The weather was pleasant in may and whole month we spent our time planning and preparing for the long desired 'Kagbhusandi Tal' trek. This trek was in my wish list not just because of the difficulty level of the trek route and the mountain passes it crosses but also the spiritual aspect attached to this lake and the importance it holds in the 'SANATAN Dharma'. On 4th of June a day before our departure, at around 10 am I received a phone call from an old friend who had just returned from the 'kankhul Pass'. Message was conveyed to everyone in the trek group that the 'Kagbhusandi Tal' trek has been postponed as there is eight feet of snow in 'Kankhul Pass' and the lake too is covered in snow.
The group met at 5 pm to discuss about a new trek as no one wanted to stay at home. After many heated arguments and discussions the whole group agreed to go for the "Pangarchulla Peak Trek". The pangarchulla peak is a dreamed and desired summit of all the trekkers who love trekking in the snow. Its a marvelous and mesmerizing peak ( altitude 14700 ft) very near to the 'Kuari Pass'. This trek offers breathtaking views of the mesmerizing snow clad majestic himalayan peaks and a chance to witness the serenity of himalayan bugyals in its pristine form. The group decided to follow the traditional route from Auli as this route is east facing and offers the maximum views of major himalayan peaks.
Boulders at pangarchulla base
At 6 am on 5th of june, the group consisting of 8 members assembled at 'Hotel Anna' near Narsinga Temple in Joshimath. Backpacks were properly settled and the ration plus supply equally distributed to adjust in the backpacks. The sleeping bags and mattress tied to the backpacks; luggage loaded in cars, the journey begun. At around 7am the group reached Auli, the start point of the trek. After paying homage to Lord Hanumaan at 'sanjeevini shikhar' in Auli, the trek to pangarchulla begun.
Walking through the green pastures of auli ski slopes, within the next 20 minutes we were at the Auli lake adjacent to the 'Cliff Top resort'. At such serene and picturesque locations the spirit of a imaginary renowned photographer pops out like a jinni when the lamp is rubbed; that spirit is usually nailed in a rustic coffin buried inside a secret chamber of the heart. Within in the next 15 minutes the photographer 'Jinny" being exhausted with all those camera tricks, jumped back in to the lamp and the 'real me - the adventure freak' was promoted as the commanding officer of this mind and body. The backpack fastened, camera hanged and the water bottle settled: the gang of freaks with haste steps began ascending the trail to 'Gurson Bugyal'.
Gurson Bugyal
The ascend further through Auli bugyal was pleasant as the bugyal was full of small multicolored flowers and the trail provided mesmerizing views of the majestic snow clad Nanda Devi peak. We rested a while near the ropeway (cable car) station to fill our water bottles with icy water of the nearby mountain stream that meanders through the Auli bugyal. After a steep climb the trail ascends through dense woods of oak and pine. We saw lots of fallen trees and wild mushrooms growing on these rotting woods. Following the trail through woods we reached the 'Padyar Devta Temple'; a small temple amidst the woods dedicated to "padyar devta", considered as the lord of woods and lands. A couple of hundred mts walk further and we entered the 'Gurson Bugyal'. After crossing a few hillocks, we were in the middle of 'Gurson Bugyal' with greenery all around. The marvelous panoramic view of the mesmerizing snow covered majestic peaks from gurson bugyal was breathtaking. The bellows of cows, bleats of sheep and the tinkling of the cattle bells together with the ambience captivates ones mind and compells to lie down and rest for a while. But we had to move on; follow the trails, cross over the green hillocks and reach 'Tali lake' our camping site.
Following the trail for a couple of kms amidst the bugyal, the group finally reached 'chonya' a water spring where we had planned to rest for breakfast. A little too late for breakfast but anyway we enjoyed the breakfast. Bread with fruit jam and chutneys, fruit juices and aloo bhujia is all we had for breakfast. From 'chonya' the trail further is a gradual climb that takes you to 'tali dhar'. After crossing the herds of sheep grazing in bugyals we reached 'tali dhar' from where we had to trek through a narrow trail with steep downhill slopes for about a couple of kms. The narrow trail was challenging with ups and downs through out the journey until we reached Tali. The narrow trail led us to vast open lands of tali covered with broad leaves of plant found here in abundance. The route from here descends for about 800 mts and leads to Tali lake which appears in sight when you least expect it. Its a beautiful lake with the snow covered peaks in the background.
We rested for half an hour near the lake while a few videos were being shot by the group members. Biscuits were unwrapped, warm tea poured from thermal flasks and the conversation begun. As usual considering the ambience and location, the nature lover inside us talked diplomatically on issues related to nature and its conservation. After savouring the biscuits and tea, the group geared up and moved towards the camp site. The campsite was about a km from the lake and the trail went through dense woods. The campsite was a small clearing amidst the woods with a water spring near by.
On reaching 'tali' campsite the group worked very fast in preparing the lunch. No attention was paid to pitching up the camp. The lunch was soon served and consisted of some really nice smelling noodles tossed in fried garlic and szechuan sauce . For appetizer 'paneer tikkas' were cooked over pine wood fire. Being a connoisseur of great recipes cooked over fire while camping, I devoured quite a good portion and wished to rest in my tent had it been pitched. Meanwhile someone amongst us glanced at the wristwatch and exclaimed, "Oh! its quarter past two PM and we still had five and a half hours of daylight". I could whisper them say, "We should move ahead, follow the trail through woods and reach Khulara". So after some heated discussions the group decided to continue the journey and reach khulara camp site. It would be worthwhile here to mention that the eagerness and decision of the group to continue the journey was not rationale as their minds had been enslaved by the sting of booze that the group members secretly enjoyed while cooking lunch.
The journey ahead was quite a bit boring and unpleasant as for the whole journey from 'tali" to 'Khulara', the trail goes through dense forest and for most part of trail one has to ascend through narrow rugged trail. The only pleasant thing that made me smile was the company of a shepherd dog that joined us for rest of the journey and guarded our camp at night for three days. After about four and a half hours the group reached a hillock from where we could see the 'Khulara' camping ground at a distance of about 500 mts. While we sat on the hillock admiring the pristine beauty of 'Khullara camp', a few energetic members rushed down towards 'khulara' to pitch the camp, lit a fire and prepared tea for the group. I sat on the hillock for about 20 minutes admiring what my eyes could see. I could see the panoramic view of major himalayan peaks very close to me. The vast camping ground of khullara is surrounded on three sides by forest and two water streams flow through the ground. Herds of sheep were grazing there, returning to their temporary sheds in the pastures. What an enchanting view it was!
The dinner was served early by the campfire and the talks as obvious was about nature and tourism in the mountains. Then we enjoyed the star gazing session as the sky was clear and the stars were big and bright. It was decided that the next day will be a rest day and the whole day will be for rejuvenating our body and cherish the mesmerizing views from this camp site. Whole night the himalayan shepherd dog stood at guard near the tent occasionally barking in the dark. Next morning we woke up late and spent the whole day in leisure enjoying the food and company of friends.
At vinayak dhar ahead of gailgarh
On 7th of June everyone in the group woke up early, mugs of coffee along with biscuits were served and everyone started packing their backpack with essentials required for today's climb. As it was going to be a whole day trek, so breakfast as well as lunch was packed along with some fruit juices. At 6AM the backpacks were fastened and the group with lots of enthusiasm marched out for the day's climb. Ascending through the green pastures of 'Gailgarh" we noticed some rocky formations at a distance where some tents were pitched. The villagers from the foothills who were collecting "Kira Jari" or 'yarchagumba' had pitched their tents their. The himalayan shepherd who had accompanied in our journey bid us farewell here and ran towards the rocky formations as he could hear his owner's whistle. Very soon we reached 'Vinayak dhar', from where the trail bifurcates. To the west is the 'Kuari pass' and if you ascend towards the south the trail leads to 'Pangarchulla" base. From here we could admire the panoramic view of the major himalayan peaks like Chaukhamba, Mana, Neelkanth, Neelgiri, Hathi, Ghori, Barmal, Nanda Devi, Kamet, Kalanka and Dronagiri. We climbed to the south following the ridge. After about half an hour of climb we reached on top of the ridge from where we got the first glimpse of the 'Pangarchulla peak'. From here the bugyal on the other side of ridge was visible and we could see herds of sheep and horses grazing, while the shepherd dogs with their cautious nature could be seen staring at us as if we had intruded their regime. The group rested their for about 15 minutes, planning the climb ahead.
First glimpse of 'Pangarchulla Peak'
The trail ahead descended for about 500 mts where the villagers of "karchi' and 'tugasi' villages had pitched their tents. Met a few familiar faces there who offered us hot tea and snacks. I noticed bushes of yellow rhododendrons there. After about 15 minutes of chit-chat we thanked our hosts for the tea and geared up to ascend the steep climb ahead. The trail ahead was the narrowest that I had ever seen meandering through shrubs which to me looked very similar to rhododendrons, but in a miniature form. Stepping on these shrubs was very similar to walking over cushions. It was a very hard climb of about a km and exhausted our bodies. Anyhow we reached the top of the hill and to our amazement we found a pristine grassland over there with a mountain stream with icy water flowing through. This place was so serene that everyone sat down to admire its beauty and enjoy the mesmerizing views it provided of the himalayan peaks. As it was 9 AM by now, the group decided to feast on the packed breakfast. As everyone fell in love with this place, further it was decided that the group will reach here on time for lunch.
At pangarchulla base after crossing the vast expanse of boulders
At the farther end of the 'Bugyal' I could see the trail vanishing amidst the rock formations and boulders. It was a vast expanse of boulders and snow visible as far as the eyes could see. As there is no visible trail from here so one has to decide his own path; jumping from one boulder to another avoiding the glacial snow as it was june and the glaciers had started to melt. Crossing this rocky area was very tiresome and my knees starting to ache with all those continuous jumping from one boulder to another. After three hours of rigorous walking or should I say jumping, we finally reached the base of pangarchulla peak.
The climb to the summit point
Everything ahead was white with snow and the tips of rocks were visible as black dots on a white paper. Last nights snowfall on the peak had erased all the footprints and covered the trail to the summit point of peak. After discussions and planning the group started ascending the peak following the route that seemed most appropriate. The climb was rigorous and walking over the fresh snow was exhausting us. Near to the summit point the group decided to rest for a while and look around. We sat on a rock facing the base of the peak. To the right I could see many peaks and 'Delisera' bugyal at their base. To the left where the eyes could see the moraine was visible. Right below my feet at a distance far away I could see the "dhauliganga' flowing. After sipping some fruit juices the team was ready for the final climb. The weather got unpleasant and it started to snow. After a haste and rigorous climb of 200 mts we were on the top of 'Pangarchulla peak'. A few clicks were shot and the team team started descending the peak to the base. Descending the peak was fun to us and very soon we were at the base. Hastily but cautiously we crossed the rocky area to reach the bugyal where we had decide to rest for lunch. The sky was clear by now and we enjoyed our lunch admiring the marvelous views of snow covered majestic himalayan peaks. While returning to camp at gailgarh our four legged friend (himalayan shepherd) joined us back to the camp.
Dragging our exhausted bodies we reached 'Khullara' our camp at 5 PM. Tea was ready by now along with onion 'Pakoras' ( fried fritters). After dinner that night everyone went to sleep early as next morning we had to descend to 'Tugassi' village. Next morning After a heavy breakfast of porridge, every member of the team geared up for the final descend. We entered the woods to the west and followed the trail amidst the woods, occasionally crossing the mountain streams over fallen trees. Our four legged friend accompanied us right up to 'Tugassi' village and vanished among the houses there. A motor vehicle was waiting for us there to carry us home. Everyone mounted the vehicle and the journey to home begun.