Ghorepani-Poon Hill-Tadapani
Up and down Poon Hill then climb up climb down climb up climb down climb up and then climb down, we lay waste our lives
We woke up at
About 200 trekkers everyone with a torchlight were already queued on the trail located just at the back of the town. The heavily beaten path led us through short leafy trees and bushes. So lights twinkled and blinkered here and there all the way up to Poon Hill.
In an hour or so we were up there on the brown-grass base lawn of Poon Hill. Behind us scores of trekkers continued to plod up. Gan Che with scores of others had gone up the watch- tower and he had occupied an excellent position to take shots of the sunrise. All the others on the ground were busy selecting strategic spots for the same purpose.
The snow peaks of Dhoulagiri Himal loomed up out of thick morning mist on our left long before the break of dawn. And then the sky above and beyond these mountains began to brighten.
Mountain ranges below our eyes, towards where the sun was about to rise, formed a sea of blue ranges of differing shades. It reminded me of what I saw on both sides of somewhere near the
Then there was a hush as all cameras were held focused on some hilltop trees to the East where the sky was gradually turning into a sea of colors and hues. The sun soon broke through its surrounding crimson glow with spiky rays of first lights into the sky. And then through the twigs and leaves the rising sun peeked and then shone on us, casting magical lights and colors in the atmosphere.
At that very moment if there was a thunderous command from heaven above all the transfixed trekkers would have knelt on their knees and prayed to the Sun God in its awesome splendors. No wonder primitive folks worship the sun as their God, the source of life.
As the sun rose over the treetop and the hues disappeared from the sky, trekkers’ attention turned to the semicircular range of snow mountains which were then glowing in crystal white. After photographing the mountains their cameras turned to the brown grass and the two black dogs wagging their tails at whoever cared to look at them.
In less than half an hour the excitement died down and trekkers began to move downhill against a few who were climbing up. These latecomers overslept, I guess. Before we too left Poon Hill was back to a watching tower on a hilltop carpeted by long brown grass, with a drab tea-house.
We went back to our hotel for breakfast and then we pulled out of Ghorepani on some slippery slopes down a deep valley. Then we found ourselves climbing up again on a ridge through some jungle vegetation. We then reached another mountain top. From there we could see the surrounding snowy mountains and Poon Hill, at eye-level. Lying ahead and below us were all valleys fully carpeted with canopies of trees, just like those we used to see in tropical
Here at about 3000 m a.s.l., we met a white couple with a baby about 1 year old. They also brought along another toddler about 2 years old.
After the short rest it was a series of paths through forests of rhododendron up on high grounds and down along some stream in the ravine. As most of the steps here were unusually high compared to those we had come through, trekking downhill was torturous to our knees and backs. With blisters on both feet I was forced to slow down a lot.
At one point we past by some 15 Japanese or Korean men and women all close to 70 in age. They walked in an orderly file like well-disciplined soldiers, without any loose gaps in between them. I amused myself with the thought that these guys were afraid of falling, so walking in a file one behind another did give them some protection against hitting the ground flat. One either stumbled onto the back of the guy in front or fell back into the lap of another behind. Upon noticing that some ladies were wearing white silk gloves and putting on lipsticks I burst out laughing. I still want to hahaha, even now.
They have probably never taken a walk in the countryside in the last 60-70 years. What a shame! What a waste of precious time!
One word aptly describes these forests. They are spooky. So it was natural for me to pay attention to what might appear from behind those damp and old and dark tree trunks. But nothing unusual did happen.
Still in those forests we later checked into a hotel in a settlement of several lodgings, called Tadapani meaning “no water”. It probably suggests that in the old days horses didn’t stop here for water. It was rather early at
We spent the evening walking about the village with many stalls selling souvenirs to tourists.
After dinner I took some local liquor to keep warm and managed to read several chapters of
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