9th February 2020, Just before COVID pandemic arrived
We went to the field early in the morning from our base camp towards the Haldhibari beat office. Two forest guards, Nilok and Biman, joined us on the survey. They knew the Karbi Hills well, which made them valuable companions. We brought all the necessary supplies for our safety measures, also we took rice and chicken for lunch, using bamboo as our cooking method.
Break in between
At 7:30 am, we started our journey to the hills. At first, our legs felt stiff, but as we climbed higher, we had to take frequent breaks every 20 meters. We believed that it’s better to keep our mouths closed while climbing, so we mostly stayed silent and enjoyed the beautiful sights. Instead of following a set trail, we made our own path from the starting point to a certain distance.
After three and a half hours of arduous climbing, we reached the summit of the first hill, which stood at an elevation of 450 meters from our initial position at 65 meters. Having accomplished our first task, we now had to proceed another 500 meters away to reach the location of our second task. It was nearly noon when we arrived, and we faced the challenge of scaling two more hills with extremely steep slopes ranging from 65 to 75 degrees. By 2 pm, we successfully completed our second task, feeling a sense of achievement.
The team (From the left: Biman Doley, Jiten Borah, Mujahid Ahmed, Mukesh Hazarika and Nilok Saru) Behind the camera Jyotish Ranjan Deka.
After passing two hills, we reached a valley with a clean stream. It was a perfect spot for us to cook our lunch. We all divided our responsibilities, gathering wood, leaves, and cleaning the rice and chicken. We worked together to start a fire and enjoyed the process. Although it took some time, we managed to finish everything and have our lunch by around 3 pm.
As the sun began to go down, we hurried to finish our next task. We knew it would get harder as we moved forward, so I decided to start the next adventure. Our guards got nervous when they realized we didn’t have any torches. Finally, the sun disappeared below the horizon, and it was dark by 5 pm. We got lost and felt scared because there were elephants, tigers, and leopards around.
During Break time
By 6:30 pm, it was dark and we could barely see anything. We only had our mobile torches, but they didn’t provide much light. To make things worse, our phones were about to die because the battery was almost empty. We tried to use a GPS device, but the trees and branches blocked the signal. So, we decided to follow a compass and walk towards the north. Sometimes, the GPS would work and we had to adjust our path. We came across hills, water, and valleys, and sometimes we stumbled upon them. We relied on the GPS as much as we could, while also keeping away from the elephants that were nearby. Somehow, we managed to avoid getting too close to them.
A view from top of the Karbi Hill.
Countless trips and falls into secret holes made us laugh as we faced challenges. But we never gave up and kept going. Without realizing it, we managed to climb seven hills in just two hours, and it was already 8:30 pm. At that moment, we made a promise to spend less time on hills in the future.
Acknowledgment: Assam Forest dpt. Kaziranga Tiger Reserve
After happy return at 9:30 PM
Home 
Leave a comment