Srisha Poudel

At the end, it’s all about the people that you’re traveling with and the bond that you’ve established through all those journeys….

Traveling fuels my soul and keeps me going. It gives me the pleasure to see new places, do new things, experience new cultures and deepen the bond with my wandering buddies. But for the last six months, I have had no chance to go on an incredible adventure. No action, no anticipation, and no new reminiscences.

So, retrieving some past experiences, I’m writing about a place I’ve been so close to but didn’t get an avenue to discover.

It was October of 2018.  I went to the Tilicho Trek with four of my friends. This trek was meant to be the Annapurna Circuit Trek and our intended destination was the Thorong-La pass that lies at 5416 meters altitude on the border of Manang and Mustang district. It was the highest point in this trek, as well.

The trek was supposed to start from Lamjung and end at Muktinath, making Thorong-La the final destination to reach. The intention was to take the most out of the Tilicho, return to Shree Kharka, and hit the Annapurna Circuit Trail. From here, we would have approached the pass in four days, and concluded our journey.

There was a trail up from Shree Kharka which will lead us to Yak Kharka, 4000 meters. From there at an altitude of 4560 meters reaching Thorong Phedi. Then to the 4890-meter high camp, and finally to the 5416-meter Thorong-La pass.

We were all incredibly thrilled to go on this trip and one of the key motivations that pulled us on this trek was the fact that we were going to start from Manang, walk past one of the world’s highest passes and wrap up at Mustang. Then we’d go to Pokhara from there, and chill for a few days. And return home with joyous faces.

But things started happening and Tilicho Trek became somewhat our only destination.

Problems emerged from Shree Kharka, which resulted in us re-planning our trip in the middle. Two friends of ours have already left. And only three of us were going to reach Tilicho. When we reached Shree Kharka we already were trekking for five days.

We would still have to walk for three more days to reach Tilicho and back. Shree Kharka has been the coldest since we began our adventure so we were agitated to think how cold the further places would be. We were so optimistic, we couldn’t give up. But our bodies have been opposing. Ongoing five days of walking, with a week more of it ahead was going to be too intense.

The first struggle we encountered was the severe cold weather. The tap waters use to freeze entirely in the morning, and we could not do anything to keep ourselves warm. Our bodies wouldn’t consider warming up unless and until we start to walk.

The second challenge I genuinely felt was that we had been out of the chaotic environment without convenience for so many days that we felt suffocated. Suffocated in a sense, the atmosphere was too quiet, and the wind was the only sound we hear. The extremely calm ambiance made us somehow distressed and obligated us to revert to the comfortable habits.

I also believe that if those two friends had stayed, we would have extended the trek to a significant extent.

It was just the three of us against our own struggle. One of my friends has tried to make us feel comfortable in continuing our trip and the other has suggested going back.. We all wanted to continue, but deep down we knew it was best to let it be as complexities would continue rising.

Eventually, we returned home. We assured each other that we’re sure to return and complete it next time.

The real lesson I drew from this trip was the realization that not everything is going to go as we had expected. We need to reevaluate and often reconfigure our strategies around what’s best for the scenario. But it also helped me realize that dropping everything we expected and beginning a new journey is not very easy. At the end, it’s all about the people that you’re traveling with and the bond that you’ve established through all those journeys.

So, we’re still waiting for the right moment to grant this trip another shot and recall all of our experiences along with making some new ones.

Photo From Needpix.com

Also Read:

Tilicho Tales | A Travel Blog by Srisha Poudel

Letter to My Future Self | Poetry by Sabi Thapa

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