The Trek - Part 2: And I thought it was over

Gravity and evaporation – two basic concepts. We all study them in primary school but the magic of it all became apparent to us only the next morning when we lingered out of the cottage. Water flows down faster in the hills and the stronger the wind and sunlight, the faster it all dries up. This simple fact had eluded us engineering students. What lay before us was a rejuvenated landscape and an invitation by the snowline. Rucksacks left with the shack owner, we began the best part of the trek.

Ilaaka was around 5 km from Triund, set right where the ascent for the mountain pass began and the trip there was nothing less than awe-inspiring, and risky. The awe-inspiring part was the constant view of the snow-laden mountains, cool breeze and wilderness, the risky part was the 2 feet wide trail and the valley waiting to feed on one missed step. The rule of the game was to keep watching your feet as you go. You curse, you laugh, you scream, you sweat, you tire but you keep watching your feet. We would stop from time to time, gather around and enjoy the view but while walking the only thing we could appreciate were the small pebbles on the trail. Look at the big picture? Hell NO! In places like these, life is in the details…

We did have our share of moments. Dipped our fingers and one walkman in the ice cold water coming from the melting snow, clicked someone dangling from a tree trunk and casting his droppings like a bird in the valley below, climbed up to a cave only to chicken out lest there really was a bear inside, prayed to the lord when it seemed impossible to climb down from the cave, lay down on the edge of a rock barely supporting itself on the edge of the cliff, dived to catch the Frisbee only to realize it might have been the last dive, tried to take a shortcut from the already short path only to get stuck and scream for help. And more than all this, we evolved from acquaintances to friends…

All journeys should end in a circle. You go from one route, you come back through another. Else, it becomes kind of boring as the landscape has nothing new to offer and just in case you happen to be coming down a hill, it’s damn hard on your legs! Long before we had reached the town, actually more like halfway, I was done for. My legs were shaking, my toenails hurting with every step. At least on the way up, the frequent stops used to act as refreshers. Here, nothing helped. But climb down we did, for we obviously had no alternative. A long shower, a good dinner, a relaxed hour later I lay down to sleep, happy to have completed the trek, to have had so much fun and looking forward to just recuperate for the next couple of days. That was so not to be…