I had known Panwali Kantha trek for the range of peaks that one can see from the peak (11,500 ft), sharp ridges that one has to manoeuvre, and short snow slides but this time the same trek forced me to add a few more highlights to the list...Climbing in extreme ( 4 feet to 8 feet deep ) snow, converting snow into water, and motivating even the locals ( porters ) to dare the extreme conditions. This qoute from our cook can summarize what this group of Bikats achieved on Panwali : " Sahab humne apni zindagi mein kabhi itni barf me Panwali par nahi kiya tha! " ( we had never trekked to Panwali in such levels of snow ). Kudos to the Bikats (Punia, Bittoo, Rajat, Manish, and Piyush) who not just pushed themselves for this challenge but also the support staff.
Day 1 : We reached Rishikesh at 6 am in the morning and the Tempo Traveler was waiting to take us to Ghuttu. The bus was a bit late, so we did not waste much time and borded the tempo quickly and started moving. Stopped at a place near Nagni for breakfast. Some nice clicks were available here for Piyush (our official photographer)
Day 1 : We reached Rishikesh at 6 am in the morning and the Tempo Traveler was waiting to take us to Ghuttu. The bus was a bit late, so we did not waste much time and borded the tempo quickly and started moving. Stopped at a place near Nagni for breakfast. Some nice clicks were available here for Piyush (our official photographer)
As happens in most treks, this is the time people actually start internalizing the itinerary: when do we start, where do camp tonight, how steep is today's trek, and many such questions... Some divergent discussions start on how to manage leaves and how boring can the corporate life be...but quickly the group moves on and more questions on food, drinks, joints for the day...
On our way, we witnessed the highest dam in India made on the Bhagirathi, Tihri Dam. All of us were amazed by the length & breadth of the lake: it was seeming to be endless! The driver told us that the lake is 9 Km long and we could see that on an average it looked at least 300 - 400 mts wide. He also told us that 85 villages and a city "Tihri" got submerged in the reservoir that generates 2400 MW of electricity along with gallons of potable water and water for irrigation to large tracts of lands in UK, UP and Delhi. We debated the pros and cons of the project and opinions were presented on both sides. In my opinion, I am not sure we can afford such huge dams on Himalayan rivers when we know that Himalaya is still growing due to tectonic shifts and earthquakes are expected in such mountain ranges. With so many people already displaced, many more can drown with one natural calamity... Anyways, as I said, this is my opinion and some people will disagree but hey! my blog it is ... ;)
Moving on, we realized the almost non existent roads on our way. The roads and destruction sites on the way made us remember the tragedy of 2013. BRO is working hard but it will take this complete season to recover all roads back to normalcy. Not so good roads made our journey longer and we reached Guttu at 1.30 pm. We were late for the day already... Finalizing the porters, distribution of weights among them, lunch, and miscellaneous shopping took more time and we started the trek for the day only by 3 pm.
Gaurmanda is 10 Kms from Ghuttu and we had to reach there before dark so that we can set our tents, etc. The group was warming up on the first day of the trek but still moving swiftly. As it goes in most treks, Kms on the 1st day give you many 'starters': your muscles feel the pain that they has not felt for long, lungs start adjusting to gasp more oxygen, HB levels start rising gradually to ensure smooth supply of O2 for the body, mind starts introspecting the fitness level, and if you are doing for the first time, your heart starts questioning the very decision to come for the trek!
However, along with all these things, eternal beauty of the surrounding jungle (with loads of Buransh flowers) keep welcoming you and let me assure everyone who was not there: the welcome is irresistible! It does not take much time before all of us start acclimatizing and breathing the fresh air that is such a rarity for most urbans...
We reach Gaurmanda at 6.30 pm which I must say was fairly fast a climb. We quickly set our tents on a nice camping site and started arranging for the bonfire. Amid all this, it was already getting dark but soon we realized that the light is getting better as if the flood lights were switched on in a day night match! The moon had arrived and since it was close to full moon night, the white light was washing the camping site with all its purity and grace. Chicken was getting ready and the discussions started along with booze and joints. 'Wild animals' is a hot topic for any 1st bonfire of a trek and this one was no exception.... However, our guide : Sajjan Singh, had a very interesting solution...Fire crackers! Yes...he was carrying a pack of 'Bijli' bombs and was lighting a few in the night to scare all wild animals away... Dinner was awesome and with the tiredness slowly catching up, we headed to our sleeping bags at around 11.30 in the night. We had to reach Panwali tomorrow and a good sleep was needed.
To summarize, Day1 was long and full of discussions, right from the Dam to camps to wild animals.... A bit tiring ... but all in all a brilliant start for the group to take on the forecasted extremities of snow in the coming days.
To be continued....
I can see the happiness coming my way in abundance.
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