Wander through India : Nandikund Trek : Quest through the Garhwal Himalaya

Nandikund Trek : Quest through the Garhwal Himalaya

Raasi to Nanu

14. The day started well as I was up by six in the morning, overflowing with emotions and excitement of watching the sunrise amongst the mountains. After a few clicks I decided to visit the local village temple which had been recently renovated by the villagers. It was a pleasant feeling to visit temple devoid of the usual mass of people streaming in which happens and yes I too am a part of that.. . but for a change here there was no one other than the occasional devotee. So I sat for a while in the temple premises and thereafter took a stroll in the village .. watching the people go about their daily chores; from the hard working women who were segregating the hay piled on roof tops preparing for the winter ahead, then there were the school kids on the way to school while the village elders gathered to talk whatever was the topic for the day . There was everyone doing some activity or the other and I tried to integrate myself into this frame. After an hour or so I was back and after a simple breakfast and thanking the lady of the house for the warm hospitality the team gathered comprising of Umeid , the head porter Prem Singh ji and two porters.

15. By nine we were off , I said a small work of encouragement to myself , lifted the backpack ,adjusted the weight and took my first step on the quest into the highlands towards a destination that I had only heard of ..

16. The path was narrow skirting the mountains that surrounded Raasi as we made our way to the first way point which was the village of Gaundar around 6 kms away. Enroute we came across womenfolk carrying huge bundles of grass meant for hay for the livestock. I think we made good progress and we were at Gaundaar by around 1030. The views of this walk were great as we could see the Chaukhamba massif all the while and then there were the forests of pines and birches which we walked into. At Gaundaar we rested and lunch was planned to be had here, so accordingly the order was given to the local eatery and he set upon to start the preparation from scratch, so definitely we were going to take some time. But then this is how the wheel turns here , slow and easy finish the current task first and then pick the next one which we city folk generally do simultaneously and call it as multi tasking J

17. So with time in hand I set upon clicking pics of some beautiful gardens that were being maintained out here. By the way there are homestays in this village so trekkers do stop here, there is no electricity out here even now and its solar amps to the rescue.

18. After a sumptuous lunch we departed forward. The backpack .. it really was making its presence felt .. I think it was around 18 kgs and the path is steep uphill immediately after exiting the village and in the afternoon sun this walk took my heart away ..i still remember my legs were wobbly as i climbed one step at a time upwards on that steep incline .. head bend down .. shoulders hunched to take the load concentrating on moving ahead .. eventually we reached a place called Sartaza nearly 4 km ahead of Gaundaar where we rested for 30 min. The small tea house was run by a solitary lady who was all alone in this wilderness without electricity or phone connections or neighbors, tending to her small field, two goats and the tea house, living her life caring for her four sons. Her husband had expired in the 2013 kedarnath disaster. Looking at her bustling with activity and determined in the face of such odds … made me feel so conscious of the hardships that others endure and yet they still find the strength to go on …

19. I decided that I needed to reduce the load that I was carrying as with the photographic equipment strapped on my chest and the backpack behind it was just not possible for me to fulfill one of the goals of this quest which was photography as I was concentrating on just reaching my destination. I decided that I needed another porter who would share my load as I did not want to burden the existing team with my stuff. Hence a call was made to Raasi and immediately volunteers were up ready to embark on a quest at 5 minutes’ notice. My guide informed me that treks bought ready cash hence all the youth were willing for this and needed no advance intimation. The porter was to meet us at Nanu, our destination for the day. From the solitary tea house at sartaza we then moved ahead towards Nanu which was another 5 km of uphill climb. We reached Nanu by five in the evening and what a feeling it was to stand without a load on my back on a narrow stretch of clearing on the edge of a big mountain inhaling the fresh mountain air and having the sense of accomplishing something .. the quest was underway and it was very much real. I had started and had survived the first day .. the hardest of all the days ...

20. I just took my big shoes off and walked into the sunset feeling the bare earth beneath my feet and the wind rustling in the bushes. As night fell and the rains descended high in the mountains, we huddled in the kitchen of our hosts and the lady of the house treated us to a delectable dinner cooked over wooden fired chulahs in the glow of solar lamps. Tomorrow was to be a new day and a new goal.