01 August – Budhi-Gunji Track – Part 4 – At the Gunji Camp

We were all ravenous by the time we stripped off socks and shoes and plonked on the bed. Most of us had eaten very little at lunch. I think the altitude gain and exertion had temporarily depressed our hunger pangs and now we were famished. We opened our sacks and gave a pretty good imitation of the seven wild brothers in Satte Pe Satta (Remember the Amitabh Bachchan movie?). For a while, all you could hear was the rustling of bags and crunching and munching and “Gimme”. I guess that’s the advantage of trekking with guys you’ve grown up with. We were totally at ease with each other. Everyone ate but for Sushrut. His headache had worsened and he was resting in the hut next door. He was quite tired but couldn’t sleep.

By dinner time, he was still tossing and turning. Sudhir Uncle asked him to at least eat a little rice, since he had not eaten the whole day. We went into the dinner hut. There was papad, soya chunk gravy (we had it almost every day, actually) and some wonderful kheer. After dinner, Sahji took Sushrut to the camp doctor. Gunji is the camp where people going to Manasarovar have their final medical checkup. So they have one in-house doctor and a decent supply of meds.

The doctor checked Sushrut and found that his BP had shot up to an alarming 180/100! Diagnosis - Acute Mountain Sickness. It was because of the altitude, especially the sudden gain at Chhialekh. The doctor gave him 2 tablets and predicted that he’d be fine the next morning coz by then he’d get acclimatized. We were worried and skeptical about that and wondered if he’d have to stay behind when we went to Kalapani the next day. I then remembered that Sushrut had had the same terrible headaches at Leh too, only in that case they wrongly got blamed on a migraine attack.

As we went to sleep, I prayed that Sushrut would get better by morning because I didn’t want to leave him behind. I didn’t want him to miss out on the excitement. And it just wouldn’t be as enjoyable for me without him.

01 August – Budhi-Gunji Track – Part 3 – Garbyang to Gunji

This part of the trek was lengthy but nothing to give you butterflies in the stomach. Just keep on walking steadily in a rhythm. We reached Seti by 1:30, had some lunch and pushed off. I did not much feel like eating. Sushrut had a terrible headache. He is prone to migraines and often feels nauseous during a bout. So he had a nap instead of lunch and I woke him up when it was time to move on. He drank a small bottle of Glucon-D and began walking after splashing some water on his face.

The route was scenic and the trees gave off a pleasant piney aroma. The sand by the river looked bone dry and white. We were walking almost in 2s or 3s and Sushrut and I were pretty much alone. But there was nothing scary about it. Imagine the thrill – to be able to look up at the vast open sky, the tall green mountains, hear a few birds twittering, the river gushing close by, feel the crunch of dry twigs and gravel underfoot, and not have a single soul around! As if all of nature’s splendour were on a display just for your pleasure! It was one of the best parts of the trek for me.

By 3:30 pm, we were just about 4-5 kms away from Gunji camp. At one point, the Kali turns right and Kuti begins to keep you company. Gunji is situated on the confluence of the two rivers. In the distance, I could see the camp at Gunji. It’s across the river. But there’s only one bridge to reach it. So you keep walking and leave the camp behind on the other side, make a U-turn, cross the bridge and then cover the same distance on the other side and walk down to the camp. It seems like such a waste of time, perhaps because you keep seeing the camp but reach it after almost 1 and 1/2 hrs.

To enter Gunji, you climb a steep slope. There’s no grip to the soil and the road tilts at an angle outside as if it’s trying to make you fall into the river. In the middle of it, stood two ITBP jawans with a canteen of warm water and a flask of tea and those crunchy fat potato chips. We were eager to reach the camp but had some of everything out of respect for their kindness. They are so helpful and go out of their way to make you feel welcome that you cannot help but reciprocate. Almost all of us had now converged upon the route and made our way into camp together. Fat droplets of rain began to pitter-patter on our heads giving us added incentive to race the last few meters down. It was 5 pm on the dot when we entered the camp.

01 August – Budhi-Gunji Track – Part 2 – Chhialekh to Garbyang

There is a canteen run by KMVN at the top of Chhialekh. My aunt Lata and Pallavi had reached ahead of us coz of the horses. They were already ensconced in the tiny kitchen frying puris. They said they preferred the toasty warm room to the cold outside. I was happy to help – by eating. Hot puris, potato subzi, pickle, steaming mugs of tea. Heaven! Especially since it was pretty cold up here. There was a strong breeze.

Like a fool, I had not thought to carry a windcheater. The guy who ran the canteen had a few woolen caps for sale. I bought one and pulled it low over my ears. I wore the raincoat in place of a windcheater and we moved on towards the meadow.
There was an ITBP check post as usual. They thoroughly examined all our documents and waved us on. The next few kms to Garbyang were a walk in the clouds. I felt as if I had died and gone to heaven.

Low clouds, lush green meadows, occasional patches of snow visible in the distance, cows mooing softly, dry firm path and millions of wild flowers. Sahji had said earlier that we would walk in a valley of flowers. But this? This was paradise. I think it would be more appropriate to say I floated down towards Garbyang. There were a few tricky patches, but they did not register much in our euphoric state.

The path goes downwards pretty quickly. Milind pointed out that we’d find it difficult on our way back. But we were not interested in thinking that far. As we neared Garbyang, the path underfoot became slippery, made of white sand and mud. Like chikni mitti.

Garbyang is an ancient picturesque village on the old Indo-Tibet trade route. All the houses have beautifully carved wooden doors and windows. It’s more popular as the ‘sinking village’. Scientific reason for this is the location of the village over glacial lake sediments. The sinking is unique because it is continuous and records show up to 20m of sinking in a span of ten years. There are houses which were originally on the same level and are now on three different levels! We passed another checkpoint ahead of Garbyang and continued towards Seti.

01 August – Budhi-Gunji Track – Part 1 – Budhi to Chhialekh

The next morning dawned cool and fresh. As we looked out from the camp, we saw blue skies sprinkled with gray clouds, and lush green mountains dotted with icy patches of frozen streams. Feeling invigorated, we left camp at sharp 6:45 am after downing glasses of hot bournvita and glucose biscuits.
Today, I decided to get rid of the backpack. I only carried a waist pouch filled with candied sweets, nuts and chunks of crystal sugar. The pockets of my cargo pants bulged with bottles of water and Glucon-D. My raincoat was tied around my waist. But I found it easier to walk this way.

As Sahji had promised, the climb was steep. I could feel the blood pounding at my temples and my breathing grow laboured. There was no let up in the gradient. I paused from time to time, but just for a few moments. I never made the mistake of sitting down; even at the little tea stop midway thru’ the climb. I wasn’t sure that my legs would support me again once I sat down.

On the way we saw colorfully decorated mules, bells jingling around their necks, making their way down the slope.

Pallavi finally asked for the remaining third horse. I believe that riding the horse must be worse punishment on the back and tush. In a way, walking is actually kinder to your body. And I guess I have trouble giving up control of myself and being at the mercy of the horse and groom. So I walked every single km of the trek, never riding the horse once.

As we neared the end of the climb, Sahji caught up with us. He said, “Just a little bit more. Then you will see a meadow full of the most beautiful flowers. Yakeen maniye, saare dukh dard bhool jaaoge”. As we turned the final corner, there was a sign painted in Hindi which said something like – The flower filled valley of Chhialekh awaits you after your strenuous climb. Finally after almost 3 hours of laborious climbing, we reached the Chhialekh meadow at about 9:30 am.

31 July – Part 6 – Preparations for the Next Day

That night we hung up all our jackets and socks and shoes to dry. Our sacks had arrived by mule. We unpacked, pulled out dry clothes to wear. As we packed our bags and prepared for the next day, almost all of us had the same thought, “Will tomorrow be as bad as today?”

Sahji answered that question in the nightly meeting. “Tomorrow,” he began,” we will again cover a distance of 18 kms.” A collective groan went up. “Plus, in the first 3 kms itself, there is an altitude gain of more than 650m”. What? “So, do not attempt any heroics. Take it at an even and steady pace. But do not loiter. Today’s performance left a lot to be desired. It was the first hard day, so let's make an exception this time. But reaching camp at 7 pm is not what I want to see again. 5 pm is the latest, get it?”

“Can we take a break tomorrow?” a voice piped. “Since we have anyway planned for an extra day in our itinerary”. Sahji looked aghast. “The extra day is for emergencies. And every single day is planned thoroughly in advance. This is not some picnic that you can reschedule according to your choice. Tomorrow you start at 6:45 am and reach Gunji at 5 pm. Period!” Feeling properly chastened, we made a beeline for bed immediately.