Goech La Trek: Day 11

Day 11

Wednesday 10 May 2017

Yuksom to Siliguri

Officially last day of our trek itinerary. It would be again a long scenic journey across the mountains. Amit, Mohan, Sushma, Brahma, Sheetal and Atul left early in one car. They headed directly to Bagdogra airport to catch the flight for Delhi. Remaining 2 cars left at around 7:30. I am sure everyone was feeling nostalgic while leaving Yuksom. Hotels were yet to open at Yuksom. So we decided to take tea and breakfast on the way, preferably at Jorethang (2 hrs from Yuksom). After an hour or so, we were not able to control our hunger and stopped at one village. Break started with tea and ended with samosa and banana too! We dropped Shital and Bharati at Jorethang as they planned to visit Gangtok. Journey till Siliguri was then a mundane one.
        We got dropped off at Kanchenjunga Youth Hostel. This time, we booked 2 AC rooms for us. After doing some experiments, we were able to turn on fhe ACs, thanks to Mi Note 4!! After freshening up, we went to Inox theatre at City center mall to enjoy the most happening movie - Bahubali. It was a fun posting this update on whatsapp group and getting notorious comments from the family members!

Kanchenjunga Youth Hostel @ Janchenjunga Stadium, Siliguri

 

Watching Bahubali - 2 @ INOX

Afterwards we went to Haveli hotel for dinner, as it was tried and tasted and close to our hostel.

Thursday 11 May 2017

Siliguri

Instead of writing the new article, I am covering it here. Today we were leaving from Siliguri and travelling to Bagdogra to catch our flights to Delhi and then Pune. After the morning breakfast at the stadium hotel, Advait, Ishani, Babu and Samip left for airport. We 5 (MP, Mahesh, Suhas, Vinit & Viraj) had ample time as our flights wers at 3 pm. So we hired a 6 seater auto to roam around. We first visited the Iskon temple nearby and then Guru sweet mart to enjoy the misty doi (dahi) and roshogulla (rasagulla). 

Mahesh, MP, Vinit, Suhas & Viraj

ISKON Temple @ Siliguri

Misti Doi.... finished :)

After that we directly headed to the airport. Soon after we checked in our baggage, we came to know that the flight is delayed by an hour. This meant a very tight connection for our onward journey to Pune. I quickly contacted the GoAir office there and put the priority lable on our bags. This helped a lot as our bags were arrived on the belts at Delhi airport before us! Delhi-Pune flight was from Jet air and we had to catch the shuttle to reach terminal 3. After quick check-in, we joined Samip and Suhas at the lounge to enjoy the food!
We reached home by 12:30 in the night. There was a mix feeling at that time - happy to be back to home safely and little sad for missing the nature and the fun from the trek!

Stay tuned for future updates and trek planning.

#मम
        

Goech La Trek: Day 10

Day 10

Tuesday 9 May 2017

Tsoka (9685 ft) to Yuksom via Sachen

Distance travelled: 12.7 kms

Packed lunch ready to carry

Today was the last day of our trek. After the breakfast (umapa and pasta), we started from Tsoka at 7:55 am. We crossed Bhakim within an hour, and started further. (video) Another 1 hour of descent and we reached the iron bridge at Prek Chu river. We stopped here to take a bite of energy bar, had a chitchat with 2 groups heading towards Tsoka and resumed our journey. 
View from the bridge (video)
Rain started pouring soon after crossing the bridge. Shital, Sheetal, Brahma and I were together now. We quickly put on the poncho. With every descent, we were getting more comfortable due to increase in oxygen levels. We were at Sachen campsite in next 30 minutes. Shital decided to wait here with Pratik for Brahma and Sheetal. It was only 10:30 in the clock, not a good time for lunch. Hence I started my walk towards Yuksom. This entire trail, I was again alone enjoying the beautiful nature around. 
20 minutes before Yuksom, I took a break to take a bite from my lunch box.

After reaching the hotel

        
          After reaching the hotel, I concluded the trek by first removing the shoes (and the ever stinking socks) before entering the room. My roomies (Atul, Vinit and Viraj) were already freshened up and it was my time now. What an awesome feeling of taking a bath (and changing clothes) after 9 days. I tried to finish by lunch, but the attempt was not completely successful. Internet connectivity helped us to contact more well-wishers!. Slowly one by one, the team members started joining us at the hotel.
        





After some rest, we decided to roam around the Yuksom town. The view of the small town in lush green mountains was awesome. We got a well trained guide in terms of Ishani. She suggested 2 options - visit the local market and Gupta's shop or visit the Dubdi Monastery. 
We chose the later one and marched towards it. Samip and Suhas returned back saying thay are not interested in walking. (These gentlemen understood it very early). Initially it looked like an easy walk, but it took close to 40 mins to reach there. Dubdi Monastery is a very old one. After the visit and photography, we traced back our route to reach the hotel for a cup of tea. Some of us experienced the silent kiss from litches on the way.

@ Dubdi Monastery

        


















Evening party was a lively one with the attraction called Tongba. Its a local drink made up of barly and other grains. Just pour the hot water and enjoy the drink. Feedback session was more interesting (and open) due to Tongba effect. Everyone shared their experiences and wished to do more Himalayan treks in future. We enjoyed Tashi's superb food one more time (or the last time in this trek). With all these beautiful memories, we went back to our rooms to catch up Mt. Kanchenjunga again in dreams!

My stats for the day:
Pulse: 77.  O2: 97.  Breathing rate: 15

Garmin details:
Tsoka to Yuksom

#मम

Goech La Trek: Day 9

Day 9

Monday 8 May 2017

Thansing to Tsoka (9685 ft) via Kokachurang and Phedang

Distance travelled: 15.6 kms

All together

Today we planned to leave Thansing by 7:30. Weather was good and I decided to take photograph with our kitchen staff and trek leads. We had photography session with Mt. Kanchenjunga and Mt. Pandim as backdrops. We started our return journey at 7:45 am. Thansing to Kokachurang was now a descent, however we took more than 1 hr due to frequent stops for photography.

Nerba, Vinit, Napula, Sajan & Mahesh

My saviour, Nerba

Entire support crew

With Tashi, our cook

With Prateek, Team leader

Mt. Kanchenjunga & Mt. Pandim

 

Mt. Pandim and I

With Thansing Chowkidar @ Kokachurang

With Napula

Kokachurang - the haunted place !!

@ Phedang

        The trail from Kokachurang to Phedang was a long walk through dense forest of rhododendrons. It was almost a flat walk without any height gain or loss. We got seperated in 3-4 groups in this journey. It was so pleasant walking in the lonely path and I chose the same to walk alone for some time. We reached Phedang at 12:30 pm and finished our pack lunch.

Lonely walk

 

 

        
   
  
     The jungle walk photos

 From Phedang, trail till Tsoka was steep descent again in the dense forest. We covered the same in 2 hours. Here too I chose to remain alone for majority of the time. At one point, air breeze was cool and birds were singing. I slept for 20-30 mins in this heavenly atmosphere.

        








          At Tsoka, we had to change our earlier campsite as it was occupied by HMI participants. Everyone was too tired (or relaxed) since yesterday to do stretching after reaching the destination. Instead we all were busy searching for cellular network!
After connecting with our families, we were back to discussions about the mountains and the peaks we sighted. Everyone had different opinions about the peaks, hence we met the HMI instructor as well. However did not get any satisfying answer. We tried to check with Pratik, however he was too busy in reading to come out of the tent. Based on the consensus, we labeled the peaks finally (Which got changed after Tashi's clarification next morning!!!).
        Our evening was very much beautiful. Tashi made a beautiful dinner. Everyone was eager to finish the dinner due to the next program. We all gave our introduction and then started our cultural activities, singing Nepali and Marathi songs. We thoroughly enjoyed this lively session.

Decorated pulao for dinner

Dinner menu

Dance & Song program

        At 10:30 pm (this was very late considering our earlier 7 days experience. Might be a sign of return to civilized world!!), we went to bed to get ready for last leg of our trek.

My stats for the day:
Pulse: 77.  O2: 97.  Breathing rate: 15 (good sign as coming back to normal at lower altitude)

Garmin details:
Thansing to Tsok

#मम

Goech La Trek: Day 8

Day 8

Sunday 7 May 2017

Thansing (12900 ft) to Goech La view point 1 (15200 ft) 

                                         ..... and back to Thansing

Distance traveled: 15.6 kms

This day would be memorable for each and everyone. The efforts we put in practice and preparation would be paid off and we were eagerly waiting for it. Everyone responded the midnight wake up call, quickly freshened up (their minds only... It was too cold to make contact of water with face) and assembled in the dining area with their bags. Our kitchen staff was very prompt and were ready with our packed breakfast and hot water to refill our bottles. They even prepared the hot porridge, which we ate just to gain more energy.
We started at 12:30 am with first target in mind - reaching Lamuney campsite in 2 hours. Some portions of the trail, especially near all water streams, were very slippery due to conversion of snow into ice. With careful walk and head light assistance, all the team reached Lamuney (13500 ft) well in time. After a small break, we quickly marched to our next milestone of Samiti lake (14100 ft), which we crossed at 4:10 am. Now the time was running very fast with sunrise expected to be at 5 am. Here we got divided and the runners hastily moved towards view point. They had now a single aim, reach the view point to get first sight of the golden yellow peaks during sunrise. As soon as the team realized that they would be short by 10 minutes, they suddenly ran towards left on a small hill. The view from here was simply mind blowing.

First view of the golden peaks

L: Forked peak R: Mt. Kanchenjunga

After witnessing the beautiful sunrise, team marched to summit the view point 1. (Visiting view point 2 and further is banned due to presence of snow leopards). The pathway towards it was little dangerous, however enthusiasm overcame the fear and we reached the view point 1 (15200 ft). The temperature was definitely below zero, however everybody had mouth and eyes wide open in awe with the astonishing view of Mt. Kanchenjunga and surrounding mountains. (Click here for the video) 

Pug marks of snow leopard

With Nerba at View point 1

  

Everything else looked minuscule in front of these mountain range. We tried to store as much as possible in our mind and cameras and started returning back. Now crossing the slippery path looked like a herculean task. Our sherpa, Napula and Nerba, steered us smoothly. (I have a beautiful story to narrate. Whenever you meet me in person, do ask for it!!)

Returning back from View point

Samiti Lake at downside

Now the return path, which we literally ran in the morning seemed little tough due to snow. We came down to Samiti lake, had finished our breakfast and spent time capturing the mirror perfect reflection of the mountains in the steady water. Everyone was feeling not to go back to campsite and stay as much time as possible near the Samiti lake. However we heard the weather changes here so frequently and it was not a wise idea to stay longer. Hence unwanted though, we started our return path. Now reaching Lamuney and Thansing looked like a distant task as we started dragging ourselves. 

      Breakfast time at Samiti Lake

The beautiful reflections at Samiti Lake

After crossing Lamuney, Mohan and I thought to sit in the water and relax. Samip, Suhas, MP and Babu too joined us and we spent close to 30 mins in the chilled glacier water. We were fortunate today as weather was bright with sun shining over the head. We reached campsite post noon, relaxed and enjoyed our lunch. We hardly slept in the afternoon as our minds were still roaming in the mountains. 


 View of the valley & river

 

We celebrated teams success during dinner time. Now 2 days remaining of our trek, 2 days of long walk - from the most serene place to the civilized place. Tomorrows call was 6-7-7:30. Everyday whenever we went to bed, we slept thinking about the next day. Now the situation got reversed. We went to bed, however were thinking about the Mt. Kanchenjunga and other peaks only.

My stats for the day:
Pulse: 86.  O2: 92.  Breathing rate: 21

Garmin details:
Thansing to View Point 1

View Point 1 to Samiti Lake

Samiti Lake to Thansing
#मम