Climbing a mountain
(Image: Clear view of snow capped Kedarnath , Kedar dome and the Garhwal Himalayan range from atop Mount Chandrashila - Shot Oct 27 2022 ~8am on OnePlus 10Pro)
Ignorance is Bliss
When it comes to trying new things, going in a tad blind helps. It retains a sense of excitement, keeps the experience open for surprises and the mind is free to imagine. Signing on to climb a mountain did not feature on my roster of things to do - till a dear friend brought it up. Did not take much time to decide - the objectives were twin fold - go through a true test of strength and get time with one of my favourite people. The trek to Deoriatal Chandrashila in October sounded scenic , claimed to be easy - moderate and required physical fitness clearance and screenshots of practice runs.
I spent the days after sign up hardly researching the trek . No speaking to trekkers for advice, no reading up on the internet, no staring at videos. I wanted the experience to be untainted and seen from my lens entirely. Our very able trekking partners (IndiaHikes) would take care of logistics and safety so all that I had to do was climb (or that is what I thought). Little did I know it would be one of the toughest things I've done so far, also one of the most rewarding. Pushing oneself physically and mentally and coming out in one piece builds a certain confidence. In Tamil, we call this the "Paathukalaam.." frame of mind (Translates to - I'll handle it) . Yours truly therefore maintains - Ignorance is bliss, naïveté is comforting. Had I known the extent of physical duress this entailed, I doubt if I would have signed up. Sometimes ignorance leads to an unintended leap of faith , a blind trust in abilities and putting oneself in a situation with only one option : Do it - no backing out. (Certainly true in a trek. There is no changing minds mid way. The summit is what you live for now).
That's enough philosophy. Time for the brass tacks.
I am a Sun person. Much like Daenerys Targaryen, my dragons and I don't like the cold North. I like wallowing in sweltering heat. In my previous birth, yours truly must have been some sort of Pagan sun worshipper. It is plain science that all of living things across food chains, in some form of shape or form , are made from the Sun's energy. Just trying to show some appreciation.
I grew up in Trichy, the second hottest place in Tamil Nadu. If the sun is not out for a couple of days and my idli batter does not rise or clothes don't dry to a crisp, I turn gloomy like the clouds in the sky. I'd rather squint through the hot sun than wear sunglasses. For someone who dismisses Bangalore as too cold -the Himalayas and the snow are not glamorous.
Our trek prep involved spending a mini bomb on accessories and paraphernalia we never knew existed. Trek poles, down jackets, water proof gloves, the balaclava (which we called Baklava and later realised is fancy name for a bandit face mask type thing supposed to keep you warm) . The bag-pack looked enough to hold a small human and I imagined I would look like Vikramaditya carrying the Vedalam.
Anyhoo, a checklist and gazillion items later, we were ready. Four women from Singara Chennai, trekking for the first time. All of us workout, run, the works. Surely, all of this should bear fruit now? (Ah! the naïveté again! never fails me)
A couple of flights later, we drove from Rishikesh to the beautiful village of Sari in the Garhwal Himalayas were IndiaHikes welcomed us to their basecamp. En route the 8 hour journey from Rishikesh, we were indoctrinated to the many charms of the Ganga and her branches. The Bhagirathi and Alakananda's confluence was a magical sight - two rivers of different coloured waters mixing as one and flowing together . The many sangams of the Ganga and her tributaries lined the route - filled with tourist cabs, as the path also leads to Badrinath, Kedarnath and other pilgrimage destinations.
Here is the Sangam of the blue Alakananda and the brown Bhagirathi waters.
On reaching Sari, our Trek lead Kevin and our co-trek leads - both locals , Manoj ji and Aditya, showed us Mount Chandrashila, our summit point - which looked a distant dream, quite literally. See picture below. Chandrashila was hardly in sight and looked like it would take a fortnight to reach there when we had 5 days. But the trek promised views of the NandaDevi, so we were pumped. More on the journey in upcoming blogs. For now, look again at our target from base camp.
And, for some vanity, here are the awesome foursome on the banks of the Ganga in Rishikesh (pre-trek look - when our tanned skins were not peeling off our pumpkin sized faces)
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