BUGYAL to KEDARKANTHA BASE to BUGYAL to SANKRI

Bugyal to Kedarkantha Peak to Bugyal

GOOD MORNING.. The first thing I did was.. Popped outside my sleeping bag and had a look to Kedarkantha peak!! It looked more whiter than yesterday... Certainly night hail and rains had some effect!! Had maggi, took only the essentails and me and Chandan headed straight to the peak. Today, I dint feel much. I was climbimg easy and was enjoying more than yesterday. Not that i wasnt enjoying yesterday, but if yesterday was great than today was AWESOME!@! While goin up, there were few patches of thick snow we had to cross. The first thing I realzied that, I wasnt wearing the right shoes for this particular section of trek. After few of those patches, my shoes were wet, my socks were wet and my feet were freezing!!! We still continued to go ahead..

Then came this point, it was thick patch of snow at high angle. If you slip, you go down!! My legs were almost in 2 ft thick snow at times, but we kept on walking. I was a bit worried but we kept saying.. "Thoda aur aage chalkar dekhte hai" and we kept walking..

Finally we reached the base of the peak. It was massive, fabulous..mind boggling!! But the thick snow on the slopes was a spoil-sport. We atempetd to walk up and snow got thickker and softer at places. With wet shoes, and softening snows I was more concerned about the patches we left behind while coming up, right on the edges. Once they soften, they were gonna be nightmare to cross.

After trying from different places, due to the snow and time constraint, we decided to head back to the camp. Dissappointed and cursing myself for getting the wrong shoe we had to start walking the long walk back. "So near yet so far." Sat there in the snow, stairing at the peak for while, with a heavy hear we started trekking down. Those patches on the edge of the slopes we crossed earlier in the day, had softened and had become a nightmare to cross!! Safley we negotiated them and headed back to the camp.

Bugyal to Sankri
Once at the camp, at first i kept my shoes in the sun to dry. Packed off all the stuff. Had early lunch and we started a long descent to Sankri. Chandan decided to take us down through a different route. Along the forest, generally used by the shepards. This route was as good as no route. Steep, at places loose soil (probably dug up by the wild boars) and extremely narrow.

Took loads of pictures of lots of peaks... Swargrohini, Harkidun, Bandarpuch and Supin Pass etc. Being loaded with my bag, my knees and ankle were suffering.

After meeting Rajus father on the way down, Raju and Chandan halted at one of their relatives place for refreshments. Since I started disliking pahadi tea even more I continued my stroll downwards.

The Apple orchard was beautiful, especially what made its back drop was the Har Ki Dun valley.. Someday, I shall come back for the HarkiDun valley trek..with proper shoes and definetly longer time in hand..

Finally at around 3.30pm we reached Sankri. All three of us drained and tired.. Chandan was actually shocked that we (I mean 'I') did the distance in flat 3.30 hrs!!! I sat on the tarmac, thinking to myself, if it was a dream. I was back to the place which I left behind yesterday.. Couldnt belive where I was that morning and where I ended up that afternoon. I guess when one runs out of time and cash, he has to adjust a bit..

I was lucky.. there was a taxi which had come to Taluka to drop to trekkers. It was going back to Mussourie empty. He offered me a seat at 300Rs and I grabbed it. I was all wet and dirty in my clothes. The driver was having his lunch, in the mean time, in the corner of road, I changed my clothes. Few kids passed by wondering what the hell was wrong with me!! I paid Chandan and Raju and boarded the Ambasador!! On the way we picked up three more trekkers who went to Har Ki Dun for a trek.

9.00pm we reached Mussourie and this lucky BUMM got another taxi heading to Dehradun. Paid 50 bucks and got dropped off at Dehradun Rly Stn. Took a vikram to I.S.B.T and kept praying to god that I dont miss the last bus. All this while I thought the last bus to Delhi left at 11.30pm. But damn! as usual I was wrong. Luckily (yeah again "This lucky BUMM") there was a Rajasthan State bus which runs between Dehradun and Gurgaon on one of the platforms. I dint want to spend the night at hotel, so I hopped into it, right on the backmost seat window. It was a night I would like to forget. With the tired mind and body, when you have irritating characters around you, plus traffic jams for more than 2 hrs and mosquito biting you, in an non AC bus you tend to get a lil PISSED off.. I was too. The driver drove as if he was chased by a tiger who hasnt eaten for years, driving through all the potholes on the road and flying through all the speed breakers and humps. It felt as if I was rafting over the rapids on the Yamuna with a very hard raft. My shoulder still has the bruise from that journey.

Next morning 7.30am I got off at the IFFCO chowk. The auto guy took me home for 80bucks. Had a nice bath and I took rest of the day off.

Kedarkantha was a terrific experience. In a way, it showed my what a Kedar Tal or Roopkund would be like. Certainly would do those treks some day. But as of now, thanking you again for being patient and being through my 'yet another' blog.

Thanks

Tanzeem Patankar