Leaves crunching, birds chirping, everyone laughing, bells ringing, snow falling. We heard, felt, touched, saw, and most importantly smelt a lot this past week on our epic Himalayan trek. We spent four nights camping on the mountain and five days trekking up and back. It was a trip full of extremes. At points we were in shorts and t shirts sweating and slightly dreading the crazy mountain death star and at other times were bundled in all our layers and still couldn’t get warm enough- even with hot water bottles!
To initially paint a picture we were more than well hooked up on this trek. We carried only our day packs as the rest of our gear and supplies for the week was hauled on ponies and jots (a local “hybrid” animal of a cow and yak). Our whole trek was incredibly supported. We had everything prepared and planned for us from a poop tent down to morning tea in bed.
After waking up and having a leisurely breakfast and time to have hot showers we drove to the trail-head and began our trek. Winding through a quaint local town we walked about an hour before reaching the actual entrance to the Kanchenjunga National Park. And uphill we began winding around mountains and over streams all the while surrounded by beautiful tree covered mountains which later looked like hills in comparison to what we saw. The first day was a challenge. The trail has a lot of ups and downs which was hard for me to adjust to. I would have preferred all uphill but I learned to embrace the downhills when we got them. Our first night at camp was really fun. Jake, Julia, Shayna, and myself (Lily) all bundled up together in one tent surrounding Margaret who had the guitar Arthur so kindly lent us. We had a wonderful jam session and belted out a little show for the leaders who were in a nearby tent. We enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by our amazing chefs on the trip.
Day two of the trek was another uphill battle. Again winding around up and down the switchbacks and crossing over an epic river valley – we eventually made it to what became a familiar setting. We stayed at this camp site the second night and the fourth night. After another long day of hiking we were all able to have a solid amount of afternoon time to take naps, journal, talk, and simply take in the amazing panoramic views. Unzipping our tents you could see the rolling hills that didn’t even have an end point and behind them a view of a somewhat uninhabited wooden town. Further on you were rewarded with a sneak peak of the epic Himalayan snow capped mountain range. Food and relaxation was much needed; after dinner we all enjoyed some quality group time and zonked out.
Awoken by our now typical morning tea we all got ready for what was, in my opinion, the hardest day of the trek. The third trekking day and final push uphill to our camp site at 12,000 ft. Unfortunately, Shayna was not feeling so hot and we really got to put the ponies to work when she got on one of them. The first snowfall of 2012 for all of us was a peaceful gift on our hike up. We made it and immediately all found the tiny fire. Huddled together in a store around a fire we were drained and freezing. Once we de-thawed and our bags arrived we all changed into our warmest and put our down sleeping bags to good use. Another delicious dinner and we were all off to bed.
The fourth day we woke up before sunrise for a morning trek to our highest peek. To summit a mountain for the sunrise- that was our goal. And what a challenge it was! Shayna stayed back for this part since she was still feeling really sick so the other six of us headed up. This was absolutely the hardest part of the trek. At 4:30 in the morning, body still sore from the days past and not yet awake, stomach completely empty, brain still in dream land, and plenty of inner daemons telling me “I cant do this”- I was definitely in Struggle City. With Avy behind me as my main cheerleader it was a rough way up there. But we finally did it. We all made it up and summited the mountain. At the top we were both rewarded and a bit disappointed. There were countless Tibetan prayer flags and a stone prayer site. There were a lot of clouds and it was a pretty foggy day so we didn’t have the crystal clear view of the mountain range we had all been expecting. But for me it didn’t matter. And the views were still incredible. For some reason the moment of arrival and completion mixed with the all around beauty we were fortunate enough to see made me a bit emotional. I have never experience a moment like that so I take away a lot from the top of that mountain.
And then our decent began. We had two more days of trekking and one more night to camp out. There was some ice crossing and frequent breaks. We stuck together and went slow and made it down to our camp site. Before finally making it to camp we paused to hang Tibetan prayer flags in front of a Monastery. The day ended with some chill time, an amazing dinner, and then a cuddle session in a cozy tent with a fun few games of Mafia.
Our last day of the trek was filled with reflection and wonder. Making it down with a packed lunch along the way we were rewarded back at our snazzy hotel with hot showers and more tea!
The trek was wonderful. Amazing for so many different reasons. Breathtaking, beautiful, refreshing, calming, challenging, a bummer, and fun for me.
Lots of love sent home!
Lily