It all started when I was in the final year of my engineering...long awaited dream and so the first attempt to the Himalayas was always supposed to be special.
While we reached Haridwar at around 8 in the night, we took a bus and travelled for 1 hr to reach Rishikesh, stayed in a lodge for a night but at night we took a small walk after dinner to nearby ghats of Ganga.The water was so clean we could see the fishes all around and the flow of water was so loud but for the very first time that loudness gave so much of peace.
For Joshimath from where the actual trek was supposed to begun, we catched the morning bus from Rishikesh at 5.00 am in the morning ,all sleep deprived.
This journey in the bus for 10 hrs all along the hilly roads crossing Chamoli-RudraPrayag-DevPrayag ,while we were all sleeping in the bouncy roads and the sudden brakes of the driver.
Joshimath is surrounded by the Himalayas all around, covered with snow and when we reached it started Drizzling.
The temp. went down below 5 degree and we all were shaking and finally we reached the hotel and everyone slept wearing all the winter stuffs and it was a numb slumber before the trekking begins.
The morning was very pleasant and the roads were wet , the sunlight was warming and it made the snow to shine on the top of the mountains and it was the best sight ever.
The reflection of the mountains was very clear on the still rainy water.
We got our local guide, filled our grocery stock for the five day trek and reached to the place from where the actual trek was about to start via local cab and ofcourse the route was amazing. The music in the cab and the route was a complete bliss for me.And so finally the cab dropped us, even though it could have travelled a bit more, we preferred to walk carrying our rucksucks on our back. From rough roads to no roads, we were climbing up with our Rucksacks On, passing the small waterfalls, farms and villages. Our guide Ashish Farswaan was a very polite and innocent Pahadi guy. We took stay at his home Inroute and were offered chai by his mother. Their after the climb was getting little tougher and the inclination was rising slowly .
After around 5 hrs of trekking we reached our first campsite...DHAK. We all very hungry and the food was already prepared by our kitchen bhaiya..and I felt the khichdi was just amazing.
So now it was time to make our Tents..although I was new in this ..the others were quite a pro ,so just helped them and I don't know whether it was helpful for them but after sometime the tents were all ready for a nice good sleep.
We collected some dried woods and bushes to light the bonfire as the temp. was dropping .We had our dinner in the most warm place and that was our kitchen tent. That night I saw the magic in the sky..it was a sky full of stars ,all twinkling ,I felt so close to them and that was the moment of the day- only stars glittering and the gentle stream sounds .This was a first of a kind experience and it was heavenly.
I tried capturing the night sky but our phone cameras were not that good enough.Maybe next time I will be better equipped to capture such amazing moments.
Waking up in the tent and then getting to see the morning sunrise with sun sparkling on the snowcapped mountains was so soothing.
DAY-2 of the trek was supposed to reach higher altitude where our next camp was.So now it was a little hot during the day.So we climbed , carrying our jackets on our back,stopped and again climbed for some 4 hrs to reach the camp.But in between we saw the meadows, the forest sprinkled with snow ,the open grounds where we clicked a lot of pics and danced to some bhojpuri remix to relax.It was journey that was full of pine trees and happy memories .
We reached our next camp, the tents were already made and we were welcomed with a good hot tea.
We tried to explore some nearby areas to our camp and the same evening we walked to a place called as Tali top, and it was at a height from where we could see every mountain peak..and it looked majestic and we looked so tiny.
We saw the mighty Pangarchulla Peak from that place and it was one of the difficult trek that was part of our trek plan.
On the same day we played cricket and it was a hell lot of fun.The bat was a wooden stick and the ball was made from the poop of the Mule(khaachar) and it proved to be a good bouncy ball.
We played around 3 matches and the energy of each person was fathomless.It was a moment I won't forget as we all were energetic in that cold temperature.
And so finally it was dinner and everyone back to their tents..some sharing of stories and everyone settled in a single tent as no one preferred to go to the other tent as it was so cold outside, but we all settled comfortably in our sleeping bags.
So the main trek was to start on Day-4 for kuari pass as we all gathered our little stuffs, Tiffins and left for the trek.
The feeling of reaching to the top of kuari pass was already making us more energetic and excited ,although the route was quite long.We started at ar0und 9 in the morning and as slowly we were rising up the mountains, passing by the green wilderness and clicking all throughout the journey ,Vijeet recording each moments in his handycam. Soon we saw a land full of snow to the far flung corners and I was thrilled seeing the white Desert.But with such beauty comes immense care as snow was somewhere hard and somewhere soft as ice cream.I had a good pair of shoes still it was slippery sometimes and the other friends who were wearing Decathlon shoes were feeling some discomfort on the snow . After around 2 hrs of hiking and some intermediate rests ,we sat on the top of a cliff..(Jhandi top) and the breeze was so soothing.
We again started and now we were in between huge rocks and jumping from one to another and then again back to snowland. But this time it seemed little scary crossing that way, as we had to take a curved path on the snow and one bad move would be life threatening.But slowly and supporting each other we moved up and after some time we were able to see a clear view of the kuari pass.On the way we were making all kinds of pattern on the snow and it was fun.The sun was getting hotter and at the same time the drift of the wind on the top of snow..was making us feel some cold.
We reached the top at around 1.30 pm and stayed there for 2 hrs.Climbed up to the highest levels and just observed the immense beauty, surrounded by some majestic snowcapped mountains.I just felt like getting rid of my jacket and T-shirt to fell that rawness of the nature at such height ,although it is not advisable to do this .
We started back to return and the return was quite early and fast as everyone already knew where to keep the foot and there was only ours footprints in that vast Deserted land.We reached around 5:30 back to the camp and were served some hot tea and soup .But in all that our socks and shoes were completely wet and had no idea how it would get dry, just laid all the things on the top of our tent.
Soon after some chit chats it was time for some amazing dinner inside the hottest tent -The Kitchen tent.
In all these around 7 hours of hiking two them friends were little uncomfortable with breathing in that high altitude and they preferred staying in the tent for the next day trek.
The next day trek was suppose to be a toughest one and already two members out I was too little underconfident whether I would be able to complete the trek.Guide bhaiya informed that for this year Pangarchulla peak was supposed to be the first summit and that too by us.So no one was pretty much sure about the weather condition and the snow at the top.I found it little challenging still was excited to hike to this adventurous trek.
We shared some stories and went inside our warm sleeping bags.
"It's 3.00 am bhaiyon..utho sab" shouted someone.We were suppose to leave early in the morning as it was a long route to reach the peak.We had our morning tea and packed our lunch.I was still in my sleep as it was too dark outside and the previous day tiredness was still there a bit.We packed all our essentials in small bag, lighted our torch and started to move with the guide .I believe temperatue was in in minus and the morning wind was making it too difficult to hike.After around 20 mins of hike,Akshay felt his hands were numb and he can't go ahead with us.So now only two of us were left there for the trek. I felt so lucky that I was wearing a leather gloves on the top of a an inner woollen gloves. Vijeet was a solo traveller from a long time and I was the first time trekking to a peak.The guide bhaiya went back to leave Akshay back to the tent and me and Vijeet were there sitting in the dark ,with lots of different noises and sparkling eyes around.
Soon he returned back and we started to hike.After around 2 hrs we took a break.Then we started again and the half of the route was same as kuari pass but now the tough path was to be taken.The guide bhaiya was trying to make the path for us and we were just following him.We were climbing some high cliffs all together and in all that my stick slipped out of my hand and it slided down to the bottom.I steadily went down without anyone letting know and got it back. Vijeet and Ashish bhaiya were quite ahead and I was very slow at the back.(May be I was slow everywhere in the trip and was called as Doon express(the late running train) by my friends 😄).Soon I lifted my headed and they were climbing a mountain with all deep snow above it. Initially I thought it will be fun to pass by that snow.But as soon as I started to climb,My shoes were deep inside that snow and I had to put lot of efforts to get the shoes out of that and bring the other leg forward.I realised that it was not trekking but I was literally climbing the mountain(Mountaineering)and that too only with a unstable wooden stick.We were taking a zig-zag path instead of climbing vertically, it was although taking time but had some relief for our legs.
Ashish bhaiya was checking the path going ahead and I was just following the steps.The trail was getting more tougher and I never expected such a trek.I was drenched out of all energy.Wearing two gloves it was even difficult to take photos with my phone .So i just used to stop for a while ,remove my both the gloves and click .
After around 4-5 hrs of hike,I was really hungry and couldn't resist asking Vijeet that we should eat our tiffin a bit then move forward.We stopped and had some roti and sabji.The Sun above our head and the reflection from the snow was too bright for our eyes.Thanks to my Sunglasses.I was feeling hot ,but kept wearing the jacket and topi.
The journey was getting difficult and my shoes were already filled with snow.At some point I felt my feet was freezed and so I had to remove my shoes everytime and expose my feet to the sun.
There was a point when we had to cross a tilted patch of rocky land surface and we couldn't use our sticks.We had to throw our sticks infront and just hold the grass on the patchy land to move forward.That was really Scary as one fault and nobody could find us.
It was around 5 hrs of hike and now we could just see the peak.The real trouble began when we had to find a way through the rocks and the long deep cavities between them filled with snow.I had to first dig the snow and check the depth of the snow and then move ahead.There was a time when I had found a wrong grip and I slipped deep inside the cavities and I shouted for help and then I had to come out of it by myself as they were way ahead.
Things were getting challenging but I was loving that serene beauty of the mountains and now we were on the topmost ridge.It was very narrow ridge and we had to be very careful.Looking either sides it was very deep trench at a height of 15,010 ft.
I was mesmerized with such clouds floating and sky so clear blue.The mountain ranges were in 360' to us and it felt I am on the top of the world.All it seemed like a painting by nature at such height.
To our surprise there was a Trishul placed at such height and it was intact and the guide bhaiya got some incense sticks to light it there, we managed to light it somehow though the wind was blowing very strong.
We clicked some amazing pics and stayed there for while, all in silence observed the majestic and still mountains .All the different mountain peaks were visible from there.
We started to go down as we were suppose to reach camp before it gets dark and getting down was further more difficult as it was steep down ,we had to control our speed and there was a lot of pressure on our knees.We were sliding on the snow, running down on it and taking breaks to reach camps.
We reached around 6 in the evening and were very happy to meet the other friends out there.It felt like an achievement and I was personally very happy to summit and were among the first one in that season to reach the peak.
The next morning we started moving down and reached Joshimath and from there we reached Rishikesh.
In Rishikesh we spend some more days exploring all the adventure activities from Rafting to Cliff jumping.
P.S. The trek was memorable and the company of some all new people together was just amazing.It was good to see how people live their livelihoods at such far flung areas away from the urban chaos with such peace and humility.The Mountains in itself was like a blessing each with their own story behind their name.
#Trips are memorable.Treks are for lifetime
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