Getting to Gaumukh
From Delhi take a Train/Bus/Cab to Rishikesh or a Direct Bus/Cab to Gangotri
Road: Delhi to Gangotri (452kms)
Delhi - Rishikesh (222km) - Uttarkashi (150km) - Harsil (60km) - Gangotri (20km)
Trek: Gangotri to Gaumukh (18km)
Gangotri - Chirbasa (9km) - Bhojwasa (5km)
Bhojwasa- Gaumukh (4km)
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| Sunrise at Rishikesh |
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| An afternoon at Harsil on the way to Gangotri |
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| Crossing the rocky mountains on the way to Gaumukh |
Lessons From A Day in Trekker’s Life !
After living out of a suitcase for over two months, I was looking forward to an adventurous and challenging trek that would recharge my spirit. This was the first time I would be trekking from Gangotri to Gaumukh, the starting point of the river Ganges. We reached Gangotri on the 5th June 2012, at around three thirty in the afternoon and without wasting any time headed to the government tourist office to get our passes ready for the trek to Gaumukh the following day. We decided to put up at the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) guest house for the night and start our first relatively long trek, 36kms in all, on the following morning at six.
Just before going off to bed I realized that I had forgotten my tripod in the car, so decided to walk down from the guest house to the parking lot. The pathway was pitch dark and the place was quiet and eerie. All one could hear was the gushing stream hitting against the rocks and the cold dry winds. As I walked past the bridge between the guest house and the parking lot, the winds cut across my face and I hurriedly covered myself with a shawl. The cold winds had already set the stage for night and what was going to come the following day. Having collected my tripod, I returned to my room, and lied down on my bed and mentally prepared myself for the coming tough day. The night was cold; we slept with our jackets and inners on. Out of sheer excitement, I woke up twice at night, not to have overslept and missed the trek.
Kumar Shahi, a Nepali national, was going to be our guide and potter for the coming two days. A young, soft-spoken lean man, in the second year of B.Ed, took tourists for treks to Gaumukh and Tapovan during June and July, to earn an extra income. Having done it for several years now, even the roadside vendors vouched about his mastery in the field. Given his lean physique, my first question to him was, will he be able to carry our heavy bag stuffed with woollens for the night, I doubted it, but he was confident and smiled, that being the end of our conversation.
On the 6th morning, on Shahi’s advice, we got 6 parathas packed from a nearby eatery and kept 2 litres of bottled water for ourselves in our backpack. Each one of us stuffed a handful of chocolates and nuts in our pockets, bowed down in front of Goddess Ganga, at the Gangotri temple and started our trek to Gaumukh (18-19kms trek from Gangotri), the starting point of river Bhagirathi (Ganges).
A trek to me meant a test of my physical fitness and readiness. Being once a state level player myself, I was proud of the fact that I had more stamina compared to women my age. Every day I cycled for 10kms, ran for 30 minutes and cross-trained for another 20-30 minutes. But it was only during the trek that I realized, that being physically fit is one part, you need to be mentally strong and it’s your self-faith and conviction, that’s what is tested more. Until then I never realized, that trekking is much more than a sport. If I should say trekking is a form of meditation, where you are walking only with your thoughts whether it be in the deep jungles or climbing steep cliffs. Initially, your mind is cluttered with an over-pour of thoughts and emotions, but with every step you take you clear your self-doubts and inhibitions. Trekking provides you with a means to reflect and connect with yourself and finally you start admiring nature’s beauty along the pathway, that’s when you are at peace with yourself and you start growing as an individual. For me the journey to self-discovery had just started and I never realized that this trek is going to leave an indelible mark on me.
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| Steps behind the Gangotri Temple from where the Trek Starts |
The weather god’s weren’t happy with our pace and to make things worse, he made sure it started to rain. The green mountain range that we had walked past got quickly covered with clouds and it started to pour. While I enjoyed looking at the rain drops falling on the tree tops, mom passed on the disposable blue polythene rain coat that we had bought the night before, on Shahi’s advice, to protect ourselves. The raincoats made us all quite uncomfortable; for my brother it was the size and for me it wouldn’t slip over me with my backpack camera bag on. In my brother’s words, I was more concerned about protecting my camera bag than myself. For a photographer, cameras are his eyes to see the world, with different exposures and different focuses all the time. If you fall sick, you can surely get well but if your camera gets sick, then obviously that’s the end of the trip as you can blurrily see and capture the moments.
The Leap of Faith
The ascent up the steep cliff, for the first one kilometre was slow. We walked on a track defined with deodar and pine trees on either side, and with the roaring Bhagirathi river flowing below. The defined path slowly and gradually transformed into a pathway laden with boulders and rocks as we reached a river crossing. I looked at the crystal clear rocks-laden river bed and thought to myself on how I’d reach the other side. The only available option was to balance myself on the two logs tied together that formed the bridge. This was my chance to prove my acrobatics skills. I tried crossing the bridge, but with my first step, my brain told me, Pooja, if you falter, you go straight into the stream and my feet refrained. I was now scared to cross, so called out to Shahi for help. Shahi rushed in. He asked me to have faith in him, concentrate on my steps, not look down at the flowing water and I’d easily cross.
I thought to myself, it’s easier said than done, and how can I not look at the water flowing below. I held his hand tightly while his words echoed in my mind, and I placed my foot on the bridge again. This was the first time I was going to cross one of these pine bridges. I was so scared that in spite of holding him tightly my legs shivered and I feared that sooner or later, I'll fall down into the gushing stream. But that's human mind, we are afraid of doing what we've never done before. While I dutifully followed his instruction and started crossing the bridge, I was reminded about the ‘Business Strategy’ lessons in college. The definitions of vision, mission and goal all became clear. I had only one vision, one mission and one goal in life, which was to reach the other side, safely. The meaning of the quotation “obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals” couldn’t have become clearer.
Having taken my first couple of steps safely, my anxiety reduced and I became complacent and too full of myself that I could now easily cross the bridge. This was the first time, I got distracted and my eyes caught sight of the rocks on the river bed, and instantaneously I swayed a bit and tried to re-balance myself onto the log. That’s the beauty of being humans, at one moment we are filled with self-doubt and at the other we are just too full of ourselves to risk our own life. Crossing the bridge, the first thing that I realized was that people who succeed in life are the ones who are focused and have unwavering faith in themselves and their goals; otherwise there are too many distractions along the way.
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going
The ascent up the steep cliff, for the first one kilometre was slow. We walked on a track defined with deodar and pine trees on either side, and with the roaring Bhagirathi river flowing below. The defined path slowly and gradually transformed into a pathway laden with boulders and rocks as we reached a river crossing. I looked at the crystal clear rocks-laden river bed and thought to myself on how I’d reach the other side. The only available option was to balance myself on the two logs tied together that formed the bridge. This was my chance to prove my acrobatics skills. I tried crossing the bridge, but with my first step, my brain told me, Pooja, if you falter, you go straight into the stream and my feet refrained. I was now scared to cross, so called out to Shahi for help. Shahi rushed in. He asked me to have faith in him, concentrate on my steps, not look down at the flowing water and I’d easily cross.
I thought to myself, it’s easier said than done, and how can I not look at the water flowing below. I held his hand tightly while his words echoed in my mind, and I placed my foot on the bridge again. This was the first time I was going to cross one of these pine bridges. I was so scared that in spite of holding him tightly my legs shivered and I feared that sooner or later, I'll fall down into the gushing stream. But that's human mind, we are afraid of doing what we've never done before. While I dutifully followed his instruction and started crossing the bridge, I was reminded about the ‘Business Strategy’ lessons in college. The definitions of vision, mission and goal all became clear. I had only one vision, one mission and one goal in life, which was to reach the other side, safely. The meaning of the quotation “obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals” couldn’t have become clearer.
Having taken my first couple of steps safely, my anxiety reduced and I became complacent and too full of myself that I could now easily cross the bridge. This was the first time, I got distracted and my eyes caught sight of the rocks on the river bed, and instantaneously I swayed a bit and tried to re-balance myself onto the log. That’s the beauty of being humans, at one moment we are filled with self-doubt and at the other we are just too full of ourselves to risk our own life. Crossing the bridge, the first thing that I realized was that people who succeed in life are the ones who are focused and have unwavering faith in themselves and their goals; otherwise there are too many distractions along the way.
While my legs shivered, Kumar Shahi helped in crossing the pine bridge
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going
Engrossed in my thoughts and admiring the scenic beauty of the mountainous region, I kept walking on the stone studded path, unconscious of the fact that I had left my parents far-off. It was only when it started to pour heavily; I paused in to search for a shelter that I realized that I was walking alone in the wilderness. A huge rock protruding out of the mountain provided me refuge but my eyes wandered in the search of my family whom I had left faraway. Negative thoughts come knocking in your mind first, and that’s what happened to me as well. I thought of all pessimistic things possible from my father spraining his leg to my brother skidding down the cliff. Everything was convincing and possible for a negative mind. Nor did I once think that they could be exhausted and were taking a break. I was worried about their safety and well-being. Perturbed by thoughts which ran one after the other and my eyes still fixed on the pathway, I saw a tiny blue blotch on one corner of the mountain and as time passed the blotch grew bigger and bigger and took human form. I was relieved to see my brother and the guide waving at me but where my parents were, they were nowhere to be seen.
As they approached nearer, Abhay shouted out and asked me to slower my pace and wait for the others to come. He informed me that mom was unwell, had developed an acute headache and was feeling breathlessness. After a fifteen minutes wait below the rock I saw mom holding onto dad’s arm in one hand and the trekking pole in the other walking slowly towards us. Her face had swollen up and was gasping for breath. She indicated that she wanted to sit down and rest for a while and asked us to go ahead. We thought that maybe she had overly strained herself and would be fine after resting for some time, so we started walking again.
Mountain climbing is an art. You trek with a rhythm in your mind, self-motivation in your heart and a high level of energy in your body. As long as they are in tandem you enjoy the trek but as soon as you start counting your numbers back i.e. the kilometres left to complete the trail, reaching the destination becomes a herculean task. And that’s what had started happening with us. Since one among us was unwell, our rhythm broke; our focus shifted to the number of kilometres that remained and we started taking breaks too often and a sense of fatigue and exhaustion creped in and automatically our pace slowed down.
It was around 12 noon, and in five hour we had hardly covered 7kms and were still 2kms from Chirbasa, a check-post midway between Gangotri and Gaumukh. Our pace was so slow that the groups that had started way after us had already overtaken us. The passerby followed unsaid rules; the on goers chanted praises of the river goddess “Ganga maiya ke jai” while those returning from Gaumukh motivated the on-goers by commenting on the easiness of the path that remained. In the quietude, the encouraging chants echoed and acted as a catalyst for the next couple of minutes. In this difficult terrain, where the most physically fit people could falter, was the Almighty’s way of reminding us that there is some power much bigger and mightier than us, that we invariably forget in the hustle and bustle of city lives. Here there was no competition, none trying to pull-down the other to reach the top, faster, but only mutual admiration and respect for having accepted this difficult challenge and an encouragement to complete it successfully.
As we climbed higher, mom’s condition deteriorated, however she kept holding onto dad’s hand and insisted that she would complete the trek. Mom’s condition made our climb very slow. For the next two kilometres we literally dragged out feet at the rate of one kilometre an hour, halting and resting every ten minutes. After two hours we finally reached Chirbasa, an abode to Chir trees at a height of 3,600m and only 5kms from Bhojwasa. Having covered more than half the journey, we decided to take a longer break this time and have lunch under the deserted tin shed. All of us were exhausted especially mom who was now breathing very heavily and was awfully drained out. We made sure she had her share of parathas, closed her eyes and go off to sleep for some time.
High altitude sickness is a very common illness which happens due to low oxygen levels as you travel beyond 8,000ft above sea level, without acclimatization. I had read about the symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), but this was the first time one of us was experiencing it, so we weren’t prepared. The only way to overcome AMS is to either go back to a lower altitude or have proper medication. Looking at mom’s deteriorating condition; our confidence to climb up was shaken and going back to an inhabited region seemed to be the most suitable option. A place which till now seemed to be appealing and inviting because of its tranquillity and quietude, now seemed to be isolate and deserted. Adventure and exploration are enjoyable when everyone in the group is well, but there is no point taking the risk at the expense of someone’s health.
Having finished lunch, the four of us looked at mom who was still sighing for breath and then looked into each other’s eyes. It was time to take a tough decision; either to ascend 5kms and rest at Bhojwasa for the night or go back to Gangotri which was 7kms away. Since the route on either side was uninhabited, we knew we wouldn’t find any help whichever direction we choose. So we calculated. If we travelled at the pace of a kilometre an hour, and choose to climb up, we would reach Bhojwasa by late evening around seven and could put up at the government guest house for the night and could also send out a wireless message to Gangotri to send help. On the other hand, if we decided to go back to Gangotri, we would reach there by 9pm, but by that time night would have fallen and trekking in rough terrain, in the torch light would be extremely difficult and risky for all of us. So here we were stuck choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea. Weighing the options we choose the former and took calculated risk.
Shahi, Abhay & Dad take turns to hold mom's hand and lead her on the way
The Tundra Experience...
To reduce her breathlessness mom had a Diamox tablet, while all of us tightened up our shoes, quenched our thirsts, wore our backpacks and bucked ourselves up for the difficult onward journey. This was going to be a new terrain, much more challenging that the earlier path but with a hope that we would find shelter for the night on reaching the destination. As it is said, when you strongly desire something, then the whole universe will work together, to help you achieve it. This time the Sun God made sure, He overpowered the rain and shone brightly. The dark, gloomy, gray sky was now filled with rays of hope.
As we trekked past Chirbasa, slowly and gradually the vegetation transformed from tall pine and deodar trees to a region characterised by dwarf shrubs and wild grass. With every footstep, we headed towards the treeless alpine tundra region known for rocky, snow-capped peaks and cold dry winds. Though the Bhagirathi river flowed below the hill, the region seemed much more like a cold desert.
With the rain having stopped and the sun shining brightly, the snow-clad peaks that were till now obscured by the clouds started to be visible. Not missing any opportunity, Shahi pointed at the Shivling peaks. However the Gangotri glacier was still buried under the thick blanket of clouds.
Though mom’s health was a cause of concern, but the scenic beauty of the place made sure it distracted and motivated us to keep going forward. Tired and exhausted we kept walking towards our goal. Though mom felt some relief after consuming the tablets in the beginning, but after an hour she again started feeling breathlessness and this time it was even much more. I wasn’t sure whether it was breathlessness or if she had already lost hope, about her being able to make it to Bhojwasa. Anything is possible if you believe in yourself, but if you stop believing and lose hope the battle is already lost. All of us continuously encouraged and pampered her, to make sure she is motivated to reach the destination. Abhay, dad and Shahi took turns to hold her hand and lead her way. Looking at her deteriorating condition, Shahi went ahead and even searched for some help. He came back with a short, slender man, who was the guide-cum-potter for the group walking ahead of us. Both of them discussed and examined if they would be able to lift mom up on their back like a sack one by one, and walk for the next 4kms. But mom was too heavy, so this option was straight away ruled out. In the desperation for help, Shahi, also send out a small note with a guide who was taking his group back to Gangotri, to an acquaintance who owned horses to send a horse for her for her return journey. But the horse would come only the next morning, so today in any case she would have to walk up to Bhojwasa today.
We continued trekking on the rough rocky mountain trail and finally came to the third and last pine bridge on our way. By now I had overcome my fear of crossing pine bridges; it seemed to be a child’s play. I was sure that I would reach the other side safely, obviously with some help. Having overcome my fear, I realized that things are never as complex and complicated as we sometime imagine before doing them. The complication and difficulty are only a function of the mind. If you want to do something extraordinary in life then you certainly require courage and conviction to do it for the first time, and it’s indeed easy to be replicated. Whether it be resigning for the first time from a high paying job to pursue your hobby or starting an entrepreneurship venture, if you are able to overcome your fear and self-doubt you surely will succeed. After ten hours of trek through the rock-strewn terrain, we ultimately reached a point on the cliff from where we were able to see a chain of snow clad mountains at a distance. At the centre of this mountain range was our ultimate destination, the mighty Gaumukh glacier. Looking at the endless vastness of the mountain range, I realised how minuscule I was compared to nature. This was one of the most humbling experiences for me. While my eyes remained glued to the picturesque scene, Shahi pointed to the white and green dots, in the valley below, which was our base camp. Now we were only 2kms away from Bhojwasa, our destination for the day, where we had planned to halt for the night.
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| Gaumukh Glacier seen in the centre with the Bhojwasa Base camp seen in the valley below |
A glimpse of the goal is enough to renew ones energy level, and to make them forget all the stress and hardship they had undergone. The last few steps to the goal can be the most challenging, but at least for us, now we could see where we were heading too. Unless you are certain that your chosen path leads to your goal, your motivation to move forward diminishes with every step but even a slightest indication that you are on the right track, and you double your efforts to succeed. Seeing the base camp, we were all excited especially mom, who could now see where she was heading too. We finally gained momentum. But the more we walked towards the base camp, the farther it moved away from us. Finally, we started descending and around 6:30pm, we reached the government guest house, where we had planned to stay for the night. Since we were the last ones to reach that day, by then all the tents were already occupied and we got 4 beds in a dormitory of 10 for ourselves and a bed for Shahi at the Ram Baba’s Ashram adjacent the guest house.
Bhojwasa valley was one of the most picturesque places that I have ever been. From the base camp, we got a 360 degree panoramic view of the snow-capped peaks with the sparkling Bhagirathi river flowing right in front of us. The Gaumukh glacier at the foot of the Bhagirathi peaks (called Bhagirathi I, II, III) was the main attraction due to its importance in the Hindu religion, while the Shivling peak stood marvellously, saying it was no less. While the Gaumukh glacier steeled the show, the Shivling, Sudarshan and Meru Peaks looked equally striking if not more. I looked at the magnificent sight and was thankful to the almighty for being able to have witnessed His splendid creation, which I would have never experienced, had we decided to go back. Though the sun had already set by the time we reached the base camp, but the last orange rays of the sun were still flickering at the top of the peaks and watching it was a treat to the soul.
The Starry Night At Bhojwasa
As expected, Bhojwasa was shivering cold and chilly. After easing ourselves at the dormitory, we had a glass of hot lemon tea, the only warm drink since morning. The hot steel glasses comforted our hands while the tea had a healing effect on the soul. It refreshed and re-energized us after a long tiresome day. After having tea, we went back to the room and lied down cuddled in our warm beds and waited for dinner to be prepared. We lay silently on our side of the dormitory, while on the other side lay 5 men in their early fifties, from Pune, who had crossed us during the day. Mom’s sickness was enough to break the ice between us and one of them pointed out that inhaling into a bottle of camphor helps in keeping away the cold.
As the night fell, the temperature dropped below zero degrees and it became freezing cold. After dinner, Abhay and I went out for a stroll. The sky was studded with millions and millions of twinkling stars and we were reminded of our geography classes and tried figuring out the North Star and the constellations. This was the first time I had seen the Milky Way, not in NatGeo or Discovery but right in front of me with my own eyes. It was such a breath-taking and splendid view that I fall short of words to describe its magnificence. Seeing the Milky Way with my own eyes was a humbling experience. I pondered that every day in cities we run after materialistic things to gain happiness and satisfaction, but I never realized that a look at the sky above could give me much more happiness and contentment. I wished I could just keep looking at the stars all night, but the days trek had a heavier toll on me, and I listened to my fatigued body and went back to the dorm. Being overly exhausted, I missed clicking the Milky Way with my camera that night, but today I am almost certain that it was the most brilliant night skies that I had ever seen or will ever be able to see in my whole life time.
Due to the low oxygen levels, in a room of 10, apart from Abhay, none of us could sleep comfortably that night. All of us were restless, and tossed and turned on our beds almost throughout the night. Constantly, somebody or the other got up from the bed due to the feeling of breathlessness. Having fallen off to sleep only at midnight, I woke up around 2:00am due to breathlessness and thirst. But the night was dark and not to wake up the others by the noise, I resisted and continued lying on my bed, cold. My throat was dry, my lips chapped and my feet were nearly frozen. I tried very hard warming up myself by rubbing my feet with my hands and cuddling my body like a little child to prevent heat loss but even after repeated efforts my feet didn’t get back to the normal body temperature, leave behind getting warm. Finally, around 4am, I overcame my laziness and shyness and pulled out a thick warm shawl from the bag, tied it to my feet and again went back to sleep. I had hardly dozed off, that I woke up by somebody’s alarm at 4:30am. The Maharashtrian group was trekking to Tapovan, 5kms further ahead from Gaumukh today, and had planned to leave Bhojwasa by 5:30am. The room started becoming nosier with every passing minute and that was the last time, I tried sleeping that night.
Reaching the Goal: Trek from Bhojwasa to Gaumukh
We were now only 5kms away from our goal. As decided the previous night, Shahi came to our dormitory sharp at 6 o’clock in the morning. It was exceptionally cold and touching the freezing water at the washroom made our decision to get ready even simpler. We just brushed our teeth, had the morning course of tea and bread, wore our shoes and were off on the trail again with our trekking poles. Mom decided to stay back at the guest house and rest during the day. Before starting the onward expedition, dad requested the manager at the guest house to arrange for a horse for mom for the return journey.
Seeing the hardship and the struggle that we had undergone the previous day, the Sun God was happy with our efforts and He rewarded us most beautifully. We were blessed with a clear morning sky with the sun shining brightly and making sure that the obscured magnificent peaks were visible now. The dark brown mountains with snow-capped peaks surrounded us while the Gaumukh glacier and the Shivling peak were right ahead of us, glowing vividly under the sun. As we got closer to the glacier, we came across a few patches of snow along the track which had still not been melted by the scorching June sun. Due to the freezing early morning temperatures, thin transparent sheet of ice covered the surface of water puddles, which looked almost as clear as glass. The track up from the Bhojwasa to Gaumukh was a path laden with stones and boulders, with barely any vegetation, only dried grass. We vigilantly stepped from one stone to the other with our eyes fixed on the path because even the slightest distraction could result in us spraining our legs. The first one kilometre ascend was the most challenging piece in the whole trek, may be because of the steep ascend on the high altitude or may be because the stone laden path made us concentrate so much more. This was a tough and exhausting climb for all of us and I started feeling uneasy now. My pace slowed and I requested everyone to walk slower. Having walked at a snail's pace for some time, my lungs got used to the low oxygen level at this high altitude and we finally gained momentum after an hour. The rocky pathway ended into a small valley full of sand and pebbles reminding me of the mountain desert that we had crossed while going from Jispa to Leh. |
| Dad posing at the Sandy Desert |
Having crossed the sandy stretch, we were now a kilometre from our goal and the mouth of the river Bhagirathi (Ganga) was clearly visible at a distance now. While the others were in a hurry to reach Gaumukh and paced, I was enchanted by the beauty and spend as much time as I could capturing beautiful memories with my camera. There are times in your life where you want the clock to stop ticking and wish that everything stands still. This was one of those moments for me. I felt the breeze in my hair, the eternal beauty of the place was a treat to my eyes and the sound of the flowing Bhagirathi river was music to the ears. I was doing things at my own pace, calm and relaxed, not thinking about the future and neither of what others would say. I clicked pictures of the peaks, of the river mouth, of the flowing streams and also of the rocks which were placed one top of the other in prayer of the river goddess. The calmness of the place was often interrupted by my dad’s call to hurry up but I did not pay heed. I couldn’t understand what the urgency was all about. This was the moment for which we had struggled the day before and now he was asking me to speed up. We are sometimes too engrossed and worried thinking about the future that we forget to enjoy the moments that we had struggled for in the past. That’s what was happening with us. Dad was thinking about the long day ahead of us and the 18kms return journey but I slowed down my pace admired the serenity of the place and enjoyed our achievement of successfully completing our trek one-way.
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| The Mighty Gaumukh Glacier: 500mts away |
Five hundred meters before the glacier was a small shrine, bearing photographs of various Hindu gods and goddesses, built up of stones and rocks taken from the river bed while the red and orange flags on the walls of the shrine flattered with the strong cold winds. The temple priest in his orange robes offered prayers
to the river Ganges for washing away your sins, on being tipped. Trekkers were warned for travelling beyond this point due to occasional falling blocks of snow from the melting glacier. The adverse impact of the global warming was clearly visible here; the glacier no longer resembled the cow’s mouth because of which it had been so christened.
While we shivered with our jackets and mufflers on, there were devotes who were bathing in the ice-old water to wash away all their past sins, making space for the new. In spite of being modern and forward-thinking, as we would like to call ourselves, when given an opportunity to please the God’s most of us do most bizarre things, so did we. We took off our gloves, kept our trekking poles near the shrine and marched towards the flowing stream. Though we refrained from taking the holy dip, we would like to believe that we at least washed away half our past sins by washing our face with the freezing holy water and also performing Surya Namashkar (offered water to Sun God). After performing the ritual, we spent another half an hour around the shrine in nature’s lap, getting ourselves clicked at various spots and then around 10am started our return journey to Bhojwasa.
to the river Ganges for washing away your sins, on being tipped. Trekkers were warned for travelling beyond this point due to occasional falling blocks of snow from the melting glacier. The adverse impact of the global warming was clearly visible here; the glacier no longer resembled the cow’s mouth because of which it had been so christened.
While we shivered with our jackets and mufflers on, there were devotes who were bathing in the ice-old water to wash away all their past sins, making space for the new. In spite of being modern and forward-thinking, as we would like to call ourselves, when given an opportunity to please the God’s most of us do most bizarre things, so did we. We took off our gloves, kept our trekking poles near the shrine and marched towards the flowing stream. Though we refrained from taking the holy dip, we would like to believe that we at least washed away half our past sins by washing our face with the freezing holy water and also performing Surya Namashkar (offered water to Sun God). After performing the ritual, we spent another half an hour around the shrine in nature’s lap, getting ourselves clicked at various spots and then around 10am started our return journey to Bhojwasa.
The Return Journey
I personally wanted to spend some more time at Gaumukh and if given an opportunity would have also loved to trek to Tapovan along with Shahi. But all your dreams and desires cannot always be fulfilled. In mom’s words, “you shall only receive whatever you are destined to, nothing more, and nothing less”. So here I was returning to the base camp at Bhojwasa and thinking to myself when I’d visit Gaumukh and Tapovan next. Walking away from the Heaven to a life full of hardship is always disappointing and heart breaking, but we were now shifting our focus from what an ideal life could be to a real one. Reality was biting us, hard. The return journey is never so exciting and challenging but as we trekked back, thoughts of mom and her sickness flooded our minds. We were worried if she was alright and if the guest house manager had been able to arrange for a horse.
A kilometre away from the base camp, we could see the green and white concrete structure. Like a little child competing with her sibling, I paced so that I could be the first one to reach the guest house and greet mom. Being already close to mid-day, the clear sky made the strong sun rays fall directly on us. We started perspiring furiously and by the time we returned to the camp, our faces were red; burned and tanned. Having slept all morning, mom seemed to be better than yesterday now, though not completely fit. We had a quick brunch, relaxed for a while and started our return journey to Gangotri. The guest house manager was supportive and helped us by arranging two horses, one for Mom and the other for Abhay, who also was tired after the morning trail. The five of us got ourselves clicked outside the guest house, with mom and Abhay sitting comfortably on the horse while Dad, Shahi and I on foot ready to start the trail. Before starting we thanked the manager and his team for their friendliness and hospitality.
Once the goal is achieved, it is extremely difficult to retain the same enthusiasm to complete the journey henceforth. Our enthusiasm shrunk and collapsed like an inflated balloon being poked with a sharp needle. In spite of the low spirits, we started our return journey around 12 noon, to make sure we reached Gangotri before dusk. Today the strong winds that blew made the lose pebbles and rocks to tumble down the cliff and so did the slightest movement of the mountain goats which grazed today in the sun, making it a dangerous trek.
We had hardly walked for a kilometre, when Shahi warned us to keep looking out for the grazing animals and the falling stones and move quickly and vigilantly along the trail. A huge rock came rolling down right in front of me and I heard somebody shout “watch out”. While I was still under the shock of the rock that fell in front of me, a huge stone tumbled down right behind me. The path which till yesterday seemed to be easy, now due to the harsh winds had become risky.
By now, I had learned the importance of being focused and my eyes remained fixed at the narrow path. The strong winds had made the rocks fall on the trail and my legs could not find grip on the loose soil and I skidded and stumbled on the track and was scared that I would fall down into the valley. It was the first time; I was scared for my life. There are patches in everybody’s life where nobody can help you out but your faith in yourself which helps you in keep going on and this was the moment for me. I had no other option but to stay calm, believe in myself, gather enough courage and stand back, dust my clothes and start trekking again.
Today our pace was much faster than the day before however, the hot scorching sun rays were squeezing away all our energy and draining us down. We had been exhausted, but we didn’t halt and hardly took any breaks. Our fatigued body was under the full control of our minds, because if we halted and rested now we would surely not be able to get up again. So we walked, as fast as we could without any breaks.
Occasionally, dad gave us raisins, almonds and cashew nuts to chew, which refurbished our energy. The three of us were sturdy trekkers and we covered the distance from Bhojwasa to Chirbasa in hardly two hours which we had done the day before in four. Having reached our first destination we halted for a while at the check-post, quenched our thirst, talked to the guards and clicked a couple of pictures. It was already close to 2pm, so we decided to walk up a little further from the check-post and have our share of parathas which we had got packed for ourselves in the morning. After resting for a while, we were again geared up to start our expedition, nine kilometres this time.
There couldn’t be a better teaching ground to learn about team spirit. When you are working in a group, there might be times when one of the member lags behind, the most successful team is one where each member cares about the other and has faith in the others ability, motivates the other and the team collectively moves forward. We had already walked over ten kilometres for the day and a similar distance remained. The hot blazing sun was directly overhead and the three of us were already drained out and dead tired. There were times during the trek, when I was tired and wanted to give up then dad motivated me and when he was low, Shahi motivated him and vice-verse. Each of us motivated the other and challenged each other’s limits and this kept us going for another two-three kilometres.
But a time came, when the three of us were totally worn out. Heat exhaustion resulted in Shahi’s face turning beet red, and he sat down on the side of the track holding his face between his hands. Dad and I sat on a rock beside him and were too exhausted to even utter a word of encouragement. I felt the stillness all around. We remained silent for ten minutes, closed our eyes and tried to relax and sleep. I put my hand in my pocket to pull out a handkerchief to cover my face. I felt something inside my pocket and was reminded about the chocolates that I had kept in before starting the trek. I was extremely happy as if I had won a lottery. I pulled out three snickers from my pocket, had one myself and threw out the other two one each to Shahi and Dad. This was our dose of instant energy. We sat there under the blazing sun for some more time, quenched our thirsts, moistened our lips which were parched by the heat and looked into each other’s eyes, as if trying to say, who’ll be the first one to get up from the rocks and lead. This was my chance to lead a team of tired and exhausted men. I stood up and encouraged them to start trekking to avoid being stuck in the forest in the dark.
Finally, after winning the battle with our fatigued body and walking for the entire afternoon in the scorching sun, the three of us completed this 38km trek and reached Gangotri around 5:30pm. Shahi commented that we had completed the return trek much faster and taking less time compared to most of the people. We walked past the alley behind the temple, proud of ourselves.
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| Shops selling Rudraksh statues in the alley |
Mom and Abhay had already reached Gangotri by then and were waiting for us at the eatery where we had got the parathas packed the day before. Seeing them I jumped with joy and nagged Abhay, that I was the stronger of the two siblings. To celebrate the successful completion of the trek, dad, Shahi and I ordered for a maggi each at the tea stall. While we waited for the maggi, the entire trail flashed in front of my eyes. I was filled with mixed emotions, happy for having successfully completed the trek that added a feather on my cap but sad for walking out of nature’s lap back into a life filled with materialism and selfishness. It was now time to leave for Harsil, where we had booked our stay for the night. Over the past two days, the four of us had developed a close bond with Shahi especially because he was so helpful to our mom and this inseparable team that stood behind each other during the most difficult times had to part. We were overwhelmed with emotions. Everybody comes in our life for a reason to teach us a lesson and when their part is done, they move out and thus life goes on as if nothing has changed. Simplicity, selfless caring for others and putting in your best in whatever you do are the three things he taught me. This trek helped me to understand myself better and to overcome my self-doubts and inhibitions and to connect with my soul, about which I had somehow forgotten in my daily life.
Dad, Me & Shahi on completing the trek
All images in the document © Pooja Kumar, 2012.
