Kedarkantha

22 Dec through 29 Dec 2011.

https://picasaweb.google.com/108977172875177523959/Kedarkantha

I had done the Stok Kangri Expedition trek with (IH) Indiahikes in July and that was a big deal for me. However sometime in November I started to have the desire to do a short trek. Looking up the IH website I decided to go for the KK trek. Unlike some of my other trips I don't have the desire to go into the details of the trek but I would like to list the highlights here:




22 nd  Dec 2011, Thursday:


Mumbai - Delhi Flight (Indigo for its timeliness)


Landed at Terminal 1D 15 minutes before time thanks to a 180 kph tailwind. From here took a Shuttle Bus service to Aero City Metro station (Fare Rs.25), there is a AC bus every 20 minutes.


From Aero City took Metro to NDLS. Fare Rs. 60. The metro is truly world class. I hope they manage to keep it so. Within 15 minutes I reached NDLS.


@NDLS: Reached at 5.30 pm. This place was complete chaos. Had to screen the bags, was afraid that before I get to them on the other side of the machine they would be stolen. Huge crowd at the screening machine. No room to sit in the AC waiting room. Instead went to the first floor next to PF # 16 where the general waiting area is. Had food at the railway canteen on PF # 16 at 7 pm. Again had to stand in the long queue to get the coupon. Got the special thali for Rs. 75 and it was worth every dime spent. Exceeded expectations! Met a enterprising youth from UP at the station. Got a different perspective on things. Waited at the aforesaid waiting area for Amit. He came in at around 8.30 pm.


Delhi - Dehradun NDLS DDN AC Express 11.55 pm (12205), fastest train between Delhi and Dehradun.


23rd Dec 2011, Friday:


@ Dehradun station: 7.15 am. There was nobody at the SBI ATM outside the station to guide us to the vehicle that was supposed to take us to Sankri. Lots of confusion here. Finally got to the bus at 8.30 am. Had BF at Hotel Royal near Gandhi Road. Went to Hotel Drona at 9.30 am to pickup  Kolaveri D's, henceforth also known as R&D. The ladies were very upset (and rightly so) for making them wait in a strange town for over 3 hours. Finally started the journey to Sankri (160 kms) at 10  am. Crossed Mussoorie (38 kms) at 11 am. You cross  Kempty waterfalls enroute. The name Kempty is derived from ‘Camp-tea’, as the Britishers would organize their tea parties here. The entire journey to Sankri is through Mountains and is a very scenic route, though the ride gets very bumpy for comfort at times.




Reached Damta (117 kms) at 1.15 pm. Had Lunch here. Reached Naugaon at 15.00 hours. Reached Purola (140 kms) at 16.00 hours. This place has the last ATM and after this only BSNL mobile network is available. At 6.35 pm reached at a forest  check point. Had to pay Rs. 100 here for the vehicle entry into the national park. This sanctuary is known as Govind National Park. From Purola the route is to Mori - Naitwar - Sankri (6,400 ft)  along the Tons river. We reached the Sankri Guest house at around 8 pm.


Check this out: http://www.euttaranchal.com/hotels/gmvn-sankri-trh.php


I know you must be feeling why didn't I check this out earlier!!


Had a quick dinner and slept off. It was freezing cold here.


24 Dec 2011, Saturday: Sankri (6,400 ft) to Juda ka Talab (9,100 ft). Woke up to find ice cold water running from the taps and water frozen outside the guest house.Started the trek around 9 am to Juda ka talab. Our guides were Rajmohan Rawat and Sohail. At around 11.30 we took our first official break for snacks. Fluffy the great white mountain dog gave us company. Love you Fluffy.


The route today was easy initially and then later was a little tricky for newbies on the snow on the steep slopes.Reached Juda ka Talab at 1.10 pm. A very scenic camp, has the Juda lake. The lake is supposed to be formed from two lakes which were separate earlier and hence the name. After spending a long time on the frozen Juda set up our tents. Ashish (ex husband of Juhi Chawla), Amit and I were allotted a tent. The next 3-4 days we had a blast, especially after sun down. The nights were very cold with temperatures dropping below  zero. This evening we had people singing songs besides the campfire led by Ashish. Teja and Karthik really sang well and I could not resist humming along. Ashish was instrumental in bringing the different groups together and breaking the ice even with the Kolaveri sisters. Every night the three of us used to keep our tent spic and span so that we could locate our emergency services/things without any frantic last minute searches in the dark of the night (toilet paper and head torches and additional layers of clothing). In the evening not able to bear the cold Sumantra (my Dehradun Sankri travel accomplice) decided to head back to Sankri, with encouragement from Ashish, I and Amit he decided to pull along. However Sheela English (not Sheela Ki Jawani) decided to head back the next day. 


25 Dec 2011, Sunday (Merry Christmas): Juda ka Talab to KK base (11,250 ft). Sohail decided that I, Ashish were to trail the group. Ashish was upset initially but when decided to see things from my perspective started to enjoy every bit of it. Sapna who was lagging behind yesterday was sent ahead of the group today. Started day 2 of the trek at 8.15 am.


 At 11 am took our snack break at a clearing with a hut. Here a fellow trekker got so impressed by our photography skills and the three of us that he always wanted us to take his snaps from our cameras. Not just that he always popped up like those annoying pop-ups that we find such a pain, however we had no pop up blocker at our disposal. Ashish by the end of the trek had got Claustrophobic and used to look over his shoulder every time he took out his camera. At 1.15 pm reached KK base. The kitchen here was a wooden hut and the tents were laid out on snow. Every time one turned on his sides it creaked. The support staff had taken great care to make sure that the tents were as comfy  as possible. As soon as the sun went behind the mountains the temperatures plummeted below zero and reached a minimum of -9.6 degree Celsius in the night. Most of us were in 5 to 7 layers of clothing. This night was the most agonizing.


26 Dec 2011, Monday Blues: KK base to KK top and back.
 The water in my hydration pack froze, my wet shoe laces turned stiff and the camera lens attracted a lot of moisture. It was 5 am. Sumantra after doing a recce of the camp site abandoned his plans for his morning adventure trip. After packing our sleeping bags (a herculean effort) and wearing the gaiters (thanks to Sapna for helping me out) at 8.45 am we set out for KK peak. Shubra was leading the pack today. It was a gradual climb which was a little difficult as places due to the snow. Fluffy was full of energy. He wanted to have masti all the time. He used to roll in the snow after every 10 minutes awaiting our participation in the fun, but with our heavy breaths we were in no position to reciprocate. At 10.30 am we were at KK peak. Beautiful peaks greet us here. Rajmohan briefed us about the scores of peaks that we could see. Notable among them is 'Swargarohini'. Swargorhini derives it names from the Legends associated with that it peaks forms the path to heaven that was followed by Pandavas and  their Dog. According to legend its believed that is only way one can go to heaven with human body itself. The top hosts a small Shiva temple. By 12 pm we started our descent. Rajmohan's famous words echoed through the thin air of the mountain, "Common Guys, Desh ke Jawano apne desh ki laaj rakho", frankly Jaan rahi toh Laaj rahegi. By 1 pm all of us were down but not before 3 wonderful slides on the snow. We had our lunch. By 2 pm we started our journey to Hargaon.


KK base to Hargaon: I forgot to give my bag to the mules today and for almost 50% of the way had to carry two bags. Later on Nikhil and Avadesh whose bags were carried by the mules helped me out. The climax was over but the fun not yet. For around 75% of the way the route is the same as Juda to KK base, later on it branches out. Sohail was leading and Rajmohan sweeping today. The party as usual was split into many small groups. At around 15.00 hours we were at a clearing from where the camp was at half an hour distance. Aashish was tired today and was sick of the cold and snow. At a leisurely pace me and Aashish reached the Hargaon camp at 16.00 hours. The camp was without much snow and a wonderful sight. The tents though were fixed on a incline today with out heads in the direction of the slope. Here Fluffy was attacked by three sheep dogs and all of us were furious. He was hurt but did not complain much. At 5.45 pm we had darkness cover us. We slept at around 10 pm. 




27 Dec 2011, Tuesday: Hargaon to Sankri.
Today it was a little laid-back since the distance to Hargaon was a 2-3 hour trek. We started by 10 am. By 10.15 people were lost and it took some time to get everybody back on track. After reconciling at 10.40 we resumed our trek to Sankri. On the way Rajmohan shared his experience while he did his advanced mountaineering course. At 11.30 he left at a big wooden house from where we could see Sankri and guided us as to how to go about till we reach the Sankri Guest house. He proceeded towards Juda to take care of the next group of trekkers. We reached the guest house at 12.45 pm. 


The rest of the day was spent reminiscing the last few days we were together. Avadesh and Amit's group had joy rides on horseback. In the evening we had a live performance from Kat to the tune of Sheela ki Jawani. The R of the R&D sisters sang really well and in my opinion she should sing more often:)

28 Dec 2011. Wednesday: Sankri to Dehradun. Started our journey back at 8 am in a sleeper coach even though we had paid only for a seater bus. The journey was felt like never ending post afternoon. At 10.20 am we had a tyre puncture just before Purola. The driver did a quick and nice job of getting us back on wheels in 1 hour. Had a Paratha BF at Purola. Reached Mussoorie by 4 pm. We had a tea break here. Started for Dehradun at 4.45 pm. We reached Dehradun at 7 pm. After arguing with the bus operator for giving us such a wonderful ride at such low costs we set out to have our dinner. The train was scheduled at 11.25 pm. Once in the train I slept like a log till the train reached NDLS at 5 am.

29 Dec 2011, Thursday: NDLS to T1 D. After getting into the metro station we used all the facilities we were deprived of for the last 5 days to freshen up. Got the 6.30 am metro to Aero City. From Aero city we reached T1 D by hiring a taxi. Reached T1 D at 7 am. After knowing that preponing the flight would cost us around 6k we (I and Amit) decided to wait it out at the terminal.

The Terminal: With no Catherine to give company I was wondering what could be done for the next 6 hours for our flights were at 2.45 and 3.15 pm respectively. At around 9 am Amit suggested we check out the Visa Master executive lounge. Luckily (in hindi Apni toh Chandi ho gayi) our cards were accepted at the lounge and we enjoyed 5 hours of free food, internet and Kingly seating comfort. My plans now at Delhi would always be to maximize my stay at the airport :). After a sumptuous lunch I boarded the 2.45 pm Indigo flight to Mumbai while Amit boarded the 3.15 Spicejet flight.

I reached home by 6 pm. Overall this was a nice short and easy trek. Barring the cold factor it is a trek that is very easy on the body, pocket and time. I had a really nice time with my group at KK and I am sure we will trek together again.