I don't wanna go up — Defining Lakshmi time.
Recount my trekking journey to Everest base camp in April 2022. This is the first in the series of blogs.
This is my story of going up, yes it is about ascending the most discerning mountain of all — Everest. No, we are not even talking of summitting Everest but reaching the base camp. I hadn't thought of summitting the mountains at all but had a dream of walking up to the base camp always.
The journey started when my partner proposed the idea of climbing up and the dates were fixed. As usual, the packing list was brought, and he took care of it all. Actually, my confidence was intact, we have done Annapurna base camp and Sandakpu without much gear. The thing which I forgot was that these heights were much lesser than EBC is and I was much younger too. With all these ignorances reached the bottom that is Kathmandu. Felt like a big picnic. A group of 18, which is over-enthusiastic is what I could realize. All were charged and from different walks of life and varied age groups. Some of them were yoga gurus and some of them have done Randonneuring. Most of them are active is what I could realize.
Didn't knows we were on an extended picnic at the start itself. Our flights to Lukla from Kathmandu, just wouldn't take off because of bad weather. We had instances in Kathmandu airport of boarding the bus with boarding passes and getting deboarded and once more back to floors of the airport for more wait. The airport there seemed like a bus stand most of the time, I guess that's the case with small airports. I thought I saw the smallest airport, but no there are airports smaller than that too… The Ramechap airport, is just a small building, a make-shift place for security checks, you can actually run to the flight if you relate from the side too. Hope the stern security at the Ramechap not reading this. So we were trying out luck to fly to Lukla from Ramechap the next day. Another picnic there I would say, squandering in the airport floors which reminded me of how we used to sit in bus depo when young on bedsheets when traveling as an extended family. The nearby tea shop, was hijacked by us when hungry to eat away all its supplies, squandered there too, chatted with locals, and realized the basic funda of Nepal living “Dal Bhat Power 24 Hour”.
So move over all the health foods around, it is declared that we would be on this diet of this or the next some days till we reach the base camp and back, as the Nepalis believe that it is official khana of theirs. For variety just add some bokchoi on the side which is boiled, and not to forget the vinegared veggies. So the cushy beds and sofa are replaced with floors, the toilets are minimalized and so is the usage is my case and food is also minimal. So this is what we call minimalism! Still, the spirit is intact, but the flight gods are not kind to us. No, we can’t fly still, the only way is to take a bus + Sumo to a point which is way before the starting point. It just didn't strike me then that so we are already late and we are going to walk more as the point is “way before the starting point”. In my mind I am here to do it, so be it, let's do it.
The bus journey on hills, you know it, we played games, sang our lungs out with antakshari, danced, and slept with bumps on our heads. After a long journey reached the first stop to rest and rejuvenate before our Sumo journey which is supposedly a four-wheel drive of almost 6 hours. Still spirit intact. I would come back to spirit quite often as that is the only thing that would keep you going on such journeys, the rest of things just are irrelevant. The fun bunch around kept the spirits up should say. Not to mention some fake romances which were already brewing among fellow trekkers. That's another writeup on its own, how the mountain haze can make you think you just found your soul mate.
Daal baath in and slept for a few hours, which isn't new for me, I can survive with lesser sleep on a normal day too. Hopped on the sumo, stacking ourselves up with 4 in the back seat. It was cold so cozying up as 4 at the back really helped, but once the journey started, is it poking here or is it bumping up there. But the music played by PK kept us going till we reached the starting point of Thamdhera by Day 3, 9 am from where we were to start our walk. All geared up started the initial climb and was huffing and puffing. No rhythm in the walk, which resulted in exhaustion. So the hills teach you many things first being, you might think you can conquer her with your big strides, no she likes you to step on her with smaller steps. It is good for you she makes you realize in just 100 meters of the walk. Not these hasty steps, you would just often sit on the side ridges and first get your breath right and then sip water. Stopped for breakfast, stopped for lunch, and saw some fellow trekkers getting small issues like stomach bugs and such.
From the lunch, the walk distance is crucial as when do we stop is determined by that. So I was told it is 4 hours from then, but they never told me which measure. Sherpa time or Lakshmi time so is the new measure that got defined that day. Sherpa time here is 4 hours and we are yet to define Lakshmi time. But the distance now is 4 hours, so around 6 in the evening I should be somewhere which would be my home tonight. The day started at 3 am in the morning, the tough souls as we are, the spirit is intact. By 6 in the evening, it starts raining, so when in hills and there are so many mules carrying stuff, the slush on the one-step path is inevitable. So here we are being cautious on the step, rather more than before, as more chances of slipping now. Now I have a very kind Sherpa walking behind me, never crossing me, Lagpa he introduced himself. I got this privilege as I was one of the last ones in the group, so of course, the course director wants to make sure I am safe on the trail. It's dark, it's raining, it's slushy, it's a steep climb, I am asking Lagpa, how far? He says half an hour, I walk maybe 1 hour and then ask him once, and he says the same. Huh! is it that he does not know another unit of time or he is still not able to assess my capabilities of walking on such trails. So I understood there was no point in asking, so continued walking. We are at 9 PM now, exhaustion was hitting me and frustration was at its peak. Now I ask Lagpa how much more time? He says 30 mins, I lost it at that point. I just sat down on the trail which had a temple and said you can proceed and I would spend my night in my raincoat in this temple tonight. He was confused and concerned and so was my partner. Spirit check — fully depleted. They tried persuading me to proceed, I started sobbing out of what, I ain't sure, for sure of exhaustion and indefinite trail conditions, others I am yet to figure out. So that event was over, most of my penned up feeling out as tears, now ready to walk more. I see a light and a village, and I hoped that was where we were to sleep tonight. Reaches there with hope but Lagpa says we still have to go half an hour. By now I knew his unit of time is only that, and my resolve to spend the night in that village was done. By gods grace, it was Lagpa’s wife's village, she ushered us to her tea house, just to offer tea. But by the time she went to take out her tea, I just slept off on her benches with a bad headache. I conveyed to all around, I am not gonna move from this point until I get my sleep. So the course director was informed and Lagpa’s wife, Inchi had to accommodate us in one of her bedrooms and feed us as well.
To be continued …….
