Sandakphu December 2019

A: Knock Knock

B: Who’s there?

A: Sandak.

B. Sandak…who?

A. No you idiot. its Sandakphu!! :) 

PS: Joke Courtesy PD

By far my best treks so far- my coldest trek for sure. Having done it from 16^th December onwards, it was supposed to be cold but with heavy snowfall on 13^th December, it got even colder.

We started at almost 1,950mt or 6,400 feets to go upto 3,640mt or 11,950 feets in 3 days before we began the descent.

It was a bunch of some 17 crazy people who decided to go for winter hike. I always wondered what was wrong with all of us to have tried something like this is that cold- but I guess some people in this world are designed a bit differently. We did not even bother about the rumors of things not being stable due to CAA issue. 

We started from the base camp of Indiahikes i.e. Jaubhari on the 1^st hiking day. Absolute delight to walk through the woods towards Tumling with tea and lunch stop in between. Lunch point was particularly interesting as the village was called ‘Meghma’ or ‘In the clouds’ and when we reached there it was literally in the clouds- the steaming ‘Dal-Bhat’ lunch there was just amazing and truly satisfied the soul in that cold. First day of the hike so everyone was quite charged up- enthusiastic and still getting to know the other and their names- we reached Tumling quite on time- it was a good hike with fair bit of climb- the lodge was good with all of guys in one room on the top floor. It was so cold and few of us could not sleep through the night including me but we went out quite early to get the glimpse of sunrise on the ‘Kanchenjunga’ and what a serene scene it was. Sunrise on the east and the mighty ‘Kanchenjunga’ on the west catching sun-rays on its nose and belly. It was so cold and windy- hands were literally freezing but the with the view it was totally worth it- all of us were so happy and excited like small kids.

Day 2: We hiked up almost 12 kms but odd 300mts to reach ‘Kaliphokri’. Criss-crossing between India and Nepal, the scenery was quite diverse today, starting with patches of snow, frozen leaves and bushes, wide open brown meadows to steep climb through the woods. At 3,170 mts, the lake was quite a scene with portions of water frozen totally telling us how cold it was up there. The lake looked quite mystic and desolated. We stayed in the tree houses which was freezing like pack of cards- but with two blankets we somehow withstood the cold- its so much in the mind and something which seemed so impossible- we could do it. The biggest pleasure was to sit around the fireplace, keep the hands folded around the soup bowl- with no mobile connection and hot water- in this situations you realise how little you need in life and how we take things like heat, water and food for granted back home.

Day 3 was the summit day where we had to climb 500mts to reach ‘Sandakphu’- the highest peak of West Bengal. The day was beautiful with clear blue sky with sun out. We walked through lot of snow and fair bit of climb towards the end to reach the peak. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy at the top to witness ‘The sleeping Buddha’ but we had our fair share of luck on the way up and then later while going down. The range seemed closer and closer- it was quite mind blowing to see the third highest peak of the world with such clarity. ‘Thupka’ at the top was the highlight- totally recommend it. Today was the first night in the tent- with two other trekkers- it was cold- it was cosy but slept quite well for that setting- now to think of it, it seems to be like a dream- something which never happened because how can anyone possibly sleep in a tent in winter- I am sure temperature was -10 degrees but again mind over body and we managed.

Day 4 onwards we were on return journey- not much of an overall descent but a long up and down walk to reach Sabargram- the landscape was again quite diverse- from snow to open meadows to foggy woods- its just amazing how weather can change so fast in the mountains and how vast the nature is- we are small insignificant part of the whole world and mountains have amazing power to bring humility to everyone- you don’t have an option but to surrender to the vastness and power of nature. Reaching Sabargram- immediate realisation was that its going to be cold here- like really cold- the happiness of seeing the popcorn and the fireplace on everyone’s face could surely rank as one of the happiest moment of respective lives. The way wind was blowing that day in the night sent shivers down the last piece of the bone- luckily the tents were strong enough not to fly away.

Day 5 morning was for me really the coldest over- got up and got out to see the sun- which was not there much but only for few seconds but man oh man- how beautiful it looked- freezing snow with orange sky and yellow tents- this morning will be fresh in mind for time to come. Post breakfast, we started descending, passed through bamboo forests to reach Gorkhey- the descent was steep and technical- I loved it- not too sure about others. The tea shop in Gorkhey was one of the best we came across- spic and span with some local wine on the display!

Day 6 we walked down to Sepi through a gradual descent, where Kumarji's direction helped a lot- not to get lost- the trek ended in Sepi with a nice wholesome lunch and one by one we all departed- having made great memories with some old friends (without whom the trek would not be so much fun), some amazing new friends and a huge sense of achievement.

I definitely managed to get ‘Reset’- which is the idea anyways- isn’t it. Thank the loved ones who pray for your well-being- submit yourself to the mountains- soak yourself in the beauty of nature- be humble- be kind- help others- crack some jokes of your own- laugh at some jokes of others- take it easy- realise how less you need to actually live and be happy- how important warm food and water is- how simplest of food can sometimes give more pleasure then food in the greatest of the restaurants- how sitting around the fire place can make you ‘really’ happy when compared to 100 likes on Instagram- how sometimes its good not to have the network or not having your phone charged- how making friends is easier offline then online- how you should just keep walking- sometimes on your own- sometimes with others- sometimes talking- sometimes singing ‘Coka Bura’- sometimes smiling and sometimes not saying anything- but most of the times just keep walking because only then you will reach where you meant to be- and if you don’t you were meant to walk- which is fun anyways!

Regards
'Persistent' Pal

PS: Few words on Indiahikes- absolute professional 'no non-sense' guys. Everything was systematic, well organised, document and process driven which is amazing when there are so many trekkers in the group. Basically Indiahikes is an experienced lot who knows what they are doing. Trek lead Isha was just amazing in managing the whole trek with no sign of stress ever. Food was descent, fresh, hot and locally made- a bit boring at times but definitely good enough to keep you healthy and warm. Keep it up Indiahikes.