Lama Lambri Pass trek

Day 0 - Delhi to Aut

I've always had certain skills. For better or for worse, spending extended periods of time in isolation is one of them. It doesn't bother me as much as it might for most people.

So I'm off to Aut and then to Banjar and then to Gushaini from where I'll be spoiled for choices on which trek to go to.
GHNP sounds nice, so does Marahni pass, where I couldn't go when I was here last. I could choose to chill at Rolla and go to Shilt hut or maybe try going to Tirth.

This is a first. I'm going to the base village and I have no idea where I'll go from there. To be honest, I don't care as long as I find peace. God knows I need it.

Day 1 - Aut to Banjar to Gushaini to Sharchi

I reached Gushaini fairly earlier than last time (which was around 2 pm, if I remember correctly).

As soon as I deboarded the bus at Aut, I got a bus at around 9 am which dropped me to Banjar by 10:30 am. From there, I boarded another bus to Gushaini which left from Banjar at 11 am. By 11:40 am, I was at Prabhat homestay which is in a village called "Naglari" in Gushaini. 

Resting and Lunch at Prabhat homestay

On arrival, I felt unusually tired and had a haze in front of my eyes. It was strange since I had slept so much in the bus.

I passed out in the room at Prabhat homestay and woke up at 3:30 pm. After which, I promptly ate lunch, got ready and left for base camp village.

My contact in Tirthan, Ashish dropped me to a village called Sharchi.
Apparently, I'm doing Lama Lambri pass trek. The plan is to ascend from Sharchi to the ridge top, a few more meters of climb and I'll reach Lambri pass.

Fresh pear plucked from Tree

End of road at Sharchi village

From there, I'll walk to Serosalar lake and then meet road head at Jalori pass.

With this, I can even go to Manali on Monday, grab lunch from there and then board the bus to Delhi next day.
I can also choose to stay in Manali. But I don't see why I'd want to do that, considering I find it boring.

That comes later, right now I'm at a food tent near the first camp site in Sharchi. Sharchi, I must say rivals only Osla (near Har ki dun) in terms of true Himalayan heritage, beauty and cleanliness.

There is a temple there for their goddess in the middle of an open ground. As per tradition, every year on April 14th or 15th, depending upon the stars, the villagers hike all the way to lambri, chop the highest possible tree in the area, bring it back to Sharchi and erect it in front of the temple.

Ashish tells me that kids here are sensitized about usage and disposal of plastic from a very early age. Result? Beautiful, grass covered sprawling village without ANY garbage.

I walked a little further from Sharchi and camped at a meadow, the food tent is nearby and we're just giving them our rations so they can cook, since they have LPG which is much better than cooking on firewood.

Tomorrow we would reach Lambri top, where I'm being told there would be shepherds, who we'll cook with. 

Sharchi village; neat and clean

Long tree temple offering

Camp @ Sharchi meadow

Everything is sorted.

Day 2 Sharchi to Lama Lambri pass

The trek to Lambri starts from the tree cover. No rocket science, you just have to climb, quite a lot. I was happy that the weather was clear. In half an hour, I reached a campsite which my guide tells me is a heaven for bird watchers. I mostly do all my bird watching in Delhi, if you know what I mean, so I trotted on forward. 

Bird watching campsite

About an hour into the trek, it started raining heavily. Thunderous ramblings of the clouds, you could feel it's happening somewhere right above your head. Terrifying, yet, Beautiful.
But.. I had to take refuge under a tree. 

It started getting cold and I was shivering. After about an hour of waiting, the rain subsided and turned into a drizzle which was manageable. I came prepared and had a poncho. 

The Ascent from there on was relentless, I was losing steam since it had been a while since I last ate. I just wanted to get out of the tree line and into the meadow asap. Walking in a meadow is an experience. It's like walking into a wallpaper of Windows XP. Also, the area was rich in fauna like wild strawberries, other berries, herbs and flowers. 

Nagphool; carnivorous plant

Tea can be made out of this tree's bark; has anti-carcinogenic properties

After a couple of hours of breath consuming climb, I reached a ridge, which introduces you to the final stretch of climb.
My guide happy suggested we have lunch here and I agreed. I needed food.
We took lunch, had ample rest and then climbed the remaining stretch in about half an hour.
Never underestimate the power of a well fed trekker!

Ridge before final ascent to Lambri Pass

Now my guide had told me about an expansive meadow but what I saw there was out of this world.
Huge, huge open area covered with grass. You could feel it's softness while walking on it. Imagine Ali Bugyal, combine it with Bedni Bugyal, even then it would pale in comparison.

I'm surprised nobody talks about this place, walking here was therapeutic. 

We decided to camp near the Shepherd campsite, which was at a gentle descent from Lambri top. At the moment of writing this, I'm safely tucked in the tent and it's raining cats and dogs outside.
Phew! Close shave!

Lama Lambri meadow

Lama Lambri Panorama from up top

[Update at night]: 
We set up a bonfire since it started to get marginally cold, right now I'm sitting besides the said bonfire under a rock shelter. The moon is shining, a cow is just standing suspiciously still and there are noises coming from the jungle. The guide tells me to not worry, so I'm doing my best.
I'm literally tempted to have a conversation with the cow ("So.. how's the grass over here?").

At some point, I should think about my psychological well being.

Day 3 Lama Lambri to Serosalar lake

I had a slightly uncomfortable sleep due to the tent being on a downward slope as a result of which, feet got cold. But I slept for 10 hours nevertheless.

Oh and btw, happy birthday to me!

We started trekking a little late today around 10:30 am. I spent quite some time sitting on a rock just observing what's going around me, the sheep and goats going about their business, the cows mooing like it's some sort of a compulsion. Shepherds making noises to regulate the livestock. Quite an ecosystem there. 

Played a lot with this fella, Dabbu

After breakfast, we marched forward to Serosalar lake.

There was an initial climb back to the Meadows, from there the trail runs into a zig zag sequence of ascents and descents. I was tired, thoughts about maybe I should've just stuck to having a regular birthday. 

Direction markers at every ridge top

That and a 12 kg backpack. That's right, I was carrying my tent and heavy sleeping bag which I think should replace in the future.

After 2:30 hrs of arduous climb and descent, we came across a ridge. It was at this point that it started raining really heavily.
At the point of writing this, I've taken a refuge in a shepherds tent. I've gotten wet, I'm shivering.

"Cold is just a feeling".

It appears the rain is slowing down, so there's hope. My left thumb is frozen. Nah, my left hand.
An hour away from Serosalar is what the shepherd told me.
So, in ideal weather conditions, 3 hrs 30 minutes is how long it takes from Lambri to Serosalar. Fair enough, I told myself.

[Update at night]:
Fuck everything you just read. 

The trail to Serosalar is a legitimate badass. It's what I found out later.
The short nap at the shepherd cost me a lot, I was wet and I should've just stayed active.
My body started to hurt and I felt weak, possibly the cold got me. I could feel chest congestion.

I resumed walking at 2:30 pm from the shepherd hut. The trail was gentle at first but then was.. non existent. 

My guide took us to a trail in which I couldn't see where I was stepping and there was about 60 ft drop, total valley exposure. I was already weak but then I got screwed up in the head. I wasn't certainly expecting this. 

I asked him if there's another way, there was and we took it. The other way was marginally longer and only marginally safer.

But it didn't matter. 

Fucking rock face. 

For a good half an hour. Imagine climbing up a rock which is freshly wet and slippery due to rain. It certainly bought back memories of Pin Parvati but then in Pin Parvati that's normal. I didn't expect this here.
The incline was 80 degrees. 

The wind was out of my fucking sails.

After this ordeal, you reach a ridge. A beautiful grass covered ridge, stick to the left and walk leisurely, like I did and you'll reach another shepherd encampment. I had warm water there and there was fire. So yeah, fire was great.I heated myself up.

Thankfully, Serosalar lake is just 20 minutes downhill from there.

About Serosalar:

It's full blown tourist spot. You'll get food, accommodation and just about everything you'll need after a grueling day of trekking.
The lake is pretty big, neatly fenced, probably 400 m diameter. There are "hotels" on either side of the lake. Fully commercialized but I'm not complaining. 

Serosalar temple

Right now, I'm sitting in front of a tandoor with exhausts on one end, so smoke isn't a problem.
My back hurts. I'm so glad I've seen the end of this. And the weather is looking clear to, now. Once I'm in shade.
In my head I play "Why does it always rain on me" by Coldplay, I just hum a little. Keeps the spirit up :)

Snuggling near the Tandoor

Tomorrow a small trek to Jalori pass and then back to civilization!

Day 4 Serosalar to Jalori pass

Campsites at Jalori, road visible below campsite

Jalori temple

Today was an easy day. Serosalar to Jalori pass only takes an hour and half at most. There's a gradual descent followed by some climbing up, followed by a long level walk right up to Jalori. You'll see food joints at every 15 minutes. 
Jalori pass is full of tents and camp spots, very touristy. There is also a temple which mentions the altitude (3160m), which is same as Serosalar.
I reached road head at 10:30 am and boarded the bus to Banjar. The bus took an hour and half. 

At around 12:30 pm the bus to Aut left from Banjar. As the bus was approaching Larji village, the bridge in front had an accident. One of the metal plates got dislodged and there was a huge jam on either side of the bridge.

The bus driver asked us to de-board and board the bus on the other side. Everyone de-boarded. It later turned out that he was a lying scumbag. There was no bus on the other side. I was starving and now just walking on a road, aimlessly, hoping for a ride from somewhere.

The day was supposed to be done and dusted but it was a rollercoaster. Bad luck wasn't done, after marching towards Kullu, there was another traffic jam. Another scumbag had parked his car on the road, which caused a bottle neck. Another hour wasted. Whats with scumbags these days? Fuck up someone else's day!

After half an hour, I found a cab going towards Kullu. 

I reached Manali at 5:30 pm and ate like there's no tomorrow and booked a bus which leaves late night. 
Well, in the mountains, sometimes bad things happen, landslides, traffic jams, broken bridges, rock falls.

The take away is... Gotta be prepared for everything!