So after three short treks to various hills in Mussoorie we thought we were ready for the big one. And boy, we were not even close. But that we would only know post the completion of this trek. Here we were, roaring to kick-start a really long trek to the Himalayas. Waking up early has been made into a habit and ergo we all managed to board the bus in those wee hours. Every single face seemingly excited and apprehensive at the same time. The energy levels were really high. As high as the peaks which we were to conquer.
We were to collect our packed breakfasts from the mess but somehow it seems the admin has a flash of wisdom and made arrangements for those packed boxes to be directly sent to the buses. And when i say a "flash" of wisdom, i mean every bit of it. It is not everyday that we speak good of the admin. Anyways, the bus seemed a bit small to carry 26 OTs and their larger than life rucksacks. But when the bags were all shifted at the back and rest atop the bus, our claustrophobic perceptions were adequately addressed. And thereafter, we took the blessings of the old gods and the new to begin a wonderful journey into the wild.
And off we went sitting inside a questionable bus on a ridiculously long trek with our naive ideas pertaining to the mountains. Soon we reached a nearby place Dhanaulti which is snow-clad for quite a long time during the winters at least as compared to the Queen of the hills. You can actually feel the cold winds that surrounded the place when you get down the bus. It was time for breakfast and we opened our sweet little boxes of joy and ate the bread jam butter extravaganza. But more delicious than that was the fact that our trek group had various photographers and they took out their DSLRs as soon as we got into the bus. DLSRs are a must these days especially when the "like" war of Facebook is a thing in vogue.
In sometime we drifted down to Chamba where we had a flat tyre. Someone has famously remarked that every crisis is an opportunity in disguise and we successfully realized that by finding a place which was serving some delicious parathas meanwhile the driver fixed the tyre. We started again and it was not long before we drove through the wonderful valley circling the Tehri Dam. We were all awestruck by the stupendous size of the man made marvel and lamely attempted to capture the grandeur of that erection by our petty phones and cameras.
As the journey to our first stopover continued, we witnessed glimpses of Swacha Bharat Abhiyaan inside the bus as we attempted to collect all the waste at one place, we were charmed at the singing talents of our trek-mates as the eternal Antakshari rhymed throughout and we were delighted to have the soothing company of sorted out people. At the day concluded, we finally reached Guptakashi but there was some miscommunication regarding our place of stay. As we waited on a dark road along the mountain top, our Group Leader (GL) spread the good news that we were not to use the sleeping bags on the very first day. The place required us to share beds but that only strengthens the bonds.
Finally as we called it a day, an old monk came to us to share his wisdom and warmth. We gracefully accepted his blessings and retired into the bed covers anticipating the mammoth task to conquering Kedarnath the next day!
2 comments:
It is a belief that one who venerates Kedarnath should visit Pashupathinath in Nepal. Because these two together make a Shiv-Ling! What one gets to see in Kedarnath is considered the 'yoni', though it doesn't exactly resemble like one. And the Lord Pashupathinath is the 'lingam'. There's a Mahabharat myth behind it.
This trek is an exhilarating one, at least to me it was! Unlike the Trikuta mountains of Vaishnav Devi where one would feel the chill as we reach the top, this trek allows perspiration which eventually generates heat to withstand the chill air. And the view of the Kedarnath peak after reaching the temple is simply breathtaking!!!
Are you trekking to Vasundhara Falls near Badrinath, as well?
Happy trekking, if you're still on it!
I am back to Mussoorie from the trek. Didn't go to Vasundhara Falls. You would come to know the rest of the route as the blog progresses :) And thanks for sharing your experience here! :)
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