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All of us woke up early and headed to the dining hall camp. There was a welcome breakfast of Sambar and Idly, traditional South Indian dishes. Raghudasa recovered well through the night, there was a lot of healing on him at several different levels, it was quite a big relief to all of us. During breakfast, Swamiji and Amma reminded us the power of faith, and how it would make us accomplish the seemingly impossible.
After a half hour drive, we arrived at Gangotri, and met Praveen, our guide for the next three days, along with the porters who would help carry our luggage. Our driver Raj would be in waiting for us for the next three days. The porters headed off with our luggage, while we made some more last minute purchases, and hired a couple of mules. After completing a few formalities, we started off on the trek. By this time it is close to 9:00 AM.
 Amma and Raghudasananda set off on their ponies while the rest of us set off on foot. Raghudasa had been feeling a bit sore in his feet from the blisters, but would still cover most of the trek walking. The weather was very cold when we started, but was soon turning hot. We had layers and layers of clothes on to protect ourselves from the cold, and soon found ourselves stripping off the layers as the temperature was rising. Soon we would find that the weather in the Himalayas changes so fast and so unpredictably. One moment it would be very cold and the next it would be hot and sweltering.
The trek offered breath taking views of the Himalayas, with its snow capped mountains, its flora and fauna, its pine and deodar trees trying to reach for the skies. The vastness of the Himalayas made us feel so small and insignificant, we felt humbled by it. At the same time they would make us feel one with this universe. Mountain after mountain, each having similarities with the others, yet having their own character dotted the landscape as far as the eye can see and as far as the foot can tread. The spirit of the Himalayas is very palpable if one can connect to it. It presents itself in so many ways, speaking to us in different ways. It offers itself unconditionally to everyone who come, it teaches us to be respectful to the Mother Earth, it is sad in some places as you will read further on, and it also presents a very happy and cheerful outlook.
The trekking path is unpaved, and very rocky and has steep inclines. One side is the mountain, and the other side is the valley. The pathway is unprotected on the side of the valley. The pathway is very narrow in some places, as narrow as two feet. At times there is no discernable pathway, it is full of rocks. And at other places, there are stream crossings, with a tree trunk laid across both banks, requiring quite an act of balance to cross it! Tourists, porters, mules, all use this narrow trekking path in both directions. As the mules approach us from either direction and cross us, we lean against the mountain to make enough room for them to cross us. The pathway is fragile, especially on the side of the valley, it requires a great act of faith to trek the entire distance.
 Gangotri is at an altitude of 3048 meters (10,000 feet) above sea level. It is one of the four dhams (holy places), the place where millions of people come to pay respects to Mother Ganga, the mighty Ganges river. Gaumukh is at an altitude of 3892 meters (12,765 feet) above sea level and is the source of the Ganga river. The glaciers of Gaumukh are a sight to behold, we will visit that shortly. We would be trekking a distance of 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) and gaining an altitude of 2,800 feet.
And so we continue the trek. As we gain altitude, the air becomes thinner, and at times we become breathless and tire quite easily. As time passes, the distances seem to stretch longer, and the backpacks heavier. The howling cold wind is enveloping us, the sun is beating down on us, we are having to maintain balance on the rocky terrain, at times it appeared that all the elements are challenging us. We were prepared to face the weather and terrain, but very soon we realized that we could not be prepared enough to undertake this trek. It was a mixed set of feelings as we continued the trek; we were exhilarated at times. And at times we were very low in energies with the elements sapping them away. There was no way back, and the way forward appeared to be impossible. What gave us strength was the thought that we were going into the very womb of the Divine Mother, to the very source where Bhagwan Shiva caught the descending Mother Ganga in His matted locks to reduce Her fury and force, and to channel Her shakti for the benefit of mankind.
At one point during the trek, when we were very low in energies, Swamiji pointed out an incredible sight. There, in the horizon, was a snow covered mountain, with a very visible face in the snow. The right eye was very visible, the left eye was discernable, there appeared to be the formation of a nose and mouth. It was the most powerful thing to see, it appeared as though the Divine Mother was looking from the mountain. This is not a man-made face on the mountain, rather it is a natural formation. There is a legend behind this face in the mountain, more on that later. What strength it gave us at the moment we saw it, thank you Divine Mother!
Swamiji and Amalananda were the last in the group. The thinning air was creating a few difficulties for all, but specially Swamiji. All of us regrouped ourselves at a camping site called Cheervasa, about 9 KM from Gangotri. Praveen, our guide, had packed some lunch for us, which we gladly ate. The plan of the day was for all of us to trek upto Bhojbasa, a base camp for Gaumukh. Bhojbasa was still 5 KM away, and the trek seemed to get more and more difficult. As we started on the second part of the trek, Avinash appeared to have some difficulties and was glad to mount a mule. Later Carla would also mount a mule, while Greg walked alongside Amma. Swamiji, Raghudasa and Amalananda were the last. We tried to keep ourselves in good humor by saying that Bhojbasa was only 15 minutes away, was just around the corner. And so we proceeded at a snail's pace at times. The path, if there was one, was extremely rocky, requiring a lot of focus. We finally reached the Bhojbasa basecamp, and were so glad that we came to the end of the trek for the day. All of us were so tired, our muscles were cramped, hands and legs were numb with the cold, we were barely able to talk audibly. We cuddled under the covers to keep ourselves warm.
 Our porters, who carried our luggage, and also the camping and cooking equipment had not yet arrived as apparently they were having difficulties along the way, so we checked into a 8-bed tent owned by the local tourism board. Soon, the porters arrived and set up a cooking tent. We were all so happy to drink the hot piping tomato soup they gave us. We felt as though the spirit of the Himalayas was communicating with us, we were humbled that we could make it to the basecamp despite the limitations that each of us in the group had, and especially Raghudasa, with his sore feet from the blisters of the firewalk. Swamiji's body temperature appeared to be dropping, Amma was getting very concerned about that. With a combination of hot water packs and covering under layers and layers of warm clothing, his condition improved, and we were all very much relieved. Tired, we all went to sleep, in anticipation of the next day. |
