Solo Adventure Beyond Triund #TripotoTakeMeToSandakphu

Tripoto
11th Nov 2016
Photo of Solo Adventure Beyond Triund #TripotoTakeMeToSandakphu by Apurve Gupta
Day 5

#TripotoTakeMeToSandakphu

I have been wanting to experience setting up tent and fire myself since I did Basic Mountaineering Course from JIM&WS Sonamarg, Kashmir and I plan to go further for AMC, mountain expeditions and rescue. So with the rare occurrence of long weekend this year came near I saw the perfect opportunity to quench my thirst and started making plans with people in my circle, only a few seemed to be interested and few of my BMC mates encouraged me to go for a solo experience. Finally the weekend arrived and when I got ditched by those who were interested thus I decided to take on this solo adventure.

After struggling all day to get my hands on new currency introduced by P.M. Modi Ji and planning, downloading maps of Kheer-Ganga trek, I took a Volvo from Majnu ka Tila, Delhi to Mcleodganj because I could not find a seat on the bus to Manali. Now this sounds like a bummer but as they say "whatever happens, happens for good".

The delicious Gobhi ka Paratha and masala chai at Haveli with friends whom I met on the bus helped me rest for the journey ahead.

Note :- If you don't buy bus tickets online and bargain with the bus conductor yourself, you can save at least INR 500.

New Currency

Photo of Majnu Ka Tila, Timarpur, Delhi, India by Apurve Gupta
Day 2

The bus arrived 3 hours after the scheduled arrival at 11:00 AM so I decided to move quickly. Broke my overnight fast with Thupka then took a dump at the public rest room just couple of building from the main square towards the right, bought some supplies chocolates(Snickers) and liquor(Old Monk) and started the trek right from the main square at 12:30PM.

I didn't plan on socialising along the way but the 80 litre backpack stuffed with my tent, sleeping bag, mattress and other survival gear caught attention of several travelers which mostly ended in casual discussion about place of origin, destination, my backpack.

But some discussions went far and I met my camping buddy, Abhinav from Delhi, for the day just when I was about to reach Triund top by 4:30PM. I usually trek in timed intervals of walking and resting. As this was an easy trek I decided on 45 minutes walking and 10 minutes complete rest with backpack on the ground, chocolate and water.

We roamed around Triund top to find some place from where night sky and sunrise will be visible and pitched our tent on behind the second shop towards the right. Rest of the evening was filled with songs, stories and enquiring about things to do at Triund this is where I came to know about Snow Line Cafe camping site and Indrahar Pass.

Note :- The trek is mostly rocky steps which will be easier to traverse with high ankle boots and require moderate fitness levels but there are plenty of cafes along the trail to Triund top. Also, getting an accommodation on the top can be a hassle in bad weather conditions like snowfall because area to pitch tents decreases.

Abhinav, on your right.

Photo of Triund, Trail to Triund Hill, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta

Refuling break!

Photo of Triund, Trail to Triund Hill, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta

Bonefire, check!

Photo of Triund, Trail to Triund Hill, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta

Pitch tent, check!

Photo of Triund, Trail to Triund Hill, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta
Day 3

The day began with getting rid of a dog playing with my tent, packing the camp and admiring the beauty of sunrise. We started moving towards the other camping site through steep slopes and boulders and met Harsh and Shubham from Gurgaon. The boulders started getting difficult to climb to the extent to motivating and extending help for Harsh and Abhinav to climb and keep moving forward.

We ended up facing a 40-50 feet high rock face and concluding that we are lost, we started to climb down and reached Triund after our trip to the jungle.

After enquiring about the correct trail and parting ways with rest of the guys as they decided to stay back, I reached Snow Line cafe by late noon, pitched my tent and decided to visit a temple at the summit of that mountain on advice of cafe owner.

Trail to summit was short and beautiful, this was the best part of my journey. "Thank you this place" Vasily Kharitonov, I found written at the temple and enjoyed the sunset at that place. Zoom in on the picture captioned "Triund - down there".

Upon returning and collecting firewood on the way, I meet ;Ben from Australia determined to summit Indrahar pass, Suraj and Deepanshi from Noida besides the bonfire. Sharing stories and appetisers we witnessed the beauty of moon rise and the valley lit up from darkness.

When I shared my experience of BMC, Ben and the local guide Ben had hired, compelled me to join them in their venture to Indrahar Pass and we decided to leave early morning at 4:30AM.

Note :- Just ask for the trail to snow line cafe, don't get lost like we did. If you end up facing boulders which seems difficult to climb, turn back because the boulders will get much difficult and soon you will end up in front of a rock face, climbing it should only be attempted with proper mountaineering equipment using pitch climbing technique. Keep at least 2 litres of water for the trek as it gets remote onwards.

Sunrise

Photo of Triund, Trail to SnowLine Cafe, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta

Harsh and Shubham

Photo of Triund, Trail to SnowLine Cafe, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta

Shubham

Photo of Triund, Trail to SnowLine Cafe, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta

Reatoring integrity of a fallen cairn.

Photo of Triund, Trail to SnowLine Cafe, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta

Random landscape

Photo of Triund, Trail to SnowLine Cafe, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta

Triund - down there

Photo of Triund, Trail to SnowLine Cafe, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta

flag at the temple

Photo of Triund, Trail to SnowLine Cafe, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta

Statue at the temple

Photo of Triund, Trail to SnowLine Cafe, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta

Moonrise

Photo of Triund, Trail to SnowLine Cafe, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta
Day 4

Trail to Indrahar pass is steep and after some time there isn't any trail, you just have to traverse your way from one cairn to another through boulders and scree.

We got late by an hour at the camp and reached Lahesh caves in almost 2hrs, I was a last minute guest in this expedition and joined them just out of my curiosity to explore the landscape, so I decided to return back from the caves because I had plans to travel back to Delhi the same day. While traversing the route back to camp site I felt alone and a bit scared but I safely reached the camp site by 9:30AM.

I packed my tent to leave the camp with Suraj and Deepanshi and reached Mcleodganj square by 4:00. As it was a long weekend I could not find a seat on any bus back to Delhi and cursed myself on leaving the opportunity to summit Indrahar pass.

Note :- Get a guide for if you are a novice trekker otherwise travel lite with chocolates and water and follow the cairns. Finally, book your return tickets as soon as you reach your destination.

Trail to Lahesh

Photo of Trail to Lahesh Caves, Illaqa, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta

Trail from Lahesh

Photo of Trail to Lahesh Caves, Illaqa, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta

Me, Suraj & Deepanshi

Photo of Trail to Lahesh Caves, Illaqa, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta

Don't leave your plastic behind!

Photo of Trail to Lahesh Caves, Illaqa, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta

The dashing Mr. Suraj

Photo of Trail to Lahesh Caves, Illaqa, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India by Apurve Gupta