Mount Machapuchare

I am never the one planning too much or watching any videos on YouTube about the trek I am planning to go to…
Annapurna was no different…
This gives me days of sheer surprise when I get to see sky piercing mountains, jewel blue stream flowing beside my trail and vast vistas ❤️.
Other side of this coin is.. i also go through certain days where I have to drag myself on the trail because I had no idea I will have to trek through multiple uphills and downhills while it pours nice and steady on a muddy trail for 13 hours in a single day 😬 .
And even with all that, I say I would do it all over again and in the very same way…
What makes me wanna do it you ask…
Well, one reason would be this peak you are seeing in the picture – Mount Machapuchare.
While other peaks would hide behind clouds, this one would forever be smiling from the top and in a way kept telling me to keep moving forward, until I reached this place where I could get a eyeful of this mighty beauty and soak into its vastness…
Fell in love with this beauty, the kind of love you dont fall in everyday for, the kind of love you never recover from💕

About older writings

A simple conversation made me want to write this today.

There’s a common experience of re-reading some scribbles you wrote months or years back and saying, “Oh crap!”

I am sure, many of you must have experienced this.

Well, exactly that happened to a friend today. And he said, “You know what Bhakti, I realized that writing about things way down the line after a year or so filters out a lot. If it was important to you, it will stay. Rest everything would vanish after time.”

And in a breath a replied to him which I want to tell everyone who love writing about his/her’s experiences –
How is this sensible to not write what we feel today just because tomorrow we might not feel the same?
Moreover you know, we humans tend to forger every past feeling. We only remember the feelings that stays with & around us till date.
Or else our memory has the tendency to reconstruct itself after a while. We start forgetting the chronology of the events and minute details.
So eventually the memory either eliminates bits and pieces of the experience or it exagerrates the experience so that it looks even more overwhelming today…
Thus killing the real essence of the experience.

And then you start feeling stupid while you read your old piece of writing, as only the words written remembers the experience, the feelings, the detail, the heart of that event but your memory has let it go for some reason…
All you remember is a experience which is trivial & then you proudly smile to yourself & say – There… I have grown up so much since then !!!

Well really?
HAVE YOU?

My first encounter with snowfall…

If Snow-Adventure-Nature-Trip is on your mind…
HIMALAYAS is the answer my friend…

Actually, Himalayas is always on your mind if you have visited it once. And so, almost after 14 months of first visiting them, I finally successfully planned & booked for my next visit to the mighty mountains. This time – it was to see the ROOPKUND.
I said yes for the trek without googling for any pictures or blogs or prerequisites. “Himalayan Trek”, said a friend, “I am in”, I replied.

I started my journey from Pune, traveled in the locals of Mumbai, enjoyed the parathas-n-lassi in Delhi, slept like a child in Kathgodam & was ready for my trek by the time we reached our base camp in Lohajung after a journey which took eternity to come to an end.

It always fascinates me how people from different walks of life gel immediately on such treks. We had quick round of introduction, did unpacking-repacking of luggage, got feel of the erratic weather & heard the do’s & dont’s for trek. Also, we lost connection to electricity right there at the base camp, with very little mobile network to no mobile network later.

Next day we started our journey with heavy backpacks & eyes glowing with enthusiasm of kids going for some trip . The first day tested our strength. It was difficult & it did not get any easier that day. We got tired but we pushed each other. We took pictures, teased each other, took breaks & reached our first Everest -Didna. A beautiful wooden house awaited our presence there. We ate & drank. We played & sang. We went for a walk & collected wood for bonfire & it goes without saying that we shared ghost stories.

We had moments when we doubted ourselves but still the next day got prettier as we started getting accustomed to the climate & the trek . Ali Bugyal was the most beautiful camp site of all- some 15 odd tents in the middle of the huge mountains. Only vast stretch of meadows were visible till the horizon where the skies began.

Watched the sun rise in Ali Bugyal & then we set foot towards our next camp. This was a pleasant trail, a long walk in the lush green meadows to experience the gusty wind at Ghora Lotani & finally to see heavy rainfall & hailstorm at Pathar Nachauni. The trek meals became punishment for us & Maggie gave quick satisfaction to our hungry tummies every now & then. (Bless-the-villagers)

We could see the mountain covered in snow & then in fog that we were supposed to climb, it was going to be a good accent. Next day, it rained on the way. I saw everyone struggle with their backpacks. There was less conversation amongst fellow trekkers,even the mules carrying backpacks were walking slow &  concentrating on the narrow paths & turns. Another group of trekkers crossed us. A girl asked for help & without any hesitation I stayed back with her, helped her & then we moved ahead. Only smiles were exchanged not even names. How easy it was there, to ask for help & to help. Somewhere in the middle of the mountains I experienced simplicity.

Bhagwabasa, Oh-my-my… That is the place you want to see after shedding kilos from your body & days of trekking. Snow-snow everywhere & the smile of accomplishment on everyone’s face added to the beauty. Also, having your friends along with you to share this is without a doubt- Heavenly.

The summit day was the longest of all but at the end of the day felt as if passed in a glimpse. We started summit walk at 3 am in the morning after it had snowed for hours covering all the trail towards the lake. Camp guides & locals helped us reach the summit & experience tranquility which was one of its kind. AND THAT WAS IT !!!

Any amount of pictures could not portray the beauty. It was surreal. We could not go to Junargali but even then we were satisfied with what we could achieve.
Our descend to Pathar Nachauni happened the same day. Everyone was drained & needed sleep which the sleeping bags gave us even in the penetrating windy night.

Next day was a walk in the park with old friends. Everyone knew everyone else well. Singing songs was part of our routine now. Eating at every place we could find, carrying our bags happily was in our habit. And then, talking about our lives in the plains & sharing other travel experiences we reached back to our base camp.

We returned with tans, sun-burns, blisters, swollen-feet. But the gift Himalayas gave was too precious to think about the other pain.

If you get a chance don’t miss to visit the place.
And when you are there….
Don’t hesitate to stroll around to see the village of Didna & talk to the residents…
Don’t miss to sneak out of your tent at midnight in Ali Bugyal to listen to the silence & to see the Full Moon (or no moon).
Watch your dinner tent getting uprooted in Pathar Nachauni due to hail storm (Freak out and even then dare to go outside your tent to pee)
Dance on the snow-covered ground in Bhagwabasa, go on a walk & find a-moment-a-place for yourself.
Go crazy, take pictures until you get tired & say….”Dammit-i-cannot-capture-this-in-my-camera.”