The annual National
Himalayan Trekking Expedition this year was a great experience, according to
the participants, for multiple reasons. Right from bad weather to other
unforeseen challenges, the group experienced it all to call it an experience of
a lifetime.
Speaking about the
expedition, Pramod Kamat, President, GHA, says, “We left from Margao on May 12
and reached Delhi the next day after which we went to Manali. The weather was
bad and it was raining. We travelled to our base camp which was 7 kms away from
the town of Manali, at Bahang, via jeeps. When going on high altitude
expeditions in the Himalayas, one is supposed to spend up to 3 days acclimatising
– the process in which an individual adjusts to a gradual change in its
environment. After spending 2-3 days acclimatising, we started our actual expedition
with a trek to Solang Nala – a stretch of 14 kms at an altitude of 8400 ft
above sea level. After making the night halt, we started trekking to Kothi the
next morning. The steep slope was tiring but the team performed well as we
trekked for about 5-6 hours in bad weather. After halting at Kothi for the
night, we started trekking to our final destination – Bhrigu Lake.”
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According to
the trekkers, the trek route from Kothi to Bhrigu Lake was full of snow and
challenges. As a result, only 17 out of 50 could make it to the final summit
before heading back. Chandresh Naik, with around 11 Himalayan treks under his
belt, was one of the 17 trekkers who made it to the summit point. Speaking
about his experience, Chandresh says, “While mountaineering, one should be
prepared to face the challenges that the mountains and the weather may pose.
The weather changes almost every minute in the Himalayas. After reaching the
summit point, we could not wait for more than 5 minutes, as the weather started
getting foggy and it started snowing. Therefore, we started descending and had
to take with us those who were still climbing towards the summit.” Aishwarya Joshi, another trekker,
recollects, “While returning, part of our group faced a hail storm midway during our trekking
expedition in the Himalayas. Around 15 people were stuck, leading to a tense
situation. However, our able leaders got everyone back safely.”
Another
challenge crossed paths with the group while returning to the base camp. Prabhu
recalls, “We were returning from Gulaba to our base camp when we realised that,
in Manali, the public transport was on strike and hence there were no buses
plying on that route. The group was very tired but had to trek to the nearest
point from where we got a government bus to our base camp in Bahang. Since we
weren’t in the condition to trek with our luggage from there, as a last resort,
we called Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who, within no time, sent two
vehicles from the nearest military base, to transport us to the bus station.”
After
spending some quality time in Delhi, the team was heading back to Goa when one
final problem showed up. Around 300-400 members of the Gujjar community were
protesting in Rajasthan and had blocked the main rail route. As a result, the
train that was travelling from Mathura to Rajkot had to be diverted via Jhansi
which resulted in a delay of about 11 hours. However, once in Goa, the group
was relieved and elated to be home after overcoming a series of challenges.
Joshi, who was also a part of an expedition to Kush Kalyan plateau in
Uttarakhand in 2013, adds, “The overall experience was too good as the
arrangements done ensured convenience to all.” Whoever said that “bad
experiences make for great stories” sure hit the nail on the head.
