Kedarkantha Winter trek
The last 3-4 months of my life had stretched me completely, mentally, physically and emotionally.
Consequently, what happened to me was what happens to a lot of "travelers". My passion for trekking took a major back seat as I had to deal with various other life issues.
I decided to break the monotonous streak and do what I love the most.
Why Kedarkantha?
1. I am familiar on how to reach the base camp, Sankri, since I've trekked Har ki dun before.
2. A simpler trek to get back in the groove.
3. Only trek I haven't done which is doable in winters. There was Dayara Bugyal too but in my head, it was too mainstream. This is an opinion that changed after I actually did Kedarkantha.
So, I ended up searching for a local to guide me. The local knew a guy, who knew a guy and like that, I ended up with Rajesh Rana who runs an agency (Himalayas Griffon) and charges Rs 7500 from Dehradun to Dehradun.
Now there is no way I would encourage an agency when I know they're purely commercial but I did remember the efforts one has to take in reaching Sankri.
So, for this one time, for getting back in the groove. I decided to go ahead with the "package" (hate that word).
I wouldn't need to plan anything. Just reach Dehradun and they'll take care of the rest, hopefully.
Luxury.
Most private buses have a boarding point at Anand Vihar.
I reached Dehradun in the wee hours of Saturday, met up with my contact there and the rest of the trekker group. Barring a few, most of them were first timers, which is understandable since Kedarkantha is one of the easiest treks in the Indian Himalayas.
We all boarded the traveler and started towards Sankri. I had multiple bouts of motion sickness. Something about the route to Sankri that torments my stomach everytime. Albeit, this time, I expected it and it didn't bother me much mentally.
I was asleep for most parts of the journey but important checkpoints on the route are Dehradun -> Purola -> Mori -> Sankri.
We reached Sankri by evening and settled in the homestay reserved for the agencies "Riding solo" and "Himalayas Griffon".
Sankri, suprisingly was covered in snow. I did hear about the unusually high snowfall this year but didn't expect it to be present in Sankri, which is barely 7700 ft.
I woke up in Sankri to a really cloudy morning, which was bad news for summit expectations.
Sankri is covered with snow everywhere. The weather was cold but not unbearably so.
The group was very lazy and it took everyone a long time to get ready.
We started walking at 11 am.
There's just a lot of gradual ascent which leads to a tea stall across a bridge. I couldn't keep up with the group's pace as I can't possibly walk very slow. It tires me faster.
The trail was completely covered with snow and we were given micro spikes which made life easier. The guide kept reminding us of the bad snow conditions to keep the expectations realistic.
About an hour into the walk, you reach the tea stall.
I had tea there and helped out a trekker with arranging his backpack. The trail was fully covered in snow all along. After taking liberal breaks, It took me 3 hours to reach Jainola campsite.
There are 3 campsites.
One at Juda ka taal and a couple before it (Jainola and Hargaon or something).
The campsite for the agency was at Jainola, which is in a valley of sorts. Surrounded by mountains, which results in a very late sunrise.
I had some rest, lot of warm tea and explored the campsite.
I was content with just being in the mountains. This level of remoteness caters to my liking. I had enough layers to keep me warm throughout the day. I was certainly glad I brought the down jacket along.
Temperature at Jainola must be around 0 to a few degrees below in the night. Plus, there was that additional wind chill factor.
There were around 30-40 tents in the entire campsite. From asking around, there were at least 10 agencies taking "clients" for "snow camping" at Kedarkantha.
Please note, the double quotes in the above sentence are not by mistake.
It was disappointing to see that most trekkers were just not cognizant of the mindset one needs to have in the mountains. Extreme cold, adverse conditions, tired feet.. they're just a very small price one "has to pay" for the grandeur of the mountains.
A sumptuous dinner later we called it a day.
I slept hoping the weather clears up tomorrow. Albeit the fact that there clouds hanging right above our heads. But hey, hope is the most beautiful of things, isn't it? (Shawshank redemption reference)
The weather looked Cloudy from the beginning.
The group got ready by 11 am and we all started to walk towards Juda ka talaab.
It was about ~ 50 minutes of gentle ascent to reach there.
I had a company of a couple of trekkers from my group, as we had similar pace of walking compared to the others.
We decided to March forwards towards Kedarkantha base camp as there wasn't much to explore in Juda ka Talaab.
The word "Juda" means joined. Two lakes joined and now it's a joint lake, aka, Juda ka Talaab.
It took us approximately an hour to reach the Base camp. By just following the trail one can easily reach the base camp, there are no noticeable detours. In my opinion, no guide is needed for Kedarkantha but it's something mandated by the forest officials since this is a national park ("Govind pashu national park")
There was a lot of snowing but we carried on. I had unwisely left my poncho at the camp.
It was quite an enriching experience walking in snow, the landscape was white as far as the eye can see.
There was no point left in going for the summit due to the worsening weather.
The summit is another 2 hours of trek from the base camp. 4 hours for "clients" ;)
We headed back to Jainola and reached there in around 1.5 hrs of fun filled descent in the soft snow. Some of the guys opted to slide at certain sections, I however refrained due to the fragile condition of my hiking pants (and the lack of a backup).
We reached back to Jainola around lunch time. 2:30 PM. I promptly changed into dry clothes to avoid any health issues from being too cold.
I looked around at the camp and the clouds overhead, snowfall had picked up and now it was a full fledged snow deluge. It was beautiful and a tad bit of concern at the same time.
We took cover in our tents and spent the next few hours shaking off the excessive snow from the tents.
I reminisced about the whole experience and despite having had so many experiences in the mountains, this was also unique. I gained a level of comfort with walking on snow and understood the importance of microspikes.
....And with all that behind me.. the trek was over.
The experience from Jainola back to Sankri was pretty much the same as when ascending, so I'm skipping that part.
Kedarkantha, unfortunately is getting too commercialized for my taste. It's just a matter of time before the forest department wakes up and decides to regulate the number of people going there.
I hope it happens soon because there's an ugly commercial aspect to this place now. From what it seems, even the forest department is encouraging agencies :
Something which was meant to be sacred should stay sacred.
Consequently, what happened to me was what happens to a lot of "travelers". My passion for trekking took a major back seat as I had to deal with various other life issues.
I decided to break the monotonous streak and do what I love the most.
Why Kedarkantha?
1. I am familiar on how to reach the base camp, Sankri, since I've trekked Har ki dun before.
2. A simpler trek to get back in the groove.
3. Only trek I haven't done which is doable in winters. There was Dayara Bugyal too but in my head, it was too mainstream. This is an opinion that changed after I actually did Kedarkantha.
So, I ended up searching for a local to guide me. The local knew a guy, who knew a guy and like that, I ended up with Rajesh Rana who runs an agency (Himalayas Griffon) and charges Rs 7500 from Dehradun to Dehradun.
Now there is no way I would encourage an agency when I know they're purely commercial but I did remember the efforts one has to take in reaching Sankri.
So, for this one time, for getting back in the groove. I decided to go ahead with the "package" (hate that word).
I wouldn't need to plan anything. Just reach Dehradun and they'll take care of the rest, hopefully.
Luxury.
Day 0 Delhi to Dehradun to Sankri
I took a late night bus from Anand vihar bus stand to Dehradun. I just realized that for Uttarakhand treks, it is a far better option for me to board the bus from Anand Vihar than Kashmiri Gate.Most private buses have a boarding point at Anand Vihar.
I reached Dehradun in the wee hours of Saturday, met up with my contact there and the rest of the trekker group. Barring a few, most of them were first timers, which is understandable since Kedarkantha is one of the easiest treks in the Indian Himalayas.
We all boarded the traveler and started towards Sankri. I had multiple bouts of motion sickness. Something about the route to Sankri that torments my stomach everytime. Albeit, this time, I expected it and it didn't bother me much mentally.
I was asleep for most parts of the journey but important checkpoints on the route are Dehradun -> Purola -> Mori -> Sankri.
We reached Sankri by evening and settled in the homestay reserved for the agencies "Riding solo" and "Himalayas Griffon".
Sankri, suprisingly was covered in snow. I did hear about the unusually high snowfall this year but didn't expect it to be present in Sankri, which is barely 7700 ft.
 |
| View from Sankri Homestay |
Day 1 Sankri to Jainola campsite ~ 3 kms
I woke up in Sankri to a really cloudy morning, which was bad news for summit expectations.Sankri is covered with snow everywhere. The weather was cold but not unbearably so.
The group was very lazy and it took everyone a long time to get ready.
We started walking at 11 am.
There's just a lot of gradual ascent which leads to a tea stall across a bridge. I couldn't keep up with the group's pace as I can't possibly walk very slow. It tires me faster.
The trail was completely covered with snow and we were given micro spikes which made life easier. The guide kept reminding us of the bad snow conditions to keep the expectations realistic.
 |
Snow covered trail to Jainola |
 |
| Beautiful view en route |
About an hour into the walk, you reach the tea stall.
I had tea there and helped out a trekker with arranging his backpack. The trail was fully covered in snow all along. After taking liberal breaks, It took me 3 hours to reach Jainola campsite.
There are 3 campsites.
One at Juda ka taal and a couple before it (Jainola and Hargaon or something).
The campsite for the agency was at Jainola, which is in a valley of sorts. Surrounded by mountains, which results in a very late sunrise.
I had some rest, lot of warm tea and explored the campsite.
I was content with just being in the mountains. This level of remoteness caters to my liking. I had enough layers to keep me warm throughout the day. I was certainly glad I brought the down jacket along.
Temperature at Jainola must be around 0 to a few degrees below in the night. Plus, there was that additional wind chill factor.
There were around 30-40 tents in the entire campsite. From asking around, there were at least 10 agencies taking "clients" for "snow camping" at Kedarkantha.
Please note, the double quotes in the above sentence are not by mistake.
It was disappointing to see that most trekkers were just not cognizant of the mindset one needs to have in the mountains. Extreme cold, adverse conditions, tired feet.. they're just a very small price one "has to pay" for the grandeur of the mountains.
A sumptuous dinner later we called it a day.
I slept hoping the weather clears up tomorrow. Albeit the fact that there clouds hanging right above our heads. But hey, hope is the most beautiful of things, isn't it? (Shawshank redemption reference)
Day 2 Jainola to base camp and back to Jainola ~ 6-7 kms
I woke up early to the sound of birds. I had a great 10 hr sleep and was very relaxed.The weather looked Cloudy from the beginning.
The group got ready by 11 am and we all started to walk towards Juda ka talaab.
It was about ~ 50 minutes of gentle ascent to reach there.
 |
| Route to Juda ka Talaab |
I had a company of a couple of trekkers from my group, as we had similar pace of walking compared to the others.
We decided to March forwards towards Kedarkantha base camp as there wasn't much to explore in Juda ka Talaab.
The word "Juda" means joined. Two lakes joined and now it's a joint lake, aka, Juda ka Talaab.
It took us approximately an hour to reach the Base camp. By just following the trail one can easily reach the base camp, there are no noticeable detours. In my opinion, no guide is needed for Kedarkantha but it's something mandated by the forest officials since this is a national park ("Govind pashu national park")
 |
| Almost at Basecamp |
 |
| Heavy snow at Base camp - Kedarkantha |
There was a lot of snowing but we carried on. I had unwisely left my poncho at the camp.
It was quite an enriching experience walking in snow, the landscape was white as far as the eye can see.
There was no point left in going for the summit due to the worsening weather.
The summit is another 2 hours of trek from the base camp. 4 hours for "clients" ;)
We headed back to Jainola and reached there in around 1.5 hrs of fun filled descent in the soft snow. Some of the guys opted to slide at certain sections, I however refrained due to the fragile condition of my hiking pants (and the lack of a backup).
We reached back to Jainola around lunch time. 2:30 PM. I promptly changed into dry clothes to avoid any health issues from being too cold.
I looked around at the camp and the clouds overhead, snowfall had picked up and now it was a full fledged snow deluge. It was beautiful and a tad bit of concern at the same time.
We took cover in our tents and spent the next few hours shaking off the excessive snow from the tents.
I reminisced about the whole experience and despite having had so many experiences in the mountains, this was also unique. I gained a level of comfort with walking on snow and understood the importance of microspikes.
....And with all that behind me.. the trek was over.
The experience from Jainola back to Sankri was pretty much the same as when ascending, so I'm skipping that part.
Kedarkantha, unfortunately is getting too commercialized for my taste. It's just a matter of time before the forest department wakes up and decides to regulate the number of people going there.
I hope it happens soon because there's an ugly commercial aspect to this place now. From what it seems, even the forest department is encouraging agencies :
Something which was meant to be sacred should stay sacred.
Awesome story bro....keep doing this good work..
ReplyDelete