My Journey to Himalayas...

My Roopkund Journey..

It all began with a single call, in the month of June 2015.. one of my close buddy Kamlesh just open the discussion on his plans of going to Roopkund in the month of October with his office colleagues.I never thought of joining the trek on the first instance as I being stuck up with my day to day commitments.

 After few weeks or so, I got to know that the tickets were already issued and two of the guys have backed out from the trek. And, this is how I got a lucky entry and was the first step to my mysterious journey began..

I started planning for the trek , was still not sure whether to join or not as it was of 12 days program to and fro,but looking back, I would rather say that the decision was worth enough.

As the days were coming closer, I began to do my research online checking out routes,climatic conditions, reviews of the trekkers,it helped me to create the feel virtually. But, trust me these things are to be experienced, and whatever we faced was way beyond the internet and other stuff. Also bought all the stuff required for the trek - Bag pack, Trekking shoes etc. 

So on Day one, it was our night train to Delhi from Mumbai central. Luckily the other guy who joined the trek was my colony friend Ashish to whom I know from childhood.He also joined this trek on last moment, and this was big surprise to me. So it was we " three vasai boys" part of this trek not knowing what was going to happen in next 10 days.We had prepared ourselves as per the checklist given Indiahikes...

So it was the night train around 10 pm ( Duronto Express)  to Delhi , we met our fellow trekkers in Mumbai Central, never thought that the bonding would become so strong..

Our Mumbai Team had - 

Mithil ( Manchester United Freak)

Kamlesh Muthaye ( Hulk)

Sree ( The Techie)

Prabhat ( The Photographer)

Kamal ( The Organizer)

Vijay ( Aerobics man)

Girish ( Yog-guru) & Ashish 

Later on in the trek, we met wonderful group of trekkers from Chennai lead by Bahubali ( Gopal and Team) , also met Vishnu ( Hyderabad),guys from Bangalore,Rajasthan and one young champ - Abhishek from Kolkatta.

The journey went soothingly for 20 hours , next day evening around 6 pm we reached NDLS ( New Delhi station).  As expected, the climate in Delhi was hot and humid. We need to travel via metro to OLD Delhi to take our connecting train to Katgodham( The last railway station at the foothills of Himalayas), but before boarding, we decided to do 'PET POOJA" and we opted to visit  the overhyped PARATHE WALI GALI in OLD DELHI, I would strongly not recommend this place to anyone foodie out here, overpriced,unhygienic to the extremes. Anyways we all had our shares of parathas and came back to OLD DELHI railway station for further departure..

The train was Raniket Express, and the travel time was around 8 hours ( 300 km from Delhi). Our next destination was Katgodham, a beautiful railway station with high connectivity to most of the hill stations like nainital,almora and Kausani. After a quick nap in the train, finally we arrived in Katgodham. One step outside, and we realize that we are in different world. It was cold and the temperature has fallen down drastically. We unpacked our bags, and started packing ourselves...

Indiahikes had arranged a Tempo traveller for all the trekkers of this particular batch from Katgodham.The journey was of around 12 hours from Katgodham ( Imagine the total journey hours around 40 hours one way, too much of travel..)

This journey via tempo traveler was enthralling, the start and end of the journey was only through hills and nothing else, those steep turns and deep valleys, hats off to the drivers in these hill regions for driving on such small roads and showing so much of control.

 The drive was beautiful across the hills, we crossed most of the hill stations and still the base camp was 5 -6 hours away. Our journey begin in the morning 6.30 am from katgodham, luckily we met few oldies ( actually they were the young chaps looking at there enthusiasm) , got to know that these guys have done most of the Himalayan trek, I realized that we are too small and young in front of these guys. Experience counts!!

The driver was continuously on the job of driving and we were on the job of keeping him awake!!

Finally around 7.30 pm we reached our base camp of lohajung ( 7600 ft). There I realized the meaning of freezing cold, it was chilled out there, with cold breeze moving across the streets. There were two base camps of India hikes, one was for the new trekkers and other was for the previous batch who had just completed the trek.

Soon, we all were called for documentation and medical certificate submission, There we met Mr,Gurmeet/Gurpreet/gurdit ( still confused, I think its Gurdit), he was our trek leader, very simple Sardar, but had the true characteristics of leader, we came to know his true skills later on in the trek. So, here he was taking oxymeter readings for everyone at the base camp. The instrument shows your oxygen taking capacity at high altitudes..

From my side, I had faced such cold conditions before in NZ, but never ever trekked. I was always in protected shield during my one and half year stay in NZ, and here I was going to climb 7,600 ft to 16,200 ft in the matter of 7 days, tough job guys..

So after the oxymeter reading, our trek leader recommended " DIAMOX" tablet that thins your blood and increases your blood taking capacity to few of the guys. I had lucky escape that night.

Next day, it was our actual DAY ONE of the trek,where we suppose to drive to a village called "WAN" ( 13 Kms from the base camp) and start our trek. Next day morning, we all were ready, packed ourselves from all angles and went for breakfast at 8 am. That moment, I saw the entire group of previous batch enjoying and having fun around , clicking photographs. I was surprised to see there bonding. But trust me, at the end of the trek, we were having the same emotions and togetherness...

DAY ONE - LOHAGANJ TO GHAIROLI PATAL VIA WAN

Our next camp was in Ghairoli patal, top of the mountains. We need to trek through WAN in dense forests and steep climb with all the luggage on our shoulders and back. It was not easy task, we were strictly told to consume to 4-5 litres of water in this freezing cold to keep the body oxygenated. During this day one trek, we came across beautiful river Neel Ganga, we refilled our water bottles here, water was crystal clear and had its own taste..We were walking at our speed, climbing and descending at different levels..We passed through small houses and huts, small kids were playing around,relaxed atmosphere overall..

With all the efforts and six hours of trek, we finally reached to our base camp in Ghairoli Patal..

The campsite was beautiful, with small tents arranged sequentially and had cooking and other stuff at the back of it. It was first time, that I was going to spend night in the tent. We had our lunch in the afternoon, it was cold out there, and we can easily see the peak of trishul (one of auspicious mountain peak) ( the view of Trishul during the sunset was simply awesome).

As it started getting darker, it was difficult to stay outside the tent, we were strictly warn to roam around for acclimatizing ourselves. We had dinner with full stomach and decided to get inside the tent and sleep, but then something started happening to me as the night progressed, I was completely down with acidity and was not able to breath..and after sometime also started shivering. This was unusual to my body. We were told to inform smallest of the thing to the trek leader to avoid any of the causality.

AMS ( Acute Mountain syndrome/sickness) is one of the thing every trekker wants to stay away. In this body looses its capacity to breath and can lead to fatal consequences like lung failure or Brain failure. Anyways, coming back to me, I was shivering and I informed the same to the trek leader. He immediately asked me to put hot water bottle in sleeping bag, but I was not carrying it. Someone from the next tent handed over to us and that's how i was able to sleep better and gain control of senses next day.

The trek was no more a regular vacation but it was more of a military camp where we needed to trek everyday for six hours, get up around 6 am in the morning, do our rituals and start walking...

DAY 2 - GHAIROLI PATAL TO BEDNI BUGYAL via ALI BUGYAL ( Approx 10,000 ft) 

Our day started with the same plan 6-7-8 ( 6 am- tea, 7 am- breakfast and 8 am - start for next camp site). The temperature was freezing and the sleeping bags seems to be more closer to us than ever, was not feeling to get up , but then we had people like Vishnu and Kamal motivated us to move ahead.

 Every day morning, we use to get Dry ration ( biscuits, chips and all) before the trek, no doubt India Hikes took care of the trekkers in systematic manner during our entire trek.

The beauty of Trishul was just pouring early morning in those dense forests of Ghairoli Patal. We left behind our camp site and started walking towards our next base camp. It was not easy task, we were told that we would be crossing the tree lines soon  and will be going above them, all was happening at the moment and freshness of air was making us feel happy and relaxed.  We started  climbing the mountains finally reaching to the beautiful plateaus of Ali Bugyal. 

Eyes were just rolling across the green top and mountains across, cold breeze was still there, but sun had made his way making climate more pleasant. We reached to particular spot where we were told that a big stone is there which is scared and anyone who lifts it, his desires would be fulfilled.Most of the guys tried it, and were successful. Bahubali ( Gopal) and Hulk ( Kamlesh) made an excellent attempt and almost lifted it to the chest height, it was great to see the spirits of our team cheering and enjoying the moment. We started to move towards our base camp in Bedni, soon within a span of hour we reached the base camp.

Camp was at excellent location and on the edge of the plateau, it was very windy out there, I remembered my stay in Wellington at that moment. Again we were allocated tents ,we unpacked ourselves and started moving around to acclimatized to the conditions. 

We had excellent lunch proceeded by some photography and selfies,later on ,we had Volleyball session helping to pump ourselves. It was different type of experience to play at such high altitudes.It was getting chilled as the day progressed towards beautiful night. It was too cold,and tent was the best friend at that time, stars were glittering outside. The climate and cold was making us weak , but our determination made us survive throughout that phase. Somehow we spend that night in our sleeping bags..

Next day morning,it was wonderful sight, we were reaching closer to Trishul peak and no words can describe that experience. We packed our bags, and were ready to move towards our next camp. The next camp was at Pathar Nachani, our third day of the trek.

DAY 3 -  BEDNI BUGYAL to PATHAR NACHUNI  ( Approx 12,000 ft) 

We started our trek today, it was more relief to me and few others ( Ashish,Kamlesh and Mithil) because we had offloaded our bags on the mules. This time I was carrying only my side bag with water bottles. Thinking back, I was surprised with my journey for last three days, the way I carried the 18 kg bag on my shoulders and walking for miles, great!!So our journey began today, the weather was awesome, clear skies but the air was getting thinner and my body was realizing it. There were signs of loss of appetite for me, but my colleagues supported me ( specially shree) at every step whether it is offering chocolates or biscuits..it really motivated me to move ahead.

During this walk, we came across many uphills, few water sources, we were moving closer to snow and can easily see snowy mountains round there. We kept walking on those small pathways enjoying the scenic beauty around. The distance seems to be very less, but it took us around 4.5 hours to reach the base camp in Pathar nachuni.

Similar tents were arranged as that of earlier camps at the campsite, but the beauty here was the tents were right on the backdrop of the mountain which made the campsite more beautiful and exciting. The air was thinner and the climate was getting more and more chiller. We had early Dinner and went to sleep in that extreme climate. Next day morning, we had to move to our next base camp and we were sure that the things will be getting more and more tougher.

Next day morning...

I got up, it was sunny outside..but..there was something wrong with my hand..All the fingers of my left hand had turned Blue and black. Actually, the previous night I happen to sleep with hand outside the sleeping bag, which resulted into frozen fingers. Immediately I informed this to our leader Gurdit, he asked me to put hands in warm water which made me feel better..

DAY 4 -  PATHAR NACHUNI to BHAGWABAS ( Approx 14,000 ft) 

We started our trek today, and trust me this was the steepest of the climb we had for last three days and the air was making it more difficult to walk..We walked for almost three hours to reach at the top of the mountain which was KALUVA VINAYAK , lovely idol of Ganeshji kept in typical stone structure which is peculiar in these hilly regions. We took blessings of Ganeshji and had good rest. The climate was foggy and there was no clear view. Suddenly we saw few guys in really bad condition returning from the Bhagwabas camp, they were hit by AMS ( Acute mountain syndrome/sickness) and that made us more conscious,but nonetheless it made us more stronger and determined to reach the pinnacle of our Trek - Junargali...

Saying " Ganpati Bappa Morya" we started our walk towards Bhagwabas base camp. Now here it was, we could see snow patches around while walking, within a half hour we happen to reach our last base camp of the Trek, Bhagwabas. The time we reached wasnt the right, it was foggy and hardly we can see anything around. Tents were similar as of our earlier camps, we had wonderful lunch and rested in our tents. It was early dinner time and we had to be there around 5.30 pm for oxymeter reading and sharp 7pm dinner. 

In all these extreme conditions, Kamal was busy in his video shoot for the entire journey, we are still waiting for the video though! 

The Final Ultimatum..

Instructions were given, we need to get up next day morning around 2.30 am , tea at 3 am , breakfast at 4 am and start our trek in that chilly early morning. Never had 3 am Tea in my life before. Somehow we slept in the night, the tent was full of snow from outside and it was freezing cold..Our day started at 3 am...

DAY 5 - BHAGWABAS to ROOPKUND/JUNARGALI PASS ( 16,200 ft)

So this was the day we all were waiting for, I got up only to found my torch was not working. We assembled in the tent area, had quick breakfast and took our dry ration ( almonds and all) , our trek began sharply at 4,30 am from the camp. It was not easy, I was breathing heavily trying to acclimatized with the surroundings. I had to pack myself with four pairs of socks, four layers of T shirts and three layers of tracks to keep myself warm, but then too I was freezing. We somehow started walking, I was walking on the footprints of my colleagues in that dark night, we were completely unaware of the surroundings as the day before was completely foggy and we had no idea where we were heading too. 

We were strictly told not to stop at any point, we need to keep moving and that's what I was doing. We almost climbed few uphills and were still walking. It was almost 2 hours we walked, gradually it was getting brighter and we saw snow around. There were frozen waterfalls with dark mountains around.

 On the long site, we saw the snowy Himalayan ranges, I was enjoying the beauty in the early morning. Gurdit ( trek leader) was carrying the oxycylinders for any casualties and I thought that was a need in such climate. Finally after hour of walk, we saw some tiny little figures at the top, and I happened to ask Gurdit and he said yes we have to reach there, and there it was Roopkund for us.  

I was stunned, never in the sahyadri's I had to face such steep climb, it was almost 60-70 degree inclined. I made my mind, decided to push myself further. It took life out of time to climb those steep slopes, I was breathing heavily, but decided not to stop and move head. After a walk of a hour, finally we reached to Roopkund...

But it was as pleasant as we saw in the pics uploaded on the internet.It was dry lake with few skulls and bones around, the upper part of lake was covered with layers of snow. The air was very thin out there.. we stop at the Roopkund for sometime, I was offered with Daliya from the other trek group and that energized me instantly.The only best part was the view of mountains and surroundings.

Roopkund had many stories linked as it was said to be bathing place for Goddess Parvati ( wife of Lord Shiva). The skulls found there were said to be of people who got buried under the hailstorm while passing through this area. That's why the place is called Junargali ( Valley of Death).

 We were waiting for our other colleagues to come over so that we could climb further to Jurnargali pass which was around 400 feet steep walk. Finally with few of my colleagues, we decided to reach our destiny.We climbed and I decided not to stop now. I started walking and within a time span of 30 mins, I was at the top of my world...

Beautiful views of Trishul and Nandagunti was right in front of me..it was like I can touch those peaks. Junargali pass ( valley of death zone) was achieved. In ecstasy, I decided to unwind myself and removed my caps and jackets to feel the purity in the atmosphere. It was divine, no words..We were all in relax mind set, observing the nature and doing photography. Lots of selfies and pictures were click , but one cant replace the pictures captured by our own eyes and with our souls. 

I stood alone watching those peaks, just to  realize that I am too small in front of them. I was finding  my daily goals nothing in front of them.This trek has motivated our entire team and made us believe to see life with broader perspective..

Return..

We started our descend , it was much easier..I was stuck with headache( back of my head) once I started to descend. I spoke to Gurdit on the same, he asked me to descend immediately..we finally reach to our campsite in Pathar Nachuni and next day descended ahead to reach our base camp at Lohajung with lifetime memories. We had to share our experiences in front of the entire team that evening and received appreciation letter in form of certificates from Indiahikes.Trust me,the trek wouldn't have been complete without the support of India hikes staff ( Gurdit,Yogendra and Lakshman) and my trek mates.. Kudos to India Hikes and my Trek mates!!!