After visiting many tourist offices trying to find a good bargain on trekking we ended up in the Sikkim tourist office not a minute before the lady working at the desk was set to depart for the evening. After a few minutes of talking she convinced us that the best bet was the 10 day trek in West Sikkim to the Goecha La lookout point near Kanchenjunga - the 3rd tallest mountain in the world. She forwarded us onto a preferred agency and we met with the manager within the hour. When all was said and done Devin and I were set to embark on the trek but to do it in 8 days. In the days to follow we tried (although not too hard) to find some other travelers to accompany us so that we could lower our costs as well as have some more people to adventure with. The morning before we were set to leave we felt out of chance to find some more trekking partners and conceeded to do the journey as a pair. But, as fate would have it, that morning we found out that 3 other travelers were interested in the trek. After some sweet talking and money dealing we managed to secure our 5 man team which consisted of two Canadians and three Germans. Soon after we packed our bags and met up with our guide, who was curiously named Summit. He was a young guy who spoke good english and had a nack for entertaining Devin's shenanigans - a good mix. Before too long we were all in a jeep headed to our departure city of Yuksom where we spent a night before loading up the yaks with our bags and heading towards the mountains.
Our first day started off well. We were all energized and excited for the journey before us. The scenery was foggy but nicely set on the mountainside with the trail being cut into the side of the rolling hills with a steep lesson awaiting those to ventured too far to the edge. After a few hours and a few more bridges we reached our final ascent for day 1. It was probably one of the biggest challenges of the trip - a steep graded hill that used a traversing trail to climb some 800 + meters all at once. Devin and I made it following many breaks and a change in climbing style that sided more with sprinting than casual trekking. The top was covered with dense fog but offered some comfort within a trekking cabin perched on top of the hill among a handful of houses and animal enclosures. Our first sleep was a little uneasy with 5 of us laid out hotdog style in one room each zipped up tight in our respective sleeping buns. It was not the most comfortable arrangement which led to a difficulty in falling asleep, but it was more than expected and definitely got easier as the nights rolled past.
Day 2 was a good day. We woke up to sunshine which had expelled the surrounding fog to reveal sharp white-capped mountains in the distance. We ate breakfast outside and prepared for our second ascent. The morning before I had awaken with a slight off feeling in my tonsils and on day 2 my throat was feeling a little more off-normal. I didn't think too much of it, I had a mountain to climb and the priority was putting one foot in front of the other until I reached 5000m. The hike on day 2 was no doubt the hardest in terms of grade but it was also one of the most beautiful with it being the time of year that Rhododendrons are in bloom and filled the surrounding scene with shades of pink and red.
On our way back down we had seen in more detail how far we had actually climbed upward on day 2, it was impressive. Devin and I were a little more than embarassed at our lack of courage on the last leg of the first day (we came up last by about 15-20 minutes). One of the german girls had made fun of Devin, and Tom, the male German had said something along the lines of "Yes, well you do have more insulation" to me. Which was more than enough 'encouragement' for the both of us. I put myself in 'the zone' and trudged up the winding rocky trail with devin close behind. Needless to say we pushed past our German companions to reach our day 2 summit well ahead of the group and claim the 3800m mark for the Canadians. High fives all around.
The next couple days for me was metaphorically downhill and literally uphill - I got sick. At first it seemed something of a cold accompanied by a fever and some mild joint weakness. By day 4 I was intermittently coughing and using most of my packed toilet role to blow my nose. On the night before Day 5, which was the day we were supposed to reach our final height of 5000m I awoke early before our 3:30am wake up call to find out that I felt like trash. I was coughing more now and the weakness extended to both my muscles as well as joints. When I would breathe in deep I could feel the bubbling of the liquid in the bottom of my lungs. I had been there before - Pneumonia I thought. It was clear that I wasn't in any severe state, but the mild occurance would be more than enough to make me think hard about pushing myself to the top, which probably wouldn't of happened no matter how much I willed it, and also wouldn't have been fair to slow the rest of the group down. I sunk deeper into my sleeping bag at 3:40am when I felt the silence in the room as I explained that I wouldn't be accompanying the rest to the top. Defeat. The brightside is that after everyone had left on their way I had one of the best sleeps of the trip, although my morale had taken a hit and I would be lying if I didn't at one point in time wish someone would rush in with promises of a hot bath, a back rub and chicken noodle soup. Later in the day the group had returned with wonderful stories of the patch of good weather in the morning and all the great photos they took. And they were great photos. But as it was an experience I didn't experience I'll let Devin fill whoever is interested on the details of Day 5. My day simply consisted of sleeping in, drinking hot tea and sitting by the river watching the water pass my by.
After that day we made our descent down to Yuksom which proved to be the reverse of days 2 to 4 (Metaphorically uphill and literally downhill). I was still weak and i struggled to climb some of the ups which accompanied the downs. But I managed to perk up on the last day and pushed myself to keep up with the group and at times carry on with a faster pace than the rest. When we reached the starting town I still managed a strong sense of accomplishment. Although I didn't reach the top I still spent 7 amazing days in the wild with a great group of globe trotters. And at the end of the day I ended up losing some of the 'insulation' Tom spoke of as Devin and I both estimate a loss around 15 pounds or more, each. A good start to soccer season. And then as soon as it began it ended, we were back in a jeep headed out of the Himalaya's and back to the more southern Indian culture. With a couple layover days in Siliguri to do some much needed laundry and sort out some train tickets we were soon in Kolkata boarding our plane back to Mumbai, with a lot more memories on film and a little more to smile about.
For more pictures of the trek go here!: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2293540&id=122612113&l=4089547cab
Future Travels:
- Mumbai
- Goa
- HOME!
Lessons Learned:
- You can have the will of the world, but still be tripped by mountain-sized obstacles. Humility is not a lesson in shame, but a lesson in limits. Absorb the lesson and stick around to push the limits past 5000m another day.
On the Mind:
- When I'll be going home
- Dad and Uncle Michael
- The art of Humbleness
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