Wander through India : Nandikund Trek : Through the Garhwal Himalaya ( Dhola khetrapal to Launtri khark )

Dhola Khetrapal to Launtri Khark.

35. My head porter and me pressed ahead immediately after breakfast to take advantage of the morning hours followed closely by my guide while the rest of team would break camp, have breakfast and then catch up with us. I would like to mention here that it is just not possible to move in these areas without a knowledgeable guide, an outsider to these areas would be highly confused and most likely to wander off and perish without a trace for years to come.

36. So I followed my head porter as our boots crunched in the snow as we moved ahead, cautiously feeling the path for everything was hidden. The white snow was everywhere and the entire landscape had changed overnight. The first stop was known as Nand birari where we stopped to click a few pics and In about two hours we reached Kachni Pass and by this time the mist had caught up and it had started snowing. The path was definitely perilous and just before the pass there was around two metres of path that was very tricky, one wrong step and one would be hurled into the depths of the pass without any chance of recovery, just thinking of it even now makes me squirm in my chair. Somehow I made it across slipping and sliding much to the relief of my guide. As the snowfall had increased by this time we took refuge underneath some huge rocks at the pass itself and waited out the falling snow. By this time the remaining team had also caught up and all of us huddled close to each other under the rocks, making conversations and exchanging stories. I came to know a bit about the life in these parts, the source of livelihood and the working culture, marriage rituals and other related stuff. I on my part tried to explain to them about life in the city and how it works.

37. After close to an hour, the snow fall abated and we ventured outside, a small prayer was offered to the guardian deity of the pass and then we descended to the other side. The GPS read 4176 mts above sea level. It was close to noon by now as we moved ahead. Our destination for the day was Launtri Khark. Khark in the local dialect means a clearing used by shepherds to pass the night when they roam these lands in the summer. We finally reached the place by three in the afternoon and no sooner did we stop that it started raining again and the tents were pitched hurriedly and we all settled inside waiting for the rains to stop. The entire day bad weather had plagued us and I struggled to keep myself motivated. In the evening the weather relented and hot maggi with tea was prepared as lunch was not had today. GPS read 3951 mts.

38. As darkness approached I huddled back into my tent, recharged the batteries and waited for yet another night to pass. Hot dinner was cooked by the porters and served at around eight in the evening. I would like to bring out that it is important to have a good and willing team so that the morale and mood in the camp remains upbeat especially in trying conditions like these and I was grateful that Umeid had selected a good and reliable team.