Athu Popu
The Belief
Trek to the remotest place
The day was 9th August, 2014, clocked at 10:55 AM. Sky was clear; the hills looked majestic with the green pine grooves and white clouds on its lap. We started our journey on foot from Maliney, the last motor able vollage in Upper Dibang Valley district, at a distance of about 200 km from Roing.
Base Maliney Village |
The Itinerary
Camp 9 – Athu-popu (3500 MSL), Kayala Pass, Indo- china Border is around 500 meters from Athu-popu,
The trek begins |
Deep and Dense |
The nightmare starts
Awalin Camp
Throughout the day we were forced to punish our bodies and there was another nightmare waiting for us in Awalin Camp. We reached our first camp Awlin at 4:30 PM, and after having our bath in the nearby stream, we experienced a strange kind of itching on all over our heads and the exposed body areas. We were shocked, what it was! Was it due the river water or dandruff?
No, it was a very small insect called KAMUE (in local language). They were so tiny that if we had used our mosquito net at night, it would be a mere joke, they were so powerful that insects repellents were of no use. They could bite us through anything. Only smoke could keep them away.
No one could sleep, the night passed on as the sleepless night for everyone, as we could not put our fire due to rain to smoke them out. The torture that the tiny insects did to us took away most of our physical and mental strength.
The Leeches
Crossing the Hanging Bridges
Taloh River
Wrong decision and the risk follows
Few of us moved faster to get the camp soon as darkness started to gulp the jungle. I was with 4 others, out of whom two were porters and we were at the last moving slowly. This part of the trek was again a very notorious one, as there were frequent steep ups and downs, rocks were sharp and slippery, and we needed to keep our feet in between the inches sharp gaps of the rocks that hurt us.
There were numbers of water streams coming out from the top of the hills that we needed to cross in almost darkness. And just below us, steep down, the same Taloh river was flowing vehemently with its ferocious sounds.
Taloh River |
Trekking in Darkness
We switched on our headlamps. All of a sudden one of us, Haren could not keep his pace to move ahead and stopped. It was then almost 6 PM. We decided to load his backpack on one of our porter and asked him to move ahead and inform our team, we regrettably forgot to give him a torch. He overtook us in the darkness with nearly 40 kg load. By the time the whole jungle was covered with deep darkness, rain and the fearsome sound of the Taloh river.
I was leading even though it was very difficult for me to find out the trek left by our other members in the darkness. Many a times we were stepping by the sides of the hill on just 1 foot wide track, and had we been slipped down then we fall either on the rocks at 10-20 feet down or on the vehemently flowing Taloh river. We were stumbling around in the darkness, got injured number of times, climbed down on slippery ladders made up of woods and fallen trees.
Another Nightmare
Suddenly after 40 minutes or so we saw the backpack that we loaded on the porter just below a big tree. Tension gulped in our minds. I asked our porter and another member (Khyanjeet) to move ahead and I decided to stay there with the another, whose the backpack was, as he got difficulties to move. It was my responsibility of his safety, whatever might be the challenge.
It was raining heavily and since we stopped our movements, we were feeling the cold and got shivering. I tried to put fire by tearing my note book pages, but could not, everything nearby got wet. I noticed some holes in the trunks of the trees and became cautious of snakes or anything unexpected.
We talked less and shivered more, blew our whistles, signaled with torch as time passed on. We stood there almost for one and half hour. Finally we saw three torch beams coming towards us, they were Kiran, Aniko and our porter Sajjan, who left the backpack there and came back with them from half way where he was found sitting with a fire, as he could not move in the darkness ahead.
Rescued
It was almost 8:30 PM. No one of us could say anything more, other than that they would load our backpacks and it was almost another 2 hours trek to the camp. They also let us know that they had met our last two members on the way. I was afraid, whether they could be able to reach the camp safely or not. That worry was intense in me but I somehow manage to hide it. We all felt very tired, and these three brave guys who came back to rescue us and still loading our backpacks, I bowed my head towards them.
Balwa Camp
By 10:30 PM, we reached Balwa Camp. That day we trekked almost 24-25 km. Tine (Tine Mena the first lady from North East India to summit Mount Everest) was found more worried for us. We slept after having our dinner in the tents pitched by the ITBP jawans. After such a tedious trek also we could not sleep due to the torture of that little insects ‘kamue’.
Rest Day
Next morning we had been suggested by the ITBP force not to move ahead and stayed with them till the weather become favorable, as they got instructions from their base camp to restrict their movements. And with the message that one of their porters had been washed away by river in Anini area.
Tine and I after speaking to other members decided to halt our trek and move back the next day as we can play with no one’s life. We took rest that day, enjoying the time with the jawans, sharing and preparing our meals, playing antrakshri etc.
Rest day |
The Team divides
Next morning, 13th August 2014, the weather started to play with us. It showed us as if it was going to be shining. Seeing the weather one of our lady members, Mishi Miri Madam wished to take the challenge to move ahead further. We could not convince, so we send our strong members Eco, Aniko, Kapil, porters Saajan and Eco with her, while we Tine and I decided to take back others- Khyanjeet, Haren, Ena and Sony.
At that time our only concern was the safety of our people and nothing. we got divided into two groups, after hugging and wishing for each other we moved in the opposite directions at about 9:15 AM.
Raining started again. We reached Maukri camp (ITBP) at 4:15 PM. The weather became worse and water level of the Talo river was flowing over danger level, we spent 2 nights at that camp and decided to move on the 3rd day morning, that is on 15th August. As we prepared to pack, got the message over wireless from Balwa camp that the other team had moved back and asked us to hold on Maukri camp. The team reached the camp by 1 PM.
The team divides |
We are moving back |
Taloh River
On 16th August 2014, we started to move at about 6:15 AM. Water level of the rivers were up, current became fiercer. We crossed the rivers hand in hand, putting rocks on the rivers to keep our steps, cutting trees and using them as the bridge. At the point, where the longest and the most worsened hanging bridge was, Taloh river seemed to be more turbulent and fearsome, it was flowing just 2-3 feet below the bridge at its midpoint with the bigger ebbs and waves. Scattered water from the waves touched our body and face as we crossed the river.
We crossed it safely by the grace of God. At around 12:15 noon we reached Emopani Camp (ITBP) and stayed there that night.
Back to Maliney
Next day, 17th August 2014, we started our trek at 6 AM, this time our aim was not to hold anywhere but to reach Maliney, from where we began our expedition. This portion of the trek was very tedious and that time we felt it even more tedious. By 2:15 PM we reached Maliney. Weather started to become clear and sunny. We thought as if Nature was not happy with us for our journey to ATHU-POPU.
Note: It may be noted here that I published the above story including the photographs earlier in many social media platforms, third party websites as well as in print media. And hence you may find its contents or part of it, or photographs in other platforms including social media, websites, print media etc copied and uploaded by the followers of my original story, may be with or without my consent.
- This story was Published in Discover India’s North East May/June 2017 issue
Read Also, II Trek to Dzukou Valley: Nagaland II
Regards
Dipmoina Dowarah