Dzongri

4 am - our guide is here to wake us up! We need to leave soon to catch glimpses of the famed sunrise at Kanchenjunga. I put on all the warm clothes that I am carrying and still think maybe I could have done with another layer. The star-lit sky with almost full moon is a delight to watch. The brilliance of nature which we so miss in our urban setting! Inspiring though it was, it wasn't enough to motivate me to take out the camera and click in the cold :)

An hour's climb later we were at Dzongri top, well before the sunrise.

The eager wait...

Finally the spectacle begins...

Few amongst the loads of pics taken...

The prayer flags at Dzongri top

Today was reserved as a rest day... and the rest worked wonders to get rid of our altitude sickness. Unfortunately, Narendra had sprained his ankle on the way down from Dzongri top in the morning. Till afternoon his condition hadn't improved much. We were two days of rigourous trekking away from our destination - Goecha-la. However leaving someone alone in these conditions was not an option, we decided to all turn back.

With the trek aborted, Deepesh and I decided to go back to Dzongri top to see the sunset.

The sunset was beautiful... but the real spectacle was unfolding on the other side... the moon rise and changing colours in the sky

It had been a day well worth the effort! 

Tsokha to Dzongri

Today was going to be one of the more strenuous days of the climb. As usual we started off after a nice breakfast.

After a tiring climb we were at Phedang. A small camping site with snow-capped peaks all around. However Phedang is not a preferred camping site due to a lack of water source. We rested for around half an hour, munching on some snacks we were carrying.

Another steep climb later we were at Devrali, the highest point that we would reach today. And also... the first Kanchenjunga views

From hereon there was snow on either side of the trail

We were now at an altitude of over 4000 mtrs. The hot sun, high altitude and piercing while reflections from the snow were taking its toll. By now, all of us we feeling minor symptoms of altitude sickness. Taking frequent stops we finally reached Dzongri. A quick lunch and we were in our tents resting. The symptoms persisted till late into the night. Sleep was hard to come by. Lines from 'Into Thin Air' came to my mind... 'Attempting to climb Everest is an intrinsically irrational act - a triumph of desire over sensibility'. 

Sanchen to Tsokha

Awake early, I again stepped out of the tent as soon as daylight came... And a positive surprise...

The sun was out! Looking forward to a great day ahead, we quickly got ready and went to Lokendra's temporary kitchen for breakfast. Eggs, bread, honey, coffee...  a royal breakast!

A yak sun bathing :P

Today's trail also passed through lush green surroundings

As we neared the fourth and the final bridge, the path became mucky. A week's heavy rains had made the trail very slippery.

When we reached Bakhim we were relieved to see a small hut-cum-shop. We settled down for a ginger tea. Aditya was the happiest at the sight of the hut ;) (No prizes for guessing why)

Here's a clue why...

After hour an hour break we started the steep hike to Tsokha.

The final climb to Tsokha

The over-crowded camp site at Tsokha

The clouds came back, leaving us wondering whether our luck had run out

Tomorrow we will get our first views of Kanchenjunga... hopefully!

Yuksom to Sanchen

Daylight comes early to this part of the world. I woke up well before usual alarm time. However the quilt was very cozy and I just couldn't get myself to leave the bed :)  Around 7 am Aditya came to our room accompanied by Buddha Singh. Buddha Singh is a trek guide from Yuksom and Amogh had been in touch with him to arrange our trek as well.  He suggested that we start trekking from that day iteself, instead of the next day as initially planned. He reckoned trekking to Tsokha over 2 days would make for better acclimatization. So it was decided - we would leave in another couple of hours! Lokendra, a cheerful local guide was to be our guide on the trek.

Quickly we got ready. The skies were cloudy. It had been so for the past few days. If such conditions persisted all our efforts would be in vain - the mountain peaks would stay covered by a veil of clouds. Fingers crossed!

In some time Lokendra came back. We needed to go to the local police station to get their permission to trek. The policeman had a stern look and loved to flaunt his authority! His looks reminded me of Danny and his villainous posturing of Kancha Cheena :P He gave us a long lecture on the perils of high altitude trekking. 'Snow dekh ke tum bahut khush hota hai' 'Trek easy nahi hai - kuch bhi ho sakta hai''Last month aap jaisa hi ek ladka upar marr gaya' Finally he was done and we were all set to leave! 

The gang - all set to leave

After brief stop at the Kanchenjunga National Park office for some more permits we hit the trekking trail. Initially, the trail had many ups and downs, not very steep. Unlike Ladakh and Spiti, there was a lot of greenery around.

Within an hour we came to the site of a big landslide. This was one of the few remaining signs of the earthquake that shook Sikkim in September. Luckily West Sikkim was not very badly affected.

We could now hear faint sounds of running water. Soon we were at the first bridge of this trail. The waterfall beside it made for a great setting.

The clouds still remained a cause of concern...

Soon it started drizzling. We hadn't carried raincoats. So had to make good with the jugaad raincoat made from the plastic sheets which we picked up at the last minute in Yuksom

We crossed the second bridge and reached our first camping site, Sanchen by 2.30 pm. It had been 3-3.5 hours of trekking for Day 1. The weather was worsening

By 5 pm, it was pitch dark. By 7 we were fast  asleep... at about 2200 meters above sea level !

Dzongri Trek

During my visit to Sikkim and Darjeeling in March, the skies were cloudy. The famed view of Kanchenjunga from Pelling remained an unfulfilled wish. Little did I know my date with Kanchenjunga would come so soon :)

Kanchenjunga was somewhere behind these clouds...

Sometime in May, Aditya, Amogh and I, were talking about doing a Himalayan trek this year. Fresh from our northeast trip, Amogh and I suggested Goecha La in Sikkim. Another factor in deciding on Goecha La was that October/November is the best time to do this trek - these dates worked for all of us! Things were in cold storage for the next few months. Preparations began in right earnest only after we booked flight tickets to Bagdogra in August. What followed was a fairly regular schedule of daily cardio and Sunday hikes to Sinhagad for the next 2 months. During the course of these 2 months, Narendra and Dipesh also joined in and we were now a gang of five.

The team members

Aditya

The only member of the team to have some prior experience of trekking in the Himalayas. He had earlier been to the Pindari Glacier and Stok Kangri. His soon-to-be-married status meant he was always on the lookout for mobile network connectivity in the hills and had the best knowledge of the battery status of each of our phones :)

Amogh

The most regular trekker of the Group. Has extensively trekked in the western ghats with Sahyabramhan. Loves taking snaps of anything and everything - trees, leaves, flowers, butterflies, birds, rivers, waterfalls, mountains, people, animals. Exhausted 10 sets of batteries in 6 days!!!

Dipesh

The youngest member of the group. Complains of not being able to trek enough due to lack of company. Always looking to have a profile pic clicked.


Narendra

Mr 99%! Loves to trek and loves his D3100 even more! Had the best camera among us all... and the  pictures to show for it!

Me

The wandering soul. Always ready to head to the hills. On my first Himalayan trek, in fact my first trek in a long long time, kept wondering whether I was biting more than I could chew!

We set off on November 5th. It was a long travel day - 2 flights followed by a 6 hour journey on the mountain roads to Yuksom. We were already at around 1900 meters above sea level!

Day 1: Yuksom to Sanchen

Day 2: Sanchen to Tsokha

Day 3: Tsokha to Dzongri

Day 4: Dzongri Top

Days 5&6: The way back