TREK to Miranjani.

By: Talha Masood Khan :)

Trekking and mountaineering have always been my utmost dream since when I was a child, but my distance to the locations and my bulkiness never allowed me. It lay long forgotten until I shifted to Rawalpindi and I realized that I can still do it. My younger brother is very active trekker, and had trekked numerous treks in „Margla hills‟ and „Galiat region‟. I trekked for the first time with him to..Monal‟ through Trail 3‟, considering it an easy job. But believe me it never was! Unlucky sunny day and my bulkiness was a barrier standing in between. Luckily my consistency and determination overcame them and I made it to „Monal‟ through „Fireline‟ in around two hours. Trekking; besides being a very tiresome job, has numerous bright sides. The thru trek sightseeing, the natural environment and the „feel‟ of being at the top of the world are always worth bearing the downsides.

Following the Monal trek, I was on a hunt of finding a team with which I could trek.
And to my luck, it wasn‟t much of a wait. My university had a trek organized to „THE MIRANJANI‟. Miranjani is the highest peak of „The Himalayas Range‟ in the „GALIAT‟ Region in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa(KPK). It rises at an altitude of 9710 feets(2960m) and is located in Ayubia National Park, specifically the „Namili Maira‟ near „Nathiagali‟. In excitement I had my back pack ready the whole week before the departure. On the departure day, we set off to Nathiagali at around 8 in the morning, as it was a 3 hour drive. Around 11 as we reached in main Nathiagali bazaar we started off ascending to the base of mountain. It is a 40 minutes‟ walk to main Trek from Nathiagali. The Trek starts off with immediate steepness, which decreases to the mid of the trek, and then restores till the very top. The trek is lined with natural greenery and provides a scenic view of the snow covered mountains. Even with winter ending, the snow was recurring throughout the trek. The wild plantation of shrubs, the thorny vegetation and the melting snow made it a little difficult to cross through the trek. There were different portions throughout the trek patched up with thick forest plantation with no sunlight to the ones being completely sunny.

The most problem creating element I had was my bulkiness. From the starting I was out of my breath, wanting to rest for a while and craving for water every 10 minutes. But trekking is not something that you do by drinking as much you like, eating as much you desire and making stops every ten minutes. So I fought back my urge reducing the water intake and started having chocolate. Chocolate; being an instant energy source for trekkers, had an immensely visible effect on my pace. I made a stopover a couple of time in the whole trek for around a minute or two. It was because of this that I made it to the peak in around two and a half hours. The good point was that amongst the group I was neither the first one up nor the last one. The first thing I did reaching the peak, was bowing down to Almighty Allah for letting me have another of my dream come true. The view up there is superbly inexpressible. The blowing wind had a sweetest melody, showing off the Killing looks of..Nanga Parbat‟. Mountains of Kashmir were beautifully located towards the North east, with Abbotabad city, Thandiani and Havelian exactly opposite to it. Although many people claim to have seen the Jehlum river from up top, I couldn't find it at all.

I spent an hour up there admiring the beauty around me, and then started descending. The way back seemed a little more tiresome than I expected, as I almost sprained my ankle twice, and bruised my left knee. But as they say, consistency pays off; and I made it back to Nathiagali in a little over two hours.

This expedition to the top not only made me think about all those people who miss out the beauties of Pakistan, but also enabled me to remember the verse of Surah-e-Rehman, quoting “Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?” I wish we all could understand its true meaning.