Ajay Goyal's Blog: June 2017

My magical destination this time is Rupin Pass. Apart from the name, the itinerary of this trek fascinated me. The very idea of starting from Dehradun in Uttarakhand and finishing at Shimla in Himachal Pradesh excited and challenged us. This trek will always be extra special because my wife, Charoo and me celebrated our birthdays at the place we love the most.. in the lap of nature. The Rupin pass is at 15250 feet in the high mountains and connects the Rupin and Kinnaur valley. Even to this day, local people use the pass to conduct their business such as sheep, goat selling etc. The journey through normal roads would be too long and also expensive, so it is the pass that they prefer to take.

Yes, The Mountains called us again, this time to Rupin Pass. We planned our trek with “Trek The Himalayaas” in 28^th May to 4^th June 2017 batch along with my colleague Raju Bhadke and his wife Kavita Bhadke. Ours was a batch of 20 people including four of us, youngest being from class 8^th and me being the eldest. Luckily our batch was once again a very bubbly energetic, simple, friendly and most important, a very punctual group. Mr. Yogesh was our trek leader and Rajkumar and Susheel were our trek guides.

For Charoo and me, the trek starts days ahead of the actual starting date. The childlike excitement and apprehensions amuse our daughters a lot. According to them we do our preparations like a school child planning for school picnic for the first time....I agree with them and I write the blog with the same childlike spirit...a child who is fully awestruck with the beauty of nature...

Day 0 (26-27 May) MUMBAI TO DEHRADUN

All 4 of us boarded the Mumbai - New Delhi Rajdhani on 26^th May and reached New Delhi on time from where we headed straight towards Dehradun by road. We had our brunch at Cheetal Restaurant near Muzzaffarnagar and reached DDN at about 4 in the evening. On the way, Charoo took us through her childhood home at Roorkee. We had our dinner at the famous Doon Darbar.

Day 1 (28 May) DEHRADUN TO DHAULA (5500 ft)

The first thought that came to my mind was just one more day and we will we be out of reach of this city madness and fully in the wilderness...no phones , no TV, no distraction only nature and us...

The vehicles were waiting for us at DDN railway station....five trekkers were to travel in one vehicle. Some people had not yet arrived. Four of us and one solo trekker, Paresh shared the same vehicle and started our journey. We had our breakfast at a roadside eatery at Kempty falls at Musssorie. On our way to Dhaula, we pass through the villages of Nainbagh, Damta, Naugaon, Purola, Mori.

The entire route is along the river surrounded by pine forests. This is the same route which we followed for Sankri (base camp for Har Ki Dun ) except for the last leg of our journey. For us it was like beauty revisited. We were visiting the same place after few months only but still everything looked equally mesmerising this time also. Just before Dhaula we entered Govind National Park where our identity cards were checked. We reached Dhaula by about 2 o”clock. We were the first amongst our group to reach.

DHAULA CAMP

TTH had set up a permanent camp there. The camp was near the river surrounded by thick forests. After keeping our bags in the tents, we headed towards the only hotel cum shop cum homestay for lunch. As everyone was quite hungry we zeroed down to Egg Bhurji and paranthas. By the time we finished our Lunch, our fellow trekkers had started arriving. We informally met each other. Formal meeting with our trek leader Yogesh and fellow trekkers was at 5 pm after evening tea. We took a stroll at the only visible road in Dhaula. The sight of washing machine at one of the houses fascinated us. This was the sign of development and most importantly electricity reaching remote villages. All the trekkers had arrived except two who were held up due delayed train, they also reached by dinner time. Formal briefing by trek leader comprised of usual Do’s and Dont’s, form collection and an formal round of introduction with fellow trekkers. As it had started raining, we all stayed in the Dining tent itself till dinner. We played the game of Judgement with the pack of UNO cards. This really helped to break the ice.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Today was Charoo and Nirupama’s birthday and TTH surprised us with the Birthday cake for them. As they had made Dudhi halwa for sweet dish, they converted it into cake by serving it in a shallow plate and using almonds and cashew for writing Birthday Wishes. This was brought in the end together with candles and knife.....a very sweet gesture by team TTH. As we had three more birthdays in this week, we told our trek leader that expectations have been raised which they kept up to. Now everyone retired to their tents. Tomorrow’s time was 6:30, 7:30 , 8:30......meaning Tea time, Breakfast time and Moving time.

DAY 2 (29May) DHAULA TO SEWA (6300 ft)

The whole group was up well in time. We washed our faces and feet in the ice cold waters of the Rupin river and were all present at dining tent for breakfast before 7:30 itself. Breakfast was egg bhurji , parantha and dalia. Dot 8:30 all of us were ready with back packs on our shoulders . After a delay of few minutes by TTH staff we set out moving at 8:45 am. Rajkumar was leading us. Today our trail was of about 8 kms. It was fairly easy walk today with no steep ascents. It had started to drizzle when we started but stopped shortly after. The cloudy sky made the weather very pleasant for walking. Numerous pine cones were strewn away on the path. Since we had started early, we could spot and hear many birds on our way. Enjoying our trek and taking rests we reached Sewa at 1:30pm. Our camp was in the village near the temple.

TEMPLE AT SEWA

The temple had a very unique architecture. We were informed by the locals that it was dedicated to Lord Hanuman. After lunch some settled in their tents while others explored the nearby area. After tea it was time for Acclimatisation Walk. As it had started to drizzle we all were a bit hesitant for the walk but went ahead. Yogesh took us to a nearby high point which had excellent views of the village, surroundings and was fairly open grassland with tiny beautiful flowers forming a sort of carpet of flowers. On returning to the camp, it was soup time followed by oxymeter reading. We were strictly told that oxymeter reading below 80 means that you are going back ! Had our dinner and retired to our tents for the night. Tomorrows timings were 6, 7 8.

DAY 3 (30 May) SEWA TO BAWTA (6888 ft)

The whole group was ready by 8 to move forward. We started by 8:15 am. Today's trek is a bit difficult than yesterdays. We entered the forest soon after starting, and after an hour or so reached the bank of the river. Here we crossed the wooden bridge which separates the states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

UTTARAKHAND TO HIMACHAL PRADESH

The trail after this was a bit steep till we reached the motorable road. We feasted on tea, maggie, chips, etc. at the only dhabba there. It was dhabba cum repair shop. Sagar welded his walking stick there! After a rest of half an hour, we proceeded further. The sun was playing spoiled sport today. It was shinning too brightly! After a few minutes, we came across a massive waterfall where most of the members couldn’t resist taking bath. Soon the clouds showed up and we hurried towards our destination. The walk on kachha motorable road was really boring and getting monotonous. Our guides sensed this and soon they announced that we will be taking a steep shortcut route to Bawta. The route was really steep but much better than the road route. After taking numerous rests and when were exhausted to the brim, we reached Bawta. It was at 1:45 pm. Here our stay was at a very beautiful homestay. It had an extended open balcony facing the valley. The thickly covered mountains presented such a scene which will always linger in my mind. We were greeted by a very tasty lunch of Kadhi – Chawal. Lunch followed by rest, tea and then the Acclimatisation Walk . Most of us resisted today, as all were bit tired and the sky was cloudy. But yogesh wouldn’t listen to any of our excuses. He ordered to be ready with raincoats in 5 minutes and everyone was. Again it was a long walk to a high point. The place he took us turned out to be something straight out of storybooks. It was cave like thing with a massive waterfall. It was top of the same waterfall in which we had taken bath enroute Bawta.

CAVE AUDITORIUM

The cave like structure had auditorium like seating arrangement...all natural...nothing man made. After briefing session of tomorrows itinerary we headed back to homestay. Soup was followed by oxymeter reading and then dinner. Free time before dinner was spent playing UNO. As everyone were now frank with each other, the time soon flew away. We had a very sound sleep today, both due to tiredness and comfortable RAZAIES ! Tomorrows timing were 6:30, 7:30, 8:30.

DAY 4 (31 May) BAWTA to JHAKA (8700 ft)

It seems that punctuality came naturally to our group. Again we were all ready in time and before our trek leader and guides. We started at 8:45 am. It was drizzling when we started but soon the weather was favourable again....means cloudy but no rain. As we had got used to walking and today was a short distance, we walked leisurely. The river and the thick forest cover never left our side in this trek. Since we started early, we were accompanied by the chirping birds. The beautiful Flora and fauna were a visual delight. Soon we reached the wooden bridge.

The place was very scenic with the stream flowing. We spent quite some time here playing in the stream, clicking pics, acting like bunch of school kids ! It was fun...Since we had come down, so now time to climb up. After half an hour we reached a tea stall, our rest point and tea point and Maggi point for youngsters. Apart from hard work, what we should learn from people here is HONESTY. They are dead honest, they don’t accept extra amount even if offered...looking at their tough lifestyle, this is really commendable. 1 Maggie, 2 Peanut packet, 3 tea, 1 coffee,1 creamroll, 3 plainrolls....all for only Rs 200 and that too in such a remote location and at the only shop there. After spending considerable time here we started our journey, walking for about 45 minutes houses came into sight and we were all pretty surprised when informed that we have reached JHAKA. We all knew that today was a short trail but none of us had anticipated it to be this short. We had reached Jhaka by 12;30 pm.We were to stay in homestay today. After keeping our bags in our rooms we took a look at the nearby houses and interacted with our hosts. As the ground floor was used for keeping cattle, the place was really stinking and full of flies. The rooms were clean but the flies played a spoiled sport. Free time was used for playing UNO and MAFIA. Evening time was for Acclimatisation Walk. The walk was a very pleasurable one as the weather was very favourable.

Our walk ended at the temple in Jhaka.The temple was in the centre of the village. Locals were playing cricket there and our team members also joined them. After a game of cricket and interaction with local children we returned to our home stay. One more amazing habit of people here is that they always greet you smilingly with folded hands no matter how old the person is... On our way to home stay we met Mr. Rawat- a veterinary doctor who invited us for tea at his place. He told us many things about local culture. Time again for MAFIA till the dinner was served. After dinner most of us retired to our sleeping bags. We had a long day ahead us tomorrow. As it was a long walk tomorrow, we were asked to give our tiffins for packed lunch. Tomorrows timings were again 6:30, 7:30, 8:30.

DAY 5 (1 June) JHAKA TO DHANDERAS THATCH (Lower Waterfall)(11680 ft)

Pasta, cornflakes and milk was served for breakfast. All of were given our packed lunch. Today was one of the difficult days of our trek. We are to cover a distance of about 12 kms and gain a height of 2000 ft.

As usual we were well in time and full of energy to move. We started with ascent, taking rest at the highest and perhaps the last point of the village followed by a level and slight descent towards the bank of river Rupin. The entire route is accompanied by the sound of River Rupin, thick forests and of course the birds. Soon we reached the river bank, again a very very scenic place. No one could move forward without taking a halt here, we again crossed the river on a wooden bridge.

WOODEN BRIDGE AT RUPIN BANK

We all couldn’t resist washing our faces and soaking our feet in ice cold water before moving ahead. After this there was ascent and the scenery began to change. River Rupin was making less sound, Bhojpatra trees came into vicinity. Stunted Rhododendron trees loaded with flowers are now seen. We soon come to a tea stall---the last one on this trek. What a surprise , he is selling bhazias also along with regular stuff of Maggie, tea , coffee etc. Again everything at MRP. Hats Off to their HONESTY ! After a short break here we move forward. The trek is tiring today but anything for that experience.

LUNCH POINT

By 1:30 we reached a very beautiful open space surrounded by Rhododendron trees and besides the river. We had our lunch here. It was like CHILDHOOD REVISITED, everyone opening their tiffins and water-bottles, sharing pickle etc and then indulging in the game "who can throw the stone farthest" and aiming at the tower of stones with the stone ! Brought back the memories of school picnics..After some fun and rest,we started our onward journey with renewed enthusiasm.

Soon we came across glaciers in very close vicinity, as we are gaining height the change in scenery is clearly evident. The places where glaciers have melted, beautiful yellow flowers had come up. Rain is playing hide and seek with us. Numerous waterfalls are visible now. Towards the end of our trek today we crossed our first glacier...what an experience it was...With eyes soaked in natural beauty we reached our camp at 4:40 PM and are greeted by a very energetic and friendly caretaker Rajesh Singh. The camp is at a very scenic place. It is besides the river surrounded by high mountains, glaciers at walking distance and above all majestic water falls. Rajesh Singh boosted our confidence by saying that we had reached an hour early than the previous batch. As it was tea time we were served tea with very tasty chilly soya chunks.

OUR CAMP

There was no Acclimatisation Walk today. After tea we roamed about and visited the India hikes camp nearby. Soup was followed by oxymeter reading. Luckily everyone’sreading was above 80. Dinner was Saboot Urd daal, matar paneer, roti , rice and guess what for sweetdish----jalebi !the dinner was exceptionally tasty and jalebies were comparable to Haldiram’s....I can comfortably say that we got the best food here. What a great way of ending the day !!!

DAY 6 (2 June) DHANDERAS THATCH TO UPPER WATERFALL (13120 ft)

MORNING TEA

Today’s timings are 7, 8 ,9. Today is my Birthday...What a great place and way to celebrate it. We started with great excitement at 9 am. The distance is 3 km only but we will be gaining the height of 2000 ft and walking on steep glaciers.

WALKING IN A STRAIGHT LINE

We all are instructed to walk in a single line over the glaciers and place our feet in the steps made by the leading trek guide. We crossed all three waterfalls, Upper Waterfall, Middle waterfall, and Lower Waterfall ...Looked like a painter’s imagination.

PAINTER'S IMAGINATION

The climb today is steep, taking numerous rests and walking at my own pace we reached our camp at about 12:30pm.

The camp is at the top of the Upper Waterfall. You have to crane your neck to see it from the top...It is a steep climb to the top. But the view from the top, surrounded by glaciers, is well worth the effort. . Today again we went for the walk at nearby glacier and many of our trekmates did the practise of sliding on the snow. After some fun on the snow we returned to our camp. Soup followed the oxymeter reading session. Had a little early dinner as we were to start at 5:45 in the morning tomorrow.

My birthday was celebrated after dinner with a surprise cake baked by the staff. What a celebration !!! After the celebration, we headed to our tents with our minds full of apprehensions for tomorrow. Today it was biting cold and we had put on all our layers of woollen.

DAY 7 (3 June) UPPER WATERFALL---RUPIN PASS (15250 ft)---DHARAMSHALA

Today was THE Day....Summit day as we call it. Last night weather God was not so friendly. Heavy furious winds blew all night, the scary sound of which made our hearts sink. Even inside the tents we could judge the fury of winds. The wind was so strong that it had blown away one of our toilet tent and staff tent. All of us were apprehensive about the weather but spirits were all high. ... despite all this,we all were ready by 6 am...Today as it was a very long day, we were given packed lunch. Also we were given micro crampons to be worn today as we were to traverse on ice a lot. From Upper Waterfall, the technical team of TTH also accompanied us along with the trek leader and the guides. They guided us through the summit. Leading the way, cutting ice steps, guiding us and helping us whenever and whosoever needed. A special mention of RAJKUMAR is needed here... he personally took care of everyone. Moving to and fro, he attended each and everyone. The sun has come out now and was shining brightly, the brightness reflecting back sharply from the rocks making it difficult for us to look . But we soon learned to tackle this problem...look for one step at a time ....Anyway sun was very welcome today. As it was total ascent up to the pass, we took frequent rests. We now crossed the glaciers with confidence. We were joined by trekkers of other groups also . All encouraging and giving way to each other, no matter which group you belong... This is the beauty of the mountains...It binds us ... We soon reached the place from where the last lap of climb to the pass was left. The climb as clearly visible consisted of two long ascents at 70 degree.

SHEEP OVERTAKING US

As we were taking group rest there, we encountered a very beautiful sight, a herd of sheep with their watchdogs and shepherds came and overtook us and raced ahead us to the RUPIN PASS. What a scene it was....All moving so fast, together and effortlessly. We had seen sheep before eating grass, for the first time I was witnessing their climb on snow and that too so near to me..Awesome they were !! We waited for the sheep to completely overtake us (we had no option, they were too fast for us !) before we started towards the pass. Half of the ascent was covered fascinated by the sheep and last half with the feeling that its just there...The TTH team had tied a rope also there for our support but I was more confident walking without holding it . Anyway we reached the RUPIN PASS at 12:30 pm. What a feeling it was.The sight was something out of this world. After congratulating each other, savouring the beauty and capturing the beauty both in our eyes and cameras as much as we could, we started our onward journey.

WE AT RUPIN PASS

The sun was shinning bright but still the strong wind blowing was really very very chilly. From this point, the technical team of TTH went back to UPPER WATERFALL to receive the next batch. They took the crampons also back..I wish they hadn’t...as we had to still walk a considerable distance on snow. The trek from here is downhill. Anyway me and Charoo were completely carried away by the sheer beauty ...It was just unimaginable...Surrounded by snow on all three sides and blue sky above you...NATURE IS JUST TOO BEAUTIFUL....

AMIDST NATURE

SLIDE BY CHAROO

We all were all walking at our own pace, not fast as if not wanting to leave the place. We did 2-3 slides also on the snow. Enjoying every bit of our trek we reached our lunch point at about 2: 30 pm. The lunch break again was near a stream, we refilled our water bottles again before moving. From here it was fairly easy but a very long walk to our camp.

We were passing by numerous waterfalls, beautiful landscapes but after seeing the Rupin Pass, they didn’t fascinate us much. Walking leisurely and wishing for the camp to come soon, we reached the camp at 5:40 pm. Today Charoo really got tired and exhausted to the brim. We were greeted with hot tea and samosas by the camp caretaker. After tea we were all so exhausted that nearly everyone took a short nap.

EVENING FUN

Evening was the time for dance to celebrate the successful competition of the trek and Birthdays of two of our trekmates---Bhavdeep and Ajinkya. As we had come downhill, so no Acclimatisation Walk. Soup followed by a very tasty dinner with gulab jamuns for sweet dish. This was followed by Birthday cake. We were informed by Yogesh that we would be given the certificates of trek completion tomorrow morning before starting. So that was all for the day.

DAY 8 (4 June) DHARAMSHALA TO SANGLA (8800 ft )

Today was the last day of our trek and seemingly easy one. Each one of was as usual ready on time. After breakfast Certificate distribution was done. Luckily all the members of our group had successfully completed the trek, Each one of us shared our experiences and with the hope of meeting again on some other trek, we packed our bags and headed towards Sangla. The trek war downhill but a long one and it was very hot day. After an hour or so we came under network area, everyone contacted their families. Taking rests and walking leisurely we moved. Throughout our trek weather had been very favourable for us. Always cloudy or drizzling, never raining hard and not too sunny but was not the case today. We encountered the direct sunrays of the mountains today. Also walking down continuously was putting pressure on knees and toes. But anything for the trek, with this spirit we reached Sangla by 12:30 pm. There we had lunch and boarded vehicles arranged by TTH for Shimla at 2:30 pm. As the road is not very good, we reached Shimla at 11:30 pm. This long tiring day was the end of our trek