Uttarakhand-Trip-2017 on Sauvik Biswas

Day 22: Around Dehradun and towards Jolly Grant

Sat, 23 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

One last trip around Dehradun #

As soon as I got up, I went towards the bus terminal. The board showed that the first bus left at 6:30 AM and the last one at 7:30 PM. I knew that I couldn’t take the first bus and make it in time for my 8:00 AM flight. Instead, I decided to leave on the last bus the night before and waste my time at Jolly Grant airport.

Day 21: Dehradun redux

Fri, 22 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

If I had done Har-Ki-Doon, today would have been the day that I would have descended from Sankri to Dehradun. The shorter Kedarkantha trek gave me a window to explore Yamunotri.

The earliest bus to leave for Dehradun was scheduled at 7:00 AM. Shubhajit, Mahavir and me freshened up, packed our bags and woke Mohit up (who was deep asleep inside the dhaba) to settle our dues and have a cup of tea while we were waiting for the bus to arrive. We were all headed in three separate directions—Mahavir was headed back to Purola, Shubhajit was headed towards Harsil and my destination for the day was Dehradun.

Day 20: A hike to Yamunotri

Thu, 21 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

During winters, the hotels do not have adequate staff to take care of the few rooms that are kept open. The room in which Mahavir and Gautam slept smelt a bit funny. Mahavir, who was in general a very well-dressed, cleanliness-seeking guy, complained about the smell. There wasn’t much that could have been done. We had our breakfast and parted ways with Gautam. He had to return back to take care of one of his relatives’ son.

Day 19: Janki Chatti and Kharsali

Wed, 20 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

The sweet shop across the street was visible from our window. I saw them taking out a fresh batch of samosas and alerted Shubhajit. We had our breakfast—samosas and tea. It was in this shop that we met Prem Singh Rana—a frail looking man who smoked bidis with a shaky hand. He had been guiding, porting goods and taking care of logistics in expeditions with the Indian Army until ‘99, after which a mishap motivated him to abandon the job. He had climbed Black Peak, Banderpunch and Swargarohini in his heyday. Nowadays, he was more than happy to take care of the logistics of a political party’s local branch. It was a less riskier job.

Day 18: Kedarkantha: All the way to Purola

Tue, 19 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

We packed all our stuff one last time, returned the micro-crampons and had some tea and pancakes for breakfast. It still amazes me how these guys were able to cook anything so tasty at that altitude, battling those dips in mercury. I would praise myself if I was able to cook anything at all.

Once I had returned the micro-crampons, walking around the campsite became difficult. I had taken two boiled eggs and slipped on the hardened snow while walking towards my tent. The eggs flew off my hands. That wouldn’t be my last slip. At least, I didn’t have to crack the shells before peeling them.

Day 17: Kedarkantha: Luhasa to summit and back at Juda-ka-Talab

Mon, 18 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I, along with the others in the group, had to wake up by 5:30 AM, freshen up, have breakfast and leave. I was not so confident about the state of my stomach but last evening’s dosage of Loperamide appeared to have done its job. I had no issues for the rest of the day.

One of the trekkers was ill and skipped the summit. He had already done the trek some three or four years ago. The rest of us, led by Dev, headed out with our daypacks and torches. Gradient was slightly steeper than the last two days but it wasn’t that bad.

Day 16: Kedarkantha: Juda-ka-Talab to Luhasa

Sun, 17 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

If waking up early in extreme cold was a problem, imagine the amount of pains I had to endure when I had to go for a pee at midnight! I was on a course Diamox. It was not necessary but it helped in acclimatisation. The compound, Acetazolamide, is a diuretic and caused me to rush to the toilet one too many times. I had been drinking more fluids, too, in order to compensate for that.

Day 15: Kedarkantha: Sankri to Juda-ka-Talab

Sat, 16 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Karthik came and woke us up at 7:00 AM. Today’s trek was supposed to be three-and-a-half kilometres only. We were served tea, followed by our breakfast. We were also given some roti and sabji which we had to pack in our tiffin boxes for lunch. Karthik called us all for briefing and slowly went through the important markers for the day, the timings, followed by some safety instructions, instructions on how to wear a backpack, how to use a walking stick and how to tie shoe knots so that they didn’t open up. While they may sound trivial when reading from the comfort of a house, they become sources of nuisance in the hills if not done correctly.

Day 14: Sankri basecamp and a replacement trek

Fri, 15 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Indiahike’s vehicles—a tempo traveller and two cabs—were waiting opposite to Dehradun Railway Station. I reached there by 6:30 AM. New Delhi to Dehradun – Nanda Devi Express, on which few trekkers would be arriving, was late by an hour. This delayed our start by another hour and half.

Dehradun Railway Station at 6:30 AM.

The tempo traveller I was in had people from Ahmedabad, Goa, Hong Kong, Indore, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Calcutta.

Day 13: Rest day at Dehradun

Thu, 14 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

A visit to Tapkeshwar temple #

I had decided to take the day off from travelling in order to recuperate for the upcoming trek. Still, I couldn’t let myself from venturing out to Tapkeshwar temple—the other place mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide. One good thing about Dehradun was that most of the important places were connected via shared autos and for just five or ten rupees, it was possible to get from one place to another.

Day 12: Onwards to Dehradun and its Mindrolling temple

Wed, 13 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

It was still raining in Mussoorie, although the weather was not that bad as the last day. I packed all my stuff and left the Lonely Planet: India guide in the hotel room. I did not want to carry a bulky book now that I had two more interesting books with me. Prior to abandoning the guide, I took images of a few relevant pages for future reference.

I wasn’t feeling that well either. Yesterday’s breakfast—a cheese omelette—wasn’t sitting well in my stomach. I had some biscuits and tea followed by an antacid before leaving my hotel.

Day 11: A rain-soaked day in Mussoorie

Tue, 12 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

It had rained all night. When I woke up, it was still raining. Nothing was visible through the windows of my hotel room. At times, small particles of hail bounced off the angled shed below and bombarded the glass panes of the window. Eventually, at 11:00 AM, I gave up my hopes of the weather clearing up and ventured out with a rain-jacket.

The weather was definitely a spoilsport for the townsfolk as the tourists alike. Not a single shop was open in the Landour Bazaar area. As I walked towards Mall Road, the surroundings felt like they had been completely deserted. It was such a contrast from yesterday night’s hustle and bustle. The visibility was low. I found a couple of groups huddled around make-shift bonfires here and there. The cycle-rickshaws that operated between Jhula Ghar and Library Chowk lay as if they were abandoned.

Day 10: From Harsil to Mussoorie

Mon, 11 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Speedrun from Harsil #

I had booked a spot for Har-ki-Doon trek that started on 15th. That would be about four days from today. I wanted to explore Mussoorie and Dehradun before that. Also, I had to be at a specific spot in Dehradun on 15th early morning.

Maninder, the hotel’s manager had asked the driver of the earliest cab to come and pick me up. I woke up at 5:30 AM and quickly freshened up. It was so dark outside that it felt more like midnight than early morning. Mohan, the cab driver came at 6:30 AM and loaded up some sacks that were to be transported to Uttarkashi on behalf of one of the shops. Maninder and Mohan gathered some logs and started a bonfire inside a large tin container that might have been used for oil or biscuits but was covered in too much soot to figure out. Maninder, Mohan and I warmed up our bodies while waiting for three other people to arrive. Meanwhile, Sherpa’s shop had also opened its shutters. Sherpa’s wife gave Mohan some money to get cigarettes for their shop and served us some hot tea. I can’t describe how good it felt sipping some hot tea in front of a bonfire while temperature were just below the freezing point of water.

Day 9: Exploring Harsil

Sun, 10 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Slight hiccup and a late departure #

The owner of Hotel Govind Palace in Uttarkashi mentioned of a vehicle that left for Harsil everyday before sunrise. He did not know the timings, so he advised me to wait for it by 6:00 AM. He also mentioned that I could easily go to Harsil, roam around for couple of hours and return back. I had packed up my rucksack for keeping it at the hotel store room and carried my daypack knowing that I would take an evening vehicle back to Uttarkashi.

Day 8: To Uttarkashi

Sat, 09 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

From New Tehri to Uttarkashi #

New Tehri was more or less characterised by offices and a large reservoir—the end of which has the reknowned Tehri dam. It also served as a hub that connected most of the Garhwal region. Mr. Moti Ram had already shown me the dam. The other interesting thing was to go for some paid boating in the reservoir, for which I had to spend about eight hundred rupees for just the transportation alone. I have done a fair share of boating at various places and had no intention to stay at New Tehri for that sole reason. As soon as I woke up, I made up my mind to wing my way towards Uttarkashi.

Day 7: Getting to New Tehri the hard way

Fri, 08 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Morning view from my Joshimath hotel’s balcony.

I wanted to pay a visit to Pandukeshwar and Tapovan. I reached the taxi stand at 7:30 AM—very early by the standards of the hill. The taxi stands for both these places are located on either sides of the road that ascends to Auli from the eastern side of Joshimath.

I waited for two hours to get a taxi to either place. Sadly, there weren’t any other passengers. Yesterday, Harish had asked me if I wanted to book his cab for these two places. I regretted my decision for not doing so. I would have spent a bit more but I would have been able to at least go to those places. I was too late to call him and venture out at that point. I wouldn’t have enough time. I decided to abandon my plans and head towards Gangotri route.

Day 6: Auli and beyond

Thu, 07 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Last night, while I was on phone with Mogit, I felt the building shake. I thought it might have been some heavy vehicle passing in front of the hotel. I found no traces of any vehicle in the darkness outside my room’s balcony. It wasn’t until today morning that I got to know that an earthquake of magnitude 5.1 had shaken Uttarakhand with its epicentre about forty kilometres west-northwest of Joshimath.

Day 5: Joshimath and Vishnuprayag

Wed, 06 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I must admit that the cold made me a lot lazier. I didn’t feel like waking up before 7:30 AM. Hotel Heaven felt further from its namesake with its rooms and room service. I had to wake up the caretaker for some hot water so that I could make some tea. What I was given was lukewarm water, that is if I took the liberty to report the temperature quite a few degrees higher than what I was given. I hurriedly packed my bags and checked out of the hotel.

Day 4: Long way from Joshimath

Tue, 05 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Until last night, I had not decided my next destination. After a brief chat with one of the guys at Bunk Stay, I decided to venture out towards Joshimath. He mentioned that it took only five or six hours to reach Joshimath from Rishikesh. Either he used a different clock or he had never travelled to Joshimath—the latter of which seemed more likely. I wouldn’t come to know about it until later in the day.

Day 3: A walk around Rishikesh

Mon, 04 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

A hike to Neer Garh waterfall #

Three more people came to fill the void left by the German lady and the South African guy. If there wasn’t anything interesting or something obstructing my voyage, I knew that it would be my last day in Rishikesh. I am not a religious person and find very little solace in visiting commercialised religious places. (I am looking at you, Beatles Aashram.)

Day 2: A day trip to Haridwar

Sun, 03 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Towards Haridwar #

I woke up quite late—9:00 AM to be precise. Although I was done with my sleep at 5:30 in the morning, I found my quilt to be of greater comfort than the darkness accompanied by chilly winds outside. I wouldn’t lie, but the views at that point of time, just when the Sun exposed itself from behind the hills and shone itself on the Rishikesh valley, were breathtaking.

Day 1: From Bangalore to Rishikesh

Sat, 02 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Commotion of Bangalore to the Silence of Jolly Grant #

One of the toughest things to do is to actually escape Bangalore on any day that is not a Sunday or a public holiday—something that I have experienced innumerable times and have become well accustomed to. After a few failed attempts at booking an airport taxi, I finally managed to grab hold of one Mr. Subramanya via Uber who agreed to take me to the airport only if I paid him in cash and also paid for the return toll fee. He was not the first Uber or Ola driver to complain about these radio taxi aggregators’ unfair billing and disbursing cycle. While the consumer pays less, the drivers have a hard time keeping up with the commitments that would ensure them of a decent return. This rift is even more apparent for fixed price transportation like airport drops.