The next day woke up to misty skies and fog, readied myself for the day ahead, the target was Sahasradhara. By 0800 hrs we were off and our first way point was Bhandar around two km away opposite to which lay the Bhagirathi kharak glacier. It is said that the Bhagirathi peaks are visible from here but all was seen were swirling fog banks and the Alaknanda flowing nearby. The sun did make a brief appearance at around 0930 hrs but there was hardly any impact, meanwhile we kept climbing for today we would be gaining heights.
9. The gain of trekking when situation permits is the amount of conversation that can happen with those who are well versed with the region ,i was told of so many stories , incidents and key way points ( eg the weapon of Lord Bhim , still visible embedded in the earth ) which otherwise would never have been feasible By 1020 hrs we reached the start of Sahasradhara as well as the originating visual point of Alaknanda river from the Satopanth glacier which was massive and lay to my right. We could hear the thunderous noise of various falls to the left for the meaning of Sahasradhara means a thousand falls but everything was covered in deep fog. We picked our way kept moving ahead and by 1130 hrs reached our campsite covering a distance of 06 kms since morning. It is said that Lord Nakul and Sahdev left their mortal bodies out here and departed earth for ever. The decision was made to push on for there was fog all around and we were not comfortable to stay in a low lying area.
10. So we continued and by now the rains had come but still we moved on crossing various streams as we made our way to Chakratheerth situated three kms ahead. We reached campsite at Chakratheerth by 1300 hrs and made a halt for the day. The rains had stopped and that helped in rigging up our tents and settling for the day. The weather was definitely cold as we were at 3600 mts above sea level; in the late afternoon Umeid and i went back a km to do some photography thus passing the early evening hours. Nothing much was planned for the day. My take on the trek on the basis of the two days is to do this trek in September for the viewer will be treated to all the great Himalayan peaks in all their glory and will be able to appreciate the surrounding places in a much better manner. August is a definite damper view the trek is strenuous with the monsoons beating down and the fog banks swirling all around.
9. The gain of trekking when situation permits is the amount of conversation that can happen with those who are well versed with the region ,i was told of so many stories , incidents and key way points ( eg the weapon of Lord Bhim , still visible embedded in the earth ) which otherwise would never have been feasible By 1020 hrs we reached the start of Sahasradhara as well as the originating visual point of Alaknanda river from the Satopanth glacier which was massive and lay to my right. We could hear the thunderous noise of various falls to the left for the meaning of Sahasradhara means a thousand falls but everything was covered in deep fog. We picked our way kept moving ahead and by 1130 hrs reached our campsite covering a distance of 06 kms since morning. It is said that Lord Nakul and Sahdev left their mortal bodies out here and departed earth for ever. The decision was made to push on for there was fog all around and we were not comfortable to stay in a low lying area.
10. So we continued and by now the rains had come but still we moved on crossing various streams as we made our way to Chakratheerth situated three kms ahead. We reached campsite at Chakratheerth by 1300 hrs and made a halt for the day. The rains had stopped and that helped in rigging up our tents and settling for the day. The weather was definitely cold as we were at 3600 mts above sea level; in the late afternoon Umeid and i went back a km to do some photography thus passing the early evening hours. Nothing much was planned for the day. My take on the trek on the basis of the two days is to do this trek in September for the viewer will be treated to all the great Himalayan peaks in all their glory and will be able to appreciate the surrounding places in a much better manner. August is a definite damper view the trek is strenuous with the monsoons beating down and the fog banks swirling all around.
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in the mist the Alaknanda moves amongst the glacier moraine |
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Parvati peak range against a foreground ..... |
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chakratheerth nestled amongst the mighty mountains |
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river of ice : the glacier story |
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the weapons of the yore |
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chaukhamba in monochrome |
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sahasradhara |
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