"One thing I like about Stones in my path is when I cross them; they become my milestones"
~Anonymous
*SCAM 1992* theme music played loud and hard and I jumped out of my bed in seconds. It was 3rd of October and this was the big day! This was the day we start our 4-Day illustrious trek to the top of the Dhauladhar Range and eventually scaling Indrahar Pass in the process.
The purpose of sleeping before the day of your trek turned out to be a blessing. After traveling close to 1900km and about 33-hour journey of Train and Bus ride combined, there is no substitute for a good night worth sleep.
Waking up to a bright sunshine feels like a blessing in any Hill Station. The bright sunshine feels the perfect recipe to make you get going. The clock read 7.05 am and Arkya was still feeling lazy to get up. I made sure there was no delay from my part and rushed to the washroom to freshen up.
At around 7.30 am, I went to the café and was greeted by Steve and Mohit, who were up with some work. In the meantime, we heard about Gagan, who has started off to Amritsar by road. Our dorm room-mates Sethuraman and Karuppaswami came to the common area and we had a brief chat. We decided to have breakfast together and went to Bhagsu to have a cup of tea and some food to eat.
We had Parotha, Maggie and Bread Toast. I had Maggie and always believe the fact of having Maggie in the hills, because it tastes the best.
We came back to our room and it was close to 9.15 am. We had a small task of transferring few of our clothes from one bag to the other one. This is the least interesting thing in any travel journey, to pack and unpack and pack…. The cycle doesn’t seem to end.
We had a visitor and the person was from Mountain Musketeers Agency. He introduced himself as Sonam Sherpa, and he was likely our Trekking Guide to the trip. Earlier that day, I called up Arun Matthews and he said to have forwarded my number to Gulab Ji who was my coordinator. I spoke to Gulab Ji and he asked me to pay up the remaining amount of around 8000Rs to Sonam. We paid him and he instructed us to reach Krishna General Store, which was about 200 meters from our hostel to meet with the guide/ instructor.
As preparing for the trek was tough, we had other things to take care and we spent a good time in what to and what not to take. In the end, I took all the necessities, a pair of track pants, a pair of socks, a shawl, 3 tshirts and a Fur Jacket. By the time I went to have a shower and come back, it was already 10.15 am and we were supposed to report by this time.
I have a reputation among a few friends of not being punctual. In this case though, I tried my best, but couldn’t actually keep up. Nevertheless, I hurried up and filled a bottle of water and wore my trekking boots for the very first time and started off at sharp 10.30 am.
We were at the spot when the clock read 10.35 am and saw Sonam Sherpa waiting for us patiently and said this is very common in trekking with large groups.
We bought two ponchos for 80rs a piece.
At this point, I saw a girl with her smartphone and a gimbal on her hand. She was one of our teammates and she introduced herself as Neha Sharma from Ludhiana. She has just started her new YouTube channel and covered Ladakh, a few months back. This meant, there was more than one Vlogger on our team 😀
Just about 200 meters, we met a bunch of youngsters from Gurgaon, who were set to trek till Triund with us. The youngsters introduced themselves as Harshit, Gaurav, Rishab and Naman, and were all charged up for the trek like us. We met three more individuals, who introduced them as Vikas, Vinayak and Priyanka and thus, our team was ready to trek upwards.
Trek to Triund
Day 1 was a 4-5 hours trek to Triund. This is arguably one of the most sought out treks in Himachal Pradesh, considering the time it takes to reach and for being an easy trek to finish. The trek can be completed in a day by all means. Also, for first timers planning to spend a lovely and a starry night above the ridge, can place their own tents or even rent the same at cafes near the basecamp at the top. The rates vary and can change according to the seasons. If you are planning for completing the trek in a day, be sure to carry sufficient amount of water with you. There is no water resources barring Bhagsu fall near the starting point, and you won’t find a river or a waterfall on the forthcoming route. Plus all the Café in the route sell water for a higher cost. Since all these rations and food they receive come to a considerable distance, which is devoid of a proper motorable road and comes tied on the back of donkeys and mules.
Cost is one side, while you are trekking Triund, you can buy Maggie, Bread Toast and have chocolates (Very Useful) from these shops, while you appreciate the scenery and the beauty of the surroundings.
You would find different café (shops) on the route at approximately every 1-2km and they form the base camps of the treks. These camps have tents for rent and prepare basic food for your convenience, sell basic stationary store items and sell water bottles.
While many travel agencies have tie-ups with these cafés and you can find packages to Triund, Snowline, and Indrahar pass from these agencies for your budgets. These packages would cover the cost of stay at night in Tents, would have separate toilet Tents, would have Meals included as per the plans and a guide till the trek is completed. I would list the operator, who ensured a safe and comfortable trekking service to us here.
There are two main routes of reaching Triund Top. The first is via Dharamkot and the second is via Bhagsu Falls. We took the second route.
The first route was considerably far from the point we were at (Bhagsu), and further, we would need a cab to take us till Gallu Temple, which is the last motorable point. The route is a little longer than the route we would take. I would share the route maps to give you both the options and help you make a choice, in case you are traveling without a guide.
With all set and done, we called our homes and told them not to call us for the next few days, as we would be moving farther from civilization and phone towers. Our first stop was to reach Shiva Café near Bhagsu Falls, and this barely took us time to reach.
The sun was shining bright and there was no tinge of chillness. This meant everyone got their jackets off as it became a bit sweaty. One would imagine how it would look seeing people sweat while in the hills. While during the short briefing break, Sonam Sherpa shared a few useful tips. This included the way to walk for any first timers. More so, since the trail was full etched with sharp stones and rock boulders, a constant walk could actually lead to straining of ankles and knees if not to done properly.
Shiva Café is beautiful in its sense. Located just beside Bhagsu Falls, the Café offers a splendid location to relax and spend a nice time away from Mcelod. There is a water channel, where the water from the falls gushed below. We filled all our bottles with a healthy and a tasty bottle of Mountain Waters. There is no pure water than what you could get from the Himalayas. We embarked our journey and the time was close to 12 pm.
While on the route, I saw a plenty of people trekking both ahead and behind us to Triund. I heard stories about Triund and large number of people taking the treks. I got a first-hand observation of the same.
While there were equally a plenty of people getting down to Mcleodganj from Triund, we crossed the boulders in the water fall to move further ahead. The real trek started and we move ahead within no time. I received a trekking pole and so was Arkya. We felt kind off privileged xD as none of the others didn’t receive.
It was incredibly hot! What’s worse was Arkya and I were the only two having heavy luggage. None of our teammates carried stuffs, as heavy as ours. And we soon realized that we were the only two moving to Snowline and Indrahar, while others would return back Mcleodganj the next day. This is why we got ourselves a wooden pole (Trekking Pole)
We moved at a decent pace, and stopped at places to capture some of the breathtaking views. While Arkya was doing fine and vlogging without a hiccup; Neha on the other hand was struggling. We weren’t even near the first base camp, while Neha felt it was way too much for her legs.
At this point, Sonam told her the formula of climbing with “Baby Steps” instead of larger steps. This actually saved her that day and she began feeling better. As it stood, we took a break in between for about a few minutes and had some chocolates. This proved to be energetic and we marched on to our first base camp around 13.00 pm in the afternoon. We had the food covered on our package and the lunch we received was a bowl of Maggie. All of us had our lunch and started off by 13.30 pm to the next base camp.
We couldn’t help but enjoy the surrounding near us. Clouds caught up to our altitude and it felt we were above one. We soon reached our next base camp and stood for about some time and started off for the next portion in the trail.
The whole route is filled with rocks and boulders. Thus, it is recommended for wearing shoes with strong sole and grip. You don’t want to slip or worse fall from these cliffs. Shoes with poor base and heels can snap at any time. Thus, make sure to wear Shoes or mid to high ankle jungle boots with good base for better grip. I would share the link of the shoe I got from Amazon and this was easily the best decision I made in the trip.
We were barely 3km from our base and it was nearly 3.20 pm. We took yet another long break in between and around this time, we misplaced one of our poles, as we were more focused in capturing photos and recording for vlogs. The region above the base camp has a steep ridge, which gives a beautiful view of the basecamp.
We were instructed to not touch any flowers or leaves. There were a few instances, where we need to move past such plants, and thankfully for us, none of us felt sick.
We moved past with half the energy. We walked with no tension of reaching late and took long relaxing breaks in between. It was already past 4 pm and we took another break in between for clicking pics and videos. What I observed on this approach of trekking is it helps you keep moving and doesn’t take toll on your legs and allows you to enjoy every single moment. Although we were way too slow, but once again, there was nothing much to do once we reach our camp, other than to spend some time near bonfire and have dinner.
As it looked, the last kilometer or so was a bit steep. We were slowly approaching near our camps. While I along with a reached our camps, Arkya, Neha and a few others were still recording their vlogs and capturing some clicks.
The Excitement of reaching our destination made me run out of adjectives. The whole ridge looked to bid goodbye to the Sun for the day and this was a sight to see. While I was ahead than most of my trek-mates, I made it a point to find a rock and just sit for a short while.
The bird’s eye view of Mcleodganj and Dharamshala was slowly getting covered with layers of clouds, which interestingly was at our level. The slow illumination of the town below bore the testimony of how beautiful Kangra Valley towns look at that time of the day.
With my focus shifting backwards, I saw the ridge going towards Laka Got and further the pathway to Indrahar Pass. That was poetically apt and gave us the awakening of what’s ahead. The temporary joy of scaling Triund looked minuscule, once we looked the summit just ahead of us. The natural transition of dawn to dusk drew the curtains on the majestic path to Indrahar slowly faded into darkness.
I remember a friend once telling me, “Suraj, the thing about Himalayas is, the large mountains teaches you humility.” At the end of the day, the size and magnitude of these mountains makes you realize and respect them.
Meanwhile, Sonam and a few other trek guides have their tents associated with the café. They were very quick to setup quite a few tents. The whole Triund Top near our café was filled with tents.
I went in the tent provided for me and Arkya. I entered and put my heavy bag on the sleeping mat and saw two Sleeping Bags inside.
Soon we had a cup of hot-piping Tea. It was sweet, delicious and perhaps something we wanted to have for a long time.
It was close to 6 pm and every individual got their cup of tea from the café. Our base camp has a full-fledged kitchen, and sells all kinds of necessities for extra charge.
As the sun set, we witnessed a remarkable transformation of the skies. In a short while, the skies began to glitter. Till this point, the cloud layer was around us and it got colder every passing minute it seemed. There were countless stars and I seriously wished to own a DSLR at this point to capture the mesmerizing views.
All the guides, gathered up to find some pieces of wood and gather to light them as a bonfire. This was indeed a need of the hour and a perfect way to end a day of some tedious trekking. Nearly the entire lot of people gathered to warm their palms up in a place, miles away from civilization.
Around 8.45 pm, we gathered for dinner, and got a plate of simple Roti, Dal and Rice. It was more than we could ask for and the piping hot dal over rice was delicious at every slurp. The best part of the food was the simplicity. One might have an imagination and a better taste bud, but in this case, even the simplest food was finger lickin’ good!
We had a long chat about the day’s trek with our trek mates and at around 10pm, we went inside our tents. It became colder with every passing minute, and we would pull the tent curtains and enter our sleeping bags to retire for the night. I carried Volini and applied all over my knees. This was soothing and seeing this, both Arkya and Neha applied them too. Too less for a comfortable night’s sleep 😀 😀
It was rather uncomfortable inside a sleeping bag, but nevertheless, it doesn’t really matter that much, as long as our bodies are inside these bags.
That’s the end of Day 1 of our trek. Stay tuned for the next part 🙂
PUBLISHED BY:
Suraj B (theTrackWalk)
www.thetrackwalk.wordpress.com