A Game of Hide and Seek with the Mt.Everest - Sandakphu Phalut Trek (Part - 2)

Day 5 - Last chance to catch a sight of the Everest range. Did I get one?

Jump in to read!

We covered a total of 16.5 km on Day 4 and reached our stay for the night in Molley. It was an extra 1.5 km stretch from the original trekking trail. It was kind of a hidden cottage in the woods, which had an antique design. As we stepped in, my guide looked out for the caretaker, he called out loudly 'Bhaaya.' (Bhaiya in the Nepali language) His voice echoed around the mansion. Nobody responded. Swiftly a tiny man in his late 50s came out smiling inside of a room. Both my guide and the man greeted each other. I smiled and said, 'namaste' too. After waiting for a while, he showed us the rooms, all of which had 4-5 beds, oversized windows revealing the wild jungle outside and unusual silence. My legs were tired so without examining much, I dumped my backpack in one room and comforted myself. Until the next minute, my guide told me that there will be no electricity so I should adjust with candles in the dark. There was only one SSB camp next to the property, thus making the area pretty much deserted. I spent the afternoon coloring in my picture book although my mental self was more involved in planning for the next day. It was going to be a deciding day after all.

I went up to my guide who was sitting by the fireplace in the kitchen and said ’Phalut yahan s 9 km hai or mujhe sunrise wahin s dekhna hai.'(I want to see the sunrise from Phalut) He replied 'sunrise k liye 6 bje phalut pahuchna padega or yahan s raat me 3 bje niklna hoga. Sabargram s dekh lena sunrise, sab whi s dekhte hai view same hi hai.' (Phalut was 9 km away and to reach there on time, we should leave by 3 am) I further insisted on watching the sunrise from Phalut itself and returned to my room.

I was restless now, I was overthinking about the next day. All I wanted to do was have dinner and sleep early. I returned to the kitchen to spend some time until the food was ready. Following the sunset, it was slowly getting dark inside. The man told us, the property gets power supply from SSB camp for 2 hours(6-8 pm) in the day. We decided to finish our dinner and go to sleep before the power was off.

Meanwhile, the guide shared with me his past experiences in the wilderness about how he, along with two other trekkers reached Phalut in 2 hours during summers. He also narrated me about encountering a wild Bear in the groves. The man sitting next to us quietly listened to our conversation with a weak smile on his face (He could speak minimal Hindi). He said something in Nepali to my guide, which he translated for me, 'Aaram s jaana raat me, bhalu mil sakta hai.'

I looked at the time on my phone, it was 7:20 pm. I wasn't getting sleep, on the contrary, my guide who was sleeping on the bed vertically next to mine snored loudly. For the last time, I said to myself, 'So ja light jaane wali hai 8 bje.' (sleep before it gets dark)

(You know, I was scared).

02:40 am, 21st Feb - Sound of rapid winds was creating vibrations on the walls of our room. I looked out of the window, it was foggy. I realized starting the trek at 5 am than 3 am would be a better choice for the following reasons :

1. There were no settlements on the way, that means no rescue.

2. If we leave by 3 am, we would cross Sabargram at last by 4 am and we should reach Phalut by 6 am anyhow, considering we only get the view either from Sabargram or Phalut.

3. And, with the kind of weather that was pretty cold and windy, we couldn't have taken a chance to wait at Sabargram for 2 hours to get a glimpse of sunrise.

4. So in all, if we leave at 3 am, we should only stop directly in Phalut, no matter how. And if we are late, then we will miss it badly.

Yes, that's the amount of calculation I did at the moment.

It was 5:10 am, we packed our sleeping bags and backpack and left for the day. Sabargram was our halt for the sunrise. At the start, I was a bit stiff, as the trail was bushy and dark.

This trek has been different than other Himalayan treks, for one of the reasons that I didn't come across any dog on the trek. Yet, it had to be this second, when I needed a cute companion. Out of nowhere, a dog came out of the woods and started walking with us. I was sorted now.

We walked our fastest in this 1.5 km. For me, it seemed like a life or death situation.

We were halfway there, the weather on my left side was bright whereas the unclear weather on my right side was giving a skeptical feeling(because that's where the ranges were).

Singalila National Park

6:00 am - We had reached Sabargram. I left my guide behind and walked loosely towards an edge of the cliff. Drenched in sweat and shivering in cold, I was breathing heavily standing in front of The Sleeping Buddha (The Kanchenjunga range, along with a few other mountains together resemble a Buddha sleeping, hence the name). As the sun was rising slowly, rays falling on the tip of the Mt.Kanchenjunga made it shine like a gem. It was unreal.

I could see more mountains than the previous day but not Mt. Everest.

Most of the peaks were still under the mists. Plus, even if all of them were noticeable, how would I know which one was Everest! My guide was far behind.

I heard a voice from distant 'Wahan hai Mt.Everest'. Within a second, I flew with my eyes from east to west. There was barely anything noticeable on both sides. But wait, I caught something, the sight of three peaks closely located to each other. I turned around to find someone who can help me identify if it was the Everest Range. On finding no one, I glanced back to find the view, 'Oh, where is it!' I said to myself. It vanished in a fraction of seconds. I stood there unresponsive for some time until my guide arrived and said, 'Chalo Phalut k liye nikalte hai, mausam kharab ho raha fir se.' (Let us leave for Phalut, the weather is changing again)

We left for Phalut now.

Phalut

Phalut is good 9 km from Sabargram. And the last 2-3 km stretch is mostly ascended.

Besides not having perfect visibility, I could receive how beautiful the trail would be on clear days.

Yet, I was in a dilemma. Did I see something in Sabargram or was it just an illusion.

It took us 2.5 hours to reach Phalut. Despite, the trail possessing variable climate, we got the finest view on this final moment of the trek. I was overjoyed. On the last 1 km to the top, our track was playing Hide and Seek with the view. As I continued moving ahead, my eyes were mostly stuck at those ranges and endured saying, 'Stay there please, just a few more steps and I will be at the summit.'

Photo of Phalut, Singalila Forest, West Bengal by Somya Rakshit

We were at the top now, seeing the most number of mountains across the extent of 180 degrees. Out of all the different groups that had started with us, it was only me and my guide standing there. We looked at each other with a satisfying smile. No doubt, we made it together.

Except by now, he knew the reason for I was on the trek, he said 'Sirf Everest hi nahi dikh rha' (only Everest wasn't noticeable). That was one thing I didn't want to hear and dreading the same I hadn't asked it yet. But I had got the answer. I didn't say anything for a while.

However, as time was passing, I was getting agitated. Later, I went up to my guide who was sitting at a little distant and started asking names of all the peaks that were visible trying to memorize it. I did this for 'n' number of times, to which he said 'Areh nahi dikh rha baba Everest' (You won't be able to see Everest). I kept quiet now. It was tough for me to believe that out of all the peaks, only a small section where Everest was standing, was covered by the clouds. After some time I requested him to show me a picture of the Mt.Everest on his phone if he had any. Luckily, he had one, a zoomed-in picture.

Hold on, and consider every piece of what I am going to say next.

The picture revealed 3 peaks. It was a duplicate print of what I had seen in the morning from Sabargram. I was thrilled and speechless. I grabbed the phone in my hands and asked him repeatedly in astonishment, 'Pakka yahi photo hai na' (are you sure, is it the correct picture)

He said 'Ha yahi hai, Left me Lhotse, Beech me Everest or yeh right me Makalu.' (yes it is, on the left is Mt.Lhotse, in the middle is Mt.Everest and Mt.Makalu on the right) For the next few minutes, I couldn't take my eyes off that photo. How was it so accurate. I was feeling unusual, I don't think I can ever have enough words to express it. I knew, I had seen it already but couldn't tell it to him, neither I could catch the moment it in my camera and all I have now with me is the holy moment where my eyes got glued magically to the Everest range for some fraction of seconds.

It was my first long trek, and what better than starting it with Sandakphu-Phalut trek, where if you are blessed you get to see the highest peak in the world. Not many are aware of Sandakphu, and for some who are, they know it for the Kanchenjunga range.

For me, its the Mt.Everest. And that 1% hope worked amazingly for me. Every time I was falling weak, there were these magical clouds of positivity around me next second. These clouds traveled with me everywhere these 6 long days, sometimes as an examiner and mostly as a blessing.

Now that I look back, everything seems to fall just right in the place.

Starting the journey from Ghum (Darjeeling), managing to buy everything that I missed to pack, and those beautiful smiles exchanged with every local I crossed. I was even fortunate enough to a direct taxi to Manebhajan when everyone around said that I would have to break my journey somewhere in the middle of a small village called Sukhia. And then finally, on reaching Manebhajan I got the best news that other trekkers had shifted their dates. God was showering love on me in all ways.

Now we were left with last 15 km to cover for the last night of the trek. It was in a village named Gorkhey. On the way, I was nostalgic for the days passed. I was already missing everything I had experienced. I was yearning for my small team, whom I had met in Ahl (Sandakphu) homestay. 'Aapke liye mera ek advice hai, tip samjh lo Exploration is the greatest Education, aapse kuch khaas laga isliye bol raha hu.', said the homestay runner that night and now, strangely I was missing being around him. Meanwhile, I and my guide hummed our favorite songs and talked about everyone (mostly our Ahl team) we have crossed our paths with on the tour.

'Agli bar aap aana, mai aapko apne gao le chalunga Nepal me' (you should visit my village in Nepal next time), said the guide.

Ending this blog with a small note :

To Mt.Everest,

Would I be flirting if I say, I traveled a total of 3156 km, out of which approximately 88 km on foot just to see you.

I don’t ever wish to conquer you, as you have already conquered my soul. However, I crave to spend a few moments of my life closest to you. Breathing heavily, heart trying to pump hard, my eyes teary and my hands freezing at that moment yet folded to thank you for calling me. Would you do this favor to me, would you call me closer next time? Till then, I am going to wait, no matter how old I get, my heart is always going to be young and my will cheerful for you.

Goodbye, until next time but closer than this time.