For this blog entry I (Nathan) will be writing about the trekking experience that Dustin and I had last week.
A group of 18 International School of Regents students from the Pattaya campus set out for the Himalayan mountains last Thursday. Of the group there were 6 Sophmore students (including Dustin and I) who i knew well, a couple of Juniors who i also knew, and some Freshmen and middle school students. The remainder of the people attending were three teachers and one Gappie from Germany.
We took the hour and a half drive to the Bangkok aiport, the four and a half hour flight to Delhi, India, then the seven and a half hour bus drive to Dodital. Once we arrived at the guest house in Dodital, the group was exhausted because we did not have any rest in between our traveling. After a sleep and a breakfast of eggs, we met the school that had helped schedule the trek.
The Doon School is an all boys school which consisted of 500 students. We toured the campus which was very large and nice. After that we went back to the guest house, chilled and slept. Later that afternoon we went out to the town, ate and went back to the guest house to finish organising our gear and prepare for the trek the following day. The next morning we woke up at around 05:30 and took the eight hour drive to the foothills of the Himalayan mountains and thus starts day one of the trek.
Day One:
After the windy and dangerous bus trip through busy, narrow, mountain roads we got to the small mountain town. At this town we had a quick lunch and made sure we had all of our gear and loaded the gear we were not carrying on our packs and onto the pack mules. We met our two guides Everything was good to go and we set out. The first day we decided to trek approx. 8km. We trekked with our packs up narrow mountain trails. The group quickly noticed that the paths only went up (i reckon this can be expected-it is the Himalayas after all!). 12 Kg of gear seemed light at first but after a few hours it started to become heavier and heavier. Eventually, we arrived at the small mountain village. One thing i observed was that every mountain village sat near a body of flowing water. Why? This is because water is heavy, and it is a bother to carry it up the mountain trails. So, to save time and energy, villages were constructed around water that could easily be accessed by the village.
Day Two:
We woke at 06:00 and caught a quick breakfast. The group started the 14 Km trek to the next camp. Yet again, the trails were up and up. Thankfully, we did not have to carry our large packs, instead we could bring day packs which consisted of 3 litres of water, a waterproof parka, extra socks, and a utility tool. On this trail we observed some of the best scenery. The view was incredible, photos will never do it justice. We arrived at camp, ate dinner, and crashed.
Day Three:
The objective of our trek was to climb a mountain approx. 1,150 meters tall. After 3 Km of trekking through rivers and around the base of surrounding mountains we stood at the base of the mountain we were tasked to summit. I must say, it was intimidating looking up at this tower of a thing. The only way was up, and up we went. Three quarters of the way up we passed a shepherd carrying a domesticated mountain goat on his shoulders climbing the mountain. The grass was more plentiful at the summit so shepherds brought their sheep and goats for grazing three months out of the year. This short wiry Himalayan shepherd was in excellent condition. No telling how many times he made the trek up the mountain every year. The group passed him and we continued up. Finally, low on water and steam we reached the first summit. We ate a small lunch there and the guides told us of another summit approx. 2Km away but only another 150 up. Our group was given the option of going back to camp or going up to the 2nd summit. I decided to go back down, after all, the goal was achieved and the wind was blowing in which brought in fog that made the view worthless in a matter of minutes.
On the way down a very interesting situation unfolded which i will never forget. As i was coming down the mountain i passed a very narrow bend in the trail. At this part of the mountain the trail was made of gravel and wet grass. As i was walking around i slid on the gravel, the gravel brought me to the wet grass and over the side i went. I could feel myself going over and i brought both hands down quickly as possible trying to grab anything that would keep me from falling 25 feet down and on top of boulders and the freezing river. My right hand caught nothing. Thankfully, my left hand managed to fasten around a stone and caught me from sliding over and to severe injury(s). I was locked into what was called a one arm cliff hang. I looked down. Only onen hand was keeping me from falling down. I knew if i fell there was no way i would be getting down the mountain anytime soon. I managed to hoist myself with my left arm to about eye level where my right arm came into play. I managed to come up to my upper waist when the guide sprinted over, grabbed my collar, and drug me the rest of the way up. We checked for injuries, besides a few minor cuts and some bruises I was ready to lock and load. I grabbed my pack and continued to camp.
Later that night I asked the guide what he thought would have happened if i had fallen. He said he expected both legs to be broken, and possibly my back. If i had slid into the river hypothermia would have come into play. We were over 35 Km from the nearest helo landing space, and hours away from a medical clinic. If something went wrong, i would be in big trouble.
Day Three:
I woke up with stomach cramps, i managed to grab my tac. light and stumbled out of the tent. I spent the morning vomiting and other unpleasant things that i will not mention. It was apparent i would not be able to walk down the mountain, i could not keep down medication, food, or water. I get dehydrated easily and every hour of MILSIM sports i take in around 750 Mils of water. At that time dehydration was my biggest worry, if i had been at home i would have probably gone to the ER and had an IV. The guides had an extra mule. They said i could ride her down the mountain to camp. I was very thankful. When the time came for me to ride i tried to take a motion sickness pill , thankfully it went down and did not come up. The guides failed to mention there was no saddle, reigns, or stirrups. We managed to fasten stirrups out of a length of rope. Thats all i needed and down we went. I was very thankful for my experience of horse riding as a child and kid, it came into play. As i was riding down the mountain i kept looking over at the sheer cliff going hundreds of feet down. At parts of the trail i knew if the mule stumbled and fell there was little to no chance i'd be getting off the mountain. Mules prefer to walk near the edge of the trail nearest the edge because the ground does not have as many rocks and sharp stones as near the middle. As much as i was thankful for the mule, i hated it when she walked near the edge.... I had a sinking feeling as i gazed down.
Eventually, i arrived at camp tired and hungry, i was ready for a nap. I woke up knowing something was wrong. I stood up and walked out to see the rest of the group talking and chilling at camp. I felt as if i was walking in slow motion, my thoughts were slow, and i could barely walk. I went to my teacher and he told me i looked dazed and asked me if i was OK. I could not talk and nodded my head no. I spent the next 5 hours completely "stoned" out of my mind. Believe me, i felt totally chilled out. I had a reaction with the drug i took for motion sickness on the back of the mule. The teacher knew i needed to snap out of it so he and I went down to the mountain river where i got into the water. The freezing water brought me down to earth. I grabbed a meal, felt normal Nathan, and went to sleep. The next morning rested to the max, and ready to roll. A group consisting of the guide, me, and two others managed to reach the mountain town (where we had started) on the 8Km mountain trek in two hours. We took one five minute break. We arrived well before the others, i think it was a very good accomplishment for me.
Day Four:
Some of you may know of the TV show on The Discovery Channel which is to soon broadcast called Dangerous Roads. What you might not know is that it is located in the Himalayan mountains. The objective of the show is to have expert drivers manuvuer around the Himalayans mountain passing dodging cows, public buses, and for the most part try not to fall off the edge. Bottom line is that these roads are windy and just insane. If you dont take a motion sickness pill you will puke. Guaranteed. So, i popped another motion sickness pill. Approx. 4 hours later i was yet again feeling really good. Too good. I was laughing like a baby, and totally out of it. I dont remember all that happened but from the sounds of it, the group would have taken a video but they were afraid i would be embarrassed when i saw it, so being good guys and girls no video was ever taken. I came out of it that evening. Two hours of trekking and seven hours of bus driving later we had a wonderful dinner with lamb and chicken (remember beef is a no-go in India). We arrived at the hotel approx. 01:30 in Dodital.
Day Five, Six, and Seven:
The flight back to Thailand (and beef yay) was scheduled at 23:30 in Delhi. After the bus ride we had time to kill so we went to a market where i picked up some gifts for some special people. We got to the airport and sadly found out that we could not change the rupees to Thai Baht or US Dollar once we were at our terminal. Why we could not i dunno. Eventually after the flight, sleeping, and the bus ride from Bangkok to Pattaya, the last day of school, we arrived home.
It was a good trip, even though some unfortunate things happened i think it was totally worth going and i was happy i went. I will always remember the events that happened. Nobody was hurt, and nothing terrible happened. We all made it back to Thailand and India with no passport or visa problems. India was good for trekking, however it was somewhat dirty in the city. The rural areas were not so bad. The different casts of people are obvious which is very sad. If you are thinking about going to India, perhaps do some research and find out what its like. Besides, Thailand is just only a "stones throw away" right? And guess who lives there *wink*. All the people i met in India were very nice. We received lots of stares (it was remarked from a friend in our group that it was as if we were some space alien of sorts). But we returned the stares with smiles and waves. While driving when we stopped at red lights the people next to us (buses, cars, and motorbikes) would crowd against their windows to have a good view at the foreigners. This was awkward, but somewhat amusing. I've never thrown as many 'peace" or "rock on" signs up in my life.
At the end of the day i ask myself "Would I do it all over again?" Yup, I sure would. Life after all only comes once. I'ts filled with experiences. We are the ones to choose to sit down and watch them go by or seize the moment and accept them, learn new things, and benefit ourselves and others from it.
If your are still reading this. Good job. I appreciate the fact that you "stayed on the ride" as long as you did. Perhaps i will do this again in the future.
Regards,
-Nathan
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