Planting the seed to climbing a Himalayan mountain

It all started with a need to just take a week off!

All of us go through that phase where we are working all day, only to come home dead tired, to sleep early and to continue the cycle again the next day. There was a desperate need to cut this vicious cycle and just do something out of the ordinary.

Having started cycling, and also dabbed into jogging and swimming as well, the best thing for me to test my fitness was either to do a BRM (which, trust me, a whole lot of people were telling me to do immediately!) or do a trek. With the trek, the wifey would become the planner, and I did not have to think about anything! PROBLEM SOLVED!

I just needed to plant the seed in her head. She had already done a trek in the beginning of the year, and her plan was to do just 2 in a year, so getting her to accept it would be tricky. Or so I thought.....

Before I could even broach the subject, the wifey pitches in 'Isn't it just too hot here in Mumbai! Why don't we go to the Himalayas! A trek at this time of the year would be perfect!'. My plan couldn't have gone any smoother. Even Amul butter wouldn't be so smooth. The only thing remaining was to take an easy trek, and life was set in the cool lands of the Himalayas.

Alas, leaving the entire planning to the wifey does have its downsides. Being a pro trekker (having done four Himalayan treks before this one herself) the choice between an easy trek, a moderate trek, and a moderate to difficult trek was very easy for her. She chose the moderate to difficult trek. And I, having given all the responsibility to her for arranging everything, could not say anything.

Her first words were.... 'Let's go to PANGARCHULLA!'

My first thoughts were that of a Gujarati Dish. Pangarchulla sounded very much like one of those dishes you get at any Gujarati family home (like the Dhokla, Thepla, Fafda, Pangarchulla.... get it?) Given the thairu saadam lover that I am entitled to be as a TamBrahm, what else was I to think of Pangarchulla?

However, my brain stated telling me 'You dumbo! She said 'GO TO'... there is no way Pangarchulla would be a dish to GO TO!'. And that brought me back to reality.....

'We have company dear! Look, my friends are also there, and there are others who are new to trekking also going to go for this! Come on! you can do it easily!' she said.

There are very few things in life that evoke the kind of heart filled response and emotion in the wifey. Trekking is one of them. I trusted her instincts blindly in this area. For, I did not want to use my brain in anyway planning this trip! A week was chosen, and the rest was left to her.

And so the planning (by the wifey) began. With the wifey listing down all things required for the trek. And it was a long one! I never knew that a trek would require so much meticulous planning! The most important thing on my mind at that time (in fact, during the whole trip), was how to take care of nature's call. Very important. So the wet wipes, the hand sanitisers, the tissue papers, were all taken in double quantity. The assumption was that because the Himalayas were a cool place, I would not sweat at all, and hence I would be able to survive the trek on a couple of clothes. I found out later on that the assumption that I would not sweat at all was WAAYYYYYY off the mark! But still, the clothes to take on the trek were kept to a bare minimum. The cameras were set, and we were just waiting for the approvals from our respective bosses to come through (GASP!!!).

Thankfully, the approvals did not take as long as anticipated. Also, we (as in, the wifey) took our chances and booked flight and train tickets beforehand itself, to save on costs. Thankfully, no major hiccups were encountered in getting the leaves.

And thus, we were ready for the trek! My first ever Himalayan Odessey! What adventure lied ahead! To read more, please go on to my next post here.