Gaumukh Tapovan Trek!

Beginning of this year, a holy man looked at my birth chart and told me, 'You have life threat from Mountains'. I smiled, and said, 'You shouldn't have said that in front of my mom' ;-)

In my head, I thought, we all have to die one day and for me what can be better than mountains.

Today, sitting here, in the second last month of this year, I would like to admit it's not as rosy as it sounds, the whole ‘Dying in Mountains’ idea.  I have seen it very close, twice, this year.  It’s not that I am terrified or something, but I am not very excited about it, anymore.

To summarise my trekking trips this year, I have done quite a few treks in Bali for waterfalls, volcano, and rice fields.  Coming to the mountains, specifically, I have done 3 treks.

Nag Tibba in January, Everest Base Camp in April and Gaumukh Tapovan in the month of October.

I have mentioned briefly about the first 2 in my earlier post and had no intention of writing about Gaumukh Tapovan.

Last week, I was generally talking to my mom and out of the blue, she asked me, ‘Have you blogged about your recent trek?’

 It was surprising for me because she never ever asked about my blog.

I was a bit reluctant, I said, 'No, I didn't write about any of the mountain treks this year. They were not my best.' On which she replied, 'You should, good or bad, it's your journey and experience and it's your blog. It's all about learning'.

I told her about my blog, I think some 7-8 years ago. She is not very tech savvy but to my surprise, she remembered it. Though now she is a pro in online shopping on Myntra, Amazon, Big basket and other apps, this was unexpected.

So, I would like to give all the credit of this post to her. And I am going to skip the bad experience part for the post.

Coming back to my recent trek, Gaumukh Tapovan, it was an unplanned trip which I thought of sitting on Mount Batur in Bali and booked 4 days before the departure.

I didn’t intentionally plan Gaumukh Tapovan, it happened.

I don’t know where to begin.

It was an 8 day long trip with 4 days of trekking itinerary. 2 days for to and fro from Dehradun to Gangotri and vice-versa, 1 additional day at Gangotri and 1 at Bhojwasa Campsite.

Though, I changed my plan a bit and decided to descend alone a day before the trek officially ended.

The trip started from my favorite Dehradun, so much I am in love this place now and it’s like my second home.

As always, I reached Dehradun a day in advance.  This time I met an old friend who shifted to Dehradun sometime back. We went out for dinner and a movie before my trip started.

Day 1- Dehradun to Gangotri drive

After a long day on the road, we reached Gangotri at 7 pm. Had our dinner and slept.

Day 2- Relaxing day at Gangotri

This was an extra day at Gangotri. We roamed around, visited temples and attended Ganga Aarti at Gangotri temple in the evening. Blissful experience it was. The place was damn cold which gave me a fair idea of cold in upcoming days.

Day 3- Gangotri to Chirbassa- 9kms

It was an easy walk. We started around 9 am and reached our 1^st campsite by 3.30pm. The views were mesmerizing and the campsite was good and clean. I discovered a beautiful white sand Ganga beach in the evening and spent an amazing time there.

Day 4- Chirbassa to Bhojwasa- 5kms

A short and not so sweet walk. This day I felt blisters on my feet and the pain was terrible.

In the evening, I covered them with surgical tape but it was of no good. It was in really bad shape.

Plus in the afternoon, I saw some people from other camps were playing cricket so I couldn’t stop myself and joined them and we played till it was dark, for almost 4 hours. At that moment, I absolutely forgot about my blisters though it was paining, but, I was alright.

Day 5- Bhojwasa to Gaumukh to Bhojwasa- 10 kms

It was a long day and a bit tiring as well. For me, it was additionally painful because of my growing blisters. This day we had to cross three ice-cold rivers and my blisters made it worse for me. I am in pain even when I am writing about it, right now.

For the first time, I felt I am losing conscious while crossing the river.

In the ice-cold water, the blisters were hurting like someone was cutting my toes inside the water with a sharp knife, and the tape was all wet and washed off. After crossing the second river, tears started flowing and after crossing the 3^rd one I refused to walk. I just sat down on a big rock and cried for I don’t know how long.

I honestly felt I am going to die and will never be able to walk again in my life.

I couldn’t move because of blister-pain, my legs which were wet in icy water till upper thighs got froze and I was unable to feel any sensation in them for almost an hour. I failed to stand up, multiple times. Gosh! It was damn crazy.

Day 6- Bhojwasa to Gangotri

This day was supposed to be our Bhojwasa to Tapovan trek, but, I decided to descend back for 2 reasons- my blisters and the cold. I was dying to be in warm weather.

I descended alone and lost my way in between, but luckily, I found my way back and reached Gangotri around 5pm.

I was feeling blessed, I found a room and booked it. And for the next day, I decided to go back to Dehradun.

Day 7- Gangotri to Dehradun

I checked for the available mode of transport and boarded a local bus to Uttarkashi and from there I took a shared cab till Dehradun. Pheww!

By 7pm, I was in Dehradun, and I was very happy. It was perfectly warm weather.

Once again, I met my friend in Dehradun and since I had one extra day we celebrated my birthday in advance with another movie and lunch and dinner at an exotic place. And also, I stayed at her place for the extra day for which I never booked anything.

Though I love all weathers, this trip made me realize I can’t bear the excess cold.

For my last day, that was 20^th October, I had booked a nice place for myself and there I got a surprise upgrade so I had an amazing birthday celebration. :)

Overall, I loved my experience. There were certain bad elements I am not willing to talk about.

No, no, the blisters were not the bad part. They were for learning. :)

And yes, no more mountain trips this year. At least, for right now, I think so.  ;-)

Dear God, I love you. Take care of my people. Muuah. :)

Pictures from the trek-

Rupin Pass- Everything Beautiful!

"Give your heart to the Mountains,

For they'll never Break it,

For they'll keep it Safe”

I have always believed I am more of a beach person and never had any doubt about it till the time I visited Rupin pass.

It’s been more than a month since I am back from Rupin pass and many times I tried to write about it but I couldn’t.

Rupin pass was my 5^th trek and it was different from last 4 for many reasons.. one reason was... in Rupin we had 2 days of village stay.

Initially, during our village stay, I was missing the isolation and serenity of camping, but now… when I look back… I realise that was one of the most beautiful part of my journey. Living among those amazing people, beautiful kids, wooden floors and that warm lifestyle was a brilliant experience in itself and I loved it. Especially, Day 2 of our village stay where I discovered an amazing place to sit and look at the majestic mountains and starry night sky!

Aah and I am back there already!

So much love I have for this trek, maybe that’s why I am unable to express it.

It was an 8 day long trek started from Dehradun, Uttrakhand and ended in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.

The memory is still fresh in my head from day 1 till the end, except for the names of the sites, I am really bad with names.

Trek in brief-

Maximum Altitude- 15200 ft

Weather- Rainy/Hailstorms/Snowy/Sunny

Grade- Moderate- Difficult

Trek distance- Approx. 65kms in 7 days

This time my brother joined me for the trek, we reached Dehradun a day in advance and enjoyed the city and famous food.

Day 1

Road Journey from Dehradun to Dhaula-

Our pick-up was from Dehradun Railway station where our group assembled. We started our road trip around 7.30am for our first campsite at Dhaula. Around 5pm we reached Dhaula, roamed around, interacted with group. It was a closed campsite, very less to explore. We ate early and slept early.

Day 2

Dhaula (5500 ft) to Sewa (6300 ft)- 7-8 kms

This was our first day of trek, it was an easy walk and also, it was day of ICC Champion trophy’s final match between India and Pakistan. I don’t follow cricket that much but I never wanted to miss the final match.

Since, it was our village stay I was very hopeful to find TV and some connection to follow the match. In a hope we walked.

Around 1-2 pm we reached our campsite and had lunch followed by random games. It started raining heavily around 3pm. We waited for it to stop, around 5pm we managed to find a TV with match on. But, we were told not to bother the local people by out trek staff.

Match ended tragically. I am glad I didn’t watch it.

Day 3

Sewa (6,300 ft) to Jhaka (8,700 ft)- 9 kms

This was our day 1 of homestay and last day where we had an option of taking shower. And how can I miss this opportunity! :P

It was not a very difficult walk. We reached Jhaka around 2-3pm. I am having difficulty remembering exact timings but that feel is there in my head.

It was a beautiful wooden house, I loved it. We had a small dining room where we ate our meals and played random group games. I loved the food.

This evening we went for an acclimatization walk to an old temple. During our walk, we saw an isolated house in the mountains, I can’t explain that feel. It was calm, it was peace. It was a pull I can never forget. That magnetic pull I felt was very strong, I can still sense it with the same intensity.

The only miserable part of the day was night, I couldn’t sleep. And we had to walk 12kms next day.

Day 4

Jhaka (8,700 ft) to Saruwas thatch (11,150 ft)- 12 kms

I left my room at 4am, anyway I was up. Took a cold water bath, stretched myself and was ready for the trek.

It was again an easy day. Not very hectic. The homestay we stayed in Saruwas was just brilliant. I specifically loved people there. And the food was delicious.

We reached around 2pm, I saw a female standing alone, I started a conversation with her, she told me she was the resident of the home we were staying in. We talked about her family, marriage, kids, life and everything. She was telling me about her lifestyle where she told me she goes to the forest every evening to bring food for her cattle. I asked her if I could also join her and she gladly agreed.

We had lunch and soon after my lunch I discovered a beautiful place where I could sit and stare the mountains, oh it was so so amazing. I didn’t realise I was sitting there for 2 hours undisturbed, I heard my new friend’s voice where she was calling me for her jungle trip. Yayy, I was so excited to go. :)

I am really happy I went with her, it was a beautiful experience and we talked about the village, people, food, life, addictions, India-Pak final match and so many other things.

After coming back from my Jungle trip, we went for an acclimatization walk till waterfall.

Post dinner, I enjoyed star-gazing at my favorite spot with my favorite music plugged in. Pure bliss!

Day 5

Saruwas thatch (11,150 ft) to Dhanderas thatch (lower water fall (11,680 ft)- 12 kms

From here our proper trek started, where we stayed in camps on beautiful campsites.

This was an easy-moderate walk with 2 small snow patches, we reached our campsite around 4pm. It was astonishingly beautiful. And finally it was cold.

I share a strong love-hate relationship with cold. I love it but I can’t bear it. And since I left thermals at home I was shivering most of the time.

The night sky was perfect for star gazing and since this was our first proper campsite, I was craving for the starry sky. I was out for an hour looking at the sky but it was damn cold for me. I was forced to slip inside my sleeping bag.

Day 6

Dhanderas thatch (11,680 ft) to Upper Waterfall camp (13,120 ft)- 6 kms

It was an unexpectedly short walk. In just 3 hours we were at our next campsite which was very close to the upper waterfall.

Site was brilliant. Everything was brilliant. Except the cold.

In evening we went for a short acclimatization walk when it started raining cats and dogs. We spent most of our evening inside the tents.

Next day was a big day, the “Rupin pass day”, so we were supposed to get up at 3am to leave our campsite by 5am.

Okay, I forgot to mention in all this while I realised my waterproof shoes are not really waterproof, so that was again an adventure for me :P

We slept early this evening.

Day 7

Upper Waterfall (13,120 ft) to Rupin Pass (15,250 ft) to Ronti Gad (13,420 ft)- 16kms

The D-Day

We got up on time, ate breakfast, and left almost on time for our climb.

It was a snow walk day, I was scared of snow but after this trek, I am somehow in love with snow.

I loved this day, amazing views and beautiful walk.

Day was a bit hectic but our leaders were really good, we completed this day successfully and so called difficult day was easily managed by our entire group.

The evening was so peaceful and calm. And I was sad as this was our last day.

Day 8

Ronti Gad (13,420 ft) to Sangla (8,800 ft)- 12 kms

This day was difficult for me, I was feeling tired and realised I was down with fever.

That last 12km walk was really strenuous for me.

We reached Sangla around 2-3pm, had lunch and left for Shimla around 4.30pm.

We reached Shimla at 1am in night, took a cab till chandigarh and from there we got a Volvo till Delhi.

By 10am we were back home.

Rupin for me was more about facing my fears. My fear of AMS and snow.

I realized drinking water is really important, more water you drink less prone you are to AMS.

I loved every bit of my Rupin pass journey and I wish to go back to the house we saw on day 3. May be someday I’ll go back.

Dear God, I can’t tell you how thankful I am for this experience. Please take care of my people. I love you. :*

Some more clicks-

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-

     EN-ROUTE PANGARCHULLA

    THAT DESCEND

 VIEW FROM MY TENT

 SUNRISE AND BIRDS

 NO ROSES, NO LILIES BUT THIS

 :)

 AND THIS

 WE FIND WHAT WE LOOK FOR!

 SKY

 HAILSTONES

THAT AARTI! :)