Trekking in Himalayas, Kedharakantha

अस्त्युत्तरस्यां दिशि देवतात्मा हिमालयो नाम नगाधिराजः।

The Epilogue

When I received a call from Pallavi, my friend, about trekking in the Himalayas, I had said ‘Yes’ without a second thought.Whatever started as a small group started growing.  With Pallavi’s organizing skills, finally it became a group of 8 ( a small intro in the end).  I had a glimpse of Kanchanjunga near Darjeeling and then at Sikkim, we could set foot on the Himalayas.  However trekking in the Himalayas was a dream.  We represented a Bangalore based trekking group called UrbanARCKS.  The arrangement was through an organization called Himalayan Trekkers, http://himalayatrekker.com/2016-fixed-departure-treks/   The dates was fixed as 20^th to 25^th Mar 2016. We started on 19^th morning and reached there on 27^th Evening.   Even though I don’t intend to write a diary, in this blog I am trying to give all the details so that it can be helpful to others. 

Cost and Accessories

My total expenditure was around Rs.25K ( including to & fro travel changes, trek fee of 8000) + accessories that  I bought was around Rs. 5K, Himalayan Trekkers charge Rs.8000/-    This is a fixed cost, they provide everything.  Obviously travel cost can vary as per flight charges. UrbanARCKS is a non-profitable organisation.  Accessories required are thermals, woolen & waterproof gloves,  tough shoes , woolen socks, a very good ‘monkey’ cap, sweat /woolen shirts. A good 50+ L trekking bag, thick jackets and water proof overcoat is necessary. UV ray glass is essential.   Torch, dry fruits is a must have.  I adjusted with wooden stick.   Good to have walking pole.  Regular dress needs to be kept minimum.

The Travel

From our hometown, Bengaluru, we flew to Delhi and then by train to Dehradun.  We stayed overnight in Dehradun which was much cooler than Bengaluru. We took a tempo traveler to the base camp called Sankri.  It was only 200 Kms from Dehradun, but takes 8- 10 hours of travel, since the roads are narrow and require a very highly skilled driver. Even though the journey had beautiful scenic spots,  everyone was struggling to control puking.   We ate in a restaurant near Kamti falls.  Parathas  became our staple food. Our guide, Amit from Punjab,  showed us the first  glimpse of Kedharakantha,  All of  were excited  and cried out in wonder at  the first sight  By around 5:30 we reached Sankri.

The Base Camp - Sankri

 Sankri is a small village in the valley, surrounded by large snow-capped mountains.   It serves as a base camp for many treks.  Our host Rajan treated us very well and we had nice food.  Temperature was dipping to 5 degrees and the water was chilly,  it was a tough night.  We had to sleep in sleeping bags. For a first timer it was suffocating but essential.  We realized that we had had our last bath in Dehradun  and would have our next one only when we got back to the plains again !

The First day - Juda Ka Talab

Next day, after an early breakfast of bread and corn flakes, we started climbing. As per instructions, we had left behind our big bags and packed essentials in small bags.  3 bags were given to Kacchars or Mules.  These Mules are lifelines for any Himalayan trekking.  They carry kerosine, big drums for water, all groceries, camping materials, etc.   The beginning itself was very difficult, with uneven steps.  It was a sunny morning.  The first one hour was really tough with us breathing heavily and continuously  feeling tired.  Had to take frequent breaks.  After an hour, it became normal.  ‘juda ka talab’, our target,  was 9 Kms away.   Around 12:30PM,  we were given packed food, potato bhaji and chapattis.  We finished eating quickly as we had another 3 Kms to climb.  We found oranges very tasty.  Finally around 4,  we reached our first camping site.  Already we had had a glimpse of snow.  After another hour, the sun was already hiding behind long trees.  It started getting cold and by the time we settled down, the staff had made a good arrangement for camping.   The next 3 days we had to live in these tents. This first camping place was on plain ground and the next two were on snow !

The Tents – Camping.

Inside the tent

Our Camp

Dining Tent

Camping requires very good planning.  They usually select plain surfaces and then start pitching tents .  Usually there are 4 types of tents.  One for trekkers to stay, second for dining, third for kitchen, last one as a toilet.  Each trekker’s tent is made of outer waterproof layer and inside is a thermally insulated layer.  Each tent had 3 mats and was divided into two small units..one for sleeping and the other for keeping shoes and bags.   So 8 of us stayed in 3 tents. We called the toilet tent ‘Red Fort’, a red coloured  tent with a zip opening, used as a make-shift toilet.  They dig a big hole and we were told to fill it up again with mud/snow after we finish.   Once it gets filled, they shift the whole unit to another place.  This way they keep it clean and also its good for nature.  We had to settle in the tents pretty fast.  The night temperature was turning  minus.  We had outer thermals added to our sleeping bags.  There was a central zip for thermals and a right side zip for sleeping bags.  It was a herculean task to zip up.  I had a friend, Satish,  helping me,  otherwise it would have been impossible.  As I realized during the next  3 days – the days were pleasant with the sun shining down, but nights were cold and harsh. 

The Second day! Taal Khetra

We started again around 9:30 AM after breakfast, this time after only 3 KMs we reached a point called Taal Khetra.  This time the camping was totally on snow.  We were told that we had to spend two nights there.  By lunch time we reached this place.  This climb was relatively easier.

Leg with accessories

  In the evening,  we were given a practice for the following day..  We had wear additional accessory - crompton, on our shoes.  They had nails. These give us a  secure feeling. It is impossible to fall and there is no fear of sliding  on the snow. It gets stuck in the snow  but we cannot walk fast.  Similarly think plastic sheets called gaiters  to cover your cloth, so that the snow doesn’t get into your clothes.  We walked around 200 meters to get used to this.  The next day was a big day.  Needed to get up at 3 in the morning.  Had a quick bite and  realized that our appetite had decreased.  Could not eat more than 2 chapatis and the usual potato curry.  They were continuously  giving us soup, tea, Maggi etc, once in 3- 4 hours to keep our body warm.  Felt nothing was tasty but it was compulsory to eat whatever we could. Couldn’t escape the dreadful cold night. 

The Summit ! - Kedharakantha

Following the foot steps 

This was the most important day, we were to reach the ‘summit’.  We were woken at 3 AM, it was bitterly cold at -13 degrees and we wore everything we had.  By 4:15, we ate a bowl of  nutrious sweet dahlia with all dry fruits.  We got ready with all accessories, and started trekking, we wanted to reach there before sun rise.  This was the toughest part of the trek, even though it was  less than 4 KMs of distance.  It was steep and on the snow it was not easy to walk.  Many a times, our legs sunk in the snow up to the knee, we needed to remove them immediately and had to keep moving.  Our guide was a big inspiration.  This time no sweat, no heavy breathing but very tiring.  It was a long walk in the moonlight and torches. It is was getting tougher every 100 meters.  We thought we had climbed the peak only to see yet another peak!  So kept on moving from one peak to another and reached the final summit !  3 of us had major issues but all managed to reach the summit.  Except 2 of us, all others were first timers on the Himalayas and for 4 of us it was our first  trek.  We had achieved what we had dreamt off. We could see the golden peaks of Himalayas.  We could see many ranges, one behind the other in series and behind that was another range.  A wonderful sight indeed !  It was already 9:30 by the time we completed.    We were told that the descent was not so difficult.   Many of them just slid down.  I walked all the way, though, no easy job. We were feeling  thirsty even after drinking all the water we carried. As usual the sun was beating down and with all the snow around, it was bright light, we really needing dark glasses.  Many of us had skin burn…  skin on the noses peeling .  We came down and reached the same camping place by around 1 PM and lunch was ready..  it tasted bland but we had to do with it.  Finally it was resting time.

A view from the Peak 

Cheers !  at the Peak 

Back to Base Camp - Sankri

Next day it was our climb down to Sankri.  We took a different route, it was more than  10 KMs of walking.  Long distance but was relatively easy.. had to cross many fields including  apple orchards and beautiful mustard fields.  From 9:30 to 12:30 we descended.  Ate lunch in a colourful mustard field.   Again another 2 hours of descent to Sankri..This time Sankri felt warm.  Had a wonderful sleep after a good meal

The Epilogue

We were Lucky.  We had good  weather.  Clear sky and good temperature during the day was a blessing.  None of us had any serious health issues.  We all were in  very good spirits and were motivating each other.   We sang, danced and played in the snow.  There was absolutely no network connectivity, very few places had BSNL network, where we could send SMS only.  We were also lucky to have booked through Himalayan trekkers. They made very good arrangements and forced us to eat something or the other frequently.  Being south Indians,  adjusting to this food was not easy.  We also came across other organizations like India hikes,  Renault adventurers. We spoke to them too.   We moved to Haridwar and then had a river rafting in Rishikesh for 10 Kms.  Again this was beyond our imagination.  A thoroughly enjoyable, memorable trip.  I hope many more of you will visit and have similar experiences.

The team

Srikantha BK :  Myself !  asama - Athi samanya manushya - a very common man. Adarsh is my son and my intent of life, has a very supporting wife and a daughter.  Has been to treks for 6+ years, not very regular.  Interested in social causes and contributing back to the society

Pallavi BR: Very energetic organizer.  Leader of the group, she looks frail, eat less, but has great energy and can motivate anyone. She has been trekking for a long time and has good experience.

Sadashiva : cool, calm, jovial Sada is husband of Pallavi.  Has lot of experience, amazing knowledge.  Great stamina, very helpful, carries min of 3 luggage of others .  Wonderful to have in the team.

Satish: Very experienced in trekking, helpful and always smile on lips, speaks slowly but firmly.
Having in the team will help the entire team

Akash the achaar:  New friend introduced only in this trek, very religious,  pious and energetic.  Speaks typical north karanataka kannada. Ilyaka hatyara ?

Poornima:  New quiet friend.  Normally silent has good collection of kannada songs.   Her pace of climbing matched with me and like me she fears the unknown.

Vani Amma and Geetha Aunty:  Very sportive ladies.  Even though first timers, never gave up any chance of enjoyment.  Great spirit and inspirations to all