DAY IV :
The next day i got up early and immediately
clicked some fine pics; from paturi one can see Chandrashila as well as Tungnath
ji very clearly and it was a magical feeling to look at them far in the
distance. The previous night we all had a great talk next to the fire and passed
away the night till it was time for dinner. This morning the weather was again misty
and drizzly. The destination for the day was Thauli and i was told by umeid as well as my head porter that it
was a very uphill climb all the way into the mountain peaks itself and that it would
test me to the core. So armed with this cautionary advice as usual Umeid and i
set out ahead while the rest of the camp would come later. Immediately the climb
started and step by step we climbed ..huffing and puffing and chugging like a steam
loco all the time . We took a number of breathers in between in order to stabilise
the heart beat a bit but the views; Oh !!! the views they were simply
marvellous for as we climbed higher the horizon kept increasing and now i could
see the mist covered mountain ranges one after other and far in the distance
shimmering rivers in valley below while the mist moved all the while
obstructing something while revealing some other aspect. It was truly magical
and i find it so tough to describe. We continued
climbing and once we reached the peak Umeid showed me the ridge on which we had
to walk and then climb another even higher peak slope. So this was how to was
going to be as we caressed mountains by climbing almost to the summit and then using
the ridge to shift to the next range and then climb even higher, i was tired
and sore by this time for was climbing and doing this for the last 4 hours and
to add to this the cold rain was not making things any easier. Finally, umeid showed
me al mountain higher than all the surrounding ones and said that thus is the
last climb. I gritted my teeth and started the climb on soaked shoes and socks
all cold to the bone. Finally reaching the top he guided me towards aa ridge
and explained that we had reached Thauli situated at an altitude of 4100 mts.
16. The team had overtaken me by this time and the tent was up
as i gratefully unloaded my photographic gear and sat down on dry mats for a
change. Soon hot Maggi was served and nothing could have tasted more heavenly at
that point. It started raining soon enough which drove everyone inside their
tents and into the sleeping bags. The rains subsided in the evening and i came
out to click a few pics of both sides of the ridge. But what interested me the
most was the right side where the great Himalayan peaks were located right from
Chaukhmaba , Mandini , Neelkanth , Sujaal to name a few that I could recognise and in the far distance for a few fleeting seconds I could even have a glimpse of Budha
Madhmadheswar which was soon covered by the mist. I spent the daylight hours
indulging in some macro photography and as the darkness came so did the rains
which drove me back to my tent and i made myself comfortable waiting for dinner
while the kitchen tent was all warm and buzzing with the entire team crowded
out there. Dinner was served on time and consisted of hot chapatis , dal , vegetable
, papad , pickle and rice. After the dinner it felt great to have a cup of tea
and then retire for the night.
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