25_Miraculous rescue in the forest at night

The day of resettling to another village was the time when I was physically ready to give up, to lay on the ground and to let moss grow over me. Having my personal fight with the surrounding I begged for mercy, and so we got it - the miracle.

 After couple of months it was the time to change the main village. When it came to the mean of reaching the new place we had faced several contrasting options as usually. Taking a vehicle would mean spending two full days of waiting, sitting in the uncomfortable jeep for hours, walking, waiting and driving again. And so we thought we rather walk. As usual.

This time we both agreed that we want to have a porter, because we were moving out from Phalaichha, coming back only in autumn (during the season of holidays-Dasai and Tihar) and so we needed to carry all our belongings taken for several months and seasons. Giving the heaviest part to the porter who was very much behind in time we were still carrying quiet heavy backpacks, not willing to trust a porter our valuables like computers, cameras and countless cables. 

People told us different things-some said it would take us 3 hours, the porter convinced that he would reach the destination in a slow walk within 6 hours. Unfortunately we couldn't have started moving from early morning but only after lunch. We sort of partially knew the road and we hoped to reach the new house within the same day before it gets dark.

How illusionary it was.

We started our climbing up quiet enthusiastically and all the directions “up, very steep up” we took very easily, enjoying our strength. Finally we reached the house where we stayed last time three months ago; this time refusing offer to stay there again. We wanted to go as far as we could that day.

That was already 3 hours of going just steep up and we passed the last settlement. 

In front of us was just dense forest and even steeper and steeper road, made mostly from the roots of huge trees. I’ve written already about this Forest, but I will do it again-it is alive and it is magical. Trees seemed to be there since the birth of the earth, protecting their nativeness from all the random walkers. Shapes of the trees were far from normal, some really huge trees were fallen; in some others were holes just in the bottom, and all of them reminded alive personages from the fairy tale, being ready to start speaking.  I remember how I felt in this forest last time-very hard and desperate. And that’s how I felt also few months after.

My energy was suddenly out. No houses or change in the road, just 5 hours up the bad way up. Every step was harder and harder and I needed more and more often breaks. Sunil would just always say “only another 5 minutes and we reach the top”, but there were no end of the mountain. I looked at the watch- 17:20. We have another 40 minutes before it gets dark. Forest! Help us to reach the house soon! I was whispering my prayers to those invisible ones, who were trapping us deeper and deeper in the forest.

Instead of showing us houses roads were giving us more splits and every time we were more and more scared to take a decision facing the risk of getting lost in the forest at night.

I was really exhausted. Normally in every trek it’s normal to feel tired and walk over your limits. But this time it was more than that. I really could not climb up anymore. I took a rest after every step and even a sudden sound of a passing big animal didn’t scare me. I didn’t know who it was but I asked-please, come and eat me, I cannot walk anymore.

At last we entered the small open area and took a picture of a wonderful red sunset. The moon jumped on the sky very fast and soon after we were forced to turn on the lights. That meant we lost the game, with the light we could see only a step in front of us, which meant a high risk of losing the hardly visible trail in the forest and not recognizing the house. On the other hand-did we have a chance of finding a house in this dense forest? There was still no end of this mountain and even if it was-we wouldn’t see it.

-I have a lighter and a knife. We can make a fire- I said, knowing that that would not be enough. We didn’t have any clothes with us and freezing hands signalized that we are quite high and we desperately need a shelter.

Please, I cannot walk anymore. I really really can’t anymore. My legs were falling and only my broken trekking sticks were holding my exhausted body.

-Is it a roof of a house up there? -Sunil asked.

It rather looks like a shed for kettle. Even though the “mirage” of a roof was very close up the hill, it was still up though and there was no trail leading to that. The light was not reaching to understand what it is.

Aaay! We screamed. No answer. We started to walk.

Heeeeeeyyyyy! I screamed again, using all the strength of my voice. And the answer came!

Now believing in our luck we started fast climbing up through the bushes, holding to this man’s voice as a sinking man catches anything, hoping it could keep him on the surface.

That was a got (a shed) of a lonely herder, living there with his 25 cows 1-2 hours away from any other house. For me that house was a miracle. (Actually later we found out that the next "house" would be within couple of hours of reach only in direction we were not about to take)

A "got"- a house of a lonely herder

Herders usually spend in their sheds without going home at least 6 months a year. Usually they change their settlements few times, going higher every time it is getting hotter. Some of the herder would reach up to 4000 m above the sea level. They would rarely go home to see their families, but when they are low, their family members would time to time come to help or to bring some things. 

And here it was-a simple bamboo house, having inside a fire, few utensils, buffalo skin to sleep on and many blankets. 

A house inside

A very picturesque man with long mustache immediately offered us to sit here. Tears of gratitude and relief filled my eyes. As we found out from our map and his explanation-we have reached Lahasune, which meant that within not a full day we inclined 1500 meters. Even though it was still below 3000, it is still usually not wise to go so much up. No doubts I wanted to be eaten than to climb even more!

The man was Gurung (one ethnicity of Nepal) and as it usually happens with indigenous people-they are very careful at the beginning, starting to open themselves very slowly. We sat on the clay floor, feeling the coolness of the weather. The door of this house was just another carpet of bamboo and there were so many holes that having a shed would hardly make it any warmer comparing with outside. But there was a big fire and after milking the cows the man agreed to make us food. Finally we even got a blanket to sit on and the tea.

I could observe this place closer now. It was a highest level of simplicity. The man lives almost on the top of the hill just with his cows. And he has nothing in there-apart from few things for the kitchen, one backpack and blankets there is really really nothing more. Actually nothing more was needed-having a bag with a computer and other technical things seemed so silly. Why would I need them? Why would I need them at all? The eyes of the cow standing in front were so calm and peaceful and I knew that lonely herder knows the life much better than I do with my degrees and endless ways of searching for truth and self-realization.

After the food I got my “bed” arranged - a log was covered with a blanket and that was my pillow. On the clay floor was put another blanket and that was my mattress. And then I got few more blankets to cover myself. They were stinking and I couldn’t avoid thinking that they stink of a pee. But I was so happy for that. I was also happy for sleeping so close to the fire that I could burn my hand if I stretch it. I was happy for everything.

If only that wasn’t so cold. Closing the eyes with a smile didn’t work. The sleep didn’t come and slowly the cold from the earth were entering my bones making me shaking cold. I was “controlling” the fire non-stop, putting more firewood and blowing for it not to disappear. It didn’t work. Rolling from one side to another, folding myself several time to preserve heat also didn't work.

At last I woke up Sunil and asked for one extra blanket from his “pillow”, he was kind to give me even his jacket. The tiredness would finally be stronger than anything else and I would fall asleep, waking up though every half an hour from cold, signalizing that the fire is almost gone. Just like in the very past when a woman needed to keep the fire from disappearing.

Slowly the morning was coming and its warmth made my sleep stronger, being interrupted only by seeing through half closed eyes the herder who was making a real fire and starting preparing the morning tea. The body hurt from walking and sleeping on the clay floor and from the necessity to put myself in a smallest size. I looked outside still not willing to get up. A head of a beautiful cow was looking at me, but outside was white-there was snow on the earth.

After drinking several cups of tea we asked how much money we shall give to the herder for the yesterday’s food. He didn’t want to take anything. Here it is always like that – those who don’t have anything,  they just share everything they have for free. Our rescue would never be able to be evaluated with money, but we fell like at least this is the way how to express our gratitude, especially taking into account how hard it is to get rice for him to this area.

As much as we were walking up yesterday, that much we were going down next day. Going steep down is also not easy, especially after my toe nails had started breaking apart and every touch to my small toes was causing annoying strong pain. Sometimes I was even trying to walk sideways, trying to change the pressure of shoes. At that moment I've decided to buy the best pair of trekking shoes I can find in Kathmandu.

Me going sideways in order to prevent pain of toes

Actually due to this pain I was so happy when we needed to go up again! Up, up, up... And here it was-new village. Prangbung. How will it be?