I had gone to Sandakphu in the January of 1990. Alone. I used to work in Bhutan then and had come home on my first winter vacation. None of my friends wanted to join me for the trek. So I went alone. It was a thoroughly enjoyable trip. I remember all the silly things I did or did not do alone. I saw snow in Sandakphu and on the way back in Rimbik forest. I had come down via Bikaybhanjang straight to Rimbik through the dense rhododendron forest and completely alone. I didn't feel scared even once. Not even when I lost my way in the forest or was bitten by a whelping bitch at Sandakphu that cold night.
Then in 1999 Monisha and I went once again. This time accompanied by Ambarish and his wife Bidisha. We took a porter. We came back via Gurdung and Srikhola. It was, once again, a thoroughly enjoyable trip (but for the Gurdung descent and its impact on the thighs). I discovered lots of things had changed in those nine years. Tumling in Nepal was now a full fledged tourist village. The route through Bikay is not taken by anyone any more. People come down via Gurdung, etc.
Now it's time to take Mampu along. She is ten years and a few months old now. We are leaving on 21st of March by Darjeeling Mail. I am all excited about the trip. After all, it's been close to 15 years and we have not trekked once in this period. Our leaves are sanctioned. Our tickets are booked. Both for going and coming back. It's now a question of waiting with bated breath. Ushnik and Jhulan are also booked for the trip. However, they are not too sure. Leaves might get cancelled at the last moment etc. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Ushnik has been trekking regularly and would be quite an asset to have in the group.
Actually Sandakphu for me this time is more of a "checking out" trek. My real intention is to go for the Chadar trek in Ladakh. I had thought of doing it this year itself. But then I thought instead of starting off with such a hard trek after so many years of inactivity, let me test my muscles out on the better known Sandakphu trail. My leg muscles tighten up easily these days after a little bit of exercise. I am worried about the steep climb down. Even in 1999 the climb down from Sandakphu to Gurdung was difficult.
This year of course we are planning to go to Phalut. So the climb down will be through some other route. But I am sure it will be equally difficult. I am hoping my muscles will hold out.
Material preparation has started in right earnest. We have already booked Darjeeling Mail. Sophie brought a down jacket for me from Germany. A Marmot, no less. It is not a hiking jacket but I got it principally for the Chadar trek where night time temperatures climb down often to -20. These jackets are needed when you stop or retire for the day. It is the best man made thing I have ever put on my body. It is comfortable with a capital C.
Regarding camera - I am more concerned about the backpack than the cameras per se. The existing backback won't do. It's too heavy and rigid for a trek. I have made up my mind about getting a Lowepro Flipside 400. Have spoken to Raunaq of Interfoto. He has promised to send it for Rs 5818 which is substantially lower than the Amazon India price.
If this is found to be a good bag I might as well put the other one up for sale. I was in two minds between the 400 and 300. However, the 400's straps look more meant for longer hikes. It also has a raincover. The 300, though adequate in terms of size, looks meant more for day trips in Rajarhat in terms of build quality and the straps. The only risk with a large bag is one tends to put in a lot of unnecessary stuff. I have to discipline myself on that.
I have just sold my Tokina 11-16 to Sujan. I am not too sure if I want to buy a walk around lens in its place whose width is more manageable. I have half a mind to go for a compact. But then will I be satisfied with the picture quality? Also, I think investment in a lens holds its value for some time. A compact will lose 90 per cent of its value in the resale market almost immediately after purchase. Tanvir apparently has a 24-70 for sale. Let me see.
Now physical exercise. Monisha and I started walking from yesterday. This morning we woke up pretty late. So we have brought the walking shoes in the car. Let's see if we can find the energy to walk a bit in the evening on our way back home.
January 30, 2014
The Flipside 400 arrived yesterday. I am really impressed by Interfoto's promptness, not to speak of the discount. The bag didn't impress me much. It doesn't look very robust. It's light. Compact. But not really a proper hiking bag. However, I think it's going to be much better than my Trekker bag for the hike. But I am certainly not putting the Trekker up for sale. If lugging a lot of gear is a priority and not walking then the Trekker is ideal. The Flipside will be ideal for day trips and this type of hikes.
I think I am going to carry just the 7D with the 400 attached, the 450D with a short wide and the tripod in this bag. Perhaps the Edirol too (I am still not sure if I want to take the Marantz on the hike). Monisha will have to help a bit too and carry the binocular and the eTrex. All other camera gear, like Tamron 90 or the various batteries and chargers will go in the porter's bag.
Meanwhile, the Vanguard Endeavor 82A has arrived. Evening of 28th, to be precise. For a first impression read here.
I am going to take it to Sandakphu and try to get a view of Everest from Phalut. It is heavy, no doubt. It will require a tripod. All granted. But I want to really see Everest. I have been shown Everest from Jaubari. I just couldn't make any head or tail of it. No more of all that crap.
I was informed that it is now possible to book the DGHC Trekker's Huts from Calcutta (I think the correct word now is DTA). There is a guy in Salt Lake. I spoke to him. He said Phalut has a capacity of 20 people. It is possible to book a 4-bedded room for Rs 500 from Calcutta. The guy's name is Suvankar Paul and his number is 9903174047. I don't think booking Phalut makes much sense. Because I am not sure if we can make it to even Meghma :-)
Forgot to mention the Quechua hiking boots I got a few months ago. It's an unheard of brand. But the boot is quite nice, at least on the plain roads of Calcutta. The grip is pretty good. Have to test it out in the mountains though.
January 31, 2014
Went for an early morning walk to the Lake with Monisha. Reached at around 5.25. It was pitch dark and quite chilly. I was perhaps the only adult in shorts and half sleeve T-shirt. But it was fun. Walked fast and did 60x3 skippings and some stretches. Felt a little niggling pain in the knee later in the morning. Walked up the stairs at office. It wasn't so painful. Let me see how the knees hold out.
This morning I checked out the scope from the rooftop. There is a bit of fringing. But I suppose that's the reason why it is priced so low compared to the more sophisticated ones. The image was good and magnification was mind boggling. Sadly enough I could check out only a few crows on a distant neighbour's house. The real test of the scope will be on the sea shore.
February 3, 2014
Physical preparation is on. In right earnest. Going to the Lake. Walking fast. Skipping. This morning did 80x3. Got Madhav to come on Sunday and loosen up the tight calf muscle and others. The knee is holding out still. I am jumping the rope on the piece of land behind Narayan's tea stall.
I spoke to Chenku today regarding windcheaters and jackets. He said he might come to Calcutta this week and that he has everything. In fact I have always taken something or the other from him on every trek. I want to put down the list of electronic equipment I want to carry with me this time.
Camera Related Items (plastic bag in porter's sack)
- Battery for 7D
- Battery for 450D
- Charger for 7D
- Charger for 450D
- All rechargeable pencil batteries
- Sony charger
- Shutter release for 7D
- Shutter release for 450D
Camera and Related Items (Flipside 400 + Monisha's backpack)
- 7D with tripod ring but no plate - FS
- 400 F 5.6 (attached to7D) - FS
- 450D with plate - MB
- Tamron 90 mm (attached to 450D) - MB (Now, it is Canon 24-70 mm :) 7th Feb)
- Wide zoom - MB
- All memory cards - FS
- Nikon Monarch - FS/MB
- Edirol R09 (possibly on waist belt)
- Garmin eTrex (possibly on waist belt)
- Rocket blower - FS
- Lenspen - FS
- Cloth - FS
- Hoya CPL 77 mm - FS
To Be Carried By Porter
- Manfrotto XPROB 055 with 496 RC2 head
- Vanguard Endeavour 82A with eye piece
- Camera attachment
- Sennheiser HD 280Pro
Got myself a new lens to go to Sandakphu. The Canon 24-70 L. Well it's new to me. But the lens is old :-) Otherwise I couldn't afford it. Got it from Tanvir. I don't know who the original owner was. I like its sharpness and overall result from some preliminary shooting at home last night. It's quite heavy though. However, Monisha will have to carry it :-)
I have discovered a good exercise for the quads which I have started doing at home. It's called the wall squat or something. I want my knees to hold on for the few days in Sandakphu. The down climbs are not going to be easy. While going up you can still rest and recuperate. But on the way down, the quads take a long time to recuperate. Weak quads and calves are the main causes of ligament injury. Let's keep the fingers crossed.
Monday March 17, 2014
Time is almost come. We start Friday at night. Preparations are more or less done. Monisha's Forclaz 50 has arrived. Mampu's has been ordered but Snapdeal has goofed up it seems. It was supposed to arrive on 11th but hasn't yet. I think it is stuck in Sales Tax.
Meanwhile, our plan is somewhat like this. On Saturday we go straight to Dhotre and start walking towards Tonglu if we are within reasonable time. Else we stay back in Dhotre itself. I am told the hike from Dhotre to Tonglu is bird rich and Ushnik says the trail is more gradual than the hike up from Manebhanjang. Next day we go to Gairibas/Jaubari via Tumling. On this route we avoid going to Meghma. We have fond memories of Meghma from the previous trek where we had a hearty lunch. Too bad that we won't be touching it.
From Gairibas we go to Kalipokhari on Monday and Sandakphu on Tuesday. On the next day we rest at Sandakphu and then on Wednesday we are off to Phalut. From Phalut if we start on Thursday we reach the bus head in a couple of days. That's the plan so far. Let's see what's in store. Given a chance, I would love to stay on in Phalut for another day.
The other day, I went and bought a cover for the North Face from Alpine for Rs 300. It's a neat thing for the sack and should keep it clean on the trail.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Finally got Mampu's Forclaz. I had to personally go to the Bluedart office to collect it. It was supposed to arrive on 11th. Mampu would have got at least one weekend to test it out. Now she will have to go to the mountains with almost a new pair of boots. However, these boots don't need any walking in. My only worry is she has never worn such boots before. And she doesn't have any thick socks to go with it. I hope it has fit her well. She thinks it has.
From Bluedart went to Tanvir and brought home a used 5D Mk II. The body looks quite new. Obviously it is not. Must have been owned by someone similar to me. It has lot of customised stuff including back button focusing, which works fine for me. Its white balance mode was set at 8600K. Was he a wedding photographer? Metering was on spot mode. I think I quite like the camera. Here is one of the first test shots, taken at 6400 ISO last night. Aperture 2.8. Focal length 70 mm. Metering mode evaluative. Normal tungsten light behind the head. The banner photograph above is also taken with the new old camera.
I hope the camera works fine during the trip.
The camera comes with a Made in China but Canon original (I hope) battery. My 7D has a battery that has this written, "Cell Made in Japan. Assembled in China". I have asked Suranjan to lend me a battery for the trip. I already have an extra of my own. So that makes it 4 batteries for two cameras. A new battery from Canon's Imagestore costs Rs 2800+. Not now. Yesterday bought a 16 GB CF card from Tanvir. One of those golden ones with Extreme written on it. However, I put a Lexar in the 5D. I will put the 16 GB in the 7D.
Friday March 21, 2014: 11.35 am
All set for the journey. More or less. I am at work right now. Went to Jogubajar and bought a torch (Rs 150) and some badam takti, tiler biscuit and lozenges. Will have to buy some savoury like dalmut. Yesterday picked up mooger laddu and shon papri from Haldiram. In the evening picked up some Cadbury's and chanachur etc from Spencer's. Nivea too. Monisha bought a pair of slip on shoes.
A few toiletry items are yet to be purchased like paper soap and hand wash.
We are taking one small sac each. I have the Lowepro, Monisha will carry a Sonic backpack and Mampu carries her own Alpine knapsack that Suvomoy had given her. Our clothings go into the large North Face. The North Face is used only once in a while, but when it is indeed used it looks like the only solution. I don't know what I would have done in such situations without it. We are carrying the Nat Geo bag as well but that will be left behind in Dhotre. It will have stuff for Darjeeling.
The electronics that's going is this: 5D with 24-70 and 7D with 400 (tripod collar on). Four batteries for the two cameras. The charger and a shutter release cable. Garmin eTrex. Edirol R09. Lots of AA batteries and the charger. And lots of CF cards too. I have bought a new 16 GB card with the 5D. After I come back, I intend to buy another. I will also have to buy a proper battery. I am not taking the scope or the tripod. Monisha is going to carry my Monarch. Because it doesn't fit into my camera bag. It's just large enough for my two cameras with the lenses attached.
April 7, 2014
We came back as scheduled after successfully completing the trek. We couldn't go to Phalut due to non-cooperation from the porters. So ended up spending four days in Darjeeling. But over all the trek was excellent. If this was a Chadar semi-final, I won the game :-) In terms of birding it was fantastic. Got many many lifers - virtually all of them. A travelogue will come up soon. Till then ............
