Always remember : Nothing is certain during a pandemic. Plans change, strangers become family, memories run through the veins and the experience becomes the motivation for another trek. Adrenaline rush and mini heart attacks? those are just cameos.
This being my debut blog, brace yourself for a long journey to 12,000ft above sea level. I assure you your safety. (The Burj Khalifa is only 2,000ft high)
Preparation
The day was 24th October 2020, when a group was created by one of my friends who had decided to do a trek in the Himalayas way back in January when we were unaware of how 2020 was going to be .Initially there were 4 people in the group but after people joining in and dropping out, the final count was 6 . Little did we know that stress, chaos and adventure had joined our group too.
Even after knowing the great lockdown, inter state travelling restrictions and non-functional public transport , our unfit, adventurous and optimistic group went ahead and booked the trek with "Trek the Himalayas" group 😆 . After a lot of google searches and hell lot of YouTube videos , I realized I need to get fit first and then started my cycling , running and was not even close to the expected stamina for the trek but the workout helped me to keep my muscles loose .
So the final plan was devised and and it was going to be as follows : Flight To Delhi -> by road Lohajung base camp -> Trek -> by road Munsiyari -> by road Mukteshwar -> back to Delhi. Will be covering Just the Trek part in this blog stay tuned to find out about rest of our trip .
There was a lot of alteration in the plan but to begin with this was the base plan . By road we were travelling for more than 1300 Km and we didn't even think once as we knew how heavenly the destination was going to be .
This was also the time when the Farmers' Bill Bills were passed and the protest against these bills had started around Delhi . Along with this stress we also had to carry a Covid negative report as the Uttarakhand government had mandated the negative report and e-pass to cross the border . 48 Hours before the trip everyone had scheduled a RT-PCR Covid test and that was one of the most stressful moments of the trip as even one positive would lead to cancellation of the whole trip and addition to that 10 days quarantine . We needed 6 Negative results and also we asked driver to test so an added pressure :)
Himalayan Trek
10th December 2020 , It was a Happy day as our over Optimistic plan was working and we had the required documents , all negative reports , E-Pass for Uttarakhand , loads of courage and positivity .
We were 6 of us but we had booked a 12 seater tempo traveler knowing the amount of time we were going to spend on roads and also we got an amazing driver and will provide the details below in the details section .
Two days before the flight we got a call from GoAir that the flight we have booked is cancelled and we have to take an early morning flight . This is one of the many cons of travelling during a pandemic. Plans change every moment, rules change everyday and nothing is sure until last moment . So we landed in Delhi 5 hours before and we being an optimistic and positive group we took those 5 hours to acclimatize 😆 . Our driver did face some issue to enter Delhi due to the farmers protest but he somehow made it and finally we left for our first Stay that was in Khurpatal .
We Reached there at 11pm , checked in the hotel had dinner and after that when I looked up in the sky it was clear and filled with stars . There were two photographer friends with me @shagunbathija and Kaustubh Nerurkar who have great passion for Star Gazing and they started to shoot the sky which looked amazing. This was the first time I had witnessed such a clear sky with thousands of stars ❤️
11th December 2020 , Early morning we woke up for our first sunrise in Himalayas . It was the first sunrise of our trip and it was really beautiful and the temperature was around 12 to 15 degrees so a perfect hill station morning . Everyone got ready and did some photoshoot and we checked out from the hotel .
According to the plan, the destination for today was The Base camp, Lohajung. We left around 10am and we had to cover more than 200km today , the maps estimated it around 8 Hrs. drive but it took us almost 11 Hrs. to reach the base camp .
The road to Lohajung was not that straight forward as it's a remote village and the road is also not well developed . Along with that we didn't have network and the forest is dense and we had to rely on offline maps . The last 50 to 60Km we had to travel in dark and the roads were really bad . It was really tiring but the amazing landscapes of Himalayas and beautiful sunset kept us going .
We reached Trek the Himalayas base camp around 8pm and the trek leader was there to welcome us and also sanitize us 😆 . The temperature was around 5 degrees and I was already in 4 layers and freezing .
We got our rooms which were really basic with just 4 walls and a mattress , later we realized that it is a luxury to get a bed and washroom at that altitude. We were welcomed with some spring rolls and hot chai followed by dinner. Post dinner we were given brief summary of the plan for next 3 days then we completed all the formalities and submitted the required forms and report and went to sleep . We had to fill a declaration form and also get one form filled by a physician who needs to declare us fit for the trek .
12th December 2020 , Trek Day 1 and we woke up between the great Himalayas to a heavenly sunrise . We woke up at 6 AM it was really cold and that was the best view I had from my bed . We hadn't seen the location as we had travelled in dark and when we saw it in the morning we were stunned , I felt that the bad roads and no network is all for the good as it maintains the sanity and beauty of this place . More it gets connected to the world ,more commercialized it will get .
We spent almost 2 Hours doing photoshoot whereas we should have done some preparation and warmup for the trek 😂 . We had to rent couple of gears and also pack our offloading bags (bags which will be carried to the next base camp by mules, so you can just trek by yourself without carrying the heavy bag) and get ready by 9AM , for which, we were of course late 😝
While we were having the breakfast, we could sense the weather changing , temperature was dipping and we could see the snow clouds moving towards us and it was the first snowfall of the winters and our excitement had no limit . All our prayers clearly worked out as everyone wanted to experience the snowfall.
After breakfast we ran for renting trek gears from the local store nearby . We rented Poncho , Gaiters , Trekking Pole , Trekking fleece . The morning was full of hassle as we had to pack the bags for 4 days and also pack the trekking gears and get ready by 9 AM . Our Trek leader started with the briefing and warned us to be on time as we cannot afford to be off the plan in the mountains.
Six warriors and 2 trek leaders : nervous and unaware of what's coming but ready for the adventure (as we only signed up for this 😆 ) . 100M into the trail and the snow fall started, that was the first time I experienced a snowfall . Everyone were damn excited and everyone was screaming like babies and the ponchos were out . I didn't plan my packing properly and had offloaded my poncho too 😝 , that was a good learning as you should too plan your packing properly, plan your layering for day/night/snowfall/rain and almost anything, because as they say weather in mountains can change any moment.
We started with brown trail and in 15-20 minutes it had turned into white trail . The transition to white trail was unreal and the snowfall was really peaceful. . I put my music on and I was just enjoying my each step . I looked at my friend and we both had that relief in eyes, all the efforts, all the planning and stress everything felt less in front of this beauty . Everyone had prayed for snow trek and the prayers clearly worked out so much that we had to pray for the weather to clear up ASAP.
First day was around 6 to 7 hours trek and we were full of energy though our clothes were getting wet, some of the body parts were already frozen and the snowfall was increasing continuously . Our trek leaders were little bit tensed as it is not a good sign, if this goes on till next day then Brahmatal lake will be covered with snow and the summit also cannot be done . Trek leaders were thinking of all the permutation and combination of different trails we could follow and taking weather reports from the base camp .
I used to take small breaks while trekking and this gave me some time to enjoy the small flakes of snow falling on my face and also catch a breath. I could totally relate to the quote that the Journey is important and not the destination.
We look really happy but honestly we were wasted , we were walking for almost 6 hours and there was no signs of campsite . The snowfall slightly became a pain in the ass and we couldn't see a ray of sunlight the whole day . We climbed the last mountain and we could see the campsite beside a frozen lake and that was really satisfying . The setup was unreal and felt like I was dreaming . Between some random forest in Himalayas , a frozen lake , 4 tents one kitchen tent and complete silence ❤️
Checked into our tents :) and there was snow all over our clothes, shoes, gloves and some forbidden places, which was making us very uncomfortable 😆 . We did our cooldown session and there was a small lecture on AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness ) and some knowledge about mountaineering . Trust me after the lecture you will feel like you have all the symptoms and you should return back to the basecamp but hold on to this thought, just sit and let it sink in, because this is what you came for and trust me you'll be fine in sometime . Post the lecture we had some snacks and tea and then for sunset we went to the Bekal Tal Lake which was around 500M away .
This Bekal Tal Lake for me was the best scene and it was no less than the scene from Game of thrones . The temperature was dipping down more and it had crossed zero degrees , there were slight winds and we were standing beside the frozen lake and hearing the stories about the lake . Also the trek leaders were sharing their experiences and stories about this trek. Apparently people get excited about ghost stories when they are on a trip, Some locals and our trek Leader were sharing some stories about Roopkund trek which has a similar lake and the stories are scary (Roopkund lake is filled with skeletons of extraordinary sizes which didn't look like a normal human beings skeleton ).
Post that we walked back to our campsite in dark and the temperature was below zero degree . There was a shop beside the campsite and it was a permanent shop which was run by a girl and her younger brother . Their customers were trekkers like us and I have no idea how do they sustain in those conditions and survive on those earnings . Their parents work in the base camp and these guys run a shop at around 9700 Fts. that too without basic amenities . At that point I realized how blessed we are and how small our problems are. We are voluntarily putting ourselves in such harsh conditions for fun and in couple of days we will be back to our urban life with all the luxuries and they are working high in the mountains to make their daily living .
Post dinner we had our oxymeter checkup , on sea level our oxymeter reading should be around 95 or more and at that altitude the air is thin and there the oxygen level are not same in air so the normal level there is around 80 . Everyone's reading was around 85 to 92, and then guess what was my reading ? It was 78 the trek leader looked concerned and I am pretty sure they were not prepared for this 😆 . Asked me to have more water and keep them informed if I had some breathing problems .
Then post that we had some fireside chats and then moved to our respective tents and started the real test of our physical and mental stability . The tents were on snow , the temperature was in minus and we were really tired and was feeling little bit feverish too and also the oxymeter reading was there in back of my mind which was haunting . There were these thoughts going on in my mind about going back from the first campsite and not to continue ahead but somehow the night passed .
13th December 2020 , Trek day 2 . I woke up at 6AM with around 2 to 3 hours of proper sleep and the sunrise was expected around 8AM but the sky was clear and it was the best news for us . We did our morning routines , first experience of dry toilets was not bad and it was not that big problem as we had bigger problems because everything was frozen . Packing the sleeping bag and packing our bags again and clearing the tent was a big task in the morning as your full body is cold and your hands are not moving and you are shivering and you have get things done 😆 . We got our gaiters and mini spikes to walk on snow, we put them on and was ready for day 2.
This was also going to be a long day as we had to trek for 6 to 7 hours , we had packed our lunches . 2 Hours to Jhandi top which was the first point where we could see Mount Trishul very closely and then from there it was 3 to 4 hours trek to Brahmatal Lake.
Once we reached Jhandi top I felt like my body was giving up slightly , the sun was out I was in one layer but still felt the body was cold . The body felt fatigued as I couldn't have good sleep and was having breathing issues and stamina issues while ascending . Somehow I kept myself going and reached the Lunch point and my body severely needed rest .
Below photo was the location where we stopped for lunch and I had no plans to eat so I just covered my face with cap and rested . That is the best power nap I had as the sun was out after almost two days and the temperature was also pleasant and it was really necessary for me . After the nap I had snickers , protein bars and dry fruits and my lunch was done .
I put my music on and I just enjoyed the location and grasped it all in . I realized that trekking is bit like life , the journey only requires you to put one foot in front of the other ... again and again and again . And if you allow yourself opportunity to be present throughout the entirety of the trek , you will witness beauty every step of the way , and not just at the summit .
This was also a moment of gratitude where I was just thankful that I could witness this ❤️. We should be thankful for what we have; we will end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.
The power nap was really helpful and it gave me the strength to reach the next campsite which was 2 hours trek from there . Slowly and steadily we went ahead and as it is said the best view comes after the hardest climb , the second campsite was indeed the best campsite .
We could see the Summit peak from our campsite and also there was no shop like the previous campsite which means no fire for rescue . We requested the trek leaders for a bonfire but it was not allowed by the forest authorities so we had no option left but to bear the cold and survive .
The campsite was setup below the Summit mountain and it was 500m away from the Brahmatal Lake . It was a open area so the wind was strong and the temperature was around -5 degrees and the predicted temperature at night was around -10 degrees . Getting out from the tent and going to the kitchen and dining area was also very difficult. Our socks were wet due to snow and the shoes were also frozen , I couldn't feel my foot for like straight two days .
The tent had two areas one where we used to sleep and the outer area is to keep your shoes and trekking pole . We were given a sleeping fleece and a sleeping bag to sleep in the tent and there were two people in each tent. First night we had gotten the orange campsite and it was little bit small for two so we took the blue tent which was bigger had a good balcony too :p
The food from Trek the Himalayas was amazing , we used to get soup , maggi chai and also in the second campsite we got Jalebi 😍. After the sunset we were having Maggi and chai in the dining area and everyone was shivering.
The sky was clear as it was the meteor shower night and the temperature was dipping due to cold winds and it reached -10 degrees. Everyone had the same question how will we survive this night and we had planned this trek for the meteor shower which was going to start around 11PM and the peak of the meteor shower was around 3AM .
We finished the dinner by 8PM and somehow went back to our camps to sleep early as we had to wakeup midnight ,my camp mate was feeling little bit feverish and honestly I too was not understanding what my body was going through as it was the extreme conditions . We decided to wake up around 2.30AM and experience the Geminids meteor shower from the best place possible .
At 2.30AM I somehow gathered the motivation and energy to come out of the warm sleeping bag and go out of the tent where the wind was strong and it was freezing but that is what I had to go through to witness the meteor shower . It was majestic and heavenly outside I was absolutely speechless as there were millions of stars and every 5 to 10 sec we could see a shooting star .
We had got whatever we asked for and we were more than content , all the hard work and stress and planning and efforts were worth it at that moment .
That is me standing in the above picture with a torch in hand , the struggle was real to capture this as I had to walk 500m away from the campsite and stand there for 15 sec so that the DSLR camera could capture the beauty . I could see there was some footmarks of some animal and it was pin drop silence out there .The Photographers kept their cameras out of the tent and we went back to sleep for 3-4 hours .
14th December 2020 , Summit Day , Trek Day 3 . Again we woke up around 6AM and the plan was to do Summit in the morning and then start our descent towards the basecamp and take a halt in another campsite which will be around 2 hours far from the base camp . Everyone was freezing and some of them in our group were feeling sick too so one of the brilliant minds in our group came up with a plan that if the basecamp is just 2 hours away from the last campsite then why cant we directly descent to the base camp after the summit and skip one night in the campsite .
We confirmed this plan with our trek leaders and they were kind enough to consider the plan although they warned us that it's gonna be a long day but can be done. So the plan was now to Summit and then we will directly descent to basecamp on the same day. This was the advantage of trekking in small groups 😊
9AM we started the trek and it was again going to be a long day with 8 to 9 hours of trekking but we were determined to not think about it and just enjoy the last day in Heaven 😊 😍 . We packed our bags visited the Brahmatal lake and then started our Summit Day trek . We could see the summit from our campsite and it seemed to just rise high as we went closer to it . After almost 2 hours of ascent we had reached the summit which was around 12,000 Fts. We were closest to the great Mount Trishul and Nandagunti and it was just magnificent . That was the highest altitude I have been till now and was really proud moment for me . At that moment everything around was calm and stable and it brought the calmness and satisfaction in myself .
Oh, how can I put into words , the scenes that delight the eyes, the blessed peace of mind, the sheer exuberance which fills your soul and the list goes on. As we were a small batch and the first batch after lockdown there was absolutely no one out there . The silent forest , the calmness of mountains and the exhilaration of the summits is something which will stay with us forever ❤.
The plan was to spend around 15 Minutes on the Summit and then leave as we had to reach the basecamp same day . We spent more than 1 Hour clicking pictures and creating memories for life and we still didn't want to leave that place .
Everyone clicked their Summit photos and group photos as this would be cherished for lifetime. I sat there for around 10 minutes and grasped all that was possible mentally and thanked god , thanked god for creating this and also that I was able to witness this. It was not an easy journey and that is the only reason why it was extra special.
We had to start our decent and the destination was basecamp , our body felt fresh and energized and all the problems vanished , we realized the real limits of our body when pushed hard. Two Nights in Mountains just made us stronger for life and prouder too. It gave us the confidence to survive anywhere and made us physically and mentally fit.
Around 1PM we started the decent and the previous trails were all covered with snow so we had to mark our own trail and go ahead . The first stop was Jhandi Top then the other campsite where we were supposed to stay but we skipped that and straight to basecamp. We reached basecamp around 6.30 PM and it was dark by the time we reached , but we spent some extra time witnessing the beautiful sunset .
The last sunset we witnessed at Lohajung marked the end to our beautiful Himalayan journey - The Brahmatal (Snow) Trek !
Me and my friend couldn't believe that it ended and now we have to go back to civilization . Due to all the stress before the trek and the freezing nights in tents we questioned ourselves why we came for this trek , all our friends questioned why to put so much efforts and who tires themselves out in a vacation , but at that moment we had answers to all those questions and hopefully I was able to explain it in this blog .
The happiness on our face explains everything . It was a very proud moment that we summitted our first Himalayan trek without any complications , also we completed a 4 days trek in 3 days :)
As I said in the start I took you the the beautiful Himalayas at 12000 feet height and got you back safely (Please check yourself for any symptoms of AMS :P ) . And If you really felt my journey through this blog, Please like the post , drop a comment and share it ( It will probably inspire me to book another deadly trek ). Thanks for your time and adios .
Important Details
Instagram Handles
Shreekara Udupa - planned_backpacker
Trek Leaders at TTH- Meenakshi Bhist , Aditya Thakur
Traveller - Maharaj Singh Travels (+91 96340 14752)