Beyond the Limits of Triund.... Part 1: The Planning

The year 2020 has left a large void in many of our lives in different ways. With Covid 19 pandemic spreading like a Wildfire, the entire year pretty much, right from March 2020 has seen a serious slow down and low points. Traveling was out of question and we only hoped 2021 would be marginally better. However, the starting of 2021 looked promising, until the second wave settled its score and brought the entire nation to halt once again. On the brink of getting back to the old position, the second half of 2021 has opened up with mass scale vaccination and people understanding the trait of the virus.

This means traveling with precautions would be much safer than last year. I for my credit planned a trekking experience in the Himalayas. This is indeed a tall task, considering the physical stress and constraints could actually catch up. However, one thing I was never short of was and is Self Confidence. I believed I can pull an easy trek without much of a worry. Before many of my friends were concerned on my fitness, I was focused to make this a memorable event. Did it eventually turned out successful? You would know it soon.

Trekking in the Himalayas is not easy by any means. There are treks, ranging in difficulties from easy to moderate to tough to extreme. Each of these levels, backs up with plenty of trails and trekking paths, right across different Himalayan states, from Himachal Pradesh to Uttarakhand and UTs like Ladakh and J&K. Depending on the number of days, accessibility and budget, you can choose whichever trek that would suit you.

I revived an old contact with a good friend from my railfanning days, Arkya Chatterjee. He is one enthusiastic traveler, who loves traveling in the most unique ways possible. When summoned about the plan, he affirmed his presence in a few days itself. This started our serious planning with barely a month to the trip.

We shortlisted a few treks from these states. This included Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib Treks in Uttarakhand and Hampta Pass, Beas Kund, Kareri Lake and Snow Line Trek from Himachal Pradesh. All these treks are doable for beginners with decent fitness levels and pure enthusiasm.

We were deeply invested in Uttarakhand and planned literally covering the entire state roadways. The only point of concern was time and we had only about 10 days in total, including 4 Weekend Days to the account. Since we both are bus fans as well, therefore exploring the roadways would always be an exciting prospect. Our first plan was,

Day 1: Start from Howrah on Friday and board the Weekly Superfast Express to Lalkuan.

Day 2: Reach Lalkuan at 7 am in the morning and start immediately to Nainital or Ranikhet.

Day 3: Leave for Karnaprayag via Bus or a Shared Cab from Ranikhet and proceed to Joshimath

Day 4: Start trekking from Govind Ghat to Ghangria and stay at Ghangria for the night

Day 5: Visit Valley of Flowers or Hemkund Sahib early in the morning and start descending down to Govind Ghat/ Joshimath

Day 6: Visit Badrinath Temple and Mana Village

Day 7: Start early to Rishikesh via Rudraprayag

Day 8: Stay at Rishikesh and visit Lakshman Jhula and visit Haridwar if time permits

Day 9: Stay at Rishikesh (Rest Day)

Day 10: Start to Delhi by a day bus and make sure to catch Jallianwalabagh Express to Sealdah on Sunday Night

Day 11: Reach Kolkata on Monday Noon.

On paper, the plan might feel extremely tiring and especially if you consider nonstop traveling till Day 9. After some back and forth on to do or not to do, we finally dropped this idea.

Next Plan was Full and Final..... Well Almost!

We decided for Himachal and Hampta Pass was on our wishlist. Everything looked possible and this would mean that we would be traveling to Manali via Delhi or Chandigarh. Thus, a Volvo ride on the hills looked on cards.

The thing about our plans was like we weren't sure on anything concrete. We definitely were high on excitement, traveling to Hampta Pass and all.

Then came Beas Kund and the result was the same with our planning.

Then came Snow Line, and this meant we were to travel the other side of Himachal Pradesh, i.e. to the Dhauladhars around the Kangra Valley. The first plan came to our mind was Snow Line Glacier Trek. This intrigued us more than any other trek plans so far. In the end, we just overlooked the plans of visiting Kareri Lake and were almost certain of visiting Snow Line.....

Till almost!

Just about a week or so to the trip, we planned to visit a place that would be the ultimate out of the lot. It was discussed on our talks and without wasting any more time in adjudging, we both agreed that we won't stop at Snow Line.... But would proceed further to Indrahar Pass!

Yes! Indrahar Pass was our target and we devoted quite some time and read different blogs and videos on the trail. Unlike the other trekking trails on the list, this is a moderate level trek, requiring more physical fitness. You would be ascending about 14k feet above MSL in 3 days from 7k feet. The prospect of watching from the top of Dhauladhars and witnessing Chamba District backed with the mighty Pir Panjals. If you are lucky, a distant view of Manimahesh Kailash would be an icing on the cake.

Our final plan stood something like this,

Day 1: Start from Sealdah to Ambala Cantonment by Jalianwala Bagh Express

Day 2: Take a bus from Ambala to Chandigarh ISBT Sector 43. Board HRTC bus to Dharamshala and to our hostel at Mcleodganj

Day 3: Start for the Trek at 10am via Bhagsu Falls and trek to Triund by that night. Stay at a tent in Triund.

Day 4: Start from Triund and a short trek to Himalayan Quest Camp/ Café near Snowline and night stay at the camp.

Day 5: Start early to Indrahar Pass via Laka Got and Lahesh Caves. Return back to Triund campsite for the night and stay in camp.

Day 6: Start from Triund and reach Mcleodganj by noon and stay at Moustache Hostel for the day.

Day 7: Start to Manali from Dharamshala by Bedi Travels State Carriage Bus and retire for the night at Moustache Hostel Manali.

Day 8: Visit Rohtang Pass and other points near Manali. Return back to the hostel and take the night Volvo to Ambala Cantonment.

Day 9: Take Gurumukhi Express to Kolkata from Ambala Cantonment.

Day 10: Reach Kolkata by Noon.

I enquired a few places and got hold of Moustache Escapes. We booked via an agent and got a deal that was perhaps the most reasonable. I would share the numbers of the concerned trek authorities, who ensured we had a perfect trek. A special thanks to Karan Sisodia from Moustache Escapes to help us out.

My target was to boost my cardio regime and go for sprinting and jogging sessions. I started to feel the difference and the confidence started to increase seemingly. Still, a trek in the Himalayas is at a different league altogether. In the meantime, we got ourselves a pretty decent rucksack from Amazon with a capacity of 55 liters and with a rain cover. It was Polestar's bag and we got for a very reasonable price.

Next came was a trekking boot. I spent hours in different sites, reading about these boots and came across several options at my range and budget. I wasn't ready to spend much and honestly wanted something suited for my budget for about 1000 Rupees.

Finally, I came across Leo's Men's Hiking (898) Lightweight Anti-Slip Outdoor Mid Top Ankle Boots. I was concerned initially, considering the brand seemed much unknown. After reading both the positive and negative reviews, I decided to buy them.

It turned out to be the best decision of this trip so far. The boot has exceeded my expectations by a great distance. Not just the mid-ankle position, stuffed with foam padding, the sole and the comfort was of a different level. I never expected this to be this good. With just about a handful of days to the trip, we got ourselves all the goods as per our plan.

We were in touch with Karan from Moustache, who gave us the number of Mr Arun Matthews, from Mountain Musketeers Trekking Agency.

With days to the trip almost nearing, we were charged up mentally and then came 1 st of October.... The Big Day of our trip!

Stay Tuned for the next edition, featuring our journey from Kolkata to Mcleodganj!

PUBLISHED BY

thetrackwalk by Suraj

Welcome everyone to my world of Railfanning and Traveling. I am Suraj Iyer, a Computer Science graduate by education, seeking out numerous expedition to numerous railfanning spots with railfans and even love to travel with my group of friends. In my blog, I will share all the possible details about all the possible journeys to my remembrance and even share about my future railfanning/ travel stories to date. Many may wonder who is a railfan? As you will go through some of my blogs in the near future, your answers will be embedded in it. As a traveler, I set up myself for tough trips, sometimes planned and sometimes unplanned. All the small or large incidents will be present in my blog in the near future. Welcome to The Track Walk by Suraj Balasubramanian Iyer :)