I wake up at the break of dawn, my alarm is set to 6 am and I wake up much before the alarm rings. I look out the window, and I dont even want to contemplate what lies outside for us. At 6, I look out again and now I have no choice but to face what lies out there for us. The previous night it had rained, but there was snow overnight. My spirit sank, I didnt have the heart to wake up Rashmi. If there is one thing that Rashmi cannot stand, that is cold weather. Here she is doing a trek that wasnt her idea, with a blister, low on food, a backpack to carry, over a mountain 1000m high and add to that "in the snow". Today was going to be tough and it needed every bit of strength we could garner, we needed to work as a team more than ever. The one bright spot in all of this was that the warden has instructed us not to start, until she got back from surveying the track. This provided us more time to get ready and we were still with the group that provided us some comfort. Imagine having everything against you and also being lonely. At around 8:30 AM the warden gave us the go ahead, and the whole group started off almost together. We dont even try to cook breakfast, have some bread, coffee and chocolate and set off.
Within 20 minutes of leaving the hut you begin to ascend towards McKinnon pass. With 30 mins of setting off from the hut, we have been relegated to the end of the group. Another 15-20 mins later we cannot see anyone. We are making very slow progress. Up until now the spirits are high and with your body warming up it isnt cold. The white blanket looks beautiful.
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