From Syabrubesi, the trail is a narrow sketchy climb that angles steeply uphill. I exhale a deep breath looking at the straight up hill I am to climb. I try to distract myself with immediate views. Flunked. Counting steps, panting, sweating, stopping for a sip, breathing… and before I know it, the sun warms my back and I am high above the valley on a new terrain – a viewpoint at 2300m. Ganesh Himal range, Kerung range in Tibet, Langtang Himal range and Gosaikunda range – all come to view, and my eyes’ attempt to merge them fails miserably.
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Gatlang – A traveler’s epitome
With the view, comes all too familiar torrent of emotions that precede any Himalaya trekker. Inertia comes into play. Balancing fear, energy, urge, temptation, intuition, and action is all too exhausting sometimes, when our bodies can only afford to give so much energy. I am stoked with contradictions – motionless, restless, mindless, and yet I am pretty certain I am present at the moment, facing the mighty ones on my face. My intention to continue the trek is filled with friction – it is peaceful and turbulent at the very instant, and I am denying the unhappy truth that nothing is permanent. Few clicks and I am on a descent.
It’s a flat walk from the viewpoint to Gatlang. I am psyched. I have no impression, no expectation – what’s its like? About 150 years ago, Nepal fought with Tibet over salt, and some of the regions were in Langtang. The trails were used by Tibetan traders for bartering salt with food items from Nepal. Now, we trek in those trails. Gatlang is inhabited by Tamang people, who are believed to be the descendents of Tibetans from Kerung and Tamangs from Helambu region in Nepal.
It is late afternoon, and the sun is sinking behind the high Himalayas. The light manages to filter through the clouds and highlight rows of condensed houses far below in the valley. It’s an hour since the last person I saw, and more than an hour before the village. I am walking alone and I am fearless. The only thing I know is that I am walking. No yesterday, no tomorrow. Not a thought. Call it absentminded or mindfulness. Your say.
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