Eternal Hate

31st July 2011

Text with 5 notes

A trip into bliss.

Down at the foothills of this green precipice, staring up into the clouds. Bags-a-packed an ready to roll, onward we march. The Distance is 9 Kms, we stand here at ‘0’. Popping a beer to numb our fears for the next 3 hours or so.

Km 9. - 9:00 AM
Slow is the ascent. Couch potatoes trolling slopes. The waterfalls to come enlighten and charge us on. Two friends looking for an escape from the noisy city streets and the callous homey warmth. Not once in 3 years have I made such a drastic decision. It was most welcomed, just like the rain. We rested soon, we knew we would. Laughing at our incapacitation. We carried on soon after. Taking the road would only tire us more. So we cut across the mountain side to shorten our stroll. Dreaming of a conquest much greater and treacherous than this. Kanchenjunga or maybe K2. But hell, if 2300 ft. does this to us, then what will 28000 ft. do?

Km 6. - 10:03 AM

We stop for water at this shabby old shack. Taking pictures of the arcs the old trees make over the road beside. He tells us there’s 5 more kms to the top, throwing a real smile of relief on our tired faces. To say we were out of shape would be an understatement. Little did we know that the fucking cunt was wrong. Well not completely, just a tad bit off. A few ways into the distance we caught a glimpse of the valley below. A beautiful cliff to trip on… if only I hadn’t quit a week ago. 5 waterfalls in the distance. 3 leveling our eyes and 2 high above them. The deep fall just inches away and blinding greenery took my mind for a ride. I knew I would write this then and there. Jungles for miles and houses the size of pencil tops were all you could see. This was just the beginning. Being at sea level and looking down from tall skyscrapers is one thing, but being on the edge of a mountain is a whole different ball game. Just watching how they fold and merge, sink and rise throws me in a frenzy. How I’ve missed this!

The valleys of green mush weren’t the only attractions. There was algae everywhere, and you know what that means - MUSHROOMS! But alas! we couldn’t eat any. Fuck our luck! Coming up to the next curve we noticed the boy with a light-purple umbrella. Years younger to us, maybe. We’d seen him take the trail that cuts through the forest and followed him to find out that it was a shortcut. Yes, the same one we used earlier. But now we had caught up to him. Amidst all our relentless panting we decided that he’d be our guide. Not that we would hire him, just follow him. We could tell he clearly knew his way around. The trail was almost nothing for him while we finished all our water lying on some rock, half dead. And just as the curve turned he was off the road again. Taking another trail up a not so gentle slope. The only footing visible was fungus rock and rubble in the mud. We stood beside the road and glared up at him. He just kept going and going. Mind you, he was holding the umbrella the whole time. Almost like he was a tight rope walker or something. By the time we started up he was gone.

The first half of the climb was pretty easy. The abundant foliage all over mountain made the slope a mediocre challenge, if only we weren’t so damn tired already. Trying to find a footing with grass and struggling to keep my one sling bag in check made it a pain. Once that was done we crashed beside the train tracks. Oh yeah, there’s a mini train that goes up the mountain. I never mentioned it because it was never the option. It’s pretty lame, but has an amazing picture perfect route. By now we were already down to our last bottle of water. As we willed ourselves back up we stared at the hard rock face of our challenge ahead. I looked up, then at my friend beside me. He flung me a suggestion neither of us would really even consider. But you know how friends fool around. We had three options. Follow the tracks uphill, follow the tracks a few yards down to the road or take the trail. That cursed, merciless, 80 degree incline, son-of-a-bitch of a trail. Needless to say we did what we do best. Which is, ‘Stupid’. We let go of our breath and began our scale.

It would have been a whole lot easier if neither of us had the weight of the beer adding to our already soaked bags. Novices. We cry. It took us 20 minutes. Clearly there was no straight path and our mystery guide was a long ways ahead of us. Probably already at the top, laughing at us, if he knew our dilemma. Once the hard part was done the deadly part began. I had already slipped twice. Since I was leading, my buddy behind knew where he was to take caution. But the climb ahead was a whole different story. Now he lead and I followed. Tossing my bag up as he got higher to cover ground that I couldn’t with my one sling piece of shit. With boulders the size of washing machines and crevices with unknown inhabitants, we had no choice but to get on all fours. I had already slipped more times now then ever in my life. Our bodies were giving it their all, It felt like my legs were about to break. There up high was the road, almost like we’d never reach it. In the final few feet of the trail I lead again. Precariously gripping every edge I could find. Til finally the steel barricade of the road was in the palm of my hand. We pulled ourselves up and collapsed on the side. Hearts beating like they’re about to burst. Frantic convulsions lashing at us. We didn’t know what ‘tired’ meant till we felt that. We couldn’t drink water. We’d die if we did. But we calmed down soon. It was the most awesome thing that happened to me all year long. We clicked a few photos of the scenery before the clouds came and soaked our heads in the mountains waters plummeting from higher edges. We saw a man passing by and asked him how far we were from the top. Amazed at our stupidity (to be climbing) he replied “4” and moved on. With new hope and pride(for conquering *The Trail*) we gathered our remaining strength and charged on.

Km 3. - 11:10 AM
We stuck to the roads after that little escapade of ours. We just didn’t have enough to give to another rough path. The cut I received above my toe during the last scale had vanished into a scar of pale red. Almost like my feet had gone dead. But we put on some AC/DC and CCR and kept on chooglin. The view from this close to the top was amazing! The waterfalls were beautiful. Cold and clean. Visibility was down to 10, maybe 12, feet. We were in the clouds. Nothing could save us now. I was sold. 2 kms more to go. There were deep valleys on every turn, and we stopped on all of them. Peering down in to white abyss. If only I could take a leap of faith. It all felt so very Gothic. Misty and dull with smoke coming from every breath. Our bodies were steaming in the cold as we sat down beside the edge to take a breather. I was convinced that our final destination had eluded us. It was a never ending road, twisting and turning from cliff to cliff. Until finally we saw it. The end was nigh. That rusty, crude mother-bitch-of-an iron board. If it wasn’t so high I’d have kissed it.

Km 0. - 12:02 PM
The boarding hid a small fall of water. I took off my shirt and kissed the rock behind. There was a very good chance I’d fall sick seeing as how wet I was from the time we started up but I just didn’t care anymore. I had reached my destination - 2305 ft. That cold shower was my reward. Biting my skin and numbing my aches. I walked the last few hundred yards shirtless. I deserved it. I turned to my friend to reaffirm our condition. We were bent and broken out of shape. If we are to climb Kanchenjunga by next year’s end, we gotta do shit like this more often, only harder, much fucking harder. But today, we rest and forget that we have legs. For we have achieved what we set out to do.

If you’re wondering where the ‘bliss’ in this is (if you couldn’t see it), I suggest pushing yourself to the limit and finding a moment in life worth living for. That was my bliss. And there’s a lot more to come. :)

Tagged: BlissCloudsExpeditionFoliageGreeneryMountain TrailTrekkingTripTrue StoryWaterfalls