Ignorance is bliss and bliss was wonderful! : By Sanchi Bhatia

The journey started on Thursday, 5^th February. Coincidently, I happen to be born on the same day. Agreeing to the point Pankaj wrote in his blog too, ideally, someone of my age would be partying and drinking with their friends since it was a ‘Birthday night’. But here I was, leaving for a trek for the first time in my life. I started from home in a confused state of mind trying to fit things in my bag pack and thought, whether I will find people like me, how will I manage, will it be too cold etc.Little did I know that these questions in my mind are going to be so irrelevant at the end of the journey. I have hardly travelled, so on my 24^th birthday I decided that I should finally travel alone. But was I alone. Really? We’ll see.

I marched towards Kashmere gate with my parents following me like I was kid who is likely to be lost in the Diagon alley. I don’t blame them. It’s a common anxiousness among parents when their child has grown smarter and faster than they had expected her to be. It’s funny but sentimental. Someone directed us to the Dehradun volvo bus where I found scattered group of people looking around, observing the other new entrants to the field, welcomingly.

The bus journey was followed by the ‘Dhoom’ ride in the traveler. No doubt it was fun except for a few who were so excited that they couldn’t sustain things inside their stomach. Just kidding. Rest were just mute spectators who didn’t speak much because they hardly knew the other entrants. So, the silence was a result of game theory! I won’t speak because you won’t speak and so no one spoke! Bad joke? However, the lull was followed by some strange Punjabi songs which brought us to life again.

We halted at a Dhaba which had a great scenic view, only directing us to more such scenic beauty that lies ahead. Continuing the journey for another hour after breakfast, we stopped only to begin our trek journey towards the base camp. Oblivious to the fact that I also had a slight pain around the knee, I buckled up myself for the uphill journey ahead. To complement the background silence, the clicking of the cameras, I heard a ‘pop’ sound in my left knee finding myself on the ground. Cursing myself with tears expressing anger at the unknown power who couldn’t stop me from going further on this trek even it was an unbearable pain, I got up after some first aid application. I stood up with some support, with my knee ‘giving up’, it adjusted to its position (I felt so) and I was normally walking again. I actually felt so embarrassed at what had just happened, I wanted to hide myself behind a mountain shrub.

We started walking uphill, one hill and perhaps many hills. Feeling of losing my breath sometimes in the middle of the way, I questionedmy sanity once. But we all managed it happily supported with the jokes, laughter, stories of fellow entrants now turned fellow travelers during the journey. I now understand, it was an essential warm up exercise. Simple!

The only line that kept us going was when we got ‘Bas agaya’ as the answer to the question on how far is our camp. The idea was to follow the trail, wherever it may lead, will lead us right. Although we did try and find deadly shortcuts and compared the likelihood of skidding from there verses the normal route. We reached the base camp, saw it with our own twinkling eyes which saw huge traces of snow on the way augmenting our satisfaction and joy.

Here you go!

The rest of them preferred to keep things slow without testing their ligament strength for a ‘chidiaud’ picture. After this ‘leg-is-gone’ journey, we all sat on peculiar relaxing stools which particularly excited me. There are no reasons for something. Period! I will take this an opportunity to present them here for fellowtravelers to forcefully appreciate them. Please!

The dawn came, graciously crowning the mountain peaks followed by the supreme chilly winds. The air was so fresh! I didn’t feel poetic at all back there because all I was trying to focus on shielding myself with not-possible-to-wear number of layers. All of us then focused our energies on lighting the bonfire. It was an insightful representation of how people in the Stone Age with minimal resources may have survived. The fire encouraged us to sing songs, new songs, old sweet ones, to-be-sung ones and the rest. After a well-cooked delicious supper, we headed to our respective tents where we cozily wrapped ourselves into sleeping bags. Feeling like tired and heavy sacks, we slept, peacefully.

Surviving the morning frozen winds was the hardest, brushing our teeth in that set up, second hardest. It was lovely to see the sunrise dogging between the mountains and then finally showing up. We packed ‘paranthas’ for lunch and set for the nag tibba point. Moving forward in no time, we could see snow all around with long trees firm on the ground, scattered. The trail was picturesque and alluring. We couldn’t stop clicking our cameras at every step. Going further, as the mountain flattened we saw a white sheet of snow without any edges.

There was unlimited snow with just our group and no other inhabitants. For the first 10 minutes my mind couldn’t register the vastness I was witnessing. I lied down on my back to feel it. Yes, that was it. Craziness got us over, someone was sliding down, some were playing with the snow and some like me, just gazed around in amazement.

We all reached the nag tibba point and sat there peacefully. Sitting there at the top, we could see the other vast land, with no boundaries at all. Sitting in the lap of nature and appreciating the weather, we ate lunch, chocolates, khajoor and dry fruits.

Our journey downhill was the best part of the day. Holding each other’s hands for support so as to avoid skidding, we managed to cross some portion of the mountain. We felt like snow champions, ready to go anywhere and everywhere with the skills developed so far. This thought actually brought a lot of confidence in me! And there we were, smoothly sliding our way through the clear trails. The beauty of the trail was augmented by listening to varied experiences of my friends on the trek. Simple talks, laughing and commenting without any hesitation we were away from the maddening crowd and traffic of metros, loud noises, everything.

Second day had passed and I had forgotten about my knee pain. I believe, nature has its own way of healing things. I had cough, cold and viral fever before the day we left for Dehradun. But, it made me forget about all of it, everything was magically cured.Our cooks welcomed us with macaroni and soup. We gorged on it, literally. While drying our clothes and shocks, we all sat there and chatted for quite a long time. Sunset was magnificently beautiful. We saw a clear sky with millions of stars. Was it venus? Saturn or north star! We argued. The weather was still, allowing us to light the bonfire for a longer time. Dinner was mouth- watering. I miss it.

It was the third day, we woke up never wanting to leave this place. But we had to, only to come back again. It was nostalgic to pack our stuff, leave our tents and gearing up for the final trek of the three day journey. The path was stony, beautiful with sky touching trees blessing the surface beneath them.Indeed, it was a road less traversed. It was the longest trek of the whole journey, but it didn’t tire us. The ride back to Dehradun was peaceful.

Since the time I am back from the trek I feel like I have achieved something. Something that will help me forget about my fears. I am lucky to have such beautiful memories that can keep me smiling. I have something to look forward to. The wonderful people I met on this journey, makes me feel more connected to life than ever. This is just a newadventures beginning of my life with more such expeditions. I look forward to all of them.

And now about the ignorance part, Well! Remember the mention of a ‘popping’ sound in my knee? That my friend, was an anterior cruciate ligament tear. Now I know! Oblivious to the fact that I was no longer sufficiently capable of completing my journey, I went ahead surpassing my fears, pain and even my own self.I am so thankful for my ignorance lest I would have spent my days never realizing what I may have missed.Thank you Bikat and all my fellow travelers for being a part of this great journey. 

Here are some other popular treks which you can explore
Chadar Trek
Kedarkantha Trek
Roopkund Trek

Nagtibba was a bit strange this time... By Ritvij

When I was boarding the Volvo on Friday night, 13th Feb, it was a normal feeling to start with but then I met people on the trek that were special individuals and the experience ended up close to a Nostalgia.

The trek starts at Pantwari, one may take the vehicle a bit further from Pantwari towards the base camp in order to save some time. The train to the base is mild incline at most places with rick vegetation like Oak, Rhododendron, Bhanjh, mushrooms, corals, and some others that I could not recognize :) .. This time of the year, you don't spot many flowers but due to the temperatures rising earlier this time, we could spot many rhododendrons on our way and the sight is always so beautiful.

We reached our camps at around 4pm, set up a nice bon-fire and started the fun. At around 8 pm in the night, we saw a group of 4 guys coming to the camp with their own tent, without a guide, without porter, without mules, no support basically. They got late on their way due to the misjudgment of the distance from Thatyud to Nagtibba base.

They immediately reminded me of myself in the initial years of my trekking history, when me & my friends were still wondering more and trekking less on the mountain terrains. The days of pure exuberance and enthusiasm, when experience was less but the courage was extremely high to cover up everything, when we were never afraid of making our mistakes and learning from them. I still remember the trek to Triund when we were trekking alone and lost our way, soon the sun disappeared and we were wandering through the dark in the jungle, trying to find our way...After a lot of walk, hike, climb ( I am not kidding...we were actually almost climbing on a stretch ), we found a hut and water near the hut. We camped and cooked to spend the night in laughter and deep (tension free) sleep. We learnt many lessons but the spirits were undaunted! We have come a long way from there, realized the value of experts, light, food, and shelter on a natural terrain but not without the experimentation that made us learn & learn fast! Those were the days that evolved us into Bikats...I guess..

Well, sorry for taking you down the memory lane but I could not resist. Of course, we helped those guys with Food, water, etc that night and helped them come along to the peak next day. Good luck to Bharat and friends for their future and hope they are also learning their lessons well.

Next day was our trek to the Nagtibba summit. We moved up the trail eastwards, and the climb was steeper today. Many among us were first timers and some were scared (naturally) due to the snow on the trek. As they went up, they conquered their fears and gradually themselves too..to some extent at least. When one among the group was struggling with here fear of walking on the snow that came from a past accident, I am really proud to share that the whole group came right behind her. Such comradery among a group of people who met only a day ago! well you wont see often! frankly, me and Gajji (our guide) just offered some assistance in walking but the group did all the trick. A special mention for Vipul, Dhruv, and Jagrut for the motivation they gave..

We reached the summit, had a lot of snow throwing, some rest, one snow man (@ Prabhjot : Congratulations ;) ) ...Even though Nagtibba is a short trek, still the views from the peak are awesome. Bandarpunch was visible in the front of us along with the ranges from Uttarkashi region towards our east and spiti region towards the far north west.

We came back decently fast to the base camp, by 2 pm. After some rest and coffee, some started playing cards, some others ( Dhruv, Prabhjot, & Kashish ) went to the snow near the camp to 'Roll Droll'. I was taking a walk around and saw them at a distance, went a bit closer and could not stop smiling ... To watch them play with the snow , trying to create some figure, lying down, trying to fly while lying down.... it was like three children having some moments of their life. All the best to you all and may you guys have many such moments together in the future ... While the other set of people were having their own moments while playing the games that some of them learnt that day itself. Tushar was reading a book and Anand I guess was enjoying a bit of everybody's moment.. All in all we all gained some very nice memories to cherish for future..

Next day was our journey back to Thatyud from where we got our tempo to Dehradun. The village Thatyud is a really pretty one with nicely landscaped farms, one temple in the center, and nicely laid out huts around..

Nagtibba this time was strange but I am sure this memory would be fresh in my mind for a long time to come...

The whiter side of Dayara Bugyal : By Kumar Ritvij

You would heard a lot about the Dayara Bugyal trek already and tell me that the best time to visit is probably towards August or September when the snow has melt and fresh flowers have taken their full shape and beauty. Well....you might be right and may be that's why not many groups plan this trek in winters....but I don't like the routine stuff!

So I decided to go for for Dayara Bugyal trek in winters when I am sure about two things:

• Loads of snow and 
• Not many groups doing the trek 

I love both these things in a trek! What I also know from my trekking experience is that, winters are the best time to get the best Peak Views. So, I ventured for Dayara in the winters.

The starting point of a trek can be ordinary or it can be BARSU. Whoaa! What a village!

One of the fellow trekkers in the Bikat community had written in her blog about the magical feeling that this village carries but I could only imagine at that time. A neat village, almost completely visible from the official entry gate, with nicely spaced step farms and houses, Barsu has a connect that catches you immediately.

When we moved up the jungle, the trek started opening up gradually and we reached Barnala Bugyal withing couple of hours of trekking from our first camp site (just about 20 mins ahead of Barsu village). The snow starts to greet you here, from the roofs of those huts that make & break their relationships with the snow, every year. This years mating had just started though....Both were trying to get into each other so much that we all feelt that romance in the site as we moved upwards.

Crossing Baranala Kund, one has to click a few pictures for the height that you gain till now and get the first view of the real bugyal ahead.

After around 2 more hours of trekking, we reach the camping site of Dayara. Now in summers, one may not camp here and move towards the actual Bugyal but in winters, as I said earlier, rules are changed! "There would not be any water till Siyari after this", says our guide Tirichand who is already trying to search for a Chani to assemble the kitchen. As the evening started to fall on us, the snow started shining in different colors, some of them like Red & Yellow, that our cameras could capture and some more like the sparking white (when the sun declared the departure at around 5pm), and Golden (when he was just crossing that line to his red avatar) that it could not. In all these colors, some significant peaks that are visible around you, Bandarpuch (to your west), John Lee (to your north) & some others adjoining it, act like a canvas for these colors to show their true potential.

The yellow tinge of departing sun at Dayara

 Bandarpuch

John Lee in the center

When the sun goes far, the moon starts its Maharas with the stars around him trying to throw as much light on him as possible. Snow clad land, with moon borrowing light from all those stars and scattering the quantums on the land, and the peaks....The view is mesmerizing!

Somehow, we leave them alone for the fun that have all night and  move to the camp to get some sound sleep.

Next day we set a target for ourselves to cover some good distance and cover them fast. The plan was to reach Siyari and come back to the same camp. But before we move...we could not leave behind the amazing peaks that were visible again but with different colors! I dont have anymore words now to explain...even the photographers were clicking B/W by now!

We took a stretch target of crossing Bakaria top and then move towards Siyari and then come back to the same camping site. Through the day, we walk on the fresh snow that had fallen recently, may be only a week back. You have to be careful while walking on the dry snow of December & January (fresh)...it can damage your skin fast. So, we were mostly covered, with gloves, caps, jackets, sunglasses, etc while walking. When you make your way through snow, you have to be continuously careful not to leave the trail, which by the way is not visible most of the times! Your guide will help but I would recommend everyone to try and locate the trail as as adventurer and let me assure you, its not that difficult. Be sure of the direction you need to walk ( westwards in this case) and the improved visibility due to snow would help you see far. Needless to highlight that you should always be with the group in a snow laden terrain/ trail for help ( if required).

 On the way in the snow

 View from Bakaria top

The long stretches of snow merging with the bugyals

The day was packed with adrenaline rush through the day, with many challenging stretches to be crossed. All this while, Bandarpunch was closing in on us and inviting us for an expedition over it! Ohh it was tempting...I promised myself to accept her invitation one day, for sure! Sliding on the snow with Mats or even the shoes, we were having loads of fun throughout.

With all the adrenaline, peak views, clearer skies, longer visibility, what a snow clad Dayara Bugyal trek also offers, is serenity. Apart from one group which by the way was organized was Dogs!, we did not see anyone doing this one.

Dayara in winters is a white, serene, and pure trek with white cover through the Bugyal looking like Chadar, that covers grasslands and tries to generate that fire from the roots inside. At the same time, it cuts off that heat from above, trying to cleanse the grasslands for the year

Come to Dayara Bugyal in winters to see this process of purification, experience the journey of whiteness, and explore all the shades of white....

Here are some other winter treks which you can explore:
Chadar Trek
Kedarkantha Trek

Nagtibba 2015 : The trek that was a beginning... By Smilee Ganesh

Nag Tibba Winter Trek  ( 23^rd Jan to 27^th Jan 2015 )

What would be the better way to start a new year other than one of the finest trekking experience and that too my first one. Naga Tibba winter trek was my ultimate choice for its scenic beauty and can be covered within 3-4 days.

Day 1 : 

We started from New Delhi Kashmiri Gate at 9 in the night to reach Rishikesh early in the morning and from there we started going towards Pantwari, which is starting point of trek.  Around 10 am we reached Pantwari with loads of excitement to start the memorable journey. After freshening up @ Pantwari we started trekking towards the base of Naga Tibba, which was our first day destination. It was an amazing experience climbing uphill. We reached to the base after trekking for 5 hours with a break enroute for Lunch. Its eternal experience to spend time amidst the nature, thick forest & camping in tents. Today, most of the terrain was green and the excitement of seeing more snow was building up consistently. The group was familiarizing with each other and everybody was trying to find his/her space. 

Day 2 : 

After having a sound sleep in the arms of Mother Nature, I woke up pleasantly to a wonderful experience of watching sun rays falling on the mountain peaks. 

After breakfast in the camp we started climbing towards Nag Tibba summit. We were so engulfed with the beauty of nature that didn’t realise anything else.  Nature's peace was flowing into us as sunshine flows into trees. It’s mesmerizing experience to view snow clad mountain ranges of Himachal. 

Needless to say it’s a timeless experience to be at such place which is at the altitude of 3022 metres. With a heart opposing to go back, started returning to base camp post lunch on the summit. 

While some of us were engrossed in the beauty of mountains, some others were exploring themselves and walked quitely as if listening the mountains give them some feedback. Well the climb was not so easy to the peak but the experience was definitely worth the calories burnt!

After reaching at the base camp it was time to gather around a fire with a group of people who were now close-friends, talking, eating and dancing together. It was all so exciting & the warmth of fire was what we needed in the chilly night at Nag-Tibba.  We chatted, sang, danced, lazed around, and had loads of fun around that fire ...one that we earned of-course!

Day 3

Today we had to move to the other side of Nagtibba and move downwards to Tewa village where the pick up vehicle was waiting for us. The journey today went through the thick pine forests and gradually the snow started to disappear from our sights. The fact that the trek was getting over could not sink in due to the awesome trail that we followed. 

Those trees : some standing tall and some relaxing on the ground, those leaves : some fresh green, some growing old and pale yellow, some others coming down to greet us as we walk down... Well all in all the journey was very soothing and did not let the nostalgia begin.

By the afternoon, we were a bit late and moved in the Tempo Traveler quickly to Rishikesh in order to ensure that we are well in time for the Volvo back to Delhi.

By the time we reached Rishikesh, I had already started to miss those unforgettable moments. As my first trek, this journey would always be special and close to my heart. I tested myself, conquered some of my fears and challenges, made some friends and most of all ... Had loads of fun!

Tuesday morning at ISBT, Kashmiri Gate, it all ended like a full circle ...start to finish :)

Here are some other winter treks which you can explore

Chadar Trek

Kedarkantha Trek