Saga of Firsts

 In the first week of Jan, I had finally registered for my first Himalayan trek, although after thinking about it for many years. Obviously, I was excited and nervous at the same time thinking about snow, breeze, landscape and sleeping in a tent for the first time. After browsing through several other trek destinations, I chose KedarKantha. I spoke to three ladies who had trekked earlier in Himalayas and all three of them said, KedarKantha is beautiful, and I should do it. The name also attracted me since it was one of the abodes of Shiva. As I started to scout for people in my known circles to accompany me, I had managed to get two more people joining me – Raksha and Anish. This was a first for them too.

As this was my first trek, I wanted to go for a slightly lesser difficulty level in terms of effort and time. I was planning for a time when it is not too cold, and the trail is easy to hike. And hence I chose the month of Mar when there is snow, but it is not winter anymore. However, mother nature had her own plans, and I witnessed the snow, the snow fall and spent nights when it was minus 5-degree temperature, all for the very first time.

Next was the choice of trek operator. After contemplating to go with lesser-known trek operators, I had chosen Indiahikes. Indiahikes was unanimously recommended by all three ladies (Smitha, Krishna and Chithra) who I spoke and  had done multiple Himalayan treks through Indiahikes. I am happy that I too made this decision because Indiahikes is the best trek organizer if one is going on a trek for the first time. They have every bit of information documented to the minutest details on their website and using the YouTube channel. On top of it, they have a robust support system in the form of WhatsApp group, e-mail communication, virtual trek guide, web meeting etc. And when you reach the base camp, you will find more people who are there to support you in the form of Trek Leads, Guides, Care takers etc. Indiahikes has clearly laid out processes for everything from fitness, safety, health to care for nature, preserving the sanctity of the local places etc.

With butterflies in my stomach, I arrived at Indiahikes Kotgaon campus on one of the March evenings. Kotgaon is a beautiful hamlet in the Himalayas with beautiful people and picturesque surroundings. It was magical all around with beautiful snowclad mountains looking at you from a distance, wooden houses in different shapes and colours and a chilled atmosphere. The moment we landed; we received a warm welcome from the inmates of the campus with quick instructions on what to do next. This is how we operated for the next 4 days/nights as there were always next steps to follow in the form of quick instructions.

We were a group of seventeen people; with one trek lead (Hemant) and two guides (Santosh and Tanu), we were a group of twenty people who were trekking together. There was surprise entry of two more lives as we started our trek next day; that was Kalu and Shera, the two dogs from Kotgaon. They were part of our trek, at least until we completed the summit. Of course, we had the support staff of Indiahikes like Porters who were carrying stuff for us, cooks who were stationed at each camp site to cook hot food us etc. Our first briefing session started on the night of our arrival after dinner. Post this intro and briefing session everything dramatically changed. Entire group which was not known to each other until then behaved as if we were close relatives and gotten together to attend our ‘Mamaji Kay Ladke Ki Shaadi.’ During the trek, we all acted like one family and not just enjoyed our time together having nice conversations over breakfast, lunch, evening chai and dinner but during our trek too helping each other, sharing snacks, taking each other’s pics and videos and yes, singing our heart out. This camaraderie continues till date on WhatsApp group.

Our trek group was an interesting mix of people. Some had come with their family (Piyush, Nilu, Aadya & Happy, Pankaj & Vidita, Hardik, Isha, Foram & Ahaana, Rittick & Dhriti and of course me with Raksha & Anish) and some had come alone like Prashant Sir and Daisy. While Hardik and Foram were just married, Rittick and Dhriti were about to get married. There were some like Prashant, Pankaj, Hardik who had done several treks. For the 10-year-old Vidita, this was her fourth trek. However, for most of us it was our first Himalayan trek. People were also from various parts of the country spanning north to south, east to west. So, our trek represented whole of India in that place.

My encounter with snow started the second day after hiking about 2.5 to 3 kms. From a point where there was a small Dhaba (a hut constructed using stones to be protected from snow and winds) where we had Chai and Bun. Until we came back to the same spot after two days, we had ice and snow throughout our trail. A lot of us slipped on the ice as we did not have spikes attached to our shoes on the second day. Third day, we got the spikes attached to our shoes and we managed to walk on the ice. Fourth day, we also got floaters attached to our legs as we had to walk in deep snow in some pockets. It was a unique experience to walk in the snow under extremely low temperatures with the four layers of clothing and gears given to us. It was not possible to survive the weather condition that we encountered without the gears (dark sunglasses to protect us from harsh UV rays due to snow all around us, trek poles to help us navigate the trail, spikes and floaters on the shoes to protect the legs from slipping through and getting wet, baclava and other clothing to save us from the chills) that we either rented out or were given by Indiahikes.

On the second day, we had reached Khujai, a mesmerizing piece of land between snow clad mountains on one side and view of Himalayan valley on the other. Our tents were already laid for us here and I had to choose a tent for myself and had to also choose a partner to stay with me. I chose Prashant Sir as he had already chosen a tent. I am glad, I did that. I used to feel sick every night (could be the weather condition or tiredness from hiking) and Prashant Sir was an immense help and also the pills that I popped every night. However, next morning, I used to be all  fine to do the trek. So, my first experience of staying in a tent with stunning natural beaty all around me will go with me to my grave. There are other bits of experiences which is best kept within the group that I trekked with. 😊

Our third day was slightly lighter compared to all days and we had to hike only three kms. This trail was completely snow covered and at one pit stop, we came together to build snow man. Kids took the lead and did bulk of the work and were most excited when the snow man stood there HAPPYily.

By the end of the trek, we had reached our Summit base – Bhoja Dhadi. This is a tiny place where Indiahikes had managed to setup a camp for a small group of trekkers. There was no space to move around other than the space where tents were setup. We had to only spend half night here as we were to start our trek by 4 am, the next day which means we had to get up by 2 am and get ready to hike. This is the place where I saw first snow fall of my life. By evening, it got dark and started to snow. It was a drizzle like fall and did not disturb much. As the temperatures had drastically dropped, we remained in our tents and did not dare to get out. I touched the snow when I got out the tent for our evening sitting and it felt like touching a soft toy which would melt in my palm.

Our fourth day started earlier than expected as it felt no one had slept that night due to the excitement of doing the summit. An unexpected event made us get out of the tents earlier than planned and we were all ready to hike much before 4. Hiking with all gears in pitch dark is quite unique experience. We could only see our next step and following the person ahead of us. My pace of hiking was only as good as the person ahead of me. We followed our trek lead’s advice of walk like turtle but steadily.

At the crack of the dawn, everything started to appear surreal. We were at the shoulder level of Kedar Kantha peak, and the peak was peeking at us on our head from a short distance. Light was visible at a distance over the range of mountains on the right and on the left, mountain cliffs had turned into gold and glittering. Nearby mountain horizons have turned into platinum and shining and snow all around us had started to appear like silver coated bed. Entire Kedar Kantha mountain was looking like a bride full of ornaments. I was jumping with joy with my feet stuck in knee-deep snow. We were yet to do our summit which took us an hour and half more due to the elevation it had.

ನಸುಗತ್ತಲಲಿ ನಡೆದಿತ್ತು ಕೌಟುಂಬಿಕರ ಚಾರಣ
ನಡೆದಷ್ಟು ಉಳಿದಿತ್ತು ಹಿಮಾಲಯದ ಆರೋಹಣ
ದಾರಿಯುದ್ದಕ್ಕೂ ಜೊತೆಯಿತ್ತು ಮಂಜಿನಾವರಣ
ಒಬ್ಬರ ಹಿಂದೊಬ್ಬರಂತೆ ಸಾಗಿತ್ತು ಮದುವೆ  ದಿಬ್ಬಣ...
ಕೇದಾರ ಕಂಠದ ಬೆಳ್ಳಿ ಮಂಟಪದಲ್ಲಿ
ಆರಂಭಿಸಿದ್ದವು ಕಾಗೆಗಳಾಗಲೆ ಲಾವಣಿ ||
ಕಾಲೂ ಮತ್ತು ಶೇರಾ ಸಂಭ್ರಮಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದರಿಲ್ಲಿ
ಆಹ್ವಾನವಿಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೂ ಮುಂಚೂಣಿ||
ಅತಿಥಿಗಳಾಗಿ ಕೂತಿದ್ದರು ಮುಂಚಿತವಾಗಿಲ್ಲಿ
ದೇವ್ ಖೇರಾ, ಕಾಲ ನಾಗ್, ಸ್ವರ್ಗಾರೋಹಿಣಿ ||
ಪೂರ್ಣಗೊಳಿಸಲು ವಿವಾಹ
ಬೀರಿ ಬೆಳಕಿನ ಪ್ರವಾಹ
ಪರ್ವತಗಳಾಚೆಯಿಂದ
ಸೂರ್ಯನೇ ಬಂದ
ಹಿಮವೆಲ್ಲ ಬೆಳ್ಳಿಯಾಗಿ
ಶಿಖರಗಳು ಬಂಗಾರವಾಗಿ
ತಯಾರಾದಳು ಸತಿ
ಮದುವಣಗಿತ್ತಿಯಾಗಿ...
ಮುಂಜಾವಿನ ಮದುವೆಗೆ

There was tiny temple built for Shiva on the top (but without any idol. I heard later from the locals that an idol reaches top of the mountain during the annual mela) and I had to settle down in front of it for few mins to calm myself down from the exhaustion and excitement of doing the summit. Post this it was time for us to enjoy the views of the Himalayan Mountain ranges. We clicked videos, pics and also celebrated Holi (Thanks to Pankaj). And for the first time, I witnessed someone proposing to his life partner, yes right on top of the Kedarkantha mountain. Rittick proposed Dhriti which he was planning for some time and finally did at the summit. Santosh, our guide explained about different mountains and their names. There are many stories connected to this mountain referring back to Mahabharata and Shiva.

Getting down from the KedarKantha peak was a new adventure as we planned to slide down the steep snowy path on our bums. For the first time, I was sliding down a slopy snowy mountain. All of us were reluctant do it initially,  but with a couple of demos by our guides and with the effort of one brave soul, we all went sliding down the first slope. Then we slid another slope down, then another and another and another… and realized it was damn fun. Some of us rolled down like a ball and some did not move after a distance and had to walk down. The distance that we took 2-3 hours to climb, we covered in just one hour while coming back as we were sliding down.

Next one day of walk `back to the Kotagaon campus was fast as we did not stop much while walking back or it could be that we were eager to reach back. We only stopped at one place where there was the Dhaba and where all the snow ended. Here our trek lead Hemant conducted a meditation exercise (which was another first) where all of us sat witnessing the captivating mountain ranges in front of us and following his instructions. It was soothing, relaxing, and liberating all at the same time. 

Back at the Kotgaon campus, we were given the Kotgaon village tour by our trek guide Tanu. He showed us the village ground, temple and also his house. We got to know that kitchens, storehouses (Khotaar) are separate from the house as houses here are built in wood to keep the warmth. We got to meet kids playing heartily around the village and also old women. We plucked flowers from the Cherry Blossom trees. Later that night, we celebrated Piyush’s birthday after our final briefing session. We had to return gears that we had rented or borrowed from Indiahikes. Campus was buzzing with other groups which had arrived that evening to trek another trail – Har Ki Dhun. There were other trek leaders too at the campus either resting or prepping up for their next trek. It was as if entire India was at this campus with people from various parts of the country united at one place sharing a common love – the love for mountains.

It was not easy to depart from the family which we had built in last 4-5 days, but we were committed to stay connected using our WhatsApp group. Journey back was slow and tiring. Most of slept through until we reached Dehradun where we bid the final adieu to the group. We were all in hangover of the trek and kept sharing pics, posts, and messages on social media even after a couple of weeks.

This saga of firsts, I am sure, I am going to carry for a very long time and cherish.

Picture and Video courtesy: My Indiahikes Trek group of 16th Mar 24.