Goecha La: The Last Two Day: View Point One and the return journey

It is another early call that wakes me up. The watch dial glows in the darkness of the tent - 3.30 AM.

Justin has brought a plate of hot halwa.

Looking at my facial reaction to the halwa at such an unearthly hour, he says. “Sir you need to have this. It’s a very long day today. You won’t get any food until 9 – 9.30 AM”

Most of the men from the other tents had already started for the final climb. Some started as early as 2 o clock in the night.

I mop up the plate and very soon I find myself walking through the valley.

 The full moon night makes the visibility of the surroundings better. The stars glitter in the clear sky. The snow from yesterday looks scattered and white. Up ahead, I can spot puddles of head lamps making their through the mountain. Some lie idle, giving into the extremely rarefied air. Whereas there are others that trudge their way up the mountain. The walk itself is cold and breathless. And the air is frosty. The wind is static. The Prek Chu gurgles somewhere below, on my left, hidden from view. We are treading into a territory where this river had probably originated.

By the time we reach the shores of the Samiti Lake, the darkness has started to give way to a clear pre-dawn sky. A couple of small streams emerge from the edges of the lake and disappear behind the mega structures of rock and ice. I pause and sip some water from the water bottle. But, the water has partially frozen cold into ice due to the exposure to the cold water bottle. If the walk till the Samiti Lake was difficult, then the walk further ahead looks daunting.It is a steady scramble over boulders as far as the eyes. It is the final climb and I ready myself for the last push.

“Go, go march ahead and beat the sun” shouts the voice inside my head.

Justin, too, eggs me on to proceed further.But what comes out is a whimper.

The rush of adrenaline seems to have been vanished and the blood in the veins seems to have frozen. For many, a trek to Goecha La might be a walk in the park. But for some like me, the difficulty is genuine. It depends on the physical fitness, experience and our physical reaction to high altitudes. And moments like these become overwhelming for the trekker. I see immobile figures gasping onto their breath, up ahead and cross quite a few of them as the race against the sun hots up.

The climb is illusionary - much like the other day. The top, which appears at the distance, is actually not the end. It is the prelude to a further, higher climb.

But wait. What do I see?

A contour of dark rocks resembling a wave, guards a view of ice-cream cone shaped peaks. The light and shadow of the peaks, a midst a dark blue sky is a wonder. See the pictures. Its 5.18 in the morning when I shoot my first photo.

To be a part of the phenomenon is an experience in itself. I had never seen the sun shine on peaks so near. These peaks, which are actually at a distance, are so massive and imposing that they appear to be at an arms length. Reaching the first view point is a little tricky - Of the sheer drop that I had mentioned in the first post. But beyond that it is bliss. Its heaven. And when I think about our country and its micro climates - It is hard to imagine, that when the plains of India are breathing fire, I am shivering in a cold that is freezing my senses. A prayer with some cashew nuts and chocolate that I was carrying is offered to the Gods.

The first view point is not the pass. You need to descend and then climb further to reach the second view point. It is the start of the ridge that leads to Goecha La. Permits of Goecha La are not issued normally. From a geographical standpoint, the Goecha La is the start of massive glacial zone dominated by the Talung and the Tonshyong systems. It ends at the Zemu gap, which is the watershed between the West and North Sikkim valleys. Previous expeditions to Kanchenjunga used to cross through North Sikkim. Even, when Nepal was closed for mountaineering expeditions, the Everest expedition parties used to travel to the Tibetan side of Everest by crossing the passes between Tibet and North Sikkim.

Epilogue:

I returned back to Kokchurang that day. And completed the Kokchurang to Yuksom journey the next day. Justin and the porters were happy about the extra day of rest (since ours’ last days walk is normally done in two days). Actually, a sense of urgency had developed and it took over me. I tend to believe that the monsters of difficulty are a state of the mind. And it was good that we overcame them.

Back at the Yuksom hotel I took a good bath of warm water for around an hour. Called back home. Had a lot of beer and an excellent meal of rice, chicken curry, dal and alu bhaja and a blissful sleep of over 10 hrs.it In short, it was a feast. Also, it was time to conclude this journey and plan for a new one. But now I hardly remember the difficulties. What remains are only the fascinating memories. Really, human memory is so short lived!

If you have jumped directly to this post and reading this, I would request you to read the entire log. And, if you have read the entire thread, then a special thanks to you!

Good Night!