Those who have been to Zanskar Region will definitely agree with me that it is one of the most picturesque areas of Ladhak. One of the activities organized by the Army for us kids to keep us occupied and to instill the sense of living independently was a 4 days trek in that area.
I do not remember the route that we took but I remember that the trek ended at the Parkachik Glacier. So I presume that we would have gone on the Kargil – Padum route. I also remember that the route we took had hardly or no roads. It was a flattened rocky path, just wide enough for a single truck to pass. So basically if there was another vehicle that would have come from the opposite side, one of the vehicles would have to reverse till there was enough space for both the vehicles to pass.
We were 6 kids in the trek, 4 boys and 2 girls. The youngest was 10 years and the eldest was 17 years. The six of us were divided into 3 groups and each group had a bhaiyya incharge during the trek. Apart from the bhaiyya’s, we had an officer who was the over all in charge of the trek. We also had a guide, a local man, who apart from leading the way also used to teach us the nuances of trekking like walking up/ down, pitching tents, folding tents, carrying bag packs etc.
The Groups (PIC)
Before leaving for the trek we were issued trekking equipment. Apart from our personal clothing’s we had to carry a down jacket with hood, proper UV rayes protected sun goggles and snow boots. Food and tents were to be transported in a truck.
The trek was not just for fun, we also had a competition going on along the trek. The winners were to be chosen by the officer on the following grounds at the end of the trek.
- Co-operation between buddies of the same team:- The bhaiyya in the team would just keep an eye on us. Each of us was supposed to be helping our own buddies.
- Most consistent team: - speed was not the criteria, walking consistently was more important.
- Cleanest team: - self cleanliness, tent cleanliness, surrounding cleanliness were judged on this.
- Best organized and skilled team:- pitching of the tents, folding them, getting ready in time for the trek were judged here.
The first day of the trek was spent mostly traveling to the Zanskar area. In our convoy we had 2 Jonga’s and one Scannia. I am sure you all know what kind of a vehicle a Jonga is and for those who do not know what Scannia is, well it’s the vehicle that is used to pull a Bofors gun. The Scannia carried all the food and the trekking equipment and the Jonga’s carried us.
On the first evening we were joined by our guide and he gave us some instructions on the route ahead. The bhaiyyas later helped us in pitching our tents. We were clearly told that this is the only time they would help us and from tomorrow onwards we would have to pitch them up ourselves. So if we didn’t learn now how to pitch tents, from tomorrow apart from loosing points, we might end up having no tent on our heads if the tent flew away in a storm or bad weather. So we made sure we learnt properly.
Second day was the day of walking. As far as I remember the walk was not that hard. It was mostly plain with a few ups and downs. But my buddy who was the youngest of us all had lots of difficulty in keeping with my pace. For the first few hours I walked on his pace and helped him wherever I could but then I had enough of him and left him to our Bhaiyya. Bad decision as we lost a lot of points there.
Third day we continued our walk and reached the Parkachik Glacier. On our way we crossed a spring. This was the first time I had ever seen water coming out from the earth. Surprisingly the water was not cold at all, we all were so fascinated by it that we played around for a while and had a wash.
We camped at Parkachik in the evening. Our parents decided to visit us to see how we were doing, that came as a big surprise to us. I thought we were supposed to be independent!!!
Fourth day we started our journey back to Kargil. On our way back at a lunch stop, we realized that the Scannia was not following us. We waited for the Scannia for a few hours but still no sign. So the officer decided to turn back and all of us went hunting for it. A few kms down we located the Scannia as it was stranded in the middle of the road with a punctured tyre.
Even 20 years back, the truck used to have tubeless tyres. And having a puncture in the tyre with its walls atleast 6-7 inches thick was very difficult. What had happened was that while taking a curve the driver miscalculated and went too close to the hill side. On the hills side there was a protruding sharp piece of rock that went through and through the tyre and hence the puncture.
The Scannia had a spare tyre, jack and all the tools, but the problem was that the tyre was so huge that it couldn’t be lifted by 5-6 men and 6 youngsters. It needed a crane to be lifted. Usually a crane comes as an attachment to the Scannia but I presume no one thought that this would happen; hence with this particular Scannia the hydrolic crane was removed.
The Scannia Truck with the crane attached ( Note this pic has been taken in Rajasthan)
Message was sent across to the unit to send another Vehicle with the crane. The crane arrived and finally the tyre was changed and it was late in the evening we reached our homes.
The next day the winner of the trek was announced and the girl’s team had won. They were the neatest, most organized and with maximum points on team work too.
Well we lost but ended up enjoying a trek that gave us a chance to see the Zanskar valley.
Now for a few scanned pics of our trek
My buddy getting a helping hand from our guide and our bhaiyya
Our group
Buddies were even suppose to have lunch together..Team building!!
Our tent area. This is the time when our parents visited, Yes they got their own chairs too.
Us with our bhiayya's
Beutifull sceneries all around
At a lunch stop
Dinner at the camp fire
At the Parkachik glacier