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September 8th We started early for our long and enduring hike to Dhakuri.
Luckily the hike was pretty gradual and the rain wasn't too bad, though we
were going uphill for 6 solid hours. At the top we reached a temple but it
was too far to visit and we were all so tired that we just wanted to make
it to our destination. We waited at the top for the last 2 in our hiking
team so I took off my pack; what surprised me was that I was the only one
to do so! One of the instructors had convinced the four other guys in my
team that putting on a wet/cold pack before they start hiking again was a
terrible experience. I was too relieved to be at the top to follow the
advice. Little did I know, the hard part was yet to come... downhill is by
far the more challenging direction of travel, especially when it's been
raining for 2 days now.
After I nearly slid down the man-made cobblestone path to nearly the
bottom, I saw a local with two 25 foot metal pipes, one in each hand
trailing behind him, /running/ straight down and completely ignoring the
switchbacks. I saw several buildings below, but couldn't see any of the
expedition and was beginning to feel stressed out and abandoned as the
stone path turned to mud. I slipped and gushed my right side in the wet
clay as KG laughed behind me and directed me to one of the yellow guest
houses. We were finally there.
I entered the rest house and was glad to put on dry underwear but was soon
out again setting up our tent in the rain. We took our food bags and stove
over to a small 5' by 6' room where the walls were coated with thick,
stucco-like soot. Here, KG showed us all of our food and what we could make
with it. Our first cooked meal would be macaroni and cheese that I nearly
ruined by giving up hope that the cheese would melt; luckily, Tyler took
over and persisted and we feasted on our first meal.
That night, we crawled into our cramped and soaked tent for the first time
and I was happy to be sleeping cosily next to Nate. Unfortunately, we had
the rude awakening that our tent leaked from nearly every seam...
September 9th We woke to the continuing drizzle, though it miraculously
lightened up enough to learn knots and then use them to ascend a fixed line
tied to moss covered trees. The rest of the afternoon we hid in our tents
from the rain and procrastinated getting out, even to make meals.
September 10th The sky eventually cleared to blue today and we met to talk
a bit more about camping etiquette and digging catholes, even though we
still had the option in Dhakuri to use the squat-Indian toilet and wipe
with our left hand followed by a thorough washing.
We then did a team building exercise and after that had the whole day to
ourselves. I think everyone took advantage of the sun and dried their
soaked clothes while lounging with a book or striking up a conversation.
Even with the amazing afternoon, no one was surprised when the rain started
up again that night...
September 11th I wrote in my journal "I woke up to a torrential downpour
paired with birds chirping... hoe in the world could they be out in such
insane weather? and why was I about to do the same?" The day was, indeed,
very wet but also beautiful.
the Indian goddess Shiva, the destroyer, knows that the monsoons bring both
life and also destruction. We saw this as we encountered several areas
where the trail was washed into the Pindari river, leaving us a narrow and
crumbling dirt base to cross on and sometimes, nothing but slick rumble.
Today is my first hike with one of the other instructors, Gaurav, and his
positive and cheerful nature definitely showed through the rain. We stopped
at our first local tea house and as my small group took off their packs
under the cover of its roof, one of my teammates said something about how
it just rains harder and harder. Gaurav's response was "That's good." There
was a stillness of disbelief in the air followed by his explanation that
everything in life happens as it should and is thus, good no matter what
that thing happens to be. The rain certainly is good for an infinite number
of reasons and appreciating it should be done with every drop.
Our hiking group was ahead of everyone else for the day, paving the way and
also trying to find a place to call home for the night. We arrived in Khati
and stopped to check out two different rest houses but they were both full
for the night. Luckily, Gaurav has a friend with a summer rest house which
is only used for NOLS if everything else in town is full. This really was a
blessing since then we got to cram into two guest rooms with Indian toilets
for the night. Again, everyone tried to strip off wet layers to dry.
As I was taking off my drenched socks, I discovered my first leech sucking
blood from my ankle! I was fortunate since some people had been getting
leeched nearly everyday since the beginning of the course. My leech free
status up till now was entirely due to the amazing Goretex trail shoes that
my mom got me before I left. Water proof /and/ leech proof! The b*****
must've gotten in through my sock since we had basically been trudging
through a river all day.
After everyone got settled in, we ran across the courtyard to the barren
and dusty shack we deemed the kitchen for a hyperspeed baking lesson from
KG. Despite my newly forming headache and now gushing, snotty nose; I as
elected head chef and everyone in my group but faithful and sympathetic
Tyler ran to the bathroom with the infamous Indian diarrhea that seemed to
have infected my tent group.
After successfully (but over-indulgently) made dough in the back country, I
whipped up a couple pizzas, scarfed mine down, and everything after that
was a blur of pain and agony from my now splitting headache, terribly
scratchy and sore throat, dull but constant earache, and yes, still the
runny, oozing, dripping nose. Every half an hour for the next 9 that I was
in my sleeping bag, I had to get up and drink 1/3 of my Nalgene or pee of
fill up my then empty water.
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