My Himalayan Trekking Adventure: Goechala trek conclusion (Kokchurong – Bakhim – Yuksom)

It is day 7 of the trek, May 13, 2014. I am extra motivated to get down to lower altitude as my face is swollen, most likely as a result of the high altitude. We are still high in Kokchurong at approximately 3,725m (12,200ft). Today, we will retrace our steps - omitting Dzongri - and heading directly for Phedang (3,650m, 12,000ft), then Tsokha (2,900m, 9,500ft), then Bakhim (2,750m, 9,022ft) for the night.

Toward Phedang

The descent is much easier but it requires concentration as it is not always down. There are still stretches of steep climbs up. The weather is misty and cool as we reach Phedang. I recall how I was here just a couple days ago, so tired, with Dzongri still ahead. This time, the hut is packed with trekkers passing through. Now I see where the path forks - one path to Dzongri, the other path to Kokchurong. I am relieved that I am not the one headed for Dzongri. We take a short lunch break, and have some tea. It is cloudy, but my sunglasses stay on. I don’t want to scare anyone with my puffy eyes.

Leaving Phedang, right away we meet with a steep decline. And a steep incline for those coming up. They are climbing with effort, and taking frequent breaks. I know what's going through their minds. Ahh, I, on the other hand, am going down. As we get closer to Tsokha, the clouds get thicker, and it starts raining. I stop to take my jacket out. Now, the climb down becomes muddy and slippery. I wouldn’t want to be climbing up in the rain. We are approaching the fresh green trees of the lower altitude. We pass through Tsokha. Some people have set up their tents. We are only passing through. It continues to rain on and off.

Tsokha

We reach Bakhim in the early afternoon. It is cloudy, rainy, and damp. This time we will not be camping outside. We leave our things inside the hut, but the hut is no hotel, where you can unwind, take a shower, and fall asleep on a comfortable bed underneath a warm blanket. I look forward to washing myself properly from head to toe. Just one more day.

Resting at Bakhim

We go down a little bit to a “restaurant.” It is a village house with a kitchen, and an outdoor table with the most incredible view. The clouds are so close. We could almost touch them. We rest there and occasionally warm our hands by the outdoor fire or in the kitchen. Time passes slowly when you’re not trekking. It is dusk now and our yaks and porters have arrived. Our cook will be making dinner on a portable gas stove inside the hut. I try to warm my face with a bowl of hot soup. It feels good, and my facial swelling seems to have almost disappeared. I feel relieved.

I make a toilet stop before going to bed. It is muddy from the rains, and dark now. I am happy that I don’t have to go too far for privacy. As I pull my pants up, I feel something gummy and slick on my lower back. What is it. I feel it again. Is it some bump? What is happening. First, the facial swelling, and now? I am semi-amused. I get back up to our room, and take a wet wipe to get a hold of whatever it is. And it is a little leach. You little sucker. I laugh to myself, happy that I found the guy on me in the first place.

Beds at Bakhim hut

The beds are hard, but I fall asleep without a problem. I am up with the sunrise. I grab my mirror to check out my face. The swelling and puffiness are back. Grr. Sunglasses go back on. I pack up. We eat breakfast. I am ready. It is a beautiful, fresh and sunny morning. I am feeling slightly nostalgic. This is it, the last day, the last stretch. We will be back at Yuksom around noon. The view here is fantastic.

Ravi at Bakhim looking toward Yuksom

We pass over the four familiar bridges, and I notice that the rains have changed the landscape. It must have been raining here very hard. I see mud slides and rock slides along the river bed. We pass a few fellow trekkers. They are busy doing something on the side of the path. Ravi finds out that they had buried some of their belongings here in plastic bags because they were too heavy of a load. They recovered their bundles without a problem. Good idea. I wish I had done that.

Rock slide over Prek Chu River near Yuksom

At last, I know we are getting closer to the end. The evergreen trees seem farther away, and I feel civilization looming nearby. It is not as silent and still as it was higher up. As we approach the welcome sign to the Khangchendzonga National Park, two porters with heavy blue barrels pass us by. The porters are amazingly strong. Each barrel probably weighs a good 25kg (55lb), maybe more, while I was “dying” under the weight of my, at most, 10kg (20lb) pack. And they are headed up.

Goechala trek porters on their way up

We rest one more time, have some water, and biscuits. This is it. We have finished. I did it, and I can’t wait to take a proper shower. Later on in the day, as we roam around Yuksom, we run into a group of young men, who were on their way up to Goechala at Bakhim. They couldn’t have made it all the way to Goechala and back in such a short period of time. It turns out that they decided to turn around. I am so happy that I got to do the full trek. I wonder if I will ever be back.

If you would like to trek with Ravi, you can get in touch with him at ravi4urajmishra@gmail.com - or on his Facebook pages at https://www.facebook.com/ravi4urajmishra or https://www.facebook.com/pages/RockRope-Adventures/845301602199466

Me at Yuksom
Until next time friends!

My Himalayan Trekking Adventure: Ha, and you thought the first day was tough!

I feel the sun rising and I wake up early. I am tired of sliding down all night due to the incline we’re on, and I can’t wait to get out of my sleeping bag. It feels really damp in the tent, too. I put on my boots and go up a hill behind some trees and shrubbery for some privacy. I come down and look at the view.

View from Bakhim toward Yuksom

This is one of the moments I remember very clearly. I am in a different world. It feels sacred. Silent. No cars. No airplanes. Even no people. Everyone is still asleep, except for an owl that was hoo-hoo hooting all night. She is keeping me company. We came this way. Hill after hill after hill. I enjoy this moment so much. The sun feels good, slowly drying the dampness out of me.

Bakhim campground

I see our cook is up and he sees me on the hill. People start to wake and stir. I see Ravi and he sees me and smiles. There are more trekkers who are staying inside the trekkers hut. We camped outside, next to the hut. Now, there is more foot traffic as people look for toilet privacy, that is, a good tree, or shrubbery in my case.

We take our things out of the tents and lay them out to dry. Everything feels damp. We eat breakfast, wash the dishes, pack up, and it’s time to get going again. It is 9:30 a.m. My body feels fine, but I’m not enjoying the weight of the backpack. Up. It’s the only way.

Today will be a long day. Although the distance we cover will be short, just 10km (6mi), we will make significant gains in altitude. From Bakhim (2,750m, 9,022ft), we will trek through Tsokha (2,900m, 9,500ft) through Phedang (3,650m, 12,000ft) over the Deorali Top (4,100m, 13,500ft) to Dzongri (3,950m, 13,000ft).

Tsokha

We make it to Tsokha within a couple of hours. Tsokha used to be a settlement for Tibetan refugees. It is silent and misty. This is the last village on this trek. It is cloudy or perhaps we are in the clouds. We rest at a wooden hut for a few minutes. I take a break from my backpack, have some water, and snack on some biscuits. And before long, it’s time to go again. Up. The village dog follows us for some distance.

Tsokha toward Phedang

Tsokha to Phedang is a longer stretch. It is getting tougher or maybe I am just getting tired. I am sweaty from the effort. Stopping for longer than a couple of minutes gives me a chill though. It is damp and cool. Must keep moving. I move much slower than Ravi. Often, I hear him urge me on very nicely, let’s go. I want to take breaks. Reluctantly, he agrees. The path is rocky and uneven, and, on occasion, very steep. I make a mental note to myself, next time bring only half the things.

Phedang seems so far away. We hear people ahead of us. They are up above. Have we reached Phedang?! No, it is only a clearing where a couple trekkers are taking a short break. We ask them how far to Phedang. We are only halfway there. I want to rest longer, but I know we can’t. I bite my tongue and keep moving.

While I was preparing for the trek, I remember reading about high altitude sickness and how, on the way to Dzongri, a girl got sick and had to descend to lower altitude. This was in the back of my mind all along as I was trekking, and I was continually monitoring myself for any signs: headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting.

We take another break. Several mules and a couple porters are returning from Phedang. They are coming down the rocky path as we make our way up. One mule stops, and absolutely refuses to move. The porter tries to get the mule to go, but the mule is not having it. The porter says the mule has high altitude sickness. I understand. If it were me, I also would not move. The porter gives up and continues on, leaving the mule behind. These animals know the route inside and out. He will be ok. We must get going.

As we approach Phedang, the rocky, uneven path is so steep. It could be a wall. I am exaggerating, but it is hard work getting there. Slow, careful, and deliberate. I am relying on my walking sticks a lot, which Ravi let me borrow for the duration of the trek. They are a life saver. At last, we reach Phedang. A small trekkers hut is here. It is empty at the moment. Some candy wrappers are left behind, a sign of people who must have left not too long ago.

It is definitely much cooler here. No sun. Damp. I take my pack off.  It feels nice to give my shoulders a break. We have lunch. I am starting to get cold. I try to convince Ravi that we should spend the night here. I feel like I’ve exhausted all my energy reserves. My pack feels like a ton of bricks. No. We can’t stay here. Our gear is on our yaks and they are headed for Dzongri. We have to get going again. It is already mid-afternoon and we are still far from Dzongri. I put my pack on, and in a few steps, I can’t. I tell Ravi, I can’t. It is too heavy. It is my turn to play the mule.

Next: Deorali Top – If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere.