Next morning. I got up around 6 AM. It was already bright outside. I requested Sunil to take my mobile phone for charging to Pashupati's house. I went to take bath and get ready for the day. I was not eager to take breakfast at this place. So had fruit cake and other stuffs which I had brought with me from Asansol. Pashupati came after some time and informed me about trekking schedule. He provided me a guide called Kanuram. I was eagerly waiting to start trekking. Hence, as soon as Kanuram arrived, I started immediately.
Kanuram was walking ahead. We were crossing chunks of agricultural fields, bushes and trees. Suddenly he vanished inside the dense trees. My watch was indicating the elevation. We were at the foothills of Garhpanchkot at 830 feets. Kept walking. Kanuram was carrying few water bottles in a plastic bag. He was just wearing a pair of sleepers. I was doubtful about his safety and weather he will be able to climb the rocks in the jungle! When I asked him, he said, its very usual activity for him to climb this mountain. I kept on following him.
I would also like to mention here about a dog, which kept following us right from the beginning of the trek till the end. She didn't leave us for a single minute. She would go ahead of Kanuram sometimes, as if she was knowing the right way and wanted us to follow her.
My Casio Protrek was indicating that we had climbed approximately 300 feets in first 50 minutes. I was happy with my speed. The incline was getting steeper at some times. We had to climb big rocks and boulders. Forest was so dense at times that it became very dark and our every step was dependent purely on guesses. Fortunately we were progressing on the right 'path'. Actually there is no particular 'path' to reach to the top. As this is not a frequent visited destination, you have to make your own way.
I was getting exhausted after every few minutes, as dehydration rate was too much in that weather condition. Taking excessive water could have also been a problem. Though due the density of jungle cover, we were not directly exposed to the sun rays.
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| The dense forest of Garhpanchkot |
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I was badly missing something like Glucon-D for instant energy. I had taken this during my past treks. The scary insects and centipedes were forcing me to raise my steps quickly. I was just imagining the bad things after seeing them. What would happen if some poisonous insect bites me!! I was not in mobile's network coverage area. How will I be able to tell my exact location, as I also forgot my GPS at home !! Such weird things were constantly coming in my mind.
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| scary creatures |
After some time finally I got a big flat rock where I just threw my bag and laid on it. I was feeling totally exhausted by now. However, this was not a good point to rest as Sun rays were directly coming over it, but I did not had any energy left to take even a single step. I think I stayed there for more than 20-30 minutes. Kanuram took his mobile and started listening some songs. The language was different from Bengali. When I asked, he replied, it was Santhali. Santhal is a tribal community mainly based in Jharkhand, Bihar, Bengal and Assam. They are considered to be the largest tribal community in India. Their culture is considered to be very rich and mainly dependent upon the forest. Though agriculture is their prime occupation but having coal mines near their habitats, these laborers are considered very efficient and are mainly engaged in mining related activities. 
