Reflections from the Himalayan trek: Part 1

Anyone ready to climb 16000 ft. in the Himalayas?’ was a post in my alumni Whatsapp group. Ten of us who graduated together many years back signed up with a trekking company for an amazing learning experience what would be one of the most beautiful, experiential, arduous, and perilous adventures. A journey of nine days climbing 16,100 ft. is lot demanding both physically and mentally especially for most of us not used to life in the mountains. The quiet moments in the long walks in the serene mountains also offers abundance opportunities to reflect and improve self-awareness.  In this article I will share two reflections.

Remembering my father at Phutsirang

Phutisarang perched at 13,474 ft./ 4100 mts. was our 4th day of the trek. As we gained altitude the oxygen in the air became thinner. Reaching our camp site at Phutisarang, we lay down to grasp for breath. As we rested for a while after a long arduous journey something strange happened that I was prepared for but never experienced. I started gasping for breath - just to get up after lying down. I felt I was recovering from a short sprint as I could hear the heavy breathing of my lungs contracting and expanding to take in oxygen at the high altitude.  I remembered my late father then.  

My father died in 2013 after battling an incurable lung disease called IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis). As an IPF patient, one becomes acutely breathless doing normal chores like getting out of bed or brushing your teeth or even chewing food. For me it was a matter of few days of breathlessness in the mountains but he battled acute breathlessness for more than six years before he died. Remembering him and experiencing a tiny fraction what he had gone through made my discomfort and the situation feel insignificant.

Love like a dog

Kafnu village at 7,878 ft is a hamlet with a few dwellings that was the last motorable village and the start to our trek. As we started the trek, ten of us had an adrenaline rush when we saw what lay in front to unravel and explore. What we did not expect was a new member to our team – a gentle Himalayan mountain dog who wagged her tail and welcomed herself to our team. As we started our trek, the dog walked with us and we believed she would turn back to the village once we crossed it, but she continued. We named her ‘Moti’ ( a pearl, in Hindi) and after a while she started responding to her new name.  Wherever we went, ‘Moti’ followed, matching our stride, our pace and rest schedules. While as trekkers we had gears to support crossing the freezing ice water rivulets, the sixty degree climbs, gushing streams or gliding down snow, Moti challenged herself to cross each of the hurdles to be in our company.  

Our trek guides warned, that once we would cross the highest peak, the Pin Bhaba pass at 16100 ft. we would trek to the other side of the mountains and finally reach the village of Mudh where trekkers would be fined heavily for bringing a ‘stray’ dog. Hence, with a heavy heart we hugged ‘Moti’ one last time and and proceeded from Mangrungse at 13,674 ft without Moti for the final destination of Madh.  As Moti would not give up leaving us, she had to be physically stopped by tying her up till we departed and assuming she would go back to the original village of Kafnu where she came from.  We were very sad to bid her goodbye but at the same wanted her to get back to her village in Kafnu safely. We carried on with our trek to the last seven hours of our journey to Mudh village. After reaching Mudh village, I found the first restaurant after nine days and it was like finding an oasis in a desert. As I settled down with my first omelette in nine days, I found a familiar bark at the door. It was Moti wagging her tail. She had found her way to reach Madh! We were overjoyed but remorseful on the possibility of the short lived reunion.

Next morning before sunrise as we were loading our luggage on to the bus, Moti was staring at our bus with rapt attention and not wagging her tail any more. She knew we were leaving for good and she will not be able to join us anymore.

Dogs have a lot to teach us. Moti loved us unconditionally. She did not expect anything but our company. That’s why humans are reminded to ‘love like a dog.'

More reflections in the next article.

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