By 8 pm, everybody was famished. Lunch had been light, remember? We unpacked in the three rooms the eleven of us shared, and headed down to the restaurant of the KMVN hotel we were staying at for an early dinner. After dinner, most of us called home to talk to parents, children, spouses left behind. We wouldn’t have access to a telephone for the next 4 days till we reached Budhi camp where there was a satellite phone and that one would cost 32 rupees per minute.
After dinner Sahji called a meeting to give us instructions and details for the 1st day’s trek. Next morning we would be transported by jeeps to Mangti about 45 kms from Dharchula. From Mangti the 14-km trek to Gala would begin. It would not be a hectic first day. But it could get complicated by landslides between Dharchula and Mangti. There had been continuous landslides for the past few days. If we came across a particularly serious one, we would have to start walking much earlier.
The mules we had rented for our luggage were stabled at Mangti. If we had to start walking early, it would be with the luggage. I had just about managed to lug it around in Delhi. The thought of hauling it for an extra 10 or so mile, on steep roads was extremely daunting. My trek would get over the very first day, it seemed. Added to this was the fact that, after Mangti, the mules would directly go to the 2nd camp at Budhi. So we had to separately pack a sack for 2 days that we would have to carry ourselves on the way to Budhi anyway.
The remaining hour before bedtime was spent in frenzied preparations for the next day. Sometime after midnight, it started pouring. I creaked open the door to the balcony and watched the Kali roiling and churning in the faint light reflecting from the clouds. I went back to bed praying for the rain to stop before morning. But anticipation, and a slight apprehension, kept me tossing and turning the whole night through.
After dinner Sahji called a meeting to give us instructions and details for the 1st day’s trek. Next morning we would be transported by jeeps to Mangti about 45 kms from Dharchula. From Mangti the 14-km trek to Gala would begin. It would not be a hectic first day. But it could get complicated by landslides between Dharchula and Mangti. There had been continuous landslides for the past few days. If we came across a particularly serious one, we would have to start walking much earlier.
The mules we had rented for our luggage were stabled at Mangti. If we had to start walking early, it would be with the luggage. I had just about managed to lug it around in Delhi. The thought of hauling it for an extra 10 or so mile, on steep roads was extremely daunting. My trek would get over the very first day, it seemed. Added to this was the fact that, after Mangti, the mules would directly go to the 2nd camp at Budhi. So we had to separately pack a sack for 2 days that we would have to carry ourselves on the way to Budhi anyway.
The remaining hour before bedtime was spent in frenzied preparations for the next day. Sometime after midnight, it started pouring. I creaked open the door to the balcony and watched the Kali roiling and churning in the faint light reflecting from the clouds. I went back to bed praying for the rain to stop before morning. But anticipation, and a slight apprehension, kept me tossing and turning the whole night through.
No comments:
Post a Comment