Mandini : Garhwal n Monsoons ( The climb to Paturi .... )

Mandini :

DAY III : The next day morning i woke up to heavy rain laden clouds that hung low on the Himalayan mountain peaks. soon it started raining and i just lay inside the tent for there was no possibility to venture outside , the head porter Mr Prem Singhji i had the tea can boiling away soon under the make shift kitchen shelter and soon there was  a hot cup of sweet tea in my hand,  around 1030 hrs the weather cleared a bit and it was decided to have a quick breakfast and make a move . Two chapattis with pickle and tea later Umeid and me  were ready to move while the rest of the team would pack up and follow us later. We immediately went into the forests that surrounded us as the path lay through them , the mist had descended in full force and it presented a very eerie feeling with fallen gigantic tree trunks covered with moss with mist and rain  all around ,walking slowly but steadily we made our way forward .

11.          After around 30 min the rains returned but there was no turning back as we kept moving ahead , the path lay through the  forests , traversing ridges  going over rocks and just about everything else , i had my photographic gear with me and the entire set up including me was covered in a poncho while the walking stick helped me to gain a sure footing over loose slippery mud and leaves .walking in the rain  on the forested slopes we just kept going , step by step  feet by feet towards the destination for the day . By around 1230 hrs we reached a massive rock overhang that offered some protection from the rain and we decided to wait for the rest of the team to catch up . I was shivering by this time as the sweat was now getting exposed to the falling temp outside , but there was nothing much that could be done . In around 45 min the remaining team trooped in one by one each n everyone wet and shivering. It was decided to wait here for a while to let the rains abate and we all made small talk as best as we could considering the circumstances. The cave like structure was known as Kanera cave and is around 4 kms from sandera . On occasions trekkers have camped here when unable to proceed ahead but there is no provision to erect a tent , just light the fire for warmth , prepare some food and curl up inside sleeping bags to wait out the night  but we were proceeding ahead , at around three it was decided to move as the rains were not abating  and camp site was still two hours away and no one had eaten anything . Eventually we reached campsite Paturi located on a narrow ridge with the ground falling away rapidly on both sides.

12.          The young porters rigged up the tent quickly the moment there was a gap in the rainfall and i gratefully stepped in . The day has been long tiring and wet . I quickly organized my stuff ... cleaned my walking trousers of all the mud but could not do anything about its wetness .. changed into a fresh set of dry clothes and thereafter cleaned the entire photographic gear as there was heavy moisture all around . Meanwhile hot Maggi was prepared and by now the rains had dropped hence the kitchen shelter was set up and a camp fire was burning away to provide heat n warmth to wet souls all around .. (to be contd )

13.          After thought: In order to give an insight in the terrain that we encountered from sandera to paturi , it was primarily comprised of walking across  mountain slopes traversing narrow ridges that connected the mountains together and provuded a narrow trail to walk . The entire route involved lot of climbing up and down along the trail for there was no well-defined trail to begin with. The major landmarks on this leg were Devkhark ( where shepherds stay put in their wanderings , Kanera dhar , Kanera cave and finally paturi ) .

14.          Interesting note on shepherds: There are shepherds that one encounters on these lonely lands who for the entire season starting from April till Oct wander out here in search of pastures for the sheep . He is generally accompanied by 3-4 huge sheep dogs . The villagers in this region give their sheep to him to rear and graze and thus he collects sheep from the villagers and takes them far from the villages into these lands to graze . He spends the entire monsoon and later part of the summer alone with his flock in these forested lands and meadows and as the winter approaches he is forced downwards further and further  towards the villages until finally he reaches the village itself where then the sheep is sheared and his duty for that year done . He charges around 500 for each sheep for the season in addition to his ration from the owner and in case there are births which happen in the interim he is given an award of 200 – 300 . At any given point of time his flock numbers around 500 -800 , thus he earns around 1 to 1.5 lakh in one particular season . But i just wondered on the tough life he leads, alone except for the dogs brazing out the onslaught of rains , fog , wetness , trying to manage the sheep in the mist on guard from the predators definitely needs mental will to do this for months at a stretch . 

Mandini Trek : Garhwal n Monsoons ( Towards Sandera , the first stop ... )

Mandini Trek.

DAY II.   The next day morning i was up by around six and venturing to the roof of the house i glanced around at the Garhwal countryside or mountainside (i am not sure which term would be more appropriate) scrubbed clean and pretty draped in all of green and mist. The mighty mountain ranges had garlands of heavy mist that was a living thing in itself moving up and down. The mountain slopes were all green and dense and numerous waterfalls had sprung high up and they were crashing down hundreds of meter with a huge force and vitality which was a sight to see. For an hour i stood and soaked in the landscape spread in front of me while all around me the village came to life and temple bells began to ring with prayers to almighty. The school children were soon on their way to the school, so either thy climbed up to their school or they descended down as the case might be depending on the location of their homes which were spread all over the slopes of the nearby hills. Raasi has two schools one caters to the tiny tots or primary while the other was till metric. After a long time i saw the school assembly and seeing the primary school kids organizing themselves into measured lines and then reciting the school prayer followed by the National Anthem was a most pleasant experience indeed.

8.            Soon it was time to prepare for the day and in an hour the team had assembled and after a quick breakfast we were on the way. The destination today was Sandera which was a small bugyal(plateau) on the hill top where the slope flattened a bit. It was around five kms of uphill trekking and by uphill it meant from the moment one left the house he just had to climb, climb and climb with no respite even for 10 metres. The entire five kms was a steep climb remorseless and brutal. The first day of the trek and the acclimatisation and fitness level spoke; soon after around 30 min i was gasping and struggling. The numerous breaks in between increased but there was no other way for it was up n up all the way. The sun was out in full force and the sweat was draining the salt away at a rapid pace; by the time around 3 hrs had elapsed and i was in a pretty bad shape with my progress being 25 mts of walking and 10 min of rest, struggling in every step and repeatedly asking the porter walking with me as to how much further though i already knew the answer. After close to 4.5 hrs we reached sandera. It was a small bugyal in the midst of the forest but it had a running stream which was the most important factor. The clock read close to 1330 hrs and i just sat down to recover from my ordeal .. eventually after a bit of hot Maggi and sweetened tea i felt better and soon the tents were up.

9.            There was no major activity lined up for the day and while the team chatted amongst themselves i decided to indulge in some photographic activity in the surrounding hills and stream and thats how the afternoon and evening was spent. In the gathering dusk while the dinner was being prepared had a deeply engrossed discussion with my guide who was caught in the 2013 uttarakhand calamity while on a trek. Post an early dinner turned in for the night and soon the skies opened up as the rains started pouring but i was snug warm and dry ..what more can a man want, to be contd …….

Mandini Trek: Garhwal n Monsoons ( towards the foothills of Garhwal )

Mandini Trek

Day 1 : How does one begin especially  as i write after the day has passed , but still  will try to organise my thoughts and begin in a coherent manner. The trip to Mandini Valley was conceptualised on a cold winter night around 5200 mts above sea level with the mercury falling rapidly as me and my guide Umeid sat inside the tent sipping on hot coffii on the shores of “Nandi kund Lake”. That tale has been told and will not be dwelt upon out here. So here we were sitting and discussing where next to venture in the coming year and his words were “sir agar flowering dekhni hai to mandini chalo monsoon mein; Valley of Flower takkar bhi nahin de payega {sir if u desire to see flowering of plants on a huge scale lets go to Mandini Valley , the famous Valley of Flowers is nothing compared to it } ). Now i had neither seen VOF nor Mandini Valley but yes was very interested to see the Himalayan flowers flowering in their natural element and the thought appealed to me. Quickly i asked him the probable month and the approximate time and his reply was it had to be monsoons and that meant August.

2.            Anyways back home after the Nandi kund trek and after few weeks started researching about Mandini valley. Google did not throw much light but yes i came across three blogs which mentioned about this trek but they were all in September and not monsoons so i had no way of gauging as to how it would be like but the blogs helped me to prepare the key places on the route and i decided to cross Mandini Valley and then three ice fields to reach Kedarnath ji. Umeid also recommended the same and after we worked the day itinerary i realized that another destination could be squeezed in too and thus was born the trek to Satopanth; The Lake of Truth and Swargarohini ; The stairs to Heavens.

3.            As months passed by my itinerary got refined and eventually had a 17-day trek itinerary excluding the journey time to and fro my place. The leave was sanctioned after looking for a fortunate moment to propose but till the end moment i was not sure if i would be actually going hence kept my departure a low key affair. The days leading to the trek saw the weather worsening in Uttarakhand and gave me much cause to worry but i stuck to my itinerary and decided to take things as they come.

4.            The tickets were booked and finally the day arrived when i was in the vehicle heading to airport. I did refine my luggage this time to make it lighter especially the camera gear but guess it still needs to be worked upon more for the future. With a combined weight of 26 kgs inclusive of my backpack and camera gear the thought definitely projected a problem.

5.            Anyways with the day finally arriving i was on my way and the route was a tiring one in itself fir the travel comprised of travelling through the day and the night followed by the following full day. The mode of conveyance included flight, train, bus, mini bus and then trekker max. The end point saw me arriving at the small villages that have nestled in the foothills of the Garhwal mountains. Raasi was one such village and the home of my guide Umeid. I was welcomed very warmly by his family and lot of village folk too dropped in or i was invited to their homes and so began endless cups of tea and discussions.

6.            After a simple dinner I bade my good nights and promptly dropped off to sleep. Thus ended the journey from my place on Western Ghats to Umeid’s place in the foothills of the Garhwal mountains which act as outposts for the great Himalayan range that lay ahead.

Raasi  

Mandini Trek : Garhwal n Monsoons

Prologue : The Mahindra Spacio shuffled along the path , rugged in its looks and behaviour for it had spent its life in these mountains on broken roads and was on familiar ground . The 14 occupants including the driver crammed inside each having the same thought of a successful arrival at the destination Joshimath . “Saavan ka mahina” saw the the weather and earth waltz and tango most energetically and lesser participants like the 14 souls in the Mahindra Spacio could only be feeble collateral participants dotted around the frame. Meanwhile, back on ground the Alakhnanda flowed along the broken National Highway moving at a frightful pace unstoppable with her power rippling in the form of the raging waters  all over her, for anyone to see . Every movement and every twist of her, showcased the enormous destructive power and energy that she held in her fold, truly Ganga had rightly said the earth would not be able to sustain her sway and  force if she descended directly, hence Lord Shiva had taken her in to his locks to contain her destructive power and what is  Alakhnanda if not Ganga herself for that is how she is called when she merges with Bhagirathi at Devprayag flowing onward to Haridwar and beyond into the wide world .

Meanwhile the Spacio rumbles to a halt and finally the driver kills the engine, 14 pairs of eyes peer ahead to see the cause through the mist and rain. The cause emerges to be rock fall as the earth shakes and one hapless vehicle caught in the melee. The rocks had boxed her in and now the vehicle could neither go ahead nor reverse down the path, her occupants abandoning her to cruel faith and to the whims of mother nature . The area was known as Lambagad notorious for just this kind of incidents and the same was now   being played in live technicolour for those few souls like me who were attempting to cross. As minutes ticked by and converted into hours the situation remained the same, Umeid my guide and i looked at each other deciding that its time to leave the Spacio and strike a path through the mountain slope for this was the only way to tackle Lambagad, the destination had to be reached and so the team loaded the gear on and moved out. The trek that seemed completed had started once again, the curtains had still not fallen on one of the most enthralling of all treks that i have attempted till now ..... Trek to Mandini and beyond towards the Lake of Truth “Satopanth”