There was no shortage of times when I felt depressed and tired, I thought I could give up, but the excitement of a feeling of approaching the magical world that flashed inspired me to overcome it all.
Although I have traveled to many places and conquered many mountain peaks with beautiful landscapes in the world, the journey to Nhiu Co San, Lung Cung and Lao Than is a trip that really leaves many memories with difficult impressions. forget. The trip is like reading a special book that each person usually only reads once. Photographer Hung Lekima and his friends have just had a trip to conquer the unique peaks in Lao Cai, where few people know about. He shares this journey with travel followers of Zing . 
Photographer Viet Hung Lekima atop Nhiu Co San. Cloud hunting season is usually from about October this year to April next year. We have three journeys to three different peaks in Lao Cai and Yen Bai from September to November 2020. Each time our group has from 15 to 20 members. The most memorable memory is the trip under the rain and mud, it took 8 hours to get to the shack at an altitude of 2,100 m, the rain showed no sign of stopping. The next day, we had to wait, watch, really wanted everyone to have more time to rest, so we started later than expected. When I finished climbing to the top, back to the shack, many of my companions left early, but there were also people who returned when it was already dark. Walking in the dark forest, slippery roads, raining… a heart-pounding experience… 
Lao Than – roof of Y Ty’s house It is said that it takes two stones to make fire, and it takes teamwork and cooperation to achieve great things. In times of fatigue when conquering the mountain peaks, I still see people around me sharing each other’s cakes, bottles of water, medicine and other drugs. Even unfortunately, someone got injured, walked slowly, someone stayed with the porter to help them… There was no shortage of words of encouragement to overcome difficulties together, especially when our group traveled a lot when it was raining, cold and muddy. When you face many difficulties while climbing, it is also a fertile ground to show the other world inside you, the world of compassion, helping people around, which are priceless things. 
Located at an altitude of 2,860 m, Lao Than peak is considered as the roof of Y Ty, in the territory of Phin Ho village, Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province. Lao Than with Nhiu Co San peak is a pair of mother and father mountains that the Hmong call it Hau Pong San. This is also an ideal place to hunt clouds. Lao Than – where the sun rises the earliest and goes to bed late in Y Ty. To set foot on the roof of Y Ty, we have to climb 8 km to the top, which takes at least 6 hours. If we want to hunt clouds on the top of Lao Than, we have to climb the mountain in the afternoon and stay overnight on the top to wake up early the next morning to catch the dawn, watching the white clouds fly. 
Nhiu Co San – steppe in the clouds Nhiu Co San is the 9th highest mountain in Vietnam with an altitude of 2,965 m, belonging to Nhiu Co San village, Sang Ma Sao commune, Bat Xat district, Lao Cai. This mountain is one of the unspoiled places with primeval forests and rich vegetation offering a variety of landscapes. This place has a very beautiful waterfall like a silk ribbon dropped from the sky. People are easily bewildered with the wooly path in the dense forest with mossy rock layers at the foot, wide view with majestic mountains. Nhiu Co San deserves to be one of the mountains in the north to conquer. Nhiu Co San is also known as Horn Trau mountain, because it also has another nearly equal mountain next to it. These two mountains standing side by side look like buffalo horns. Therefore, the world in the clouds here is different from other mountains. Standing here, you can see a huge waterfall of clouds flowing thanks to a buffalo horn next to it. 
From Sang Ma Sao, you have to go 7 km through the gravel and stone road to Nhiu Co San village to start the journey. To “touch” the buffalo horn, we had to climb 9 km, it took about 8 hours to get there. Usually, anyone who comes here also sleeps in a shack in the forest to conquer early the next day to see the sunrise and the sea of clouds on the mountain top. 
Lung Cung – a beautiful picnic road in the clouds People often say “time heals all wounds” but I think it must be “nature heals all wounds”. Climb the mountain to see yourself not only living. After all, man is born from nature. When you return, put yourself in the heart of nature, whether unconsciously or not you feel so small and feel equal to all living things. It helps you to see things become lighter, regain inner optimism and bring fresh vitality after each trip. 
Located at an altitude of 2,913 m, Lung Cung peak is named after a village located deep in the rugged and beautiful mountains in Nam Co commune, Mu Cang Chai district, Yen Bai. To conquer this mountain, we had to sit behind a motorbike 15 km on a slippery road, our hearts wanted to jump out of our chests. Many sections can not sit in the car but have to walk in drizzly and blind weather. But after strenuously climbing to an altitude of more than 2,300 meters, a miracle happened. We were surprised: “This is the paradise of the heavens”. The sun is warm and welcoming. A whole river of white clouds played at my feet, like I didn’t know and thought a bit about how cold and wet the ground was… My heart seemed to burst. Even so, this is a relatively easy mountain to conquer. We climbed straight to the top in the day with 7 km and took 6 hours, to watch the sunset and then back to the shack. Early the next morning from the shack we continued climbing for about 1 hour to reach the top to watch the sunrise in the sea of clouds. 
Nature has many miracles After countless hikes and flashbacks of the trips. I remember the early morning, the dark night, climbing the mountain in the cold mist, clouds and unknown winds… The hard work of “marching” just to watch the mountains coincide with thousands of mighty soldiers. “Mountains walk in the cold mist, mountains go in clouds, mountains go in the wind, mountains quietly watch themselves in the deep valleys, mountains are mysteriously herds of horses, mountains coincide with thousands of mighty soldiers.” Remembering the feeling of the night in the cold forest, it was hard to sleep. Remember the feeling of helplessness when your legs hurt too much, your back is tired but you still don’t know when you can get down the mountain. Remember the hikes in the pouring rain, cold, slippery roads and muddy feet. Remember the temporary lunches on the road that could not be lit because the wind was too strong. Remember how many times you were about to give up, or the most difficult and tiring times on the mountain, thinking that you would not climb any more mountains… 
Having appeared for a long time in the world, the sport of mountain climbing seems to be still quite new in Vietnam. Even many people think that it is simply another name for “phèo”. In fact, climbing is a form of adventure tourism, an outdoor sport where participants do not have any means of transportation other than their own feet. 
You climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the magical world of yourself. When we crossed the hills, mountains, plateaus and strange countryside by ourselves, we had to accept much more difficulties and hardships. And surely there will be no shortage of times when bored and tired, it seems that you can give up. But the feeling of approaching the magical world inside you, touching the very beautiful, wild and pure pieces of the forest and nature is truly worth a thousand times the hardship that we have experienced. by. 
You must log in to post a comment.