Back from the trek and it was great. Ended up doing a 4 day trek as it proved difficult to get other people to join up with. Got a call on Thursday evening from the trekking company that there was a guy who wanted to do the trek but only 4 days. After meeting him and talking it through I decided that was probably my best bet. So on Friday morning Mark from Maastricht, our guide Ajay and I got a taxi from Darjeeling to the start which was a small town on the border with Nepal. After an early lunch of momos we had to register with the Indian border police, the first of about 10 times our passports were checked over the 4 days. And off we went, after another check at the national park office! The first couple of kilometres was a steep climb which took about an hour and a half with numerous breaks. Followed by the first of many tea stops. The rest of the day was a more gradual ascent towards the ridge to Tumling. Unfortunately it was mainly cloudy so we didn't get majestic views of the mountains but we often had glimpses of the valleys below. We met a large group of French trekkers who were on an organised camping trip with horses and their own cooks. There was also a group of 4 French who were doing the same as us and staying in the lodges dotted along the trail. About 4:30 we arrived at the first overnight stay and the French people were already there having left the lunch stop about half an hour before us. Given they had 25 to 30 years on me maybe not surprising they beat us/me there!
The lodge, which was in Nepal, was very comfortable with good, warm beds and a cosy dining area. Food was plentiful and varied and the family were friendly although communication had to go through the guides. As usual in the mountains it was an early night in preparation for an early start and a long day.
We were woken just after 5 to see the sun rise over Kanchandzonga (I may spell it different ways as the blog goes on - it's spelt all sorts of ways in town). The weather was good so we got good views of the sun touching the tops of the mountains although the view towards Everest was obstructed by cloud. After a hearty breakfast it was off on day 2 which was a climb up to Sandakphu comprising some steep climbs and some gentler slopes. The views were good for most of the morning but gradually the cloud closed in and restricted the views until by the time we were at Sandakphu the cloud enveloped the small settlement. Again the lodge was very comfortable although the food was simpler but still very nice. We had kedgeree (without the fish) for supper. This time the French were staying elsewhere and although there were more people around they weren't staying at our lodge.
Again we expected to be up early for sunrise views but the cloud hadn't lifted so Ajay didn't wake us. At this point the 'normal' route would go along the ridge to Phallut for further mountain views. As we were doing a shortened route we headed downhill through the protected Singalila Forest towards our final night's stop. The area is home to a large population of red pandas who like the abundant bamboo and fruits. The walk was very interesting and quite different from the mountain walk we had been doing previously. After about an hour we heard some noises from the forest but after thinking they might be wild boar they moved off and we never actually saw what had been making the noise. About half a mile further on we heard some more noise and something was obviously climbing a tree behind a stand of bamboo. Initially as I turned my binoculars on the tree to see what it was it was completely hidden but a shape slowly emerged from behind the foliage. At first I thought it was a monkey of some sort but it just kept getting bigger. It was all black and just concentrating on the fruit unaware of our presence. Suddenly Ajay said it's a bear and as soon as he said it it was obvious - the shape of the head and the ear being give aways. I hadn't thought about seeing bears up here. Ajay was now quite excited and rushed us back up the path about 200 yards. He told us that the bears could be dangerous and had been known to attack people. He was obviously very concerned for our safety and probably his! After deliberating he decided the best thing to do was to make lots of noise to scare the bear away. After about 20 minutes of that we eventually blazed a trail through the bush avoiding the path and skirting where we'd seen the bear, continuing to make lots of noise as we went. It was very exciting and I think the only time I've seen a bear in the wild.
The rest of the walk down to Gurdum was uneventful although it was a lovely walk through the forest. The lodge at Gurdum was set in a farming village and was bursting with flowers and other colour. We had lunch there and were going to go for an afternoon walk around the area but the heavens opened for the only real rain we saw. That cleared the skies though and the air was much clearer after that.
Another trekker arrived just before dark having taken shelter from the rain en route. She was from Cairns in Australia and had done the 6 day walk. We had dinner with her and after another early night a hearty breakfast in the sun before the last day's walk - a relatively gentle 10 km hike through the rhodedendron forest to the road at Rimbick.
And so a jeep ride back to Darjeeling.
All in all a great walk with the bear being the highlight for me.