KEEPING MY TREKKING INTEREST GOING

                                                   

 Foreign visitors to Bhutan keep reminding the Bhutanese that we are fortunate to be borne and be living in a beautiful country. This statement generally does not impress the Bhutanese. While we take our own country for granted, today most of us are dreaming Australia, Europe, Singapore or New York.                                                                                                                                        Recently I was attending a dinner with the exchange international students when one of the students asked me how much Bhutan I have seen. It took her by surprise when I said that I have been to all 20 districts of the country. She told me that most of the Bhutanese friends that she met in last few months have not been beyond one or two districts of their country, while she has already seen more Bhutan than her Bhutanese counterparts in her three months stay in the country. Most surprisingly the least traveled are the ones born and brought up in Thimphu. These categories of young Bhutanese are unaware that just 20 years ago their parents lived in far flung Bhutan and under extremely difficult conditions.

It is very normal for most visitors coming to Bhutan spend half of his/her time trekking in the country. My great friend, a Professor Emeritus from Princeton at 70 would have walked almost all the important high land trekking trails of western Bhutan in his one year stay in Bhutan. There is no proper account of how many foreign trekkers have published books, articles, photographs on Bhutan’s natural and cultural heritage. I wish more Bhutanese are able to do this and with greater authenticity.

Walking to and fro school from home for nearly 7 years I graduated from my primary education. To my great fortune, in my mid teens, I moved to a boarding school in the nearby town of Samchi to encounter motor vehicles and electricity for the first time. This also reduced my ‘compulsory’ trekking activities only to holidays and school vacations. I kept my walking zeal alive by organising treks across the foothills of Chengmari, Ghumanuney and Sibsoo with my friends at least once during those 5 years in the late 70s. The torturous walks across the notorious Dhamdhum river, negotiating its highly unpredictable course by crossing it over twenty times, or alternately across a thick leech infested jungle trail of Sarkitar during the monsoon to Dorokha continued for nearly another decade.
 
After my graduation in 1987, I was one of the 35 member team of young trainee officers to trek on one of the most prestigious and the longest Laya-Lingzhi-Gasa trail. This was an official 14 days trek sponsored by the Royal Institute of Management for the civil servant trainees. This unique opportunity took us through the marvelous spreads of meadows, forests of oaks, rhododendrons and conifers and treated with breath taking scenes of Jumolhari, Jitchu Drake, Lingzhi, Laya and Gasa. An extra day stay among the highlanders of Laya and another day rest in the hot springs of Gasa was an extra-ordinary treat. This hike, which originated from historical Drugyel Dzong in Paro and ended in another equally historical district of Punakha, is my most memorable trekking experience.
 

My love for trekking originates from my birth root. It was a compulsion to walk in my remote village of Myona in Dorokha Dungkhag, which was secluded from all the modern amenities like road and electricity. A two days walk away from the nearest road head, the whole district walked those days. Only about two years ago the feeder road has reached reducing the walking distance to half day to few hours, at least during the non-monsoon months. Walking in far flung and largely a steep mountainous terrain in many parts of Bhutan is a survival necessity even today and not a pleasure activity.

The frequency of treks got significantly reduced in 90’s to just about few days every year which included occasional ‘compulsory’ trek to my native village back in Dorokha. I kept my enthusiasm alive trekking on some of the nearby places such as to Bumdeling with students at least once a year. Bumdeling became my favorite destination in 2000-2002 when I selected two wetlands as a part of my limnological investigation which resulted into my PhD thesis. In May 2002, I also did a famous pilgrimage and ecological trip to Singye Dzong (4000 m) that gave me a very comfortable 6 days trip to this Nye (holy site) and back. The spectacular glacial lakes above the Singye dzong (approx 4300m) was a bonus treat besides the wonderful historical-religious caves of Singye dzong in that trip.

In the last six years, my longings for treks was kept suppressed and limited to few hours comfortable walks in very close locations. This was given a fantastic break this Sunday when I grudgingly joined a group of young enthusiasts to climb the arduous south slope facing Royal Thimphu College. The team of eight climbed the steep slopes, crossed hillocks and ridges and got above the tree line in about 4 hours finally landing in a temporary shelter of a yak herder.  We were treated with hot suja (butter-salt tea) and jou (a Bhutanese snack made from rice) followed by a hearty lunch, courtesy to Tshering Penjore, a senior employee of RTC and a well known face in this part of the meadows and highland trails. The biggest surprise came when the team disclosed at 12.00 noon that the plan was to walk along the top of the ridge for nearly four  hours (east) till we would descend for another 3-4 hours to Talakha (far east from RTC and above Semtokha). The thought of walking for another 7-8 hours at that altitude was nerve wrecking but it was a challenge that would test my trekking capacity now when I was not in my 40’s anymore!

                                                               

After a wonderful meal of rice, fish soup, mushroom datsi and suja we thanked the lady in the hut and moved forward. The breathtaking long stretch of Thimphu valley on the left and the wide span of Dagala and its surrounding mountains, meadows and greenery on the right was almost a rule of thumb throughout the walk on the ridge. The slow walks, short rests, ups, downs and straight appearing and disappearing trails characterized the trail on the ridge. We often walked brushing our bodies against the famous Bhutanese incense plants (Saang), Rhododendron bushes and hip hoped on the moraine rocks and finally crossing the highest peak on the ridge (approx. 4300m).

After the last cup of warm and sweet tea (courtesy the lady in the hut and Tshering Penjore, now our guide), the knee breaking downhill descend started at 4.30 PM. This most painful part of the trek soon lead to nightfall making the walk even more strenuous. Aided by a walking stick and with the mobile phone flashlight in hand, I desperately longed to end this part of the journey. We finally reached Talakha monastery at around 8.30PM. As soon as we landed on the peaceful compound of the monastery there was no looking back as we saw the college bus arriving on the approach road just below the temple. Of course I did not miss seeing two tents pitched by the tourists in the lawn.

I had never been as much exhausted in last several years but I was also most satisfied that I still had the courage and strength to do this perhaps many more times in next one decade at least!!

Common young Bhutanese! keep walking and stay healthy and stay connected to your roots!!