"Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion... I go to them as humans go to worship. From their lofty summits I view my past, dream of the future and, with an unusual acuity, am allowed to experience the present moment...my vision cleared, my strength renewed. In the mountains I celebrate creation. On each journey I am reborn."
- Anatoli Nikoliavich Boukreev.
Journey to Roopkund.. (May 23-May 30, 2014)
We started planning for the Roopkund Trek in late January 2014. Honestly, I had initially expected a lukewarm response, but to my surprise there were people who appeared to be more excited about the trek than me! I believe it gave us the impetus to give our best shot. We had many quandaries about the size of the group and more importantly the likelihood of group splitting into two. But all are fears were allayed on the very first day! :)
Here comes the trek:
- Day 0: New Delhi to Kathgodam. Via Bus.
We started our journey from Anand Vihar metro station from where we were to board the bus at 11PM. We all had assembled by 10PM and started cracking jokes right away which was soon followed by a quick photo session.
Our bus arrived a few minutes before 11 and a look of disappointment was evident on everybody's face because it was not a Volvo as the booking site had promised. Our enthusiasm was anyway at its peak and we rushed into the bus after handing over our bags and the trekking gear. That's when we got the first glimpse into Richa's reservoir of energy. We had all the rear seats to ourselves that became our personal little compartment in the bus! We played dumb charades, Antakshari and the time seemed to fly! We crossed the border and a short while later stopped for dinner at a roadside dhaba where we stuffed ourselves with pakode and tea.
Continuing our journey forward, with lights off Eeshaanee and Shruti chose to take a nap! But all others were still in a mood to keep the party on! We (Rachit, Richa, Rohit and me) talked at length. I, of course, needed a few shots of rum to get going! We talked about our preferences, our life history, our aspirations and our first impressions of each other. I reckon, this was the time that Siddi, Dishant and Sunny found their long-lost brothers in each other and later they also shared the tent all throughout the trek. Harsimran and Rahul chose to be half-asleep and woke up only early next morning to swap seats with Ashish Banga.
We reached Kathgodam early morning at 6AM. Journey was smooth and early morning weather at Kathgodam was cool.
- Day 1: Kathgodam to Lohajung. Via Tempo Traveller
We had booked for a tempo traveller to pick us up from Kathgodam. And to our surprise, it was already waiting for us at the railway station. Having not eaten anything since last night, we were hungry. However, our driver assured us of a good dhaba with a place to get fresh at just an half-hour journey away. Reluctantly, we gave in. Food was good and overlooking the dhaba was a splendid view of the 7 overlapping mountain ranges bathed in the morning sun..jpg)
After having our breakfast, we resumed our journey to Lojahung with Rachit acting as our DJ. The journey was smooth, weather was cool. We were all looking forward to the trek ahead. 50km before Almora, our cab broke down due to a mechanical failure. While the driver was looking into the problem, we took advantage of the opportunity and ventured out into the sun to click more photos. There was a cliff at the roadside leading directly to the river below. We tried throwing stones and making them cross the river to fall on the opposite bank. It was also this very stretch where Harsimran came up with the first (Total 3) innovative use of the shoe lace tying his dear S4 at the end of the trekking pole and using it to click group selfies (like the one above). Rachit and Siddi had stepped up the carrier of the car tempo traveler while Ravinder had climbed up the tree nearby..jpg)
Very shortly, driver fixed the car and we started towards Almora. In the meanwhile, we played card games like bluff, sang songs and Richa continued jumping around like a Humpty-Dumpty! And it was again time to stop for lunch.
It must have been close to 4PM. The weather became all the more pleasant with occasional drizzles and the view became more rustic. We did stop our car at a few places to either cover up the bags while we played catch-catch on the road, or even stepping down on to the meadows (below) to feel the breeze. Rachit lost his sun-glasses here. :(.jpg)
In the process of enjoying the rain down the meadows, Rachit lost his sunglasses and we also lost one ball! We also collected a local berry out of sheer fun. But, I'd still say stepping out was totally worth it! Sun started to set and we finally reached Lohajung (at 7600ft above sea level) at the onset of twilight and were served dinner by Indiahikes. It was here that we met our trek leader Vivian Sebastian and our other trek-mates.
- Day 2: Lohajung to Didina.
We woke up the next morning to slight drizzle. It was also followed by heavy showers and the mountain peaks that were visible early morning were now covered by a thick blanket of fog. We had our breakfast and that's when our trek leader, along with other technical staff of Indiahikes informed us that owing to the inclement weather, we will have to wait to start the trek. That gave us ample time to fool around, wear our ponchos/rain-coats and click more photos to beat the boredom. Sorry Rachit, but you surely look funny in the pic (below). If I remember correctly, the colorful rain-coat that Richa wore on this morning earned her the name of "kiddo". :D
We collected our dry-ration comprising of toffees, banana and biscuits and embarked on the trek during which we were to experience numerous stupendous sights, experience myriad weathers, confront countless emotions and make many dear friends! I vividly remember telling to whoever cared to listen about the pranks that I have pulled on my close friends. And later backed it up with whistling some famous old bollywood songs. About an hour later, we reached our first checkpoint that was a temple. The view from top of the temple stairs was breathtaking.
The morning showers prompted the trek leaders to take a detour which was longer by a few kilometers. Following a narrow trail, we began our descent towards the river which we were told would be our next checkpoint. On the way, Shruti slipped and bruised her knee. It was at this occasion that our medical kits were put to use. By this time, the sun was shining brightly and we were sweating profusely. Slowly and steadily, we reached the river and our second checkpoint of the day.
The river stream was followed by a pretty steep trail off to the other cliff leading to Didina. To my dismay, I noticed that the sole of my right shoe gave away. I cursed myself for not having discerned such a possibility and sticking with my old Lee Cooper shoes. I had no option but to keep going. It was at this point Harsimran suggested me to tie the sole with his spare shoe laces. It helped me buy some needed time. In the meanwhile, I informed Pradhan Ji, the local guide about my predicament. I was exhilarated to hear that they had a spare Quechua shoes back in Lohajung and they agreed to send a pair for me up to Didina by evening. That ray of hope motivated me to take even longer strides to make up for the lost time.
We reached Didina. Had lunch and juice of the very same local berry that we plucked on our way to Lohajung. In the evening we played frisbee, catch-catch, played cards and met Sunsunny and Manna. Manna was a cute and naughty 3-4 years old local boy who lived in close proximity to our guest house at Didina. Sunsunny was the dog of a local farmer who was milling around our guest house. Strangely, Manna was hostile towards Eeshaanee in particular. He would attack (or at least pretend to attack) with stones and would budge only on being admonished firmly. On seeing the below pic (right, top) closely, I believe this was the place where the foundation of "tenties" was laid. :-/
Another incident that I remember was while Siddi and Eeshaanee were playing catch-catch with the tennis ball. Rohit and me made him overly conscious and he ended up dropping a sitter! :)
Later in the evening, Vivian advised us to go and meet the locals to get an insight of their lives, their occupations and a general feel of the village. He also emphasized that we were not tourists, but actually trekkers. That actually motivated the lot and we set out to meet the locals. Later in the evening, Pradhan ji delivered the brand new Quechua shoes to me and I took a sigh of relief. We stayed on the ground floor of the guest house and talked about ghost stories and other related spooky and unexplained events late into the night. At one time, there was eerie silence in the room which was punctuated only by the voice of the narrator and the snoring sounds of Sunny! That's the last memory I have of that particular day.
- Day 3: Didina to Bedini (Via Ali Bugyal)We woke up at 5am in the morning. We were also given eco-bags to collect any non-biodegradable waste en-route our journey forward. Dishant, however, chose to fill it with his "roz-marra ka saaman" including water bottles and food ration. I donned my new Quechua shoes. Although a perfect fit, I didn't feel very comfortable in the beginning. We requested Vivian for a group photo before starting. (below)
This was arguably the best day of the trek. Just a few kilometers from Didina, we were surrounded by dense oak forest. The sound of birds chirping, wild mushrooms growing over the bark of trees and red flowers of rhododendron, and the thick foliage of leaves adorned the forest. On the way, we also found an unlikely companion in a cute cow! I don't know what Eeshaanee was trying to do here! :D
After a quick photo session while waiting for our friends to reach the checkpoint, we headed up in the direction of Ali Bugyal. The view leading to the top of the meadows was stupendous and we became increasingly cognizant of what awaited us on the top.
There we were given roasted potatoes and chapati for lunch, along with one boiled egg. We waited here for over an hour while roaming around, some choosing to doze off. An hour later, Richa, Sunny and Dishant arrived and Harsimran clicked this gem of a pic with each one of us jumping high in the air!
Post-lunch, we started our trek towards the final destination of the day- Bedini Bugyal. The weather started displaying it's capricious behavior here and the wind was blowing at the rate of knots! It was a good experience but our trek leader and Pradhan Ji warned us that the wind was a harbinger of the imminent inclement weather. There was a small temple here and adjacent to the temple was a heavy stone. According to a legend, one who could lift that stone up, the God would fulfill his wish. Among our group, I remember Rachit lifting it up successfully, although what he wished for, is still a mystery. We were served juice (I believe Frooti) on the way by IndiaHikes folks and we continued moving up towards our destination.
Slowly and steadily, we finally reached Bedini and checked-in into our tents and were served a quick lunch. In the meanwhile, the weather turned hostile. Our dining room tent was blown away by the winds and IndiaHikes folks were struggling to pin it to the ground. Even gas cylinders started falling and very soon, I experienced the first snowfall of my life. The mountains in the distance which were all bare till a few minutes back were enshrouded under a thick blanket of snow. We retreated into our tents to play cards and take some rest. Sunny was a little miffed at having left him. He had a sprain in his knee and most of us were totally unaware.
At around 4 in the evening, the weather cleared up and after we were served tea, we started playing games. There were football, volleyball, cricket on offer and most of us played football. Two teams headed by Rohit and me (I don't know who decided the team captains, though! :P) played together. While my team had Eeshaanee, Rachit, Ashish, Dhruv; Rohit's team comprised of Ravinder, Siddi, Dishant and Shruti. After a lot of hue and cry, Rohit's team managed a lead of two goals and won the match. Later we played dodge-ball, dog and the bone (which ended in a draw :P). It was fun! Then Pradhan Ji called us to tell the stories and how different places got their respective names after which we headed for dinner. I'd never seen a clearer night sky ever in my life. The view was breathtaking. I can swear that I saw two falling stars, and it was the first time that I wanted the time to freeze forever and I longed for the night to be longer.
The day ended with a few games of cards and a few shots of rum. Inside the tent, due to lack of any light source, we used our torches and Shruti used her headlamp. I remember Rachit had slept early that day and the "mehfil" comprised of Myself, Rohit, Harsimran, Rahul, Eeshaanee, Shruti and Richa. Just after a few shots, I confess I was feeling a little tipsy. When we departed towards our respective tents, I remember having taken Shruti's shoes instead of mine! :P And I talked to Rohit at length on returning back, the details of which are still hazy in my memory. We decided that we would take the next tent with Sunny and discussed what all we could do to make things okay, but it was soon that Rohit ordered me to catch some sleep! :) - Day 4: Bedini to Bhagwabasa (Via Patar Nachauni)We woke up the next morning at around 4.30am hearing the words "tent to tent communication" and a voice asking "Naman! Time kya hua hai!?". The former is still fresh in our memories! :)
Dishant finally acquiesced to start an hour early at around 7am. He along with Harsimran, Siddi, Richa, Sunny, Ashish left early. The remaining folks including me, Rohit, Eeshaanee, Shruti, Rahul, Rachit and Ravinder left at around 8 am. The weather was clear, sun was up and just a small distance from the camp, we had to take our jackets off. We also came across a small temple where Vivian told us the right way to offer our prayers.
I believe the term "mule alert" was coined here because we had to lean towards the mountains many times to leave way for mules (the real ones :P). And it was also the first time that we encountered snow on our way while trekking. We also came across people from the previous batches of Roopkund Trek. The expressions on their faces betrayed whether they had scaled Roopkund or not. The encouraging words, in particular, "the view is fantastic up there and it will make it worth the effort" motivated me to keep going! At this point of time, I remember Eeshaanee being annoyed with Tribhuvan bhaiya for trying to ingratiate himself with his sisters and it persisted throughout the remaining duration of the trek. The rest of the trek till Patar Nachauni was uneventful and upon reaching we discovered Banga lying inside the tent and was indeed the first one to have reached there.
For some reason, I didn't quite like Patar Nachauni. The place looked shabby, the ground resembled a bog. I don't know whether it was a mood swing or the place. Shortly, we were served tea and maggi buffet. While we were enjoying maggie, Ravinder- The Saucy mixed an equal portion of maggie and tomato ketchup! :D The weather took a turn once again, and within minutes there was a hailstorm at the camp site which was engulfed by fog and clouds.
After stacking up the access baggage inside one of the tents, we left for Bhagwabasa. This was the most arduous phase pf our journey, and certainly the defining moment of the trek. As soon as we left Patar Nachauni, we were greeted by a steep and a treacherous climb back onto the main course. One wrong step and we would have tripped on the rocks below. There was a slight drizzle which made the climb even more dangerous. THERE ARE NO PICS OF THIS SECTION OF THE TREK! BEAR WITH ME. On reaching the main course, it started raining heavily and soon turned into a hailstorm. I remember Tribhuvan scolding Leena Aunty (:P) for taking a wrong path ahead of him! The high speed winds made it difficult to handle the poncho and I deeply regretted leaving my rain jacket behind. At few places, I managed to save myself from falling over. As if it were not enough, the hailstorms turned into snowstorms. And I had to cover one side of my face to prevent the snow from slapping my face. With one eye open, with snow clinging on to my jacket and pyjama, and with with no visible way ahead, we trudged forward. I was just two steps behind Tribhuvan, and he was making his way forward using an axe. My focus was to keep my feet onto his foot-steps so as to deepen the foot-marks so as to assist the truckers behind me. At one point we were trapped. Tribhuvan was confused where was the actual way. We all were very fearful and the suggestion from Leena aunty to return back to Patar Nachauni didn't help our morale one bit. "Humne bewacoofi kar di hai yahaan aakar.. aaram se Delhi mein baithte, sahi rehta.." my thoughts at this section. But the decent was even more perilous! A TRAP!! Tribhuvan called for help of the Chacha Ji who was a local. He identified the way and both set out to carve a path for us. Me and Rachit assisted them and climbed the most difficult section to reach the Kalu Vinayak temple. The worst was over, the view was breathtaking and fear was now a thing of the past!
It was difficult to glance around without the sun-glasses with sunlight reflecting from the white snow, white clouds and white everything! I realized that I had come a long way ahead of others but with the previous group coming back from the other side, it was not a place to wait. I was feeling terribly hungry and decided to step up my pace to grab some snacks at Bhagwabasa. The remaining section from Kalu Vinayak temple to Bhagwabasa seemed never-ending! Either it was the way or probably my hungry stomach causing my mind to hallucinate! :D
Finally, we did reach Bhagwabasa and checked-in to our tents. 10-15 mins later, Rachit and Eeshaanee arrived and we shared the tales of our fears! I demanded snacks but had to settle with biscuits. The feeling on reaching Bhagwabasa was great and totally resembled the pic that we had seen earlier. The view of the Kailash peak was amazing!
Rohit started talking about Junargali. Vivian and the rest of the guides told us that it was easy to climb up, but warned us that maximum mishaps take place while descending down from Junarali and we took a call against trying our luck too far. Richa, in the meanwhile, broke down and was considering pulling-out of Roopkund. It took a lot of convincing on the part of Rohit, Eeshaanee and Shruti and Richa finally acquiesced. She had even "fighted" with her brother to come to this trek. :P :P
The rest of the evening was uneventful except some prep talk by Akhil, who was to be out trek later to Roopkund. We had to wake up by 4 the next morning. Shortly after the talk, we had our dinner. It was freezing cold right from the evening and we had planned to take a few shots of rum that night. Richa, Shruti and Eeshaanee ditched us at the last moment. Rohit, me and Rachit however continued with the plan and slept. The tent was on an incline and Rachit, me and Rohit occupied half of the tent with each us of us falling over the incline onto one another!!
- Day 5: Bhagwabasa to Roopkund and back. Ending at Patar Nachauni.On waking up in the morning, some of our observations:--> The bournvita and water inside the tent had frozen off.--> There was icicles clinging on inside of the tent.--> The sweat beads on the jacket had also frozen, and Rohit was beating it against the bag!I was impossible to even go about our morning business! Later we learned that the temperature during the night was -10 C and early morning was -2 C. After a quick tea and breakfast, we were given clamp-on to wear beneath our shoes. After tea and breakfast, we set out to leave for Roopkund. Sunny decided to stay back owing to his injured knee. Later we learned that Richa and Eeshaanee were not quite feeling well last night and they had dropped their plans to go to Roopkund. However, miraculously, Boroline somehow came to her rescue and she was good to go. :P :P How did this happen? God knows!
An hour or two later (we had lost the track of time), sun started emerging from the snow-capped peaks. The view was good enough to motivate us to keep going further up. We made our way through zig-zags while continuously pushing and motivating one another to keep going. Eventually, we reached our last checkpoint before Roopkund. We were informed that whoever makes it upto here, goes all the way to Roopkund. Here we waited for a while and had our dry ration comprising of bananas and chocolates. I sensed a strange feeling here.
People were tired yet energetic. Richa was surprisingly quiet. No bantering around. We were just soaking in the view of the surroundings, being well aware of how inconsequential one is when compared with the might of the mountains. View from this checkpoint is below.
We continued on to the final stretch to Roopkund. It was a straight climb for roughly 200m and a very tiring one! Shruti started feeling a little dizzy and decided to stay here.
We reached Roopkund. While some people were emotional, some were overwhelmed ("Yeh mera sapna tha!"), some were ecstatic, quite frankly, I didn't feel any emotion other than happiness of having scaled Roopkund. The view was no better than what we had already seen. It felt like destination didn't matter at all, it was the journey that had made the difference.
After a photo sessions, we started our descent back. We had taken off our clamp-ons. Sliding was another highlight of the day where we covered 200-300m sliding down the snow while using my legs as brakes. There were a total of 4 slides with second one being very dangerous. Rohit and Eeshaanee toppled over their stomach while Rachit needed two folks to finally stop him from falling off the cliff below. A few people also had their pyjamas torn off from the friction! No major concerns except a few minor cuts. The rest of the journey to Bhagwabasa was very difficult for Rohit and Eeshaanee (due to their Woodland shoes which lacked traction, and the bright sunshine made the ice even more slippery), and Rachit. There were consistent cries from the local trek guides that we ourselves were responsible for this ordeal as we didn't leave earlier in the morning. The feet felt heavy partly due to fatigue and partly because ice had seeped into the shoes! Slowly and steadily, we reached Bhagwabasa where we re-united with Sunny! The first thing that we did was to remove our shoes and socks and left them to dry above the tent. We were served lunch and had to leave for Patar Nachauni shortly.
While we were leaving, we found that Ravinder was still asleep inside the tent. Ravinder was staying in a tent alone and we all just forgot about him and left. It was only when the cleaners were checking the room for any belongings, that they came across him! :P :P Ravinder was trolled! :P This section of the trek was pretty monotonous. The view was the same that we had witnessed the previous day, same trail, clear weather. Apart from the fatigue of having scaled Roopkund, this section of the trek was neither challenging nor interesting. Here it was for the first time that we started encountering people from the later batches who were aspiring to reach Roopkund. We tried our best to reciprocate what the previous batches had done to us and encouraged them to keep going. I was leading the pack with Rohit and Shruti following closely behind. However after reaching Kalu Vinayak and taking careful steps down the other side of the cliff, I had a change of heart! :) I started feeling that the reverse countdown has begun and it would be pragmatic to enjoy the rest of the trek rather than merely completing the trek. I decided to stay back and simple enjoy! The rest of the trail to Patar Nachauni was picturesque.
We stopped for a while to have biscuits and toffees and another photo session. The weather further cleared up and we were finally joined by Vivian and a limping Sunny. Vivian took our group photograph. But this was was perhaps better!
We continued our trek to Patar Nachauni. Here on the way, we noticed a Dishant-like dude! :P And in the meanwhile saw Tribhuvan bhaiya running back. In his words, he "feared that we had probably lost our way and he got worried. Therefor came looking for us back". We had our doubts, though! :P We finally reached the bog of Patar Nachauni and we served popcorn and tea.
We had dinner (custard for dessert) and made plans for the night! Banga, for the first time, said that he'd like to be a part of the night party. However, when the time arrived he was in a deep slumber inside his tent. :-/ We started playing cards. I remember inside the tent there were- me, Rohit, Rachit, Eeshaanee, Shruti, Richa, Harsimran and Sunny. It was very dark inside the tent and we couldn't find a hook to hang our torches. Harsimran used his shoe-laces and we ended up hanging two torches. Very shortly, there was thunderstorms in the sky and the entire tent used to glow for a couple of seconds! At first, we were terrified but it was a thrilling experience. Tribhuvan bhaiya came looking after his sisters inside our tent and called for Bournvita. And asked "Kissi ko darr toh nahi laga na? Darrna mat!" He was being too complaisant when he asked for Bournvita only to his sisters. I remember saying- "Bhaiya, humse bhi pooch lo Bounvita!" :P :P
Thanks to Eeshaanee, who got us a water bottle from outside, we had rum and started talking about our crushes. Everyone talked their hearts out. And we made a pact not to disclose a word outside the tent. Everyone heeded except Sunny who spill the beans that very night. X-( It started snowing pretty heavily and the guides and helpers were removing sheets of ice that had fallen over our tents.
- Day 6: Patar Nachauni to Gehroli Patyal (via Bedini)
We woke up the next morning to find that a thick blanket of snow had covered the entire area and wondered whether it would be possible to folks up there at Bhagwabasa to scale Roopkund that day.
In the morning, we were served king-sized Aloo parathas with honey and milk with corn flakes. We all ate like gluttons! By this morning, the tanning on our faces was conspicuously visible. We, well most of us, washed our hair and face for the first time in 2-3 days. We started for our first stop of the day: Bedini. I was in the middle and eventually drifting towards the end. :)
I enjoyed trekking on the day! Singing, dancing with no hurry to reach the destination. The journey was relaxed. It was at this time that Sunny uttered the words- "Woh Subah Hui, Woh Tent Khula.." and it's been the plot behind many poems and anecdotes since!
We reached Bedini to find our fellow truckers playing frisbee. Rohit told us that they were a little concerned if everything was okay with us and were considering sending help. I still don't know whether he was serious or not! We had soft drinks, chips, tea. We made Siddi and Richa sponsor these for some weird reason which I don't remember now. Other than that, I remember Eeshaanee complaining of blisters on her feet and covered them with gauze. We didn't get to play much since we were running late and had to rush-off for Gehroli Patyal where we were to have our lunch. I also remember singing the "Baharo Phool Barsao" in the most histrionic tones one can possibly imagine and later requested every one to start singing random songs. :)
Siddi was trolled here by the "haww, yahan toh ped hain" sarcasm! :P Singing and dancing, taking a detour, we finally reached Geyroli Patyal where chowmein was waiting for us.
Post-lunch, we set out for jungle walk to collect woods for the bonfire later that evening. Rohit was hell-bent on listening to "jungle ki awaaz" while no one else in a mood to let him hear the voices! With anger always on his nose, he sulked and retreated to a corner. Dishant, like his usual self, instead of pacifying him further tried to annoy him! :P It was all fun and within a few minutes, everything was back to normal.
Harsimran was busy clicking pictures of the flora. While we were deriding him (casually, of course) for doing it, the pics were really beautiful and we saw them only after returning back to Delhi.
Rachit and me carried the biggest piece of log that we could find and we were all game for the bonfire later that evening.
We were able to catch the phone signals for the first time in 4 days and called our parents who were quite anxious to know whether we were all okay. It turned dark pretty fast and we were served dinner. There was no light around the camp site which made it extremely difficult for us to roam around. I tripped a couple of times and we didn't have enough torch lights for all! We sand old songs around the bonfire and retreated into our tents to play cards. This time we were joined by Dishant and Siddi as well. We requested everyone to tell their first perceptions about everyone else in the tent. :) I remember a few, but I guess that would beyond the scope of this post. Dishant also talked about his crush, who got married within a week of our return from Roopkund. :( Next we started talking about our long term plans and what we wish to do in life. The discussion moved into the direction of the role and position of women in our society and it turned into a heated argument with Richa and Dishant refusing to budge. At this time came the epic call in a South Indian accent: "Aree ab toh so jao, 2.30 ho gaya hai!". We ignored the call and tried to keep our voices low but with no effect. Eventually, we had to end call the day off and asked Richa and Dishant to leave! :P I don't know when did I sleep, but I remember follow-up of the discussion was probably still on in the adjacent tent with Eeshaanee explaining something to Richa.
In the pic below: Eeshaanee in an animated discussion while Dishant is more focused on posing for the pic. :P
- Day 7: Gehroli Patyal to Wan. And Wan to Lohajung (via car).
We woke the next morning to bright sunshine. We were served Chhole Bhature in breakfast but they didn't taste very good. Pradhan ji took our leave here and we heard "Badiiiiiyyya" for the last time during the group pic here. I thanked him for arranging for the shoes at such a short notice else my trek would have been a disaster. :)
Since it was the last day of actual trekking, we were in no hurry. I again held back with Sunny and were singing songs. I wasn't feeling too good at this moment partly because we were in the moribund stages of the trek and partly because I was too tired. It had starting dawning on me that very soon we would be back to the same mundane routine of the corporate world. I also remember speculating on the fate of the truckers' group, but decided not to think too far. Even at that time, I had no idea whatsoever that our following months would be so exciting! :) Coming back to the trek. Very soon, we got tired of singing the same old songs. Rachit and Shruti switched to discussing the Mahabharata. I was totally clueless and vowed to catch the episodes on reaching Delhi. However, couldn't see beyond the second episode due to other commitments. :P See our tanned faces! (below)
We could hear the sounds of a water body nearby and were told by our guide that we would stop by for some considerable time at the river stream below. After some precipitous descents, we reached the river trail. As soon as we reached, many of us couldn't resist taking a plunge!
Warm weather after so many days was quite refreshing. Reluctantly, we left the place and were once again ready to move. Being even all the more cognizant of the fact that this was probably the last hour of the trek, I again slowed my speed and held back. We (Sunny, myself and Ravinder) danced to the tunes of baby doll once again. Richa joking around cow dung! Eeshaanee also in top form of her PJs! We also came across many local kids who wanted toffees from us. However, we couldn't pacify them all. :(
The town of Wan was beautiful. We also looked back up the opposite cliff to see where we had come from! At one point, we felt that we had probably lost our way. We were listless and hungry and started looking for locals who could give us some leads. After assuring everyone that we were headed in the right direction (howsoever clueless I was), we eventually caught up with the remaining folks from where we could see our car that would take us to Lohajung.
On reaching our car, we got a scolding from our trek leader Vivian who was miffed with us because we were late by over two hours! Can't really blame him! It took us one roughly one hour to reach our base camp at Lohajung from where we had started a week ago.
Here's out group pic of "23rd May batch of Roopkund Trek" at Lohajung. I missed it! :(
Last group pic at Kathgodam just before our departure. Life had changed! And it marked the beginning of epic next 2 months (and probably more)! :')
Last but not the least!! 8 folks: Rohit, Eeshaanee, Siddi, Sunny, Harsimran, Dishant, Ravinder and Ashish Banga were to catch the 9.40pm train to Delhi. And the remaining 5: Myself, Rachit, Richa, Shruti and Rahul left for the bus stop to take the Volvo scheduled to leave at 10.15pm. While me and Rachit were leaving for the bus-stop earlier that evening to reserve seats on the bus, we had spotted a Domino's! And decided to have light dinner with the remaining truckers so that we could have pizza later! :P
We were heavily tanned and looked like we haven't taken a bath for months! I'm sure our trekking gear saved us else the guard would have surely kicked us out. We had pizza and started towards the bus-stop.
This was not the end. It was just a new beginning of a life-long bond and inordinate fun!
