It took about 40 minutes to arrive at bridges below Walungchung gola where Kongma Khola merges with Tamur khosi. I walked past beautiful waterfall here. I have met a few porters coming from Lelep. The route went through dense forest. It took me another 20 minutes to arrive at a new suspension bridge built over Tamur Khosi. I went to the house from where I saw fumes going through chimney. I approached them so as to confirm about the route and the exact point where I will have to start climbing up from the main route towards Yak hut on the way to Hans Pokhari. They had a child who was mentally retarded. They offered me a cup of tea. I chatted with them about the region and gathered some more information about the landmarks and duration between them. The 4 houses of present here were addressed as “Jongin” village.
From here “Selep” a temporary camping ground is only a few minutes from where a narrow foot path goes up. It was a steep climb of about 2hrs to yak hut. From Selep, the route is through dense forest. I came across two abandoned huts on the way. I didn’t find anyone here. I wondered if this was the yah hut I was told about. It’s not possible to get water on the way. Only a small stream was present to quench thirst or fill the water bottle.
Only a couple of times were I able to see the sun’s rays penetrate through this dense jungle. I finally came out a ridge and saw a couple of yaks and a dog. There were two boys and a man standing outside the hut. I thought this must be the yah hut the villagers referring to. There was a family living in yak hut; one old lady, a young couple and two children who were helping the family were living there. There was surplus supply of milk and curd. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity of having milk for I don’t know when I would get some decent food. I wasn’t carrying any cooking paraphernalia to cook hot food. So I welcomed this inadvertent early lunch. I spent an hour chatting with them. I learnt that the person with whom I stayed in walungchung gola was his uncle. The couple had spent many years in sikkim and so were speaking fluent hindi.
It took another 40minutes to arrive at a point where the route was blocked with large tree branches. I thought it was a genuine sign indicating not to follow the route as it might have been swept away by some land slides which is a common phenomenon in Himalayas. But I couldn’t find any other way. Since the yak hut below was not too far I thought of going back to them rather than guessing the route. So I went back to them with my heavy sack and got clarified about it and climbed up again from the same route.
The branches were planted there by the villagers of Walunchung gola boycotting the villagers from Gyabla to follow this route and gain access to “Tipti la” to trade with Tibet. Sanctions are imposed in Himalayas as well!
The route took some traverse for about 45 minutes. After that it was very steep and never ending ascent along the ridge. It became tiring and strenuous as I gained altitude and slowly doubt crept in mind if I was on the right route. It was very dense forest of birch trees with out a proper foot path. I kept walking keeping the direction of the destination.
I was told that it would take about 2hrs to reach Hans pokhari from yak hut. It was more than three hours since I started from yak hut, with out any rest but there was no sight of a camping place or water point. As I approached almost the top of the ridge line I was following, I felt better as I could make out some features. I saw prayer flags tied at the pass like feature and felt relieved that it must lead to some village settlement if not the correct route. Near this I found another landmark that seemed like a temporary camping place for the people moving with their yaks.
I was very exhausted by now and was wishing for a water point to camp even if I don’t make it to Hans Pokhari. It was more than 4 hours since I began my journey from yak hut. It started snowing and the visibility was only a few meters. I walked for another 20 minutes and climbed a rocky ridge like feature. I was elated to see the large water body in the middle of the amphitheatre of mountain walls. There were flags tied at one end of the lake.
It was snowing heavily now. I quickly got into the buisiness of pitching my tent as close to the lake as possible. I dumped my pack in side and went up to fetch water. It was almost frozen on the surface, I broke the ice and collected water and found my way back to the tent.
I was feeling very cold. I tried to warm up my hands and feet. I changed my clothes and slipped into sleeping. I rubbed my fingers and feet rapidly to gain some heat. It comes painfully slowly. It required some good amount of determination to indulge in this survival action. It took more than 30minutes to regain comfortable warmth in the body.
I moved on to my next worry – Hunger. I drank the cold water that I collected from the lake; it was delicious considering my situation. I had some biscuits, chocolates, dry fruits and nuts for the dinner. After that, I forced myself to go out and fill the bottle with water for the night. I carefully placed this water bottle next to my body inside the sleeping bag.
I am the only one sleeping at Hans pokhari for that night. I sneaked through the tent for any views, it was still snowing incessantly. I thought about the stories of demons.? I could resist a smile come out.. I told myself that I have several tangible and immediate worries such as what if snow fall increases and turns into a storm. Where do I have to shift if the winds get harsh etc.
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