Himalayan Trek - Part III

From Rikkata ki Odi we were climbing mostly down. If climbing up put pressure on your knees, climbing down put pressure on your ankles and calf muscles. But the route was ethereally peaceful with mountains on one side and the river deep down below.

Leopards were supposed to be around and we saw pug marks in snow and in mud but we didn’t encounter any in person.

Our next camp site was Pachitarth (11,413 feet) which was a in a small valley tad steep. It tested our calf muscles. It had a small pond which had water during the day and ice during the night.

We were still freezing thanks to the wind chill factor which reduces the temperature a good 5⁰. We learnt to keep ourselves busy playing cards in the tent. Rummy and Ass were the norm but we were also introduced to a new game – Thanks & Sorry by our fellow trekker and diamond jeweler Shyam Sundar.

The next day we climbed further down along the mountain ridges to Bada Tatch (9,511 feet). It was again a beautiful setting overlooking the Supin valley. We were treated with some Maggi noodles and tea for the evening. We started getting mobile phone signals sporadically from this point onwards. This unwelcome development saw us being pulled back to the hectic city life when calls came coming thick and fast. I had of course switched off my mobile. During the night we encountered a couple of wild foxes near our tents. Spotted by our trek organizer Daya we flashed our lights to see their fiery eyes glow in the night. After playing hide and seek for a while they disappeared into the dark.

We then made even more rapid descent to reach Baincha (6,973 feet) which was very close to the Supin river. En route we passed mountain villages which had solar panels and some breathtaking scenery.

Our trek leader Ganesh proposed a dip in the river which some of us eagerly agreed to as we had not taken bath for the last 7 days. However, our eagerness to take bath was dampened as we found that landslides caused by a recent earthquake had sealed off access points.

Our support crew made up for the disappointment with some hot samosas and spicy thukkadas for the evening. By now we were used to our diminutive chef churning out delicacies with his supplies and his support crew.

With the temperatures becoming tolerable we experimented with some outdoor games. Well, they turned out to be bum twisters designed by Daya to exercise our frozen bodies. We were still not prepared for the next day which entailed navigating landslides very close to the river.

We had to literally clutch the dust to come out safe. We were chided by our guides when we stopped to take photographs as they were nervous about another landslide being triggered anytime putting our lives at risk.

The rumbling river however was irresistible as it made a roar navigating around rocks. There were numerous water falls along the hillsides which supplied the river. The human traffic increased in our route as we were getting close to civilization. We made our way to the village of Jakhol (7,202 feet) our trek terminating point from where we got picked up in vehicles back to Sankari.

If we thought our adventures were over we were proved wrong. The ever reliable Chain Singh Rawat who had designed this trek and supported with his crew and supplies slipped up for once. He came late to Jakhol for the pick-up and worse he didn’t have rooms for us in Sankari. We were waiting in the streets of Jakhol and Sankari for an hour each. He made it up by hosting us in his own house. Thus we were treated to authentic mountain living.

The houses here are made of wood padded up with rocks! This combination insulates them from wind and cold while protecting them from rocks coming down the slopes. We were ushered in to cosy wooden rooms with quaint furniture. Most importantly we broke our bathless stint with copious amount of hot water provided by our host.

We were treated to a sumptuous dinner cooked by his wife and mother. The highlight was the mountain rice which was very tasty and the staple rajma masala accompanied with the tastiest raitha I ever had in my life. The raitha had potatoes, pumpkin, cucumber, chillies and other spices.

The next morning we made our way back to Dehradun passing the villages of Netwar, Mori, Purola and crossing the beautiful Mussourie in the evening. The route was so beautiful that I couldn’t resist doing some high speed shooting – from clouds to landslides to langur monkeys to local politicians.

It was an awesome trek where we covered about 50 kms by foot over some rough mountain terrain. I lost about 2-3 kilos and about an inch as I shed fat walking all those miles. My cardio fitness increased as the trek progressed. We drank water from the cool streams without catching a cold. We were one in nature for a complete week.

I resolved I should do this more often at least once in two years. If you want to plan your trek you can contact these people:

Chennai:

FAWES - Daya (93831-14321) & Ganesh (93823-62933), for local and Himalayan treks.

Sankari:

Chain Singh Rawat (94129-18140), Secretary – HPMA, for planning treks in the Uttarkashi region.

Himalayan Trek - Part II

We were woken up at 6 am with tea. We had to get off quickly lest the tea get cold. We then learnt how to take care of our daily ablutions in the Himalayan heights. After a nice breakfast we again set-off for the next phase of our trek. We were now getting used to the 8 – 10 km treks daily with the guides leading us and the rest of the crew packing up and then catching up with us pretty quickly and then overtaking us to go and set-up the next camp site. The second camp site was Badang Bugyal at 10,037 feet. It was again a fabulous location with excellent views of the mountains.

The night was pretty interesting where we heard some leopard roars at a distance. For me the highlight was the unforeseen spectacle of the UFOs past midnight during a loo break. I saw a sudden flash of blinding light and zoom it was off leaving me dumb founded. A couple of others also witnessed this spectacle towards early morning.

Well, the next day was even more eventful for me. We had a steep climb throughout the day that left me with mountain sickness. My head was pounding and eventually I threw up as the combination of altitude, snow and sun light got to me.

But the climb was worth it as the Vijay Top Camp Site (11,648 feet) offered a 360⁰ view of mountains all around. Some climbed all the way up to the peak (12,059 feet) to get an even more spectacular view while some of us settled for a nice rest after an arduous climb.

The sun-set was magical as the sky changed colors rapidly.

The moon rise was even more magical as it was a full moon that emerged out of the mountains.

The bone chilling cold winds had us all bundled up near the campfire. Our isolation by now from the rest of the civilization was complete. We were not getting mobile signals for over two days. We stopped encountering people along the way. The magnificent isolation was excellent as we soaked in nature without any disturbances.

We changed our plans at the point to reduce our trekking as people like me were finding it difficult to negotiate the altitude and climb quickly. The hydration pack came in very handy as I constantly sipped water to keep myself hydrated.

We walked on a series of ridges with snow as we reached our highest trek point (12,275 feet).

We then crossed over from one valley to the other (Rupin Valley to Supin Valley). Called Rikkata ki Odi (12,084 feet), this point again was just out of the world with a series of snow peaks offering magnificent views.
























We had a good view of the Swargarohini peaks, Ranglana peaks, Bandarpunch peaks and glacier and the Jaundhar glacier.

Legends say Swargarohini peaks form the path to heaven that was followed by the Pandavas. It is believed that is only way one can go to heaven with human body itself.

We spent some time clicking pictures and didn’t want to move from there. But we had to as the clouds were building up in the horizon.

(To be continued)

Himalayan Trek - Part I

I resolved that this year somehow I will go on a Himalayan Trek. An offer from a friend came along to go to Tapovan Valley but I couldn't make it due to my travel schedule and ill-health. Thankfully another offer came along to join a trek to the Rupin-Supin Valley in Uttarakhand and I immediately signed up.

The trekking group met at the Alumni Club to discuss what all we should carry for the trek and how to prepare for the trek. We then went on a shopping spree to buy trekking shoes, sweaters, jackets, balaclava, gloves, thermals, hydration pack etc. We also started hitting the gym or resorting to climbing up the stairs at home and office to get our cardio conditioning.

The group went in their own ways (flight/train) to Dehradun (3306 feet) which was nice and cool. We spent a night there and then set off in a van to Sankari (6154 feet), a small village nestled in the Garhwal Himalayas.

Another night of acclimatization followed as we could already feel the chill down the spine albeit gently. The next day we were joined by a crew of seven locals who’d help us through the trek and we set off to our start point of Himri Top (5662 feet).

From about 10 am we started climbing the slopes. The scenery opened out nicely as we climbed up. We passed some small stepped fields and slowly made our way up. We had a nice packed lunch near a stream. The next stretch was pretty tough as it was steep and our stomachs were full. We pulled ourselves to reach the village of Bhitri (7768 feet).

I couldn’t help but think of the settings in the movie Aayirathil Oruvan (Stg: Karthi, Rheema, Andrea). The village was alive with men, women and kids who seem to be fascinated by us as much as we were fascinated by them.

We then made our way past the village to our first camp point – Saryutal (7881 feet). The setting was magical overlooking a magnificent valley. Our helping crew had reached ahead and set-up the tents there. And they had made tea and served it with some snacks. We had three tents for the ten of us and a big tent for the crew. Then there was the toilet tent which we had to get used to for the next 7 days.

As the sun went down so did the temperature. The moon came up to lit the sky along with millions of stars. I was reminded of the days in the terrace of my home in the 70s gazing up the sky littered with stars. We could also make out satellites bobbing their way and shooting stars/meteors blazing their paths. Dinner was served at 7:30 pm and we were in our tents by 8:30 pm. We then had to get used to our tents and the sleeping gear. The sleeping bags and the inner body bag were tough to get into. But we were all asleep pretty quickly as we were pretty tired from the climb.

(To be continued)