Travel scribbles

Prelude I had no intention of hiking anywhere in November. I had taken leaves for Saptkund not so long ago and although I always want to be in the mountains but my wanderlust hadn't overcome me. But.. I got an impromptu week off from work, now I was in the peculiar position of needing to go somewhere. Sitting at home for a week was just not a possibility for me. To be honest, this trip wasn’t my preference, I had been mulling over just chilling in McLeod for a week but even that seemed wrong. I was in the peculiar position of having a random week off. Let's just say I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I couldn't stay home for a week. I just couldn't. People in my office would literally kill for a week off and here I am getting it served on a platter. It was not only my chance but my responsibility to go, otherwise, I wouldn't be doing justice to who I am. Also.. I couldn't resist the urge to explore someplace new. Har ki dun was an au

Day 0 - Delhi to Rishikesh I reached home from work around 7 pm. It took me an hour of packing and arranging things, which had me ready by 8. Unlike previous times, I chose to take the metro. The new shortcut via the Violet line ensured I reached the bus station exactly on time. Also unlike previous times, I felt calm as opposed to jittery. Maybe I'm finally at that point where I'm confident enough to know, deep down, "I've got this". Nevertheless, taking each day on its own merit has served me well in the past. No reason to abandon that strategy. I'm about to reach Rishikesh and meet the other two people of the group. Day 1 Rishikesh to Pairi This was quite a roller coaster of a day. We eventually decided to drive all the way to Pairi. I had a tough time dealing with the twists and turns. Spent all day throwing up every single thing I dared to eat. Around 1 pm, the car tire got slashed by something and got a 1 inch cut. Already tired from the

Prelude I had been itching to do a "big trek" for a while. The last time I had trekked was in December i.e. Pangarchulla peak, while it was a good experience, it certainly didn't leave the imprint on my mind like some other treks I've done (Markha, Roopkund etc). And so I decided to hike to Saptkund along with a couple of friends. But, that was also not in my destiny (of which I'm the master of, ofcourse, pfffbt!). Both the gentlemen bailed on me, leaving me to ponder if I really want to do Saptkund.  Quite often, I entertain random hunches. Pin Parvati was a random hunch. I had heard so much about the place, that too from a credible source, that I wanted to "test my luck". I say that because I wasn't entirely sure if it would be in my capacity to do a trek of a difficulty grade as high as Pin Parvati's.  Here's a day by day itinerary of what transpired on the entire trip (all accounts written at the end of eac