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Day 4 - Going Down
Having left Roopkund at 11, we expected to get back to camp by 1.30 pm at the latest. It was a long and tedious walk and we were expecting it to end at any moment, since downhill should, by rights, be quicker. But well past 1.30 we could still see no signs of camp. It was important that we get back quickly, because, much to our dismay, it had been decided to go on down to Bedini Bugiyal today and not spend another miserably cold night at Baguabasha. While this may have been a good idea, in our exhausted state Amit and I were not at all looking forward to the prospect of another long hike. All we wanted to do was to collapse and never get up again, and we could hardly stomach the fact that another 8 km walk (albeit downhill) was destined in our immediate future. It was already 2 pm and still there was no sign of camp.
Relief was shortlived. We had to pack, eat and move on. By now it was 2.30 or so, and, again, apart from the donkeys we were the last to leave. As we went down, our spirits rose and energy levels revived. From Bedini Bugiyal to Baguabasha had taken about 4-5 hours, so we confidently predicted that the descent should take no more than 3. By 5.30 we would be there, we said. At 5.30 we were at the pass where the path crosses over from the Pathar Nachani side of the hill to the Bedini Bugiyal side. Yesterday, on the way up, the peaks had been shrouded by cloud when Amit and I got to the pass, but this evening the view was grand. The clouds that always seem to gather in the early afternoon had cleared up and it was just about time for the sun to set. The light on Trisul 1, 2, and 3 was sublime. We stopped for photographs and then continued towards camp, watching the sun go down behind the hills far in front. It would be dark soon, and cold, for we were walking in day time clothes, which are completely different from the heavy jackets needed in the evenings. But at least we could see the camp now, a few colourful specks far, far away. Line of sight is always a comforting feeling, though unreliable. As someone pointed out, you could see the moon too, but that didn't mean that you could walk to it. Torches. There were four of us and only one of them. By 6, we found its battery was running out. Batteries. Boudi had a pair, but try as we might we couldn't get the tightly sealed packet open. Scissors. The Swiss army knife Amit and I had bought just before we left for the trek was pulled out of the small backpack that he had been so reluctant to carry. In the last shreds of daylight, the torch was given new batteries and, with our path now more effectively lit, we trudged on. It was no fun walking in the dark. Amit, in the lead, was trying to set a good pace and I was doing my best to trot along behind him, but behind me, with noticeably less illumination, the pace slowed down. Nobody wanted to put a wrong foot and either twist an ankle or find themselves rolling down the hillside on the right. Had the moon been up, it would have cast a splendid silvery light on the setting and hopefully added a flavour of romance, but the moon was dallying behind the hills and shyly showed its face only much later, when we were safely at camp. Meanwhile the Milky Way glowed radiantly above, not at all concerned with this small party of trekkers plodding on along a meandering path going nowhere in particular. We kept expecting a search and rescue team to be sent up for us, with torches and perhaps hot water and snacks. But nobody came. Somebody stood at the foot of the hill and flashed a torch at us to assure us that they were there. While this was somewhat reasssuring, it was of not much help to us as we stumbled along in single file, thinking how far away that blinking torch seemed. It was 6.45 when finally and suddenly Anil, the second in command of the kitchen, materialised on the path just ahead of us. Though he had just one torch, 2 torches among 5 was certainly an improvement over one among four. Our expedition proceeded speedily to camp, arriving at 7.30 to a hero's welcome (though, in my private opinion, we had done nothing to deserve it). |
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We walked on, rounded another turn and there it was, our camp, complete with people, tents, and donkeys.