Trek to Roopkund - Part 5

Day 5 – 19^th September Pather Nachani to Baghwabasa

'Kehte hai agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaho toh poori kaynat tumhein usse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai.' Is that why the sun is smiling at us this morning? Maybe… But what is more likely is this – After listening to the desperate lamentations of 12 people throughout the night, God would have asked the sun to shine, just to get us off his back. Whatever the case may be, the sun is shining feebly but surely. I have never been happier at the sight of this golden glow. The camp site looks like a mini ‘dhobi-ghaat’, all the wet socks and shoes and shirts have been spread out to dry. We all are standing having breakfast, basking in the sun. ‘It will be ok today, there will be no more rain now,’ Sandeep says. Oh joy! ‘At this altitude, there’s only snowfall.’ And how is that better? ‘You can just brush the snow off your jackets. You won’t get wet.’ Well, if he says so. I, for one, am willing to take his word for it.  

Today’s hike is relatively easy; we do not have to walk too much. God knows we need an easy day after yesterday’s debacle. It is a very nice trek till Kalu Vinayak. The gradient is not too much, and we start getting to see better and better views of the snow clad peaks. I want to walk solo today, so I make sure I keep a good distance from everyone else. There is a well-marked trail so there is no chance of getting lost. It is the best feeling in the world. It is the best way to absorb all the mesmerizing sights around me, and pack them in my memory for future reference. It feels as if these fantastic mountains and clouds have been specially placed there just for me. Also, this is the only time I can sing to my heart’s content. There’s nobody around to complain about my dreadful voice.

In a couple of hours, I reach the Kalu Vinayak temple. I offer my prayers to the lord of wisdom. Sardar bhai asks me to wait here. ‘All of the group will pray to the lord together, and only then proceed further.’ Religion is a way of life in the mountains, and this is understandable. In the middle of this harsh and unforgiving terrain, where nature can bring mankind to its knees so very easily, it is important to hold on to and reinforce every bit of faith, every bit of belief in our hearts. Just as John Mayer sang – ‘Belief is a beautiful armor, and makes for the heaviest swords.’

Kalu Vinayak temple

Brahma kamal

I ask Sardar bhai why all these places have such peculiar names – Bedini Bugyal, Pather Nachani, Baghwabasa. He promises to tell the story of Roopkund later that would explain it all. Once everyone reaches the temple, Mahesh bahi performs a little puja. Since it is Ganesh Chaturthi, Rutika and I recite ‘Ganapati Atharvasheersha’, and then we all sing ‘aarti’. Vaishali has brought ‘til ke laddoo’, which we offer as Prasad. And then it’s time to move on. Further ahead on the trail, Sardar bhai points to the ‘Brahma kamal’, flowers which bloom only in this region, and only in this season. We see the first snippets of snow, which has been hidden away safely from sun rays so far – hiding under a rock over here, nestling in a leaf over there. Pretty soon we reach a group of odd looking stone huts (I have forgotten their story – does anyone remember?), and a little further is the camping site – the beloved trekkers’ huts.

First glimpse of snow

Baghwabasa is the highest camping site on this trek. The altitude is around 4200 meters, and everyone has to take special care of themselves so that we are in the best shape for the summit stretch tomorrow. The usual rules of acclimatization apply here - have plenty of liquids, stay outside the huts for as long as possible, do not put on all the warm clothing at once, get used to the low temperature as much as possible. The peaks of Trishul and Nandaghungti appear very close from here. As the sun sets, the clouds go away and one by one the stars appear. And what a sight the night sky is. I have never seen the sky so jaded with starts. The milky white band of our galaxy is also very clearly visible. We are being rewarded in heavenly jewels for all the effort that we have made to reach here.

When dinner is served, in comes Sardar bhai to tell the folklore of Roopkund. It is a most interesting story, with gods and goddesses and demons playing their part well. We call it a day at 8 o’clock itself, coz tomorrow is going to start early.

The Legend of Roopkund

Once Goddess Parvati leaves mount Kailas to wander the mountains and the valleys without Lord Shiva’s permission. Shiva does not like the fact that Parvati has not informed him about where she is going. So he decides to teach her a lesson. He sends his Ganas after her, and asks them to create obstacles in Parvati’s way, thinking that if she faces trouble during this jaunt of hers, she will not dare repeat her behavior. At Lohajung and Wan, several Ganas attack her. She fights with them and makes her way to Bedini Bugyal.

At Bedini, a demon called Raktabeej gets in her way. When Parvati slays his neck and his blood drips on the ground, two more demons are created; when Parvati kills them, each of them gives rise to two more. As this continues, Parvati starts getting tired. She is not able to handle all the new Raktabeej demons that are wreaking havoc around her. She takes refuge into a pit on the ground, and keeps going down and down to reach paatal. Here, she prepares a drink made out of jiggery, yeast, etc. On having this drink, she is energized, and emerges from the ground in her Kaali avatar, with a stone bowl in her hand. In the meanwhile, the demons dig up the ground around the pit to find out where she has disappeared. One by one she kills the demons and collects their blood in the stone bowl before it touches the ground and then drinks it. Then she dances with rage here and there to see if any of the demons are still alive. The stone bowl in Garhwali is called a ‘Pather’, and hence the name ‘Pather Nachani’. The place where Parvati went underground spurts out water, and gives rise to a small pond. Since Parvati was in a lot of pain (or vedana) here, this pond is called the Bedini Kund. The bottom of the lake still looks as if someone has dug it up. It is also said that the Vedas were written here, giving this place its name ‘Bedini’.

Seeing Parvati in her Kaali avatar, the ganas are scared, and go to Lord Shiva for his help. Shiva comes down from Kailash to try and pacify her. Eventually Parvati calms down, and agrees to go back to Kailash with Shiva. But before going there, she wants to clean up her destructive avatar. So Shiva plants his trishul in the ground, and creates a pond. Parvati beautifies herself in this pond, hence the name Roopkund. Baghwabasa is the abode of Parvati’s lions; they do not go beyond this point.

Every year, there is a yatra, called the Jat Yatra, till Bedini Bugyal, retracing Goddess Parvati’s steps. Hundreds of people join it, and there is a fair held here. Every twelve years, there is an extra special yatra, called the Raj Jat Yatra, which continues further till Homkund.

What a story… but it does not explain the skeletons. So Sardar bhai launches into another one:

Parvati once visits the kingdom of Kausani. The king of Kausani is away, so the queen looks after Parvati. Parvati is very happy with the way she has been looked-after in the king’s palace. The queen asks her if she needs anything else, and Parvati asks for the king’s throne. But the queen refuses to give it away. Parvati leaves angrily.

When the king comes back, he gets scared of being in Parvati’s bad books, and wants to rectify the error. So he is asked to go alone to Homkund and perform a Pooja. But being the king that he is, he does not want to go without his entourage of army, horses, and courtesans. He proceeds towards Homkund with all of them and reaches Pather Nachani. The gods are not pleased with this. That night when the courtesans are dancing for their king, lightning strikes them and they fall down to paatal. (There are three pits in the ground at Pather Nachani which Sardar bahi had pointed out to us. This is where the dancing girls fell.) But the king does not learn his lesson. He continues on his journey with his army. When he reaches Roopkund, the gods let a hail storm loose on them. The soldiers in his army die, and it is their skeletons that we see at Roopkund. Humbled by all these events, the king finally reaches Homkund, performs his Pooja and is forgiven.

Hats off to Indian Mythology. It’s amazing how all the names, places characters and geographic features fit in perfectly in these stories. Why did National Geographic waste their resources on finding out the story behind these skeletons? All you need is a colorful imagination, and a love for fantasy. You can explain any phenomenon in the world!! 

Day 4 – Ali Bugyal to Pather Nachani 

(The EPIC day)

Trekkers' Huts at Ali Bugyal

The morning is cold, but I have an incredible warm feeling inside me. I can almost hear my eyes thanking me; they have been feasting on spectacular views, which is a welcome change for them from the ugly sights of concrete jungles. And they don’t have to focus on a tiny laptop screen for hours and hours, they can dance over displays of the green-blue mountains till horizon. My ears have not heard a screeching vehicle for days, instead they’ve heard the sound of mule bells, the pitter-patter of rain drops on the hut’s roof, and yeah… the beautiful melodies coming from Jagdish Sir’s flute.

The entire team is in high spirits as we start walking today. Imagine walking on a morning among the clouds, with a view of green slopes for miles and miles, pure crystal clear air to breathe, and you will know what I am talking about. When we started walking in the morning, Sandeep told me that I have good stamina and would be able to attempt Stok Kangri. This has made me swell with pride... :) Finally all the running in the mornings as prep for this trek is paying off.

The calm before the storm

The best morning walk ever

The warm feeling continues as we reach a vantage point, from where we can see Bedini Bugyal below us and a lot of other peaks in front of us – the mighty Trishul and Nandaghungti keeping the Nandadevi peak hidden from undeserving eyes can be seen towards the right; Neelkantha and Chaukhamba towards the left. The shutterbugs among us are full of ideas. Priyanka and Anjali are making everyone run and jump and pose and their cameras are working overtime. Cannot wait to see the results of these clicks.

Taking the advantage of our preoccupation, the sun has quietly gone out of sight. As we start walking further, the clouds have begun expressing themselves.We don’t take it seriously at first. It has rained every single day so far, but the rain has faded away eventually. I am sure it would stop raining soon. This, as I would realize later, is called denial - denial that we are in trouble. Bad weather has crept up on us with soft feet; the rain refuses to go away, and invites her friend, nasty wind, to give her company.

There is nothing that we can do but continue walking – because if we stop walking, the cold gets to us. The cold rain drops strike my face like bullets. The biting cold wind rushes into my ears and it feels as if it is straightaway hitting the brain. When I put up the hood of my windcheater and try to tie the lace, I find that my fingers won’t move. They are frozen like the claws of an old woman. I put my head down and keep walking. The ‘nova dry’ shoes, which have kept the water away from my feet so far, finally give up and I can feel my toes going numb too. This mountain face is absolutely bare – we have already left the trees behind, there are no big or small rocks under which we can take shelter.

As the clouds gather and disperse in the valley below, I get intermittent glimpses of stunning mountain sides. But now I am in no mood to appreciate them. All I can think of is somehow keeping one foot in front of the other. I can see Sardar bhai’s feet in front of me, and I open my mouth to ask him how much further we have to go before we reach the camp site. This is when it dawns on me that my face is frozen too. I frantically make faces at myself to get the circulation going. Finally my lips are able to form some words… they come out like kiddy talk. I say to Vineeta, ‘I am not able to talk.’ ‘Me too,’ she says. Thank God!! I thought I was getting paralyzed or something. But at least it’s not happening only to me.

My brain has stopped working now. My body works on auto-pilot and keeps moving ahead. I have stuffed my hands inside the pockets of my jacket and keep clenching and unclenching them to keep them from freezing. If only we could reach the camp site. This is when it hits me that the mules have not overtaken us. ‘We are doomed even if we reach the campsite,’ I say to Alhad who is just in front of me. ‘The tents are with the mules, and they are somewhere far behind us.’ The bloody raincloud has been examined under a microscope, and there is no silver lining in sight. The air is heavy with gloom.

Left, right, left right, we keep treading on in the rain and the wind. Suddenly Alhad turns to me and says, ‘I can see trekkers’ huts ahead.’ My heart leaps with joy. ‘God bless these little huts,’ I exclaim. I did not know that there were trekkers’ huts at Pather Nachani. Our pace increases. In a typical so-near-yet-so-far fashion, two extra strong gusts of wind hit us and almost blow us off the trail before we reach the huts. But we march on. And FINALLY we reach the huts. Ravi, Alhad, Vineeta and I are the first ones to reach the hut with Sardar bhai. 

Once inside the hut, even though we are out of the rain and wind, we start shivering uncontrollably. I am soaked down to the bone, and my hands and feet have gone scarlet and are painfully cold. I am sure they are about to fall off. All the warm fuzzy feeling from the morning has been washed away. So far I had only heard stories about how weather in the mountains can change in the blink of an eye. But now, I have lived through it. I try to think straight, and realize that I am the only one who has my backpack with me, and have an access to dry clothes. I ask everyone to turn the other way and change into dry clothes. I pull on my thermals, my fleece jacket, my scarf and my gloves. And still keep shivering like a twig in a storm. We are worried about all the others who have not yet reached.

After about half an hour, we see the mules appearing, and almost immediately Sandeep comes in with the rest of the group. I look at everybody’s faces. Everyone is baffled, shivering, doesn’t know what to do next. People are rubbing their hands together, trying the rub the cold out of them. There are about 20 people in that small hut, and wet shoes and windcheaters and rucksacks thrown around on the floor. It looks like a hopeless situation. Spirits are low, shoulders are down.

And then I see Sandeep quietly moving around, and rallying his support team into action. Sandeep, Mahesh bhai and Guddu bhaiya create a temporary partition by holding up the foam sheets. One by one everyone changes into dry clothes behind that partition. One half of the hut is cleared out, and a plastic sheet is spread out on the floor for us to sit on. When we are finding it difficult to even move a finger, Puna bhai and the others have rolled up their sleeves and are going out into the rain and unloading the kitchen equipment from the mules. Very soon the kerosene stove is fired up, and the tea kettle sits bubbling on top of it. Onions and potatoes are being sliced up, and soon enough, golden crisp pakodas are being fished out of a wok.

All huddled up

Pakodas in the making

It’s amazing how chai and pakodas can lift the mood. It has been wonderful to see Sandeep and his team keep their cool and bring things to order. The rain has reduced now, and we make a move into the next hut. We open our sleeping bags and snuggle inside. Finally the shivering has stopped. There are a lot of speculations about whether we would be able to carry on with the trek or not. Alhad and Ravi keep saying it’s gonna be bright and sunny tomorrow, as if leaving the forces of nature no other choice but to comply with their wish. Priyanka says she will not have tea for the rest of the trek if it is sunny. Everyone is making some or the other bargain with God, to make the sun smile at us the next day. As the kitchen crew continues sending out tea, soup and dinner, the warm feeling spreads from our tummies to our hearts.

Finally, as everyone gets ready to sleep, Ravi breaks out into a beautiful song, ‘Din dhal jaaye’, and all of us join in. This is followed by more songs, sung by yesteryears musical greats Kishore, Rafi and Mukesh. When there are songs around, nothing, not even the chill in the air, can keep Rutika down. She comes to life, rendering one song after another. As I lie there humming those evergreen tunes, I think over this rollercoaster of a day. From being in the greatest of moods, to being down in the dumps, to eventually emerging from the gloom and in the end singing songs – it’s been a hell of a day. Yesterday I could not even have guessed we would be going through all this. So I try not to think about the past or the future. After all, it’s all about living in the present, isn’t it? And I must say, at present, I am not in a bad place at all…. :)

Trek to Roopkund - Part 3

Day 3 - Didna to Ali Bugyal

Ali Bugyal, our destination for today, has been claimed to be one of the most beautiful camp sites on this trek. ‘Bugyal’, in Garhwali, means a meadow. I have been dreaming about walking in the Himalayan meadows, just after the rains, when it’s all lush green, ever since I registered for this trek.

Breakfast is delicious as usual, aloo parathas and some fruits. Since today we have to walk a little longer, we get a snack pack of a boiled egg and a roasted potato. Yesterday, it was a little difficult walking in the sun, so all of us have prayed for overcast skies, but no rain. And that is precisely what we get.... :) Our prayers are being heard loud and clear.

Sardar Bhai

As we start walking, the group of 12 gets sorted into sub-

gangs depending on our pace. I find myself in front, walking just behind Sardar bhai. I ask him about his life in his village Lohajung, and his family. He has a little daughter, ‘10 saal ke aas paas hogi.’ What keeps him occupied in the non-trekking season? ‘Kuchh khaas nahi, thodi kheti hai. Humare kheto mein rajma, ramdaana hota hai.’ How many times has he been to Roopkund? ‘Plenty... I have lost count’. I ask him if we will be able to go to Junargali. (It is a little further ahead from Roopkund; a friend has recommended it to me. The view from there should not be missed out on, he had said.) Sardar bhai replies, ‘Bilkul ja sakte hai... Aap chaloge to ja sakte hai.’

The LOTR forest

We have been walking for about half an hour now, and we have entered the oak forests on these slopes. The dense trees, their barks covered with green moss, the softly drizzling rain, and the beam of sunlight making its way through the tree canopies... makes us feel like Frodo, travelling through the forest with the ring. A little further up the mountain, we come to a little cluster of huts. This place is called Tolpani. These huts are temporary set-ups by shepherds, who come to the meadows with their cattle herds for a few days. We meet a group of kids here, all of them extremely inquisitive, bright and sharp. They tell us why this place is called Tolpani. ‘Pehle yaha paani ki kami thi. Nandadevi maa yaha sabko tol ke paani deti thi.’ Hence the name ‘Tolpani’. ( Dunno how much to believe... ;) )

After a short rest, its forward march again. The climb is quite steep now, and the gap between the trekkers increases. I see a couple of locals coming from the opposite direction. They know Sardar bhai. One of them calls out to him, ‘Ye baaraat leke kaha ja rahe ho? Koi band baaja nahi hai?’ Sardar bhai points to my tired face. ‘Roopkund ja rahe hai. Lekin ye baaraat to abhi se thak gai bhaiya.’ I go red in the face. We are huffing and puffing, but this path is a piece of cake for them. I am always in awe of mountain folks – simple living, hard working, ever smiling. ‘Abhi to thaoda hi chale ho madam... abhi aage bohot chalna hai.’ They continue down the slope, and disappear from sight in moments.

This steep climb continues for a little while, and then we reach a place called ‘Tolkaan’. Its almost 12 now. There is a short break and we eat the boiled eggs and the potato. Refuelled, we continue walking. Sandeep tells us that the climb is over, its almost flat ground now. Which is bosh-talk, as we soon realise. Through the rest of the trek we would learn that when Sandeep says its flat ground, its actually steep; when he says its steep, its actually extremely steep; when Sardar bhai says its only 10 minutes more to go, its actually an hour more.

The tree line

Eventually, we reach the end of the forest. After this we won’t be seeing any more trees. The tree line, as it is called is very interesting.  One moment there are a lot of trees, one step further, there are none. This is where the meadows start. The grass is green on all sides, strewn with little colourful flowers and mushrooms. The clouds are getting thicker now, and veil the views of the valley. Jagdish sir opens his ‘pitaara’, and out come yummy gujju snacks – thepla and khakra, which all of us eagerly line up for.

Ali Bugyal

Here on, the walk is most pleasant, meandering through the lush green Bugyal, occasionally coming across a herd of cows or horses. The soft drizzle converts into insistent rain, and as the sun is on the last leg of his days journey, it starts getting quite cold. Ravi, Alhad, Vineeta and me are in front, and our pace increases considerably coz we want to reach the camp before it starts really pouring. A slight turn to the right, and we see the trekkers huts. As we reach the huts, the rain intensifies. Once everyone is in, tea is served. After a little while, at around 4, lunch is served.

 This is where we were supposed to get the first view of the great Trishul peak, but we only get to see it late in the evening when the clouds clear up a little. We have to stay cooped up in the hut because of the rain. At dinner time, nobody is really hungry. But once the food is spread out in front of us, our appetites come back. (It happens exactly the other way round at office – I lose my appetite at the sight of food.) Everybody is singing praises of Mahesh bhai’s daal and kheer.

Sleep comes easily – I dream of slopes with pretty pink and white flowers, mule bells ringing melodiously in my head.

                 

First glimpse of the snow clad peaks

Trek to Roopkund - Part 2

Day 2 - 16th September : Lohajung to Didna

The next morning greets us with cloudy skies. There is no Vodafone signal at Lohajung, only Idea and BSNL. So I borrow Vaishali’s phone and call my mom to tell her not to expect any calls from me for the next 6 days. People who don’t want the added weight of their rucksacks during the trek can hire a mule to carry them. Some of us take that option. But for me, it’s just not a trek if there is no rucksack on my back. I have tried to make mine as light as possible, it weighs just about 10 kgs. I feel pretty confident I can carry it all the way.

There are many ardent bird-watchers in our group, and they are delighted when they see a variety of birds on the trees nearby. There are a lot of enthusiastic discussions about the different birds. But for me, a dove is a step brother of a pigeon, and that’s where my knowledge of birds ends. I look at the birds that are pointed out to me anyway; a Red Minivet is the only one I remember.

After breakfast, Sandeep introduces us to Sardar bhai, he’s our trek guide who’ll lead the way. At about 9 o’clock, everybody lines up along the pathway of the guest house, and Mahesh bhai cracks open a coconut as an offering to the gods. It is best to have God in your corner when out in the elements. Finally we are on our way.

Today our destination is Didna Village, which we can see on the mountain in front of us for a few seconds when the clouds clear up. So we have to descend down the mountain on which Lohajung is located, cross a river called Neel Ganga, and then ascend a mountain to reach Didna. We have not been given any packed lunch. As always, when on a trek, food is my first concern.

‘When do we get to eat next?’ I ask.

‘Lunch will be served at Didna. The sooner you reach there, the sooner you eat,’ Sandeep replies. Point taken - if you are hungry, walk fast :).

Raun Bagad

We first walk to Kuling village, from where the downward trail starts. The descent is simple enough. There is a fairly easy track of stones built by the villagers for whom this is an everyday route. Descending always makes me feel that I am paying a tribute to Dev Anand, what with all the sideways stepping and flailing arms. In about an hour, we reach Raun Bagad, where the Neel Ganga river spreads out a little forming a rock-strewn bed.  

The mule owners with their mules, carrying the tents and the kitchen equipments overtake us here. They start after us and would reach the destination and set up camp before we reach. From Raun Bagad, the ascent starts. The sun has now started to peep out of the clouds, and it is getting very hot. After a little while, when we stop for a short rest, Sandeep points out the Curzon Trail to me. Lord Curzon had explored this area; this trail starts from Lohajung, goes via Kunwari Pass all the way up to Joshimath. The Curzon Trail is one of the popular trekking trails in this part of the Himalays. We were supposed to follow it for some time, but the way is blocked because of a landslide.

The house at Didna

The trail that we have to follow instead is simple enough, and I am able to maintain a good pace and reach Didna by 2 in the afternoon. At Didna, we have to stay in a small house which is rented out to us for the night. Mahesh bhai et al have already reached there, and have the lunch ready. One by one everyone arrives. There is a small stream flowing nearby, and I decide to dip my feet into it for a little while. But I cannot keep my feet in for more than a few seconds.... the water is freezing cold.

Our very own David Blaine

Soup and roasted papads are served in the evening. Sandeep 

tells us the golden rule of mountaineering – climb high and sleep low. This simply means that for better acclimatization, one should go to a higher altitude and then return a little lower to camp and sleep. So he sends us all to take a walk up the mountain for half an hour. But being the lazy bums that we are, we come back in 10 minutes. Sandeep tries to coax us into going further, but none of us are in the mood. Now its show time. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, and a pack of cards is all he needs. He shows us a lot of magic tricks, which make us freak out with astonishment. We beg him to teach us those tricks, and he promises that he would when all of us reach back to Lohajung.

It has started raining slightly now, and our party moves indoors. The conversation takes a most interesting turn. Ravi tells about a village in India called Dronagiri where Lord Hanuman is not worshipped, because he uprooted the Dronagiri mountain from this village. There is a village which follows the ‘Pandav’ custom – every girl in that village has more than one husband. A village in Laddakh is believed to be inhabited by people of pure Aryan origin. There are temples of gods in India with specializations, a god for all pending court cases, and a god for visa applications. India is indeed an interesting country. It would take more than a few lifetimes to explore every nook and corner of this land. Sandeep tells us about his experiences at National Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi, where he learned mountaineering skills. I find this conversation extremely interesting, such a refreshing change from the talks of politics and scandals. As I go to sleep at night, I thank god again for letting me be in this place at this time.

  

Trek to Roopkund - Part 1

God must have had a stroke of genius when he thought of the idea of mountains... and he must have been in a really good mood when he created the Himalayas. Every once in a while, I get this craving to be in the mountains. After last year's trek to Sar Pass, I had made a promise to myself that I would trek the Himalayas once every year. And this time there are two simple criteria - one: it had to be a place higher than Sar Pass... any thing lower would just not do, and two: it had to be really exciting.

One idle afternoon, I came across an article on Roopkund on wikipedia. It is a frozen lake in the Garhwal Himalayas, at an altitude of a little over 16500 feet above sea level. (Sar Pass was at 13000 feet - first criterion check.) In the year 1942, a forest ranger came across over 500 human skeletons strewn around this lake. Radio carbon dating showed that these bones were from 800 AD, and DNA traits showed that they were Kokanastha Brahmins, hailing from coastal Maharashtra. All of them were on some pilgrimage, when near Roopkund they were hit by hail stones as big as a cricket ball. Finding no shelter to save themselves, most of them died of fractured skulls. Owing to the perpetual snow in that area, even after 1200 years, their bones, and in some cases their flesh and hair, can be found near the lake. (This sounded exciting enough - second criterion check. :))

There are a few trek organizers who arrange treks to Roopkund. There was a thorough evaluation done for each of them on factors like cost, itinerary and dependability. And 'Trek The Himalayas' was the winner... :) Their web site told that they have a good strong organizing team, and their Roopkund trek was scheduled to be 8 days long - one more day than all others organizations. And we went by the principle "the more(days), the merrier".

Here is how I lived those 8 days:

Day 1 - 15th September

Kathgodam Railway Station

As I stand in front of the Kathgodam railway station at 6 in the morning, I sincerely hope that I don't meet the same fate as that of my ancestors on my trek to Roopkund. It is drizzling slightly. There are 11 of us waiting for the two taxis which would take us to Lohajung. Lohajung is about 250km from Kathgodam, and the road takes us through Bhimtal, Bhowali, Almora, Kausani, Baijnath and Gowldam, along the rivers Kosi, Gomti and Pindar. I have been looking forward to the drive through these scenic places. But I am not too lucky here. It is cloudy throughout the way, and the rains have damaged the road considerably. There are a few landslides along the way, which are being cleared out by cranes, and we make slow progress through the road. 

The unclear-able landslide

Just when we see a rainbow in the valley nearby and take it as an indication for smooth sailing ahead, we see another landslide. And the land is not done sliding. There is still an occasional spluttering of soil and rocks coming down the mountain. Luckily we are only 2km from Lohajung now, and can walk up to the base camp if required. But I am in no hurry to start the trek today itself. The thought of carrying our heavy backpacks up the mountain road in this rain is not very welcome at the back of an overnight train journey and a tiring road trip. After making a few phone calls, it is arranged for another taxi to come down from Lohajung and meet us just beyond the landslide. 

As we are waiting for the taxi, I see a guy making way towards our vehicle and ask the driver, "Bhaiya Patwal guest house ki gaadi hai?" And as soon as the driver nods, he looks at us and says, "Hi, I am Sandeep." Sweet relief... our trek leader is here. All of us cross the landslide on foot, and pile into the taxi which Sandeep had brought down with him. Its only a matter of minutes before we are at the Patwal guest house, our Base Camp. :)

Patwal Guest House

The Patwal guest house is a cosy little place, providing the minimum essentials for an overnight stay, and a mesmerising view of mountains and clouds. Here, there is an addition to our trek group of 11 - Vineeta has already reached Lohajung a couple of days back. Now our group size is a nice even 12. All of us have tea. Just before dinner, Sandeep briefs us about the trek, explains the do's and the don't's, talks about the use of diamox for better acclimatization and patiently answers all of our queries. There is a small round of introduction - and I find that there are people from many interesting professions. Priyanka and Anjali are pro photographers, Vineeta is a journalist, Vaishali and Kailash are into procurement, Alhad is a banker. The oldest... ahem.. youngest member of our group, Jagdish Sir, is a businessman. And then there is a bunch of jaded old software engineers -Rhushi, Rutika, Ravi, Dipesh and me. Sandeep also introduces us to his team - there is Mahesh bhai, the cook and Puna bhai, his helper. Mahesh bhai's cooking expertise is showcased as soon as a mouth watering dinner is served. The dessert of 'seviya ki kheer' is delicious.

View from the guest house

The trek is to begin tomorrow. There is a final sprint to the Lohajung market where I buy a woolen cap and a rain sheet. The rucksack is finally packed shut. I go to sleep with all kinds of what-if scenarios playing out in my mind. Hope we have a splendid trek.. :)