Blast from the past : Sandakphu Trek April 2014

Sandakphu peak in West Bengal.

It is situated in a national park called "Singalila" and the trail is often the Ind-Nepal border.

Day 1 :

After bidding adieu to my sister's family, I set out from Darjeeling for a place called Maneybhanjyang.
There is a shared taxi service from opposite old supermarket in Darjeeling for a fee of INR 50 for Indians to Maneybhanjyang.

I met a couple in the shared taxi.
John - An ex-german military person. Social worker now. Had spent 10 years in the military, quit to become a life guard and now works as a social worker in India with his girlfriend Catherine.
Catherine - A circus artist, now a director, is also a social worker and helps slum kids realize their potential by teaching them circus nuances.

They were really experienced hikers/trekkers and guided me a lot during the course of the trek.

I figured it would be also wise to share the guide with them, since then I would have to pay less than if I take a guide for my own self. Taking a guide is Mandatory for Sandakphu trek since it lies in a national park.

Maneybhanjyang is an hours drive away from Darjeeling.

Its a very simple village. I think the only source of income here is us, tourists.
We had food there, mostly momos and chowmein. The kind of food you stereotype north east India with.

The initial climb - Day 1 (13 Kms) :

I started ascending from Maneybhanjyang to a place called Meghma at 12 noon and then took our first halt at Lamayudhra.
The trail was a jeep road, except it wasn't a tar road but a road made out of boulders.
It was steep. I'd say 60 degrees inclination for a distance of what seemed like 10 kms (Actual 5 kms).

Lamayudhra was a collection of a couple of huts. I had maggi there and a protein bar I carried.

After another steep climb of 5 kms we reached Meghma.

The next check-point and the last of the day was Tonglu. It was supposed to be the place where we halt for the night.

On the way, I saw a border check post where John and Catherine had to make entries for their respective passports.

My shoulder had started hurting me till then. It was my bag. Poorly built for hiking and I could feel it biting into the muscles on the back of my shoulders.
It was so terrible that I was not able to reach out without experiencing agonizing pain.

With a little rest though (10 minutes), I started walking towards Tonglu.

What happened next was something I had never read anywhere on the internet.
A hailstorm.

I only had a jacket and a tshirt on and my jacket was just a windsheeter.
Initially it rained, then it rained heavily and then it hailed.

I could feel my body freezing and both my legs were badly cramped from the thighs.
Every step was pain.
Also, by now, I had reached an altitude of 3000+ metres.
I had difficulty in breathing.

I kept going on. Staying at one place wasn't a viable option.

I reached Tonglu far behind the guide and John/Catherine.

Only to find that the place is infested with Nepalese, in the village to celebrate their New years day.

We had to walk another 2 kms to a place called Tumling.
Right after the board for the entry of Singalila National park, there is a hut run by a single family.

We crashed into that place for the night.
It was a wooden hut and there was a seperate kitchen with the tradition "chulha".

One of my fondest memories of this trip is curling besides this chulha trying to stretch my painful shoulders.
We had dal, chawal, spinach, tea and lots of hot water there.

I slept fine that night. Though, the shoulder kept bothering me.

Woke up early at 5 am next morning to catch a glimpse of the sunrise but there wasn't much to see besides that due to the heavy fog.

We had breakfast and started moving on to the next destination.

Total bill was : 455 INR per head including the stay, the dinner, the breakfast and the tea(s).

Reality Check - Day 2 (23 Kms) : 

Today was a long trekking day and lots of ascending to the peak called "Sandakphu"
Sandakphu is at a height of 3656 m (12000 ft approx)

On a short distance from Tumling, we had to descend a little to a place called "Jhaubari"
While descending I managed to catch a glimpse of the great Kanchejunga peak.

Clicked as many pictures as I could.

It was a pain filled day too. My shoulders were screaming for help and often I had to stop and unload my baggage for a while to avoid complete muscle spasms.

I was struggling the entire day today.

My mind completely shut itself off at one point and all I was doing was walking like a brain dead zombie.
I think that helped. No thought of giving up ever crossed my mind.
It was never an option.

I stopped at Jhaubari for a food break. Only Maggi.
Thats all you get there.

Started ascending towards Kalipokhri.
The gradient was getting steep now and I was running out of breath again.
I followed the stop and go technique.

Whenever my heart beat used to get violently rapid, I took breathers.

On reaching Kalipokhri, I was so exhausted that I could faint.
I didn't, I put up a brave poker face but John and Catherine were able to deduce my exact physical state.

They insisted on taking my bag for a while looking at my condition.

I refused but they insisted too much and I gave in.

Wondering what their intentions were.
Altruism ?
Or wanting to reach the peak early?

I'm sure it was the latter.

I knew I would make it to the peak anyway. Yes, it would have been like crucifixion but that's what I expected. I didn't expect this to be a walk in the park anyway.

So, Catherine took my bag, I took hers.
Really nice bag. Good lumbar support. No sideways bulk.
Perfectly aligned with the spine.

Walking was relatively easy after that.

We stopped at Kalipokhri with light rain outside.
Had the most pathetic chowmein I've ever had in my life for a whooping 120 INR.

After that, we set off for Sandakphu peak.
The climb was steep but I was doing better now with the better bag.

After a long, arduous session of continuous climbing and after passing Bikheybhanjang (Valley of poisonous flowers), Sandakphu peak was in sight.
That was somewhat encouraging.

The altitude was taking its toll on me though.
I have spent the most of my life in sea level areas.
Delhi and Pune.

This was a new experience for me. My breaths were shorter and breathing took substantial effort.
I slowed down as we came closer to the peak.
By the time I was reaching the peak, I was crawling.

I made it somehow and sat down at the bench there for a while.

Unluckily, all accommodations there were booked since April is trekking season.
We had to walk another 2 kms to an isolated area in Sandakphu with a hut.

The huts owner was away, so the locals had occupied it and were renting it out.
I stayed in the upper pier.
John and Catherine got a room on the ground floor.

I had maggi and then I tried sleeping but to no avail.
It was too cold and I was poorly equipped to deal with that weather.

Woke up at dinner time, had yak meat, rice and dal.

After a chat with the guide, decided to complete the Phalut circuit as well since going down to Rimbik on the 16th of April wasn't a great idea.
There would be no vehicles due to the elections and I wouldn't be able to go back to Darjeeling from Rimbik.

Didn't sleep all night after that (not because of the food).
It was astonishingly cold and the noises the wind made on the upper section made it impossible for me to sleep.
I spent all night rubbing my chest to stay alive.



Acceptance - Day 3 (21 kms)

The guide told me that today would be a level walk day.

He lied.

There is nothing like a level walk in the mountains.
You're either descending or ascending.

We initially descended, which somewhat made me happy.
I had got my bag back from Catherine. Apparently, she had a tough time with it too.

After walking for an eternity, there was a considerable ascent to Phalut.

I had knee pain now.

But my mind was processing pain differently.
It didn't matter how badly it hurt.

The real question was : Are you capable to walk?
The answer was : "Painfully but yes"

Only the "yes" mattered.

I had accepted pain as a part of the journey and it wasn't bothering me anymore.

I hobbled my way to Phalut by 4 pm only to find the trekkers hut fully occupied.

What followed was a lot of confusion.

I went to the SSB camp 2 kms ahead to seek refuge but they refused owing to their inability to provide food to me. It was against the norms.

I came back with a sleeping back from the SSB and spoke to a few Bengalis who were IT professionals too.
They offered me a bed!

After a dinner of dal-chawal, I slept like a baby.

Total cost : 370 (100 for the "bed" + 130 for dinner + 140 other food)

Day 4 - The descent (24 kms)

The next day was from Phalut to Rammam.

It was mostly a descent with a little bit ascent towards Rammam.

Contrary to what I thought, the descend was also a problem.
It was too steep a descend and me, with a huge ass bag and crappy shoes had a hard, hard time.

The soil was loose and you had to be alert of your every step.

At one point I started accelerating beyond my control but the hiking stick I brought saved the day.

After a lot of knee abuse. I reached Gorkhey in the afternoon.
John and Catherine were far behind.
They were going at their own pace, clicking pictures.

I had lunch there.
Super oily aloo parathas, a coke.
John had told me coke is good to replenish blood sugar.
Its pathetic health wise normally but in this scenarios the combination of excess caffeine + sugar works in the trekkers favour.

There was a river in Gorkhey. Gorkhey river (duh!).
I dipped and washed my feet in the ice cold water and filled up my water reserves.
The cold water helped with the accumulated soreness.

On the way to Rammam we could see beautiful cedar forests and lots of yaks.

It seemed like a grass carpeted paradise.

We reached Rammam with me leading the crew.
For some reasons, I was rejuvenated and had added strength.

There were no accommodation problems with Rammam and I occupied a nice room.
Had tea.
Played football with the local kids.
Scored a goal of the 5-a-side style penalty shootout. Best football match I've ever played, experience wise.

I was feeling fulfilled, calm and in my elements.

In the evening, the Bengali guys suggested a campfire and everyone gathered around it and had a lot of political, philosophical and even hiking discussions.

There was a round of introductions (I hate that).
I spoke minimal about me. "Guy from Delhi, works in Pune, likes trekking".

Had a discussion with Martin from Czech republic about the efficacy of Yoga and why Indians aren't interested in it while the western world is going crazy about it.

It was all good.

Day 5 - The cakewalk (19 kms)

From Rammam to Srikhola to Rimbik is a steady descent of 19 kms.

I had initial plans to reach Sirikhola and take a jeep from there.

I started my hike at 7 in the morning and reached Sirikhola by 8-8:30.


Since I made it so early, I decided to go all the way and complete the trek till Rimbik.

This descent was comparatively easy then the one on Day 4.

I reached Rimbik by 11:20 AM and sat in a hotel waiting for the jeep to Darjeeling.

The trek.. was over.