Written by: Muhammad Umer Farooq
Posted on: January 23, 2019 | 
| 中文
Fifteen minutes away from campsite
Our group of 25 trekkers travelled from Lahore to Kalam overnight, where after a night's rest at a hotel we would trek to Boyun Village in the morning. The trek was arranged by the LUMS Adventure Society (LAS). It was early spring, and snow still lay on the roadsides. We reached Kalam at noon, and felt the chilly breeze as soon as we stepped out of the bus. At the hotel, after being assigned rooms, we were served lunch and left to enjoy the view.
I enjoyed the setting sun against the glistening white mountain peaks, which shone for as long as sunlight fell upon them. Other than the evergreen fir and pine trees on the slopes, most of the landscape seemed brown and damp. In front of our hotel, in the compound of another guest house, stood tall trees which made the red shed-like roofs seem quite appealing. The tall leafless trees, with the snowy mountains in the background, formed a great view for the evening.
Towards dinnertime, a bonfire was lit up, around which the group sat till late night. We kept ourselves busy by adding fuel wood to the fire, and were entertained through music as well as the altering patterns of the flames.
Early next morning, the organizers asked us to checkout from our rooms and gather in the dining hall. After breakfast, I packed my belongings in my trekking bag, and enjoyed the morning sun while waiting for the group to get ready. Rabia, our trek leader, gave us instructions for the activities of the day.
The trek began with a descent from our hotel to a paved road with hotels and shops on either side. A few meters down the road, we took a right turn and crossed a small concrete bridge, after which a gradual incline began.
Our campsite for the day was Boyun Village, which happens to be at a higher elevation than Kalam. We made our way up a jeep track, and soon encountered our first hurdle; walking over crystal clear slippery ice, which had formed on the track overnight. This little challenge lasted for a while, after which we found ourselves trekking through several inches of snow.
The trek took us through the forest and after having completed a substantial part of the climb, we rested in between the evergreen trees. Sunlight filtered through them and the atmosphere was so clean that the sunrays could be seen. Below lay Kalam, with all its hustle and bustle. The colorful shed tops of hotels and other structures looked tiny from such a height. We enjoyed this peaceful distance from civilization. Blue streams of water, fed by the melting snow, could be seen from this point onwards.
We continued the trek towards Boyun, walking through knee high soft snow, until we finally emerged out of the dense forest. The gradient of the ascent decreased at this point, and our view of the valley widened. With fewer trees to block the vision, we could now see the mountains surrounding our campsite.
We were now trekking in three feet snow, with the sun right above us. The reflection of the sunlight on the snow made it difficult to look around, so I kept my shades on at all times. At noon, we reached our campsite, which was a small dry patch of land below a giant tree that our guide had miraculously found in this snowy landscape. The tree also provided us with firewood for cooking and warmth during the night.
After leaving our trekking bags at the campsite, we were led by our trek leader to the meadow, which was another hour's walk away. The walk was in a relatively wider valley, with white shimmering mountains surrounding us. Entering the meadows, I felt pure delight! Green trees could be seen on level ground, unlike the ones we had seen while climbing. The meadows were by far the most enthralling part of the trek.
We trekked back to the campsite from the meadows, where our guide and porters prepared food for us. At night, we sat around the fire and made the most of our time, because early next morning we would start our journey back to LUMS.
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