Kaibab Trail - South Rim, Grand Canyon :
Nature has its own unique and
unfussy way of imposing itself on human beings. It didn’t take too long for
Ming, Steven and Radhika to understand that. In a span of 6 hours, they had
encountered almost everything at the Grand Canyon ,
which they had fondly nicknamed as “The Greatest Hole on the Earth”. Thunderous
rainstorms and lightning had left them stranded and shell shocked for hours in
the middle of a treacherously strenuous trail that had slowly started showing
its chameleon-esque nature. They already had to deal with loose footing and
rock fall that came unannounced while an encounter with wild life was always a
scare even though they had met only the friendliest of creatures so far. A
heavy snow fall shut them off completely as the rain had started to thicken and
its successor, ice was more incisive and cruel. They had overstayed their
welcome at the trail and hunger and dehydration slowly set in as they ran out
of all supplies. But clearly nature was not done with them as it landed its
final and most lethal blow. Jordan, the fourth and most experienced hiker of
the group was missing for the past 3 hours.
Radhika was fuming. “He should
have come by now. He said he will meet us at the Hullu point. The idiot always
does something crazy like this. What was the need for that maniac to explore
that new route all alone? God knows where the hell he is now!”
“Relax Radz. Trust the man. He is
a pro but remember he is a psycho as well. It is one deadly combination. He
will make it all right. I am sure he is going to sneak up on us from somewhere
and freak you out totally!” Steven was still optimistic about his best buddy.
Ming had other things in his
mind. “Yeah.. I hope so too. The dude is totally nuts but he is a tough nut.
But hey.. we can’t stay here for long. We will starve ourselves to death if the
cold doesn’t kill us before that. I say we head up to the Hopi point and wait
for him up there.”
“Yeah, let’s do that. Guess I
could do with some hot chocolate at Hermit’s rest. “Radhika’s voice was
trembling behind the brave smile she put up. She felt something strange inside
she couldn’t understand or explain!
Unknown Location – near Death
Gorge, Grand Canyon :
Nature was capable of breaking
even the hardest of men and today it looked like it might succeed in overwhelming
the gritty Jordan
He was breathing heavily, clasping
his hands together, partly to warm himself and partly in a small prayer to God.
He was completely lost! At that moment he saw a strange thing. He saw a bird
that flew past his ears. But there was something strange about it. It was
wearing a dress. He rubbed his eyes again to make sure he was not hallucinating
due to dehydration. But there it was. It had 2 small flaps covering its wings
which looked like wrist bands. And it had something in its legs that looked
like tiny little socks. Was his mind imagining things? A strange feeling of
fear and death started to engulf him.
“Lost your way perhaps?” He was
petrified by the suddenness and shrillness of the voice that came from behind
him. It was a man. A man in this God forsaken place! That could not be true he
thought. The figure that stood in front of him was tall, strong and slightly
inhuman. It was a man alright. A man who seemed to have borne the brunt of both
nature and life! A man who looked strong and wise from age and experience! He
had a look in his eyes that intimidated Jordan
“What brings you here, my friend?
I am afraid you should not be here!” The man’s voice was hoarse and Jordan
“I know who you are. You belong
to one of those ancient tribes, aren’t you? The Havasu or Huala something!” Jordan
The man stroked his long beard
and looked impressed. “I am happy somebody still knows about us. My name is
Hania and you are almost right. I descend from the Havasupai clan.” He extended
his hand and Jordan Jordan
“Oh yeah.. you guys.. I have read
about you. You have been calling the Grand Canyon
your home, isn’t it? Still a few of you left, trying to survive in a world that
has become incompatible to you! Well, guess what, you don’t control this place
no more, fella!
Hania gave him a profound smile.
“Nobody can control nature, my friend. And you, right now, would know that more
than anybody. Lost, tired, hungry and angry amidst ruthless mountains and a
devastating cold that can rip your soul out and freeze it to death; nowhere to
run, nowhere to hide, nothing to embrace, no one to hold on to! Tell me, who is
in control, my man?”
Clearly Jordan
Hania was his composed self. “Of
course. It is neither a deadly hike nor or impossible one. But only as long as
you are in the trail! You are way off it my friend. Probably drifted off around
the skeleton point! You have no idea where you are. I call it the “Near Death
Gorge!”
“Hmm… Never heard of it dude.
What do others call it?” Jordan
Hania’s response was icy cold.
“The Death Gorge!”
Jordan had a smirk on his face.
“Well.. tell you what! You are doing a pretty decent job of scaring the hell
out of me. Now what is it that is so deadly about this passage?”
“I am just telling you the truth
my friend. In the 800 years of history that has been recorded, 10 people have
wandered into this place losing their way on the trail, and attempted to get
back to the top through this narrow pass. Only one of them survived!”
There was something about Hania
that Jordan could not understand. “Whoa… That is something. Must be a pretty
famous guy! First man in 800 years and all. Who is he?”
Hania looked out into the canyon
and took a deep breath. “He is standing right in front of you, my friend. And
no, he is not famous. Nobody knows about him. Never knew!” For the first time,
a shiver went down Jordan
TO BE CONCLUDED (NEXT WEEK)….
