Breakfast Babble: ED’s own little space on the interwebs where we gather to discuss ideas and get pumped up for the day. We judge things too. Sometimes. Always. Whatever, call it catharsis and join in people.
It’s true. I just hopped on a bus from Delhi to Manali and saw all the tensions of my city life getting trampled under the bus wheels. I had to wait for the city landscape to change into rolling steep hills and then mountains, and I consumed enough energy bars and chocolates to get through that part.
The fresh air (despite the honking and smoke of peak tourist season traffic in main Manali) is something to sit out a sleep-deprived bus journey for. I put up at a hostel located a little above the buzz of the main road, and breathed in the clean, coveted air. Not counting the conscious attempts to drown in smoke (fresh and organic), though.
But the traffic and crowd reminded me too much of the city hullabaloo. So my companion and I planned an escapade. An adventurous one. We laced up our trekking boots and packed our essentials while leaving the rest with the hostel staff. On the third morning, we left for Jobhra Nala, the base point of the Hampta Pass trek.
It was time to downright butcher those remaining limbs of stress still wiggling to scratch at my innards. We followed the rugged mountains into an open rocky valley while cursing those people who had littered the trail. We lost our way twice, so we could only camp at Jwara the first night, having initially pinned our hopes on Balu ka Gera.
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The little things mattered: adorable fluffy dogs guiding us, tiny vibrant and colorful flowers on every grassy patch, or fresh horse poop which showed the way. Our phones had no signal and we were free from social media battering our heads (for some time, at least).
We marveled at the distant snowy peaks and the glacial stream flowing from all the way up there (although it scared me out of my wits at one point, where we had to cross through the icy cold water, and I almost slipped and fell into it).
The following day we set off for Hampta with just a backpack, while leaving the heavy rucksacks at the tiny shop at Jwara. When we reached Balu ka Gera, I think I just loved my life a little more.
A sprawling green meadow sprinkled with vibrant flowers and a sparkling stream flowing through them and dazzling in the sunlight left us awestruck. The snowy pass between the mountains had entered into sight, as it loomed on the horizon. I think finally I got over the last shreds of stress inside me.
We lost our trail again and eventually began trekking up the wide snowy stretch to the pass. I had to navigate carefully on the slippery snow slope (I have a bad reputation for falling on my past treks, though I am improving).
Just as we reached the pass (around 12:40 PM), the snowfall began, and also with a terrific wind speed. Before I could flip out my phone and begin documentation, my hands went numb with the cold. Clouds had shrouded the landscape and we started our descent before our limbs froze.
So we returned to Manali the same day, reaching at 9:30 PM (usually the trek takes 3-4 days, but we rushed a bit and completed it in 2 days). We jumped back to the pretty lights and aesthetic cafes of Old Manali.
By the time I was en route back to Delhi, the throbbing pain of my legs and my sun-burnt nose were already making me emotional. So this is how the mountains can take away my stress (though it returned with a vengeance as soon as I came back to city life).
Sources: Blogger’s own views
Image sources: Blogger’s own photography
Feature Image designed by Saudamini Seth
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