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The Long Hard Road By Pranaya Ghimire We walked, one hour, two hours, three hours ... seven hours and there was no sign of our destination. It was too late when we realized that we were lost. As I woke up one early monsoon morning I could see out of my window: the green trees, the lush grass, the fresh dew, shining all around my house. Everything looked beautiful. Suddenly a thought crept into my mind--"Oh, we could go for a hike today!" The weather looked fine and the forecast indicated the same. I thought of eloping from the maddening buzz of the crowds to follow the call of Shivapuri mountain. I called Pranabh and asked him to call our other friends. We were eight altogether and decided to depart after breakfast. Mom overheard my conversation and she told me not to leave home that day because she had had a bad dream where a black snake sucked milk from a cow's udder, which signified a bad omen. I didn't bother listening to her superstitious beliefs and headed out to make the best of the weekend. The area we decided to go was under the wild life conservation program, guarded by the Royal Nepal Army. There was a road halfway through the woods. So we decided to take our motorcycles. Before entering the conservation park we filled out an entry form and paid a royalty. We had to notify the armies of our whereabouts, so we gave them a rough schedule of our return time. They suggested not to take the particular route since it had been abandoned for the last five years and warned us that the whole road had crumbled away because of heavy rains in the past few years. They told us that there were many wild boars in the park and that if they attacked, we should climb a tree as soon as possible. We thought they were trying to intimidate us but we told them that we were experienced hikers, so much so that boars would generally honor our proud march through the forest. And besides our Honda motorbikes could outsmart the boars anytime with its swift ride up the mountainside! Personally, we had three reasons for taking the route. First no one had gone to that site for the last five years. Second there was a gorgeous waterfall I had always wanted to see. Above all else, there was our long awaited desire to venture deep into the woods and get the thrills of a wild forest in its natural state. The blacktopped road ended at the entrance where the graveled road began with lots of potholes and sharp stones. Huge rocks obstructed our way. Deep ridges on the road rendered by the rain's torrents, severe landslides, and the piling up of algae and moss, had exacerbated our situation. Maneuvering the bike became exceedingly perilous and heart throbbing, not allowing us to take our eyes off the road so as to avoid a long chute down the edge of the mountain. Despite my best efforts, I lost my balance several times and fell down. So, we decided to leave the bike at some secured corner and continue our adventure on foot. It was all dark inside the forest since tall trees obstructed the light. We saw few wild animals like deer, different species of monkeys, wild cats and birds as we went deeper into the forest. Except for the insects, birds and dung beetles the forest was silent and the tranquillity of the forest was broken only by our conversation compounded with excitement and nervousness. Time was fleeing. We had to return back to the base before it became dark otherwise there was every chance of getting lost. The forest was getting more and more dense and the path narrower and steeper as we advanced. It was almost five in the evening, only a couple of hours left before sunset and still we hadn't reached the waterfall. Everybody started getting nervous. About every 15 minutes or so we would stop to ease our exhausted legs and lie flat on the ground. After a hard and continuous effort we reached the waterfall into which we promptly jumped. We bathed and talked about how we felt to be far from the maddening crowd. After the dip we decided not to go any further since it dark and we were totally exhausted. As we began our return journey, my friend Aaditya, who considered himself an experienced hiker, claimed that he knew a shorter path taking us to the base of the mountain. Since we were all tired and wanted to reach the base and relax as soon as possible, we decided to change our original course and follow him. We started walking downwards as fast as we could. After about one hour or so, as we were passing through an area with huge rocks and caves, I noticed something on the ground that made me feel nervous and afraid. It was the fresh feces of a carnivorous animal. Presence of indigestible hair in the feces indicates the nature of the animal's diet. It was enough to make us alert. We stood there with precaution for a few minutes, but just as I told others that we should continue our journey, we heard some noise behind the bushes. Our hearts sank when two tiger cubs suddenly jumped out of the nearby bush playing with each other and crossing our path. We then sensed that their mother should be nearby. We had no other option but to start walking as quickly and quietly as possible. All of a sudden, my friend caught me hard around my waist and screamed,"Pranayaaa ... !" I could see a huge tigress lying by the rock about 50 meters away. I was speechless and I thought that it was the end of me, as the yellow and black striped beast stared back calm and cool. I could feel each and every nerve of my body. Instantly a sensation passed through me leaving me cold and paralyzed for a few seconds. "Let's run." "Now ... !" There we were, running down the mountain making jumps as high as 20 feet and passing through numerous thick bushes with their thorns hurting us and jumping from rocks to rocks. I could feel the rush of adrenaline through my body. It was a matter of life or death. At that point I really prayed to God to save us. I didn't dare look back again and I ran with the fear that the tiger was just about to pounce on me. All we did was run straight down and whatever the obstacles there were, we just passed by. We ran down the mountain for about half an hour or so and I could feel my lungs ready to burst any time and my stomach was aching like never before, but the fear of being eaten alive by a tigress suppressed all the pains and I kept running! After sometime we realized that we were not being chased by the tigress but still suspicious of its cunning tricks, we didn't stop. We walked, we ran, one hour, two hours, three hours ... seven straight hours and there was no sign of our destination. No humans, only trees and trees and the mysterious noise coming from the corner of bushes adding to our fear. Our very smart friend Aditya, by mistake, had directed us to the other face of the mountain of which he himself didn't have any idea. We were lost. Deepak yelled at Aditya, "Where the hell did you bring us, asshole?" He started crying as he dropped on the ground and said that he could no longer run, which left me crying too. There was nothing much we could do but gather the traces of energy we had and to start over again. It was two o'clock in the morning. Finishing up whatever food we had left we decided to go back the same route we came through. It was already daylight when the woods finally cleared. Far ahead we saw few farmers working on field. All of us, with a sigh of relief, fell on the ground, bellies up, totally drenched in mud and dirts from head to toe. What if the tigress had attacked us? I remembered what my mom had told me in the morning and how true her dreams were. After I got up and tried to walk I was staggering at every pace and it remained so for few days. Uttam's condition was much worse and he needed immediate medical attention. He had deep cuts in his shoulders but didn't seemed bothered by it. I asked one of the farmers to inform the army of what had happened and that the bike was still up in the mountains. When I got home my mom was really angry with me for not listening to her but happy that we made it back. I asked myself. "Should I have listened to her?" Pranaya Ghimire is a junior at Ithaca College. |
