An invitation for a trekking trip to the Himalayas is not the best offer that anyone can make to journalists. Used to a sleep deprived lifestyle where the day starts well past afternoon and evenings often end in the wee hours, getting into a disciplined regime, even for a few days, can never be welcome. But the bait for this particular trip could not have been better?a chance to trek with two mountaineers, one of whom is already a legend and the other on way to the same league.
The challenge was to scale a height of over 12,000 feet to Dayara top in Uttarakhand, trekking well over 10 km of rocky tracks passing through villages, forest and meadows. And to keep our feet moving were two stalwarts?Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to climb Mt Everest, and Premlata Agrawal, the first person from Jharkhand to scale the world?s highest peak this year.
The first leg of the journey (with all comforts) started from Delhi and ended at Raithal village (7,100 feet), located at a distance of 40 km from Uttarkashi town on the way to Gangotri. The village, we were told, was our base camp where we would rest and get acclimatised for the gruelling journey ahead.
Raysal is a small village with a hundred-odd houses scattered along the ridges of Garhwal Himalayas. The beauty of the place is that the snow-capped mountains of the greater Himalayas make a 180-degree arc around the village and the sunrise brings with it a stunning visual of orange-and-gold hued mountains slowly turning into blue and grey as the sun rises. The ranges engulf the village in a way, giving an illusion that one can run onto them. But a reality check came from veteran Bachendri Pal, who told us it would take a few days to reach anywhere close to those peaks. ?But our trek will take us a lot closer,? she said.
Day one of the real trip started from the base camp a little early. The November chill early in the morning was uncomfortable for us city dwellers. Besides, it was an effort to wake up at five in the morning and get ready for a long trek to Guin (9,500 feet), a beautiful little meadow surrounded by dense forests from where Neelkanth and Bandar Poonch ranges rise. Again, Bachendri Pal was a big inspiration, as even at 57 years of age, she was the first one to get ready and force others to fall in line.
The trek started with a gentle climb on a makeshift cement track that passed through village houses. Gentle as it may be, the climb soon started testing our stamina and each step slowly became an effort with frequent breaks a routine. ?You should see this as a challenge. If people twice your age could do it with ease, nothing should stop you. It?s all in your mind,? said Bachendri Pal, trying to encourage us. What kept us going was the beautiful landscape all around us. At times we were in the middle of the jungle, struggling to steal a little warmth of the sun, and at times we were suddenly in the open, exposed to the mighty Himalayas that seemed closer with each step. After nearly four and a half hours we were at camp one, midway to the final destination, Dayara top.
Guin gives a spectacular view of the Garhwal Himalayas. We had to camp here for the night to begin our second leg of the trek the next day. Camping in the meadows in front of the beautiful ranges and surrounded by forests was an unimaginable experience and we weren?t forewarned for the night. Immediately after sundown, the temperature started dropping and we were all shivering at minus two degrees centigrade. But even the chill did not deter us from moving out to see the millions of stars dotting the sky, a view not possible in Delhi.
The next morning brought another surprise?a white blanket around our tents. The dew had frozen, covering the grass and converting the meadow into white. It was a sight I am not likely to forget!
Soon we were on with our second leg of the trek, which we were told was less arduous. But climbing up starting from 9,500 feet is itself a task and the steep climb slowed our movement to just a few metres in a minute.
But the sight that waited for us at our final destination, the Dayara meadows (11,500 feet), was worth every effort. The meadows give a feel of green sand dunes or a perfectly designed golf course atop the Himalayas. The place resembles Gulmarg in Kashmir, barring the population and any infrastructure. Our first thought was why this place had not been developed for tourism. But the immediate next one was that the virgin beauty of the place was its USP and any ?development? would just ruin it. Dayara meadows provide a 360 degree view of the greater Himalayas and provide several other routes for trek enthusiasts. From here you can get a clear view of of the snow-covered peaks such as Draupadi ka Danda (19,000 feet), Gangotri 1 (20,000 feet), Bandar Poonch (20,500 feet), Shrikanth (21,000 feet) and Kala Nag (21,000 feet).
As night fell, the moonlight turned the meadow into a silvery desert, a sight we drank on, unmindful of the minus five degrees. The next morning we prepared to climb down, but no one seemed willing to leave the place. All of us were converts by now, willing to take up the challenge of the next big trekking trip.
