnings I accumulated trekking in the mountains. Nothing much bothers me anymore if something does, I transcend to meet a part of myself which stayed in that mountain, in the top summit, and meeting and talking to that part of me calms me down.

Learning from the mountains:

1. Modesty & Humility: Mountains make us feel small and in all the right way, It teaches us that unlike artificial things, its unpredictable, uncontrolled, wild and free. Its tells us that there is no template to be followed, no rule books to be adhered to, it’s natural and so are we. So without classifying everything in terms of good and bad, big and small, perfect and imperfect, success and failure, Just lead a life free from these binary judgments, Let the natural energy of life flow through us.

2.Its as much about the journey as the destination: We took two days to reach the summit and we stayed for two hours in the summit. When I look back, The destination was as beautiful as the journey and I have more memories about the journey through those trails that the Summit. So in every challenge which we decide to take in life, if we don’t enjoy the journey we will either fail to reach the destination or even if we reach it, we will fail to realize the real value and importance of that destination.

“Everybody wants to reach the peak, but there is no growth on the top of a mountain. It is in the valley that we slog through, the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak.”

– Andy Andrews

3.The Road Less Travelled: Sometimes If you aspire to discover something different, something new, it’s important to find your own path your own trail. else if you take the regular one, you will only know what the world already knows. Sometimes routes, where we feel lost at the moment, will lead to beautiful destinations we never thought existed.

“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.”

— T. S. Eliot

4.Respecting small things in life: Most beautiful moments in life do not always come at a cost. If you want to know about this, you need to go to those woods and have a cup of tea. In my case apart from the tea, it was the heavenly breakfast I was served there.

5.Being Original: When I observed the mountains, some covered with trees, some snow-clad and some rugged rocky. Some were big, some small. Some were easy to cross and some were difficult and risky. But all in all, they were what they were, They stood unapologetically tall in their own form and spreading their own beauty in their own way, and in all these millions of years, they didn’t give a damn about what someone thinks about them. Perfect or imperfect, they stood there as they were and witnessed the passage of time. We humans on the other hand as we grow up and in pursuit of achieving something risk ourselves of getting influenced, Most of us fear to be original, with all our insecurities we fear of being vulnerable. Mountains taught me that its ok to be imperfect, its ok to have insecurities, it’s ok to make mistakes, but it’s important to keep going, it’s important to be genuine of what we are, and its important to be unapologetically original of our true self, only then we could feel the true essence of life, only then we can immerse our self in its purity. Nature in itself is imperfect and it’s natural to be imperfectly beautiful, maybe that’s why we humans are yet to discover any perfect geometric figure in nature.