so i left most of my stuff behind at base camp, never to be used.....took just one extra pair of clothes for next 7 days, and bare essentials like brush, paste, tissues ( we worshipped the tissues later for their multiple purposes) ...and some essential stuff.
still the bag felt heavy...but what else could i remove!!??!!!! the instructor picked up my bag during weight check....and strictly told me to remove atleast 1 kg more of stuff from it. i stared at him open-mouthed....what else could i POSSIBLY remove?!!! i threw off the raincoat, and replaced it with a simple rain sheet. removed a cream, and few wet-wipes. thats it that was ALL i could remove then.
the atmosphere was serious because today SP 33 didnt have to do the morning exercise. they needed their energy for the first campsite reaching....two new members were added to my gang....siddharth and vaidyanathan...:) two of a kind again....my gang had some unique members for sure!! sid is the quiet guy...but whenever he says something its usually a clean-bowled wicket. probably the most genuine and understanding person. ONLY second to Vaidyanathan! a.k.a -- captain. petrol. never knew why these guys called him petrol....Vaidy is genuine. no pretence. and TOTAL PATIENCE....even if the topic of the joke would be him. sorry guys, no matter how much fun u make, of Vaidy, u cannot crack his inner core! :)
so finally. the trek began...with walkingggg........and walkinggggggg....and climbing....exhaustive pathway to GRAHAN. the next camp. this was supposed to be a cakewalk...people said this was the easiest trek amongst all. i wouldnt agree!! hell my lungs didnt cooperate....i didnt have body ache or anything, but yeah stamina failed me....dh held my hand while we walked, and my gangies waited for me to catch up and more...it was fun...the forest pathway was breathtaking.
it was steep then flat, then steep again....and then STEEEEEP STEEEP STEEEPPP never ending spiral which was so exhausting....just when i thought about sitting down in the middle of the trail and never getting up, few people up the line shouted "we see the camp!!!" music to my ears frankly...
saw the YHAI banner and rushed..with wobbly feet to the top....and the welcome sight of many tents and a beautiful clearing between snow capped peaks welcomed me...
just threw my stuff in the tent and flopped down there...exhausted....but happy.
hmm....shortcut to hell level one DONE..hahahhaa....and they said todays trek was supposed to be "easy". i wondered whether it would be too embarassing to leave from here and go back to baase camp, quitting. becuse it was no way easy for me to have reached GRAHAN camp....kept my feelings hidden under a smile. soon had tea again....me and my gang found our spot on a fallen tree trunk...excellent view to sit and sip tea. and maggie noodles...the best variety available at every campsite....
who thought noodles would be luxury one day!
i watched as some enthusiastic people played "virtual volleyball" ....it was a game we deviced, where without an actual ball, two teams just pretend to throw the ball naming someone from the oppposite team...and that person within seconds has to say another name....if not, then the other team gets a point. sounded stupid to me....more of a stay-alert kinda game. but then i joined in!! and they made me captain of my team....i was like....lets give this a try!! it was FUNNNN because my name's so unusual, the opposite team members couldnt get it! for pete's sake why cant people remember "nishma"....i got all sorts of POINTS for my team because they shouted "nishiima" "nimisha" and what not!!! FUNTIME :) who thought playing a stupid game at GRAHAN base camp would be so much fun! :)
before reaching campsite we passed through the actual small town of GRAHAN ....nestled amongst trees on the sloping mountain side....lots of sheep, wooden homes, brightly painted walls....simple mountain people busy with everyday work....
so again....tea, dinner, timepass, fun and laughter routine....by this time the cold had increased quite a bit....and we were handed out sleeping bags and a warm blanket per head....after which Bournvita and lights-off....
while resting and shivering in the tent, around 11 we got a HUGE scare...someone started shouting outside the tent...the shouting continued and the camp leader went out.
apparently, some poor guy from the last group of trekkers couldnt make it to the higher camp....and was severely ill on way....few local people had climbed all the way from Kasol to Grahan to look for him....it was scary. they had stretcher ready, and when they found out there was no sign of the guy here as well, they announced they would be going further up the mountains in search of the guy. gave me shivers....night time, how would these people climb the trail in dark and find out the poor guy....and how would they bring him back? what had happened to him? was the next day's trek so difficult?....should i back out now? all of us were scared due to this. finally around 3 hours later in the night, i heard noises again and we saw that those people had managed to rescue the poor guy from the jungles...and got him on the stretcher. he vomitted and all....these people rested a while at GRAHAN then continued to descend to the lower camps with the guy on the stretcher....i shivered thinking of all those steep pathways where they would actually have to carry the stretcher with that sick guy on it....
this nightly incident scared the wits out of all of us....the atmosphere was solemn next day....
who knew what we had in store next...
xoxo
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