Triund - A Trek on 5 Feet Snow

Trekking third time to Triund had brought me again to Mcleodganj on evening of 2nd March 2012. The Snow at Triund was the key greed to conquer this trek on 3rd March. Jaideep Yadav and Deepak Mishra were too excited to take up the challenge on five feet snow and steep glaciers.

Deepak Mishra had never seen the Snow and Jaideep Yadav had returned unsucesful from Trek to Triund couple of months back. So it was more challenging for me to reach at Triund with my company. Somewhere in mind I was very clear that no matter what happens I will make these guys to reach at the top.

The trek started at 08:30 AM from Mcleodganj. We filled some confectionery, chocolates and water in our backpack. Strangely Jaideep and Deepak were exceptionally excited and energatic to reach the snow point, rather I was surprised that both of them started walking faster than me in the beginning. But it was for a while  and soon I took lead. My intention was to pull them upto half of the distance (7 KM) fast so that we have enough time to climb carefully when last 6 odd kilometers comes in front of us with unexpected stacks of snow.

Unlike summer times, the track had become no man land, we the only three trekkers were breaking the silence of dense forest with all kind of noise.

After 2 kilometer trek, we got to meet 4 dogs who looked aggressive initially. But soon we realized that all they need is pampering and some food. They got both this from us so they joined us for rest of the day. With these four dogs running behind and ahead of us, we finally reached the first stop of our trek, Dharamkot.

We bought more stuff to eat at Dharamkot. Most important buy here was Red Bull. We fed the dogs with biscuits so that they join us till last. It was good company from safety point of view.

Little away from Dharamkot, our track started showing some snow staked on the way. This was the time when we could see the full view of Dharamshala and Mcleodganj from top. By this time, signs of tiredness had started appearing on Jaideep's face. Few words of motivation and pampering to Jaideep we moved ahead. 

Soon came the turning point of our trek when we moved to the other side of landscape where we could see our first stop/breakfast stop and then on 90 degree look up was Triund. The shining white snow there created an unique energy in body and provoked me to run like crazy to reach there. The beauty of Triund covered under Snow was spectacular and breadth taking. For a while I was lost in a way as if I am wandering at Triund with no relation to this world. But soon I came back to reality as we had huge distance to be covered yet, that too full of snow and steep climb.

We were too busy with capturing the beauty of nature, of-course including lot of photographs of all three of us. After moving little ahead on track, we were in front of the first glacier of our adventure. It was huge, scary, steep and almost negligible marks of foot. Moreover, the noise of flowing water under glacier increased my fear. The glacier was almost 7 to 8 feet fat. There was no scope for error. Above all this, the day had grown hot enough to melt snow, so the fear of some snow coming down had almost fasten my heart beat to extreme. Our non stop chitter bitter had suddenly disappeared and silence there felt more haunting to me. With strange fears crossing my mind, we manage to cross our first glacier successfully. 

Our first encounter with such a huge glacier proved two things clearly. First that in our balance 8 to 10 kilometer trek we are going to come across lot of snow and glaciers, second that my both partners will not give up and that was great news to me.

With our first glacier crossing and half a kilometer trek from there, we reached a place called MAGIC VIEW where we had planned our breakfast with delicious Maggi cooked with lot of vegetable. The feeling of reaching at first milestone and feeding maggi was super awesome. We met three trekkers from abroad here. They alarmed us about the track and glaciers ahead. But we ignored it and moved ahead after resting for a while here.

As we were climbing high, the zeal to reach Triund was increasing step by step. The Magic View was the point where never ending snow started and now we had to walk on snow for almost 6 kilometers till Triund. The track ahead was full of Snow, glaciers and steep climb with no marks of foot.

Our mouths were shut permanently and camera was packed. I told both my buddies to focus on their steps invariably. We conquered three times bigger glaciers than first one and way steeper. It was genuinely risky to cross that when water flowing under it was huge. But we had no option than to cross it. This time we just did not stop in the middle and walked carefully on it.

After crossing this huge glacier we were to climb 90 degree for next 2 kilometers and that was Triund. But these two kilometers proved to be the most haunting to me. The only question in my mind was "How we will come down ?" I did not share my fears with  Jaideep Yadav and Deepak Mishra as this would have taken them onto the verge of giving up there itself.

800 meters before Triund,  Jaideep gave up and refused to climb. The reason was steep valley down looked scary and his shoes were completely wet. Here rather than motivating him I forcibly pushed him to walk up.

The purity of snow here proved that coutable number of people have reached here. Unmarked track proved our point further. We were among very few to reach at Triund. It was amazing to see  Jaideep and Deepak feeling proud of completing the trek. The view and feeling was beyond imaginations. Unlike last time Green lush, Triund was pure white. The place filled us with infinite Joy. 

We spent an hour over there where we met two young Monks and had heavely delicious steaming Dal and Rice in only shop open at Triund.

Now it was the time to head back to Mcleodganj. The challenge started with our first step to go down itself. It was steep and scary. The same unmarked Snow felt killer. I guided both my buddies to use edge of their shoes and to keep cross feet wherever possible. I did not allow them to put flat steps which are most dangerous on snow. The steep downhill of two kilometer was the most critical part of our journey back with litterly no scope of error.

Suddenly both  Jaideep and Deepak gave up and sat where ever they were. To keep eye on them and guide them I was the last one. At one steep path  Deepak  simply sat on snow and started screaming. Looking at this situation  Jaideep  turned back upward but I did not allow him to go back. Now this was the most tricky situation for me. Rather than screaming back on them, I decided to go to front and help them. The track was small enough to not to allow anyone cross, so I decided to make my own path on snow. As I reached close to  Deepak my right leg bumped into snow and my right leg got stuck till waste. I had no choice than to stay calm. Slowly I managed to come over it. After this I immediately asked  Deepak  to move slowly and then  Jaideep.

Once we crossed the biggest glacier, I could see  Jaideep's and Deepak's heart beat coming back to normal. I was happy that we managed to cross the main challenge safely. Moreover when  Jaideep was wearing flat shoes and  Deepak  was wearing shoes with soul which had become flat over a period of time.

On the way back, we met lot of people who were trying to reach Triund. We were sure that none them would reach.

With extreme happiness and satisfaction we trekked back to Mcleodganj. It was long day and ofcourse God had made it really special for me as Snow and peaks of Himalayas are too close to my heart. The day I marked in my life as some of those days where I was fully satisfied with what I did.

Glimpses of Palampur - Himachal Pradesh



Source :- Google search

The plan to make a visit to Palampur was followed up by a tiring day full of trek from Mcleod ganj to Triund. My day started early in morning at 5:00 AM with beautiful run in serene and soothing Mcleod ganj. I wonder if people of Mcleod Ganj have any complaints in life, people seemed chilled out attitude and fun loving. Morning breeze of this paradise fills mind and soul with freshness and happiness. I never felt like coming back from this place. I made all the efforts to enjoy every moment of this morning. However time keeps running. So soon it was the time to head back to Hotel to execute our next plan, which was Mission Palampur.

Keeping our Taxi cab aside, we hired Royal Enfield Thunderbird for a day. I rode it down nine kilo meters to fill the petrol. The thump of this old bird was unique and fascinating. For that matter, it has been the feature of Royal enfield bikes that every bike has different thump even within the same model. As it is I am Royal Enfield fan so riding this bike was altogether different experience on Dharamshala’s steep roads. I picked up Anand from Hotel and started the ride towards Palampur which was just 40 KM from Mcleod Ganj.

The drive down hill was awesome but It was to my surprise that Palampur is not situated on high altitude so we kept riding down and down till the time we rode more than half the distance.

Suddenly flow of vehicle increased from opposite side. One left curve and there was huge traffic jam due to some religious ocassion there,so we were stuck. The day had grown up so as the heat. It became tough to ride the bike in that traffic with continuous usage of clutch and breaks. In a matter of minutes, I sensed that there is something wrong with the bike. I almost had hit a car ahead of me, managed to control the bike from falling down and finally manage to start its ignition countless time. Finally I realised that this bike is not in ridable condition in heavy traffic because of its old engine and dead clutch. So decided to park at roadside and go back.

I thought of giving last try and turned back towards Mcleod Ganj. It was downhill drive for half a mile. After that the traffic jam was relatively lesser so I thought of starting the ignition. As I kick started the bike, the kick got stuck below silencer and that was the last thing to happen. Someone pushed my bike towards roadside. By this time we had wasted almost 3 hours struggling with old bike. We called the owner of bike and told him to pick up his bike from that place. Simultaneously we called our cab to pick us up from that place.

Our stopover was at a place called Darang. It was flooded with thousands of people moving towards only one direction. These people made our wait quite interesting and busy. We ended up drinking Sugarcane juice countless times. My never ending quest to eat took me to Sweet shop nearby and ate Jalebi, Anand controlled his emotions and did not eat Jalebi, may be callory concious. I did not stop here, I ate few cucumbers and tried searching for Dhaba but it was not available. Disappointed !!

Our cab and bike owner arrived almost same time. After handing over the bike, instead of heading back to Mcleodganj, we started our journey in Innova to Palampur. we crossed all the traffic for next 10 KMs and then the road was clear for driving. After five hours wrestling with old bike and struggle with hot and humid day, the Air conditioned Innova helped me sleep well for a while. I woke up when we had reached Palampur.

Unlike McleodGanj, Palampur was not showered with greenery yet. The town is situated in the foot of mountains in its surroundings. Palampur feels like a God's Home with walls made of mountains around it and Sky the roof. The view looks incomparable when sky is covered by thick clouds covering peaks of mountains and roof of cloud feel like much closure.

We chose to eat our lunch at 4:00 PM in a Restaurant of Himachal Tourism department. The food was not great as expected. We started our drive back to Mcleod Ganj at 5:00 PM and chose different route. Next 25 KMs made me realised why people say that Palampur is very beautiful. The road has some spectacular terrains and views. As we kept climbing the town looked more and more serene. This way had some awesome tea gardens of both sides.

The surprising thing was that in the entire day which was full of events I did not take out my camera at all. Hence I promised myself that I will go back to this place again and spend few days there which this place deserves.

Dharamshala - Mcleod Ganj - Green lush paradise on earth

First time ever in my life I reacted, "Oh My god, this place is way beautiful than my hometown in Chamba". This happened when we reached Mcleod Ganj. Anand and me traveled by Cab all the way from Nangal (Punjab) to Dharamshala to spend a day there. The drive from Una to Kangra was quite hot but beyond Kangra a magical change is weather brought a breath of relief for us.

The best part of trip was that we had no plans about how to spend a day and where to stay. By the time we reached Mcleod Ganj it was an evening time on Friday. The view of Mcleod Ganj in an evening looked serene and soothing to eyes. Green lush valley with almost no pollution and relatively less crowd was blissful experience. This magical paradise took away all the tiredness we had accumulated during the hectic day in which we travelled from Gurgaon to Nangal  (Punjab) followed by few hours in hot day of Nangal and finally four hours long drive from Nangal to Mcleod Ganj.

We landed at hotel named M Hotel through an agent and got a good deal for room facing Green Lush valley of Mcleod Ganj and Dharamshala. We off loaded our luggage with few minutes break and we were back on the streets of Mcleod Ganj.

Unknowingly we chose to explore the road connecting a place called Naddi, later we learnt that on the way of it there is very famous and sacred lake called "Dal Lake". The road was covered from both sides with symmetrically grown Oak and pine trees. Each curve of this road broke the whole view and brought an excitement of "What next?” So we ended up walking 2KM on that beautiful heavenly road with enjoy full cold breeze unlike our day journey.

Now the time was for food. We inquired few people and a common suggestion came up was "Restaurant Mcllo". The restaurant is situated in the very beginning of Mcleod Ganj town and easy to spot. The restaurant had Indian and Chinese preparation in its specialty. The ambiance of the restaurant is really super awesome with eye catching dim lights, natural air flowing from outside and beautiful view of Green lush valley under it. The food lived up to our expectations and would suggest everyone visiting McLeod Ganj to experience awesome dining there.

Our plan took another turn while we were waiting for food in Mcllo wherein we realised that one day is not enough to explore this place and we agreed to extend our trip by a day.

The second day of the trip started early at 5:30 AM for me. I chose to enjoy the run on Mcleod Ganj Naddi road to explore those mysterious and beautiful terrains. It was the most memorable run of my life ever, in middle of dense forest with no one around and cold breeze accompanying me throughout my run. Few KMs and I felt the low oxygen levels and steep uphill run added more spice to it. Somehow I managed to reach Dal Lake and to my disappointment Dal Lake was empty for cleaning purpose. I decided to go further uphill and see what is on the other side of the mountain. Few steep curves and I reached Naddi. The view from Naddi was breadth taking with snow covered Tall & Giant Mountain just behind it. Spent few ten minutes there and I started downhill run back to Mcleod Ganj.

The most beautiful time of the day at this hill station is morning few hours. So I decided to see the other side of this place which was Bhagsu Nag temple road. This side is completely in contrast with Naddi road with no trees around it, one can see the wide view of valley and high peaks of Dhauladhar range of Himalayas. In calmness of morning, Mcleod Ganj looked more spiritual.

We ate our breakfast at small dhaba because our Hotel restaurant was not open at 8:00 AM; hang over of late night party (till 2:00AM) which disturbed our sleep to large extent.

Now the time was for some stress and test of our stamina. Yes, we had a plan for trekking. The route we had chosen was Mcleod Ganj to Triund, which was 13 KM one side with steep climb to the peak of the hill. Our guide reached dot on time at 8:00 AM, so were we ready at that time. The day was cloudy which helped us climb faster. This route further leads to a place called Illaqa which is the last destination for trekkers. It’s a two days trek from Mcleod Ganj.

As we kept climbing each KM, the view of Dharamshala looked more and more serene. We met lots of foreigners on the way. We took few halts before we finally reached at the Triund in four hours. The weather at Triund was too cold with clouds all around and quite fast wind.

Triund is situated at the peak of the mountain and behind it is another giant mountain which was full of snow. The place was full of greenery all around. Triund has few guest houses for stay and limited shops having basic need stuff. The enjoyment of tea lying down on green grass facing snow covered mountain was priceless.

Since it was lunch time we asked a tea shop guy to cook something for us. He offered two things to us, Maggi or Rice & Dal. Of course we opted for Rice and Dal because we wanted to taste the preparation of Triund.

As we ordered the lunch, suddenly it started drizzling and soon it turned into rain. We ran into the Tea bhaba to take shelter. The view outside was spectacular with clouds crossing the mountain. Temperature dropped to almost 10 degree celcius. Soon Tea Dhaba was full of people to take shelter from rain like us. We spent more than half an hour watching view outside and enjoying cozy weather. It felt as matter of few moments. Then came freshly boiled rice and nicely cooked yellow dal with almost no spices in it. This combination at Triund tasted the best ever. The apatite of stomach was addressed by Rice and Dal however apatite to stay and enjoy the climate never ended for us. A cup of hot mild coffee followed by the meal worked wonders and provided the energy to go out in fast wind after rain. It was dam cold. The view immediately after the rain was very clear and Giant Mountain behind Triund peak was crystal clear.

We started our trek back to Mcleod Ganj in Cold winds all around. The weather magically changed very next moment we climbed down from Triund Peak. The trek back looked too long than it felt when we climbed up.

That day we slept so deep that we did not even realise that the party in Hotel went up to 2:00 AM in night.

Mcleod Ganj is one among few places where I promised to come back and spend more time to enjoy the nature. One more reason why I fell in love with this place is that people from Chamba (especially Bharmour and around it) are settled here and they speak my native place dialect. So I felt like coming home.

Dharamshala - Mcleod Ganj are well connected with road and air. There are Volvo buses connecting this place with Delhi and an Airport Gaggal 15 KM away from Dharamshala. Few things among must do is to see here are Bhagsu Nag Temple, Bhagsu Waterfall, Dal Lake, Naddi and Triund Trek. And yes, one must try food in Mcllo restaurant. The best months to visit this place are monsoon months viz Jun to Aug.

A biker lost in Himayalas

Biking and Himalayas perhaps has the most complementing relationship. I always feel that the joy and fun of riding along cold breeze, green lush valleys and excitingly thrilling terrains is under explained in words. The feeling of flying against gravity and flowing along gravity with full controls in hands, changes with each curve a rider covers.

 A long weekend with Good Friday included in it was almost unplanned till 20th April 2011. Hot mercury of delhi pushed me to think of a plan to run out of Delhi. When everyone was planning to Shimla or Manali, I made a Solo bike trip plan to explore some new places beyond overcrowded Shimla. To call it a "Plan" would be the insult of word "Plan". It was total mess, infact not even mess because there was no plan and I just started the trip.

Early riser started first day of trip on 22nd April 2011 at 5:30 AM from Gurgaon with my gears on. The excitement of solo ride and riding my new Royal Enfield in Himalayas made me impatient. With full throttle on and almost no traffic on Delhi roads when I crossed Delhi City was matter of an hour. The long pending complaint of my bike was addressed to take her for a long ride, the smoothness and comfort on bike seemed complimenting my decision.

Yummi Paranthas and Delicious White butter at Moorthal filled the energy in me which was enough to ride for the day. I have ridden so much on Delhi Chandigarh highway that now I dont find it more exciting that just to keep throttle at 110kmph and thats what I did this time as well. Traffic jams at few places helped me getting out of monotonous ride on National Highway.

As the Sun rose and started running along my right side, I felt the need for full sleeve cover and goggles, but the lazy attitude to open tightly knotted bag with bungee ropes made me ride full day in half sleeves and without goggles.

In four and half hours I was in the feet of Himalayas at Chandigarh. The newly built flyover from Zirakpur, at the cost of Greenery and trees, was fun to ride. Moreover when you have seen huge traffic jams on particular road and then one fine day you get exceptionally smooth ride, gives immense satisfaction.

As I entered Himachal, my speed slowed down with increasing cold breeze at Parwanoo. I rode 250KM plus to enjoy the experience, so I wanted to live each and every moment of it. I took countless breaks for drinks and photographs. The greenery is yet to flourish in Himalayas but the view of valleys and a solo bike trip makes it all an unique experience to count upon. 

The thump of four month old Royal Enfield was completely strange for me when I started the uphill ride. It was like a small kid who want to do something really new and when he has been allowed to do, he seems nervous and quite but still he does it well.The power of bike was really big and never felt that gravity is proving heavy on it.

A lunch at 12:30 PM, then another lunch at 1:30 PM and another one at 3:30 PM proved that I was riding hard. It was my last lunch, around 30 KM before Shimla town when I made up my mind to divert my way from shimla town towards Manali highway. My stopover was Darlaghat, a village which was 60 KM away from my last lunch stop.

My College friend, Vinod Puri's house was the halt for first day at Darlaghat. As I diverted towards Manali highway, the traffic was almost absent. The road did not deserve to be called as National Highway. But Himachal is such a heavenly place that acts of corruption also could not destroy the beauty. It was so much of fun riding in the middle of pine trees that I spent two hours to ride 60KM and enjoyed the stretch completely with Sun setting behind mountains and trees.

12 hours ride of 450 KM in a day from extremely hot Delhi to cold Darlaghat was damm awesome feeling. Vinod and me met after 11 years, it was soothing after long riding day to go back to old memories of college and wonder how we use to behave in different situations. The day ended with with gossips of all old times. The sleep of that night was the most awesome sleep I have ever had with tiredness at its peak and ideal weather.

Second day, 23rd April 2011, the early riser easily turned into lazy riser and started the day at 9:00 AM. Vinod and me headed towards Shimla. Breakfast at "Ekaant" restaurant, the only restaurant in Darlaghat, with a breathtaking landscape in front of restaurant was another delicious stuff I had come across in this trip.We rode from Darlaghat to Shimla, 45 KM distance. As expected, heavy traffic in shimla welcomed us. There was no space for parking a bike, think of people driving car into Shimla. The situation was such that we cancelled our bike trips we had planned after arriving in Shimla.

The day was spent having food and roaming around the places in Shimla. Vinod left for the day in the evening and I finished the day early at 9:00 PM.

Third and last day, 24th April 2011, was unexpectedly long riding day. Exception to early riser was only 23rd April, so started the day at 5:00 AM. The ride started down hills of Shimla town from hotel which was covered fully by pine trees. The road I took was also fully covered with pine trees and realised 10 Km down that I had opted for wrong way. Unlike time I could reverse those 10 kms and started on right track.

As I came out of Shimla town and took the throttle to full, freezing cold forced me to keep a watch on speed. In an hour of ride and my stomach started calling for some intake. One, two, three roadside dhabas and no one had anything ready at that time. Finally spotted the right place and another yummi parantha and chai at dhaba with Akaashwaani Shimla station on radio palying sufi songs.

Ride after parantha was smooth with some rash car drivers going left and right of my bike. As the sun rose and dosed in some energy in my body, the only thing I loved the most was the play with Shadow. I never loved the shadow so much. That posture on Royal Enfield looked so royal that I was wondering whether it is me or someone else is riding along me. The shadow going 360 degree around me reminded me of the song "Tu jahaan jahaan chalega tera saaya saath hoga". The hide and seek with shadow under Pine trees was even awesome.

The heaven ride came to an end at Parwanoo as I started feeling the heat. I was wondering whether the world   is small or man kind has made this world feel so small. In a ride of a day one can see the extremes of weather, one side early at 5:00 AM I was shivering with cold freezing weather and on the other side extreme hot weather of Delhi.

I reached Chandigarh in 3.30 hours from Shimla and met Vivek Ganatra who was to accompany me for rest of the ride from chandigarh to delhi. The day was growing hot. Despite all the effort to leave early from Chandigarh we could leave at 1:10 PM, when the temperature perhaps was highest for the day.

Vivek's excitement and happiness helped me riding in hot conditions. Exit from Chandigarh was very hot with signal lights at every mile. We took maximum number of stop overs and it was never a boring ride. With all the gossips of the world we finished 4 hours ride is 7:30 Hours.

A Juice break in the middle of nowhere, a fruit break at unknown shop and an unplanned lunch break at dhaba for more than an hour, this was all about the ride. We thought and we stopped, we photographed, we laughed, Vivek cried :), we ate, we slept at roadside dhaba and lot more fun. Cripping slow moving traffic from Karnal to Panipat was torture for both of us. The ride from Panipat to Delhi was damm smooth and awesome in relatively cool weather of evening. The pollution was unbearable, especially when one comes from Himalayas it feels even more.

Vivek's "Self motivation" always going to bring a smile on my face. More than that I was very satisfied and happy to ride with Vivek as he desperately wanted to do this and his happiness was an energy dose for me. We parted at Kashmiri Gate in Delhi from where I rode solo to Gurgaon. By the time I reached home I was completely tired, but the sad part is that the weather of gurgaon never let me sleep the way I slept last two nights in cool weather of Darlaghat and shimla.

This trip brought me real awesome experience of solo riding, meeting old friends, riding with friends and more than that a sense of self satisfaction. It again proved that I am the owner of my decisions and thoughts. I do what I like to do and never let anything else dictate my decisions.