Himalayan Trek

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Himalayan Trek


The credit for my agreeing to join the trek arranged by Green Earth squarely goes to Swanand. First he laid the trap and then with constant and pursuant follow-ups he kept on increasing the pressure ( Emotional ) on me. Finally I agreed, albeit with reluctance in the beginning. I started my preparations in right earnest then on. Unfortunately I could climb Singhgadh only once, and then forced myself in hibernation with injury to my left foot. It was a quixotic adventure on a geared cycle, which refused to stop in time on the Khadki Road Junction that led to this mishap. I recovered after about three weeks and then I had only a week at my disposal to train. I trained for a week or so, on the Hanuman Tekadi. I was really apprehensive with the preparations that I had. I knew that I was in big trouble, but nothing could change my determination now. I was charged up really.

The D - Day dawned. We all assembled at the railway station and began our journey with great fanfare. There was an expected cold distance amongst the group members initially. However it started melting down as the warmth and the attachment increased as the journey progressed.

We reached Haridwar on May 7, 2010 in the wee hours of the day and had refreshing hot tea on the road side Dhaba, as we waited for our bus. A 40 seater pink colored , small bus arrived. We settled in it. It hardly had any leg space, but that did not matter.

May 07, 2k10: Ghattu

We reached Ghattu, our first camp site at about 4 pm . Quickly the tents were put in place by the team members of the local guide. Rajesh Negi. Negi, Our local guide for the trek, is an ever smiling person from Uttar Kashi, Ghadwal. He had picked up right team to handle our culinary needs and also to handle our tents and large luggage on ponies.

In no time we had a cup of refreshing tea. Most of us then walked in different directions with a bottle of water in their hands to ease out in the lap of nature, naturally. The soup followed by dinner was simply superb, and so it stayed through out the stay on the trek.

May 08, 2k10: Chani

Swanand & I got up at about 5 in the morning. We went out with our torches, a bottle of water, soap sticks, tooth brush and paste to finish our morning routines. Soon we all were raring to go.






Sujata guided us all through some warm up exercises before the break fast. This was our routine for the rest of the trek. I must say that these aerobic exercises are really very helpful as these tone up our muscles and warms up our body. Many of us were not as agile and flexible as she and Kedar are, but we all enjoyed it all the same.

Warm up Exercises at this altitude in the open and in the lap of Mother Nature is quite an experience. You see lush green covered mountains all around, bathing in the morning sunlight. What you see in fact is different shades of Green, Yellow of leaves and grass and strikingly clear Blues of the skies. The snow clad peaks play hide and seek games with you. This all in itself is highly refreshing. So warm up exercises were icing on the cake , in my opinion. Akash & Kedar lead us through some pep up chanting before we all broke for a sumptuous breakfast.

Our next camp was at Chani, covering a distance of about 11 kms with an altitude gain of about 800 meters plus, through rough and tough terrains. We walked through the jungles, the valleys and hilltops. The whole Himalayan range is breathtakingly beautiful. You almost want to stand still after every few steps and just admire the beauty. I find these places are just as good as many tourist spots in Switzerland or many parts of Europe. The only negative I find is that the government has hardly done any thing to make these spots more tourist friendly, and that probably is the reason tourists flock here less.

I was high on adrenalin and wanted to capture as much as possible on my camera. I blamed myself for being so stingy and not buying a spare power pack. With the result, I had to be highly selective in taking out my Nikon every now and then. But in doing so you never know if your judgment in leaving a spot un - captured, had been right or wrong.


As expected I was the last to reach the summit. My preparations for the trek got exposed the very next morning. I felt I had legs of steel, and that I had lost all the flexibility.


May 09, 2k10: Panwalikantha

Early morning routines today were a tough ordeal. I had legs of steel and I was moving like a robot. Squatting was a big challenge as I had lost the flexibility and folding ability of my legs. God only knows how I finished and how my hands reached the right places for the clean up actions. I am sure, people who had faced similar situations would sympathize with me.

Next camp was at Panwalikantha. Though the distance to be covered was almost half that of the first day, the altitude gain was almost same or little higher and hence steep. I started with the group, riding on the moral kick which was given by Kedar, our group leader and Swanand. But very soon I realized that it was going to be very very difficult. I threw the towel up. I needed help to walk up the climb. Kedar and Swanand sprung in action. Negi was the man of the moment again. He called up some one at Ghattu, our first camp and a horse with a guide was arranged. It was to take about 3 hours for him to reach Chani. So Swanand & Negi left me and went on their trek to the next camp.

One dog had been following us from our first camp. He stayed back with me when everyone had left. I named him Mogli ( based on a TV Serial ) and wrote a poem on him. I also wrote a poem on this horrible embarrassing experience. I was alone now with Mogli as my company for next 3 hours or so till the arranged horse & pony arrived. I just walked around our camp site and kept on capturing the beauty of the nature. This experience became a part of me. There is a little difference though. What you capture on camera or handy cam takes you down the memory lanes, almost live, where as what you register takes you on a Virtual trip. You are able to retrieve the captured snapshots and live those moments again but with your eyes closed.

The resource help in the name of a horse and a pony arrived at the site after about 3 hours of waiting. Strangely they walk in pairs. The horse or a pony needs another one for the company. I was told the finer points of keeping posture and grip while climbing and descending. This was my first horse riding experience on such a terrain. Somehow I held my nerves and kept on praying and concentrating on the riding aspect. I could hardly enjoy the beauty of the mature on the way. Finally I made it to our camp.

Now I felt as if my hands too were of steel. The shoulders were paining. I walked to the camp like a robot, but with a brave face. I took a pain killer in the night and hoped for the best. And lo !! I felt much lighter in the morning on the next day.

May 10, 2k10: Maggu

Our next trek to Maggu was of 9 kms or so but with marginal altitude gain. This fact gave me a great relief for a while, because very soon I realized that the terrain had some descends and some climbs on the way, nullifying the altitude gain or a loss. But it was also a tough trek. I asked for a horse and got it. However I had decided to challenge my body to the maximum and get on to the horse only if I felt exhausted. My determination and just the feeling that I had a back up support paid rich dividends. I had a ride for only about 15 minutes or so during the whole journey. Quite an achievement !! The pep talk of Swanand and Kedar also had a big role to play. I decided then not to give up so easily. The body parts fall in place as the body warms up.

Here Deepak and I got a separate tent, only for two of us, as the group believed that we, the two big time snorers, were not allowing others to sleep in our tents. But the truth is that almost everyone was a snorer amongst the gents of our age group. Still, this punishment of sorts turned out to be a big blessing in disguise, as Deepak took care of me through out the rest of our trek, like my younger brother. Once he knew , like Swanand that I fumble early in the mornings or nights because of my vision problem, and knew that I huff and fluff with luggage on my back, he was there to help me. I hardly missed out Swanand, particularly for all these reasons. Be it for finding my medicines from the sack, locating my sleeping bag, packing or carrying it to the pick up points, Deepak was always there. Such selfless characters are rare species these days.

Matter of fact, The three of them, Swanand, Deepak & Vinod was always there to help me sort out my issues.






May 11, 2k10: Triyuki Nrayan

We left for our next destination, Triyukinarayan. It was a walk down the hills, of about 14 kms with a loss of about 1100 meters of altitude. I had no problems in walking down. In fact I reached the camp site first, not because I was much faster than others but because they all were stopping on the way frequently. Still I had some thing to cheer about. Negi, our local guide jokingly said “ Sirji, aap ki gaadi neutral me rahati hai jab utarna hota hai, aaur reverse me rahati hai jab chadhana hota hai ”. Well said Negi. I realized that everyone has a funny bone hidden somewhere.

We all had a relaxing day, so to say and enjoyed our evening there. The Himalyan peaks were right in the backdrop. As usual we had campfire before the dinner and passed off early.

May 12, 13, 2k10: Chopta

Next day we all left for the town, about 2 kms away and had Darshan of the temple deities - Lord Shiva - Parvati & Vishnu. This is the place where Shiva - Parvati got married in presence of Lord Vishnu. It’s a beautiful temple and said to be in existence from Treta Yug,

Now don’t ask me how many thousands of years back that means. After the Darshan we walked to the place where our bus was already waiting for us. It had come directly from Ghattu after dropping us there at our first camp site. It took us to our next pit stop - Chopta. We stopped on the way for lunch and reached Chopta at about 4 PM.

Next day we were to climb to Tungnath - a Lord Shiva Temple, supposedly built & worshiped by Pandvas. This place is at an altitude gain of about 800 plus meters. I had a horse as a back up, but by now I was fit enough to walk up & down the hills. The road is nicely paved and built and well maintained. Jaya Tai & I were the slowest. Swanand was there with us as usual. Unfortunately the temple was not open for public like the 4 Dhams. We could see the complete Himalayan Range in its full glory. Half of the group members went further up to another peak called Chandrasheela, at a further gain of about 350 plus meters. Here they could see the Neelkanth and The Nanda Devi Range too. Probably we missed out on that, but no regrets. We did whatever our body could tolerate.

May 14, 15, 16, 2k10: Rishikesh - Deheradun - Delhi - Pune

We left for Rishikesh at about 7.30 AM. The complete drive down was for about 9 hours. We had two stops on the way. One was to see the Sangam of Rivers Mandakini & Alaknanda, somewhere near Rudraprakash, The second was to see the Sangam of Alaknanda & Bhagirathi. The Stream of Bhagirathi is bluish and that of Alaknanda is little turbid. So the Sangam was very distinctly seen from the top, where we stopped for lunch. It is really a very picturesque spot. Since my camera batteries were completely discharged, Vinod took these snaps with his camera.

We then stopped at a place called Shivpuri, about 20 kms before Rishikesh. We were all out for a highly refreshing and rich experience and that was River Rafting in the River Ganges. We were given all the necessary instructions by the guide, before we were broken in 4 groups. We loaded ourselves with life jackets and helmets, took the paddles and got in to the rafts. We were to face half a dozen Rapids, as they call, ranging from grade 1 to grade 3.5 ( depending on the degree of difficulties ). Each of these rapids gave us a rush of adrenalin and thrill, before we came to calm waters. Here we were asked to jump in the river. It was really a great fun. We floated in the river for some time, took some snaps and then finally settled back in the rafts. We got down at the Ghats, after Ram Jhula on the banks of the river at Rishikesh.

This was the most thrilling and enjoyable experience. It was, for most of us, a first time experience and hence that made it really Once a Life Time Experience.

We left for Deheradun after taking dinner at Chotiwala Restaurant, on the other side of the river. Walking on the Ram Jhula was also a good experience.

We finally reached Pune at about 3 PM on May 16, 2k10.

All in this entire trek was highly refreshing and rejuvenating experience. The credit for the wholesome success, no doubt, goes to Kedar, Sujata, Negi & his Team. No amount of thanks giving speeches, or words would be adequate to sum up the Herculean task this team of Keadar, Sujata, Negi & his team had accomplished with ever smiling faces. I must say that it also goes to all the members who gelled well like a family. There were no fights, no arguments, No shouting, no abusing, calling names. What was evident was a sense of togetherness and that of a big large family.

But Still, I can not resist myself from shouting from the top of my voice and energies “ Threeeeeeeeee Cheeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrsssssssss for Greeeeeeeeeeennn Earrrrrrrthhhhhh…. Hip Hip Hurrayyyyyyyyyyyy !!!!!!!.”

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