Sarpass – Introduction (Part 1)

City life treats you well. A home you can come back to from office, an air conditioned office you can drive to the next day, friends you can drink beer with on a Saturday evening, life in the City is great. Contrast this with Living out of wet rucksacks, hiking up to the next camp in wet shoes, a sleeping bag for comfort in the night, a tent over your head & answering nature’s call where else but amidst nature. This is what one would call a Trekker’s Life.

Despite having done many treks down South, this was going to be a very different experience. I always fancied camping, Camping the real camping way. Most times during our South Indian treks, which are of 2 day duration, camping would mean sleeping in tents for the night just for the kick. Near by one would have a concrete structure with basic toilet facilities. This time around though we got to do camping the real way.

Looking back at those amazing 11 days, I recollect how disconnected I was with the city life. The only connection I must admit was to make a call home daily to tell mom I was fine & check up on things here. Guess getting away from the family bond is never easy. Each day had its share of surprises. Each day was more adventurous than the other. Just when you thought you had enough, there came the next challenge. This trek to me was as much a mental thing as it was physical. This trek was a test to the very end. Now that it is all over, looking back at it all, I still have a feeling of disconnect here. It is taking me a while to come back to the city life’s demands and very soon I will have completely given in to it. Until then I wish to cherish this lazy disconnected feeling.

The calm & peace, the spectacular views, the awesome variance in weather conditions right from hot sun to pouring rain to hail storms to the flaky snowfall. One would want it to never end. This trip only strengthened my belief that there is a lot to see in India itself & one needn’t really go out of here for it.

Sarpass – A YHAI (Youth Hostels Association of India) organized trek in the Himalayan region in Himachal Pradesh. The Base Camp was at Kasol at 6500 ft. The highest point trekked being Sarpass at 13800 ft. Highlights included, trekking on snow, sliding on snow, the route itself which is very picturesque and camping.

Sarpass Group No. - SP4. Reporting Date - 1 May 2009