Shey Poksumdo

By 2017, I had trekked a few exhausted trekking routes and witnessed the both prettiness and hostile temperament of Himalaya. I had the asylum of idea of trekking the Shey Poksundo – Rara route via Kagmara La. All was arranged for solo adventure notes, devices, and kits. But things held me back from my original plan. First was the unavailability of plane tickets (the only way to get to Dolpo at that time was via air). Jhupal Airport was reopened after a month, so there was a huge flow of passengers and most of the planes were transferred to Simikot (for Manosarova tour) which made availability of plane tickets concise. Second, was a strict warning from local dwellers not to trek the Kagmara La if alone. The Kagamara La route was challenging and could be threatening if weather went rampant, the Pass was located in an isolated area. I had to spend a night in a cave, and isolate myself for the next 48 hour because I was supposed to see no tea house or villager. This made me drop the idea of traveling alone.

I waited for a year to find a friend to accompany me. When I shared the idea of trekking Shey Poksundo with (dai) Ramesh hamal (with whom I trek to Badimalika), he was ready to sweat in the trek. He prepared an itinerary, but we agreed not to trek to RaRa. Thus, I dropped the idea of RaRa and Kagmara La.

I met Ramesh dai at Chinchu, Surkhet at around 9PM. It was my first time on Sudurpaschim. We shopped dry fruits there to avoid fluctuation of price in the hills. We ticketed a bus to Radijula (via Jajarkot. Radijula (an entry point of Dolpa) can also be reached through Khalanga of Rukum. 

I had heard about Jajarkot lag in terms of all sector development due to its geographical remoteness. Traveling alongside the Bheri basin made me believe the truth of the news and story. Jajarkot was detached from cities. The far bus goes and it makes me realize I was actually very far away from home; I was searching my home within the gap between the mountains. 

Though we had to lie to our family, we had a group of people trekking together, but in fact there were not. It’s very difficult to find friends who match your interests. We didn’t find any other partner, so we walked on our own.