My first Summit- Pangarchulla!

Sunday, April 30, 2017

My first Summit- Pangarchulla!

Every time I come back to my city from mountains, it takes me few days to adjust back... I feel different, I feel good. I don’t feel like talking to anyone... And I always want to go back!

Pangarchulla was my first Summit, it was not an easy one though but I categorize it as Moderate-Difficult trek.

It was not a pre-planned journey for me. I booked it 2 days before the start date and had my booked tickets in waiting.

The journey was absolutely awesome, from the beginning till the end.

It was beautiful and challenging at the same time.

To describe this trek in brief-

Maximum Altitude- 14700 ft

Temperature- Min- minus 10 degrees at night; Max- 5-8 degrees in day time

Weather- Rainy/Hailstorms/Snow

Grade- Moderate- Difficult

Trek distance- Approx. 34kms in 4 days

The Journey-

HARIDWAR RAILWAY STATION

It was a 6 day journey and starting point was Haridwar.

I reached Haridwar a day in advance so that I can enjoy the city, local food and the famous Aarti at “Har ki Pauri”

Travelling alone in train was always my fear, but this time I decided to face it...I booked a train for Delhi to Haridwar and vice-versa.

To my surprise, I loved my train and the journey J

I reached Haridwar at 1pm and took rest... Since I ate quite a lot in train I decided to skip my lunch, slept for few hours, woke up at 5pm, had a black coffee and decided to go out and explore the city...

I planned to go for an evening Aarti at “Har ki Pauri” followed by a sumptuous dinner at some decent place. I Googled for the best places to eat in Haridwar and decided to eat at an old Dhaba near “Har ki Pauri” known as “Hoshiyarpuri”.

Yayy! my evening was all set. I left guest house, walked till the time I found a rickshaw... Reached my destination “Har ki Pauri” just on time, it was almost 6pm and the place was flooding with people, aarti started around 7pm and was over by 7.30pm. It was amazingly peaceful experience just to be there.

After Aarti, I switched on my Google maps and started walking towards Hoshiyarpuri which was approx 1 km from there and the walk was absolutely worth it. I loved the food and ate a lot, it was already 9pm. I was super full so decided to walk halfway and took a rickshaw back to the guest house.

I slept early.

Day 1 (Haridwar to Joshimath)-

I got up early and quickly got ready, our assembly time was 6.30am at Haridwar railway station, the moment I stepped out f my accommodation it started raining cats and dogs with a crazy hailstorm, life couldn’t be better.

I waited under a roadside shed for rain to stop and reached railway station half wet on a cold rainy morning, what a start. They say everything auspicious starts with a rain. :)

We assembled on time but 2 people were running late so we waited till 9am and in the meanwhile we tried another amazing place for breakfast “Mohanji Poori wale”, famous for their breakfast of Poori and Sabzi.

We started for Joshimath which was almost 280 kms and was the starting point of our trek. Reached Joshimath by 6pm had dinner and slept in guesthouse.

Day2- (Dhak village to gulling top)

CAMPSITE DAY-1

We left around 9am for starting point of our trek which was Dhak Village, first day climb was easy and in just 3-4 hours we reached our first campsite at Gulling top. At our site, we were welcomed by a crazy hailstorm...

We spent our day chilling and chit chatting and the best part of mountains- phones were not working. :D

We roamed around clicked pictures, went for acclimatization walk and talked talked talked followed by star gazing at night... Oh! What a beautiful sky it was...

Day 3- (Gulling Top to Khulara)

CAMPSITE DAY 2

Again an easy day, we started our day around 9 am and walked for 3-4 hours, covered 6 kms and reached our second campsite.

Again it was very beautiful, clear sky... mesmerizing mountains and an amazing group.. We had great time along with rains.

Day was rainy so most of the time we were sitting inside our dining tent talking and playing random games..

Next day was our Summit day and we were supposed to start by 4.30am for the climb.

Day 4- (Pangarchulla Summit Day)

ON THE WAY TO PEAK

Crazy morning, in dark we got up and left our campsite a little late than our scheduled time.

My only mistake of the day was skipping my breakfast, I had no clue this was going to be a really hectic day, we had to cover 12kms, (6kms uphill climb and 6kms descend)

First few kms were very easy but as soon as I was moving up, I was finding difficulty adjusting with altitude and my body started giving up. Since it was all snow and climb was steep.. I was slipping even with my crampons..

When it was just 1 km left I thought of giving up, I was feeling sick because of the poor acclimatization... Plus I realized the importance of proper breakfast and water. I was cutting on to both of these.

I could see the peak close but I was finding it impossible to walk, I was feverish and was shivering because of altitude sickness.

I decided to sit on a rock and to give my body some rest, then again I pushed myself and started walking like a bear on the snow with my hands and feet together but that 1 km was looking next to impossible for me... Every step I took was like climbing a whole big mountain...

That was the moment when my group really motivated me to carry on.

I took one step at a time and felt more powerful seeing the mountain top getting closer... And Yes, I was on the top of the peak despite of all the AMS and poor acclimatization.

Well, going down was a task again, I decided to eat my lunch for strength and again my group really helped me in descending the mountain till the time I was at bearable height where I was acclimatized.

Pheww!! I did it or would rather say WE did it!

We came back all dead, looking like a skeleton but we were really happy.

I just lied down for few minutes in my tent, what a crazy day it was.

We had good conversation that day and I slept like a baby in my cozy sleeping bag.

Day 5 (Back to Dhak Village from Khulara)

It was the last day of our trek, we quickly covered 12 kms in 4 hours.

By 2 pm we were in our guesthouse at Joshimath and had a good long evening to chill.

Around 4 pm, 5 of us decided to go for momos hunt, we were hungry so we boarded a local bus for the nearby market searched for momos and ate tummy full of momos.

Now, since the bus service was not very good in Joshimath, the challenge was to go back, we took a lift from a truck wala and came back standing in a truck.

Of course I loved it. :)

Evening was calm, people decided to play cards and celebrate with drinks.

Day 6 (Back to Haridwar)

NIGHT WALK BY THE BANKS OF GANGES

We came back to Haridwar at around 6 pm, I quickly checked for my ticket which was in waiting and it didn’t get clear. I tried my best to find some other train but all in vain.

I felt crazily upset for a moment then I realized there were more people in Haridwar without any return ticket and who still had to book their bus for Delhi, I called them and asked them if they would like to go for rafting, crazy we! they all agreed and from there we left for Rishikesh, looking for a hotel till 9pm.

This time I stayed in a hotel which was on the other side of Rishikesh, Near ram jhula, the place itself was amazing, calm banks of Ganges, less noise, better food options. PEACE.

I loved my dinner at Chotiwala which is a famous restaurant there.

Last Day-

WHEN YOU ARE RUNNING LATE, ANYTHING ON TIME IS A LUXURY!

I enjoyed rafting for 3rd time in Rishikesh and loved it like my first time, me and my water love... I can’t get over it. This time I opted for 26kms of stretch for rafting which started from Marine Drive.

Again, I was too scared to try cliff jumping, may be next time.

In the meanwhile, got my ticket confirmed for the evening and yayy I was going back home.

I was glad I didn’t get a ticket day before. I really loved this side of Rishikesh and my one more time with Rafting.

And journey didn’t end here, catching my train 2 mins before the departure was another long crazy story, how I got a shared auto and a local roadways bus till railway station and then running with my heavy rucksack towards the platform was no less than a filmy scene :P

In train I was calm. Thanks to my power bank I plugged in the earphones and enjoyed my meals. Reached back Delhi where my brother was waiting for me at 11pm.

It was one crazy journey and I loved every bit if it.

And since the time I am back I am craving for another trip to mountains....

I hope the love story will continue...

Dear God, thank you for everything and absolutely EVERY THING, just take care of my people and give me strength to have control over my thoughts and emotions. I Love You. Muuaaah :*

P.S.- I didn't carry my camera this time, sharing some more phone clicks-