Thursday, August 24, 2006

Here I Come, Himalayas- Day 3

All of us get dressed up optimistically for the trek, that is supposed to take place as per schedule, hoping that the landslide has stopped. If it has, then we decide to walk through the mess of mud and stones on the road and find another bus of GMVN on the other side. So we get our backpacks and trekking shoes and walk towards the landslide.

As we approach the place, we see a huge crowd there. We hear the thumping sounds of the stones, And I witness the first landslide in my life. The rocks roll down majestically with a loud thundering noise. Then all of a sudden, everything seems to stop. There is silence. I start hoping that this is the end of it. But immediately there is a big boulder rolling down again. We stand there and watch nature's fury. Even in its time of wrath, nature is breathtaking.






























We use this time to do a bit of trekking in lower hills out there. We wait for a couple of hours and then return back to the guest house. We try to take a nap in the dormitory provided to us for temporary accommodation. All of us know that we are helpless and we will have to patiently wait.





Finally there is good news that the landslide has stopped and the road has been cleared. So we enthusiastically continue our bus journey. After traveling for about 4-5 kms , we find ourselves stuck in another traffic jam due to another landslide. But the good news is that the land slide has stopped and the government authority is clearing the road. Nevertheless, we are stuck at that place for a couple of hours.

It is already night by the time we arrive at Joshimath. Due to some problems with the accommodation, we are taken to Auli. It is very dark out there. But I can see that we are going through some very steep, winding crude roads. It seems a bit scary. When we reach the place, the guide tells us that it is supposed to be one of the favorite spots for skiing. But since it is summer, we cannot see any snow at Auli. Besides it is very dark. We walk wearily towards our cottage. Man, it is freezing!

2 comments:

Sangeeta Ananth said...

Hi Madhoo

Thumba maja madirohag ide! I'm sure a trek to the mountains has been a rejuvenating experience. I've done quite a bit of it myself when I was in blore and seeing your pics from delhi to rishikesh brought back those memories. My base camp was at uttarkashi. Which org did u go with?

Madhooo said...

@Sangeeta: Howdu, sakat maja maaddhvi. :)
We went through Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam in Uttranchal.:)