Blast from the past : Beas Kund - June 2015
I just wrapped up a trek to a high altitude lake in the heart of Himachal Pradesh called Beas Kund.
It is this lake from which the Beas river originates.
I did something that I usually don't. I reached out to people to join me.
I changed my plans so that it can fit with theirs.
So, a total of 6 people, we set off, together from Delhi for Manali and eventually, Beas Kund.
18th June, Thursday
I worked from home and left early so that I could catch the 7:15 PM bus.
I reached the meeting point very early. I sat there on the steps of the metro station where everyone was supposed to meet and pondered how the next few days would pan out.
I pondered, but I wasn't worried.
I ended up eventually meeting everyone at Majnu ka Tila bus station.
After a very brief introduction, we took our respective seats.
2 ladies, 2 brothers, me and a guy I knew from before.
One lady, I had been in touch with. The other, was her friend, considerably older than the rest of us.
The brothers looked like siblings even though they were cousins.
The journey began, I kept staring out of the window to absorb as much of the surroundings as I possibly can.
19th June, Friday
The bus took longer than expected to reach its destination.
We reached Manali by around 11 AM after sweating it out in an AC bus.
The guide we hired, Nimmat, came to the bus station to pick us up.
He looked like a 23-24 year old guy, local, not much of a talker, a tad bit nervous.
We reached the base village, Dhundi after dealing with the terrible Manali traffic.
The place is crowded with tourists. I don't know what people like so much about just going to a hill station and doing "touristy" things like taking pictures in weird dresses etc.
I choose not to judge but they sure as hell piss me off for some reason.
Dhundi is not even a village, its just a remote place along the banks of Beas Kund river where some construction is going on for the Rohtang pass tunnel, heard they're building a 24x7x365 road till Leh.
The cab dropped us at the river banks, this was where the hiking was supposed to begin.
We walked for half an hour and then everybody took a break.
The porters had not arrived and we had to wait for them.
Everyone smoked a joint while I refrained.
I like to be alert when I'm at a new place. The rest had a good time for about an hour.
The guide didn't seem interested in making a move. I was suspicious of what he really wanted.
After a while, when the porters still didn't turn up, we started walking towards the place where we were supposed to camp.
This involved crossing a freezing river. I stepped in first and felt the cold needle like sensation of the water, numbing my feet at an alarming rate.
After crossing the river, when we reached the place where we were supposed to camp, the guide left to check for the porters.
Unfortunately, the porters showed him the middle finger and never turned up. He was in a fix. We were all in a fix.
The elder lady insisted on canceling the trek and going back to Manali.
I had not even understood whats going on and she had already made her plans for the weekend in Manali. I looked at others and wondered if they had the same opinion.
She had successfully created a negative environment. Only me and the guy with the tattoo were wanting to give it a try.
In my head, I started plans of doing it solo.
The other lady looked confused and seemed like she had given up hope too.
We all went back to Dhundi where more chaos ensued. The elder lady wanted to be dropped back to Solang. It was getting dark and she insisted that the guide accompany her.
After mulling over every possible certainty, I decided to sleep the night at Dhundi and start hiking next day.
Others, eventually agreed to the same approach, some reluctantly and some eagerly.
The elder lady left with the guide. Taking her negativity along with her.
She did rattle everyone's cages before she left though. Even going as far as ensuring us that the trek cannot be completed in the span of 2 days.
We all rested, ate delicious food at the camp, others drank and then called it a day.
20th June, Saturday
The morning was beautiful. I could get some decent rest after all that traveling.
The temperature was very moderate, very comfortable.
I clicked as many pictures as I could of the beautiful landscape.
It was like a painting.. the river flowing from the mountains, snow capped peaks in the background.
The first rays of the sun hitting the peak... that warm amber glow.. that mild breeze.
I might have taken pictures but I only need to close my eyes and think about it to travel to that place instantly.
The porter didn't turn up today as well. Well, he did turn up but received a scornful dose from all of us. The lady in particular was furious at his inaction the previous day.
We decided to not depend on the porter and complete the hike in a day itself.
It was quite doable and all we needed to carry was food.
We all left the unnecessary stuff in our tents and started hiking.
I carried a heavy bag nevertheless. It was mostly water (3L), warm clothing and food.
We set off from Dhundi at 7:40 AM and reached Bakerthach (the meadows) by somewhere around 9:45 AM.
Bakerthach was the camping place for the Mountaineering Institute - ABVIMAS.
We had to cross many streams.. fresh out of the glacier.. cold as hell.
Thanks to the practice day before, we all crossed them without a sweat.
We set off from Bakerthach around 10:30 AM after taking rest and started ascending towards Beas kund.
There was a lot of glacier walk involved which was fun. I dropped my sunglasses somewhere and lost them but the guy with the tattoos lend me his spare one.
Walking on the glacier without sunglasses can kill your eyes.
After crossing the glacier and crossing yet another stream, we reached the most difficult part of the trek, the moraines.
Huge boulders field which is very difficult to traverse. The boulders sometimes move as you step on them and can destabilize you. It is up to your best judgement to decide which boulder will probably not move.
The experience was very enriching. I had never climbed a terrain like this before.
We stopped midway and saw a beautiful circular rainbow. I'll always remember looking at it.
We reached beas kund at around 12:15 PM.
We actually needed to descend quite a bit to reach there.
It was a vast plain area, mostly glaciers, surrounded by mountains on all side.
The lake itself was frozen.
We sat down a bit away from the lake to refuel and relax.
I remember taking a power nap.
We relaxed till 1:20 PM and then started our journey back to base.
But not before clicking countless pictures and absorbing everything.
The river, the hanging clouds, the endless glaciers, the waterfalls. Fits the description of paradise in my opinion.
We started descending, which was as expected, a lot more easier.
Reached Dhundi at around 4 pm. Right in time for Tea.
The trek was complete.
The entire group was happy, smiles all around, jokes all around.
21st June, Sunday
We left Dhundi via a pick up truck sort of vehicle at 11 AM.
Reached Manali and had food at a cafe known as "Lazy dog".
It had a nice view of the river Beas. Food was expensive and not that great.
We met the elder lady and told her of our "achievement".
She pretended to congratulate us.
In the evening, we left Manali for Delhi.
Bidding adieu to the mountains and saying hello to 'Business as usual'
It is this lake from which the Beas river originates.
I did something that I usually don't. I reached out to people to join me.
I changed my plans so that it can fit with theirs.
So, a total of 6 people, we set off, together from Delhi for Manali and eventually, Beas Kund.
18th June, Thursday
I worked from home and left early so that I could catch the 7:15 PM bus.
I reached the meeting point very early. I sat there on the steps of the metro station where everyone was supposed to meet and pondered how the next few days would pan out.
I pondered, but I wasn't worried.
I ended up eventually meeting everyone at Majnu ka Tila bus station.
After a very brief introduction, we took our respective seats.
2 ladies, 2 brothers, me and a guy I knew from before.
One lady, I had been in touch with. The other, was her friend, considerably older than the rest of us.
The brothers looked like siblings even though they were cousins.
The journey began, I kept staring out of the window to absorb as much of the surroundings as I possibly can.
19th June, Friday
The bus took longer than expected to reach its destination.
We reached Manali by around 11 AM after sweating it out in an AC bus.
The guide we hired, Nimmat, came to the bus station to pick us up.
He looked like a 23-24 year old guy, local, not much of a talker, a tad bit nervous.
We reached the base village, Dhundi after dealing with the terrible Manali traffic.
The place is crowded with tourists. I don't know what people like so much about just going to a hill station and doing "touristy" things like taking pictures in weird dresses etc.
I choose not to judge but they sure as hell piss me off for some reason.
Dhundi is not even a village, its just a remote place along the banks of Beas Kund river where some construction is going on for the Rohtang pass tunnel, heard they're building a 24x7x365 road till Leh.
The cab dropped us at the river banks, this was where the hiking was supposed to begin.
We walked for half an hour and then everybody took a break.
The porters had not arrived and we had to wait for them.
Everyone smoked a joint while I refrained.
I like to be alert when I'm at a new place. The rest had a good time for about an hour.
The guide didn't seem interested in making a move. I was suspicious of what he really wanted.
After a while, when the porters still didn't turn up, we started walking towards the place where we were supposed to camp.
This involved crossing a freezing river. I stepped in first and felt the cold needle like sensation of the water, numbing my feet at an alarming rate.
After crossing the river, when we reached the place where we were supposed to camp, the guide left to check for the porters.
Unfortunately, the porters showed him the middle finger and never turned up. He was in a fix. We were all in a fix.
The elder lady insisted on canceling the trek and going back to Manali.
I had not even understood whats going on and she had already made her plans for the weekend in Manali. I looked at others and wondered if they had the same opinion.
She had successfully created a negative environment. Only me and the guy with the tattoo were wanting to give it a try.
In my head, I started plans of doing it solo.
The other lady looked confused and seemed like she had given up hope too.
We all went back to Dhundi where more chaos ensued. The elder lady wanted to be dropped back to Solang. It was getting dark and she insisted that the guide accompany her.
After mulling over every possible certainty, I decided to sleep the night at Dhundi and start hiking next day.
Others, eventually agreed to the same approach, some reluctantly and some eagerly.
The elder lady left with the guide. Taking her negativity along with her.
She did rattle everyone's cages before she left though. Even going as far as ensuring us that the trek cannot be completed in the span of 2 days.
We all rested, ate delicious food at the camp, others drank and then called it a day.
20th June, Saturday
The morning was beautiful. I could get some decent rest after all that traveling.
The temperature was very moderate, very comfortable.
I clicked as many pictures as I could of the beautiful landscape.
It was like a painting.. the river flowing from the mountains, snow capped peaks in the background.
The first rays of the sun hitting the peak... that warm amber glow.. that mild breeze.
I might have taken pictures but I only need to close my eyes and think about it to travel to that place instantly.
The porter didn't turn up today as well. Well, he did turn up but received a scornful dose from all of us. The lady in particular was furious at his inaction the previous day.
We decided to not depend on the porter and complete the hike in a day itself.
It was quite doable and all we needed to carry was food.
We all left the unnecessary stuff in our tents and started hiking.
I carried a heavy bag nevertheless. It was mostly water (3L), warm clothing and food.
We set off from Dhundi at 7:40 AM and reached Bakerthach (the meadows) by somewhere around 9:45 AM.
Bakerthach was the camping place for the Mountaineering Institute - ABVIMAS.
We had to cross many streams.. fresh out of the glacier.. cold as hell.
Thanks to the practice day before, we all crossed them without a sweat.
We set off from Bakerthach around 10:30 AM after taking rest and started ascending towards Beas kund.
There was a lot of glacier walk involved which was fun. I dropped my sunglasses somewhere and lost them but the guy with the tattoos lend me his spare one.
Walking on the glacier without sunglasses can kill your eyes.
After crossing the glacier and crossing yet another stream, we reached the most difficult part of the trek, the moraines.
Huge boulders field which is very difficult to traverse. The boulders sometimes move as you step on them and can destabilize you. It is up to your best judgement to decide which boulder will probably not move.
The experience was very enriching. I had never climbed a terrain like this before.
We stopped midway and saw a beautiful circular rainbow. I'll always remember looking at it.
We reached beas kund at around 12:15 PM.
We actually needed to descend quite a bit to reach there.
It was a vast plain area, mostly glaciers, surrounded by mountains on all side.
The lake itself was frozen.
We sat down a bit away from the lake to refuel and relax.
I remember taking a power nap.
We relaxed till 1:20 PM and then started our journey back to base.
But not before clicking countless pictures and absorbing everything.
The river, the hanging clouds, the endless glaciers, the waterfalls. Fits the description of paradise in my opinion.
We started descending, which was as expected, a lot more easier.
Reached Dhundi at around 4 pm. Right in time for Tea.
The trek was complete.
The entire group was happy, smiles all around, jokes all around.
21st June, Sunday
We left Dhundi via a pick up truck sort of vehicle at 11 AM.
Reached Manali and had food at a cafe known as "Lazy dog".
It had a nice view of the river Beas. Food was expensive and not that great.
We met the elder lady and told her of our "achievement".
She pretended to congratulate us.
In the evening, we left Manali for Delhi.
Bidding adieu to the mountains and saying hello to 'Business as usual'
Comments
Post a Comment