The Origins
Milam Glacier was a personal, childhood dream for me. It was
so much of a dream and an object of reverence that I remember faking a bullet
point in my resume once about having finished the trek. Where did the want stem
from, I have no clue, but looking back, I think it was an inherent love for
nature and the Himalayas that might have caused it. Studies earlier on and
professional engagements later on ensured that the dream had to wait for some
time to get fulfilled. It was only after I left behind the comforts of a well
paid corporate job and started a travel firm of my own, that I finally had the
chance to undo the sins of faking the resume and take the fabled glacier trek.
A chance chat with a friend was enough to ignite the spark and set the ball
rolling. A few rounds of email exchanges with friends and their friends led to
11 enthusiasts ready to take a journey of 120 kms deep into the Himalayan
valleys and gorges to the footsteps of the great giants of snow and ice.
Geography and
History lessons
Milam glacier lies in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand,
part of the western Himalayas. It originates from the east slope of Trishuli
and is fed from subsidiary glacial streams coming from the peaks on the eastern
rim of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary (mainly from
Hardeol) from the west, while on the east it is fed by glaciers from high peaks
like Nanda Gond and Nanda Pal. The ferocious Gori Ganga originates from the
snout of the glacier and meanders through the mountains carving out deep gorges
and carpeting through dangerous rapids to finally meet its sister river Kali in Jauljibi. The valley crossed by
the river is called Johar valley. The
last village before the glacier is its namesake called Milam. All the villages
along the trek including the Milam village remain deserted for most part of the
year. The situation was not like that forever. Till the early 1960’s bustling trade
used to thrive between India and Tibet. The Indians traded rice, cotton clothes,
jaggery, sugar etc. for Tibetan Borax, precious stones, Pashmina and
salt. The Indo-China war of 1962 led to the trade halting abruptly and villages
being deserted. Very few families go there now in the summer months to
cultivate medicinal plants and to search for an aphrodisiac medicine called
Yarsa Gumba on the higher altitudes (3,000-5,000 meters).
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| Rilkot on the banks of Gori Ganga |
The trek route mostly
treads along the Gori Ganga from Munsyari which is the starting point of the
trek. Efforts by the government to build roads in the border regions of India
have led to Kuttcha roads being constructed ahead of Munsyari as well, but the
pace has been excruciatingly slow. A drivable tract of road of nearly 12 kms of
length till Jimmyghat now ensures that you can save at least a day of trekking.
The trek itself is quite demanding with a varying terrain throughout. The trek
route is well defined to assist in cattle and pony movement, but not suitable
for human walking. The path is mostly laid out in stone walking on which is a
nightmare for the poor feet. Add to it the regular steep ascents and descents
over a varied terrain with a deep gorge on one side, and it will require you to
be cautious throughout the trek.
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| Many small and large glaciers feed on to the Gori Ganga |
The constraints
So, imagine trekking on such a route for a total of 120 kms
in 6 days! Anybody would have put down the idea as crazy and insane. But the
hard truths of life sometimes bring out the craziness, that mad streak in you
to attempt the otherwise impossible. In this case, the hard truth was that firstly,
most of the trekkers were inexperienced in trekking in the Himalayas and
secondly, all were employed (except me) and getting more than 5 days of leaves
at a stretch was out of question. So there we were, with a total of 9 days at
hand to start from Delhi and reach back. We initially had kept a total of 7
days for the trek and 1 day each for the onwards and return journey, but
consultation with a few experts of the route suggested that we should give ourselves
a day of acclimatization at Munsyari before heading off. So, finally it was
decided that we would stay in Munsyari for 2 nights and try to attempt trek in
6 days. In the hindsight, the decision wasn’t a bad one as we realized later
on.
The trekkers
The plan initially was seeded in my mind by Rajesh, a good
friend’s brother and now a good friend himself. Both of us belong to the
Himalayan state of Uttarakhand and both had similar reverence for the Milam
glacier trek. So there it began and finally we were joined by 9 more
enthusiasts. Here is a brief intro, hope the brevity will be excused by the
fellow trek mates:
AP: A dynamic and
naturally adventurous lad wasting his life doing Pharma Analytics.
Kamal: A super
athletic boy; hails from Himachal and is an avid trekker. In free time, likes
to do cutting edge retail analytics.
KV: Oh whatte fun. Undoubtedly the funniest
guy in the trek. Wasting his life like AP.
SST: Swift Stud
Trekker. His bones and flesh reek of adventure. Definitely the most “priced”
companion in the trek (with grams of Titanium rods in his body to hold it
together). The swiftest guy in the trek.
Ashish: Our own Swami Vivekanand during the trek. A
researching fellow in Electrical engineering. Very well understands the outside
world and inside world currents. Electrical Engineering + Spirituality you see.
Hareesh: A witty
fellow with an unquestionable support for a certain political party. Rumors
about his political connections were alive during the whole trek.
Abhiman: A lanky
fellow from Udupi with a superb stamina (result of his obsession with keeping
fit). The trek was a realization for this guy, more than anybody else, about
his own body and its limitations.
Mayur: An easy
going and fun-to-be-with lad from Mumbai. Loves trekking and the Himalayas.
Works at HSBC to support his love for trekking.
GK (Gopal): What
a delightful person! Often the central character of our jokes and stories during
the trek. His namesake, a convicted politician, earned his isms the name of Kandaism.
Rajesh: A simple
and easy going guy from Almora. The one who made the trek possible, simply by
thinking of it and encouraging others to do it. Works at GE Bangalore by the
day.
Your’s truly: I’m
fortunate to have done the trek with a group of great individuals, each of whom
had a distinctive personality and something to learn from.
What follows is a recap of our epic adventure deep in the Himalayan
playground, as I remember it.
Day 0: A
prelude
Have you heard the phrase “Take the first step in faith. You
don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step”? With the
thought in mind we stepped out of our homes with packed rucksacks, tents and
sleeping bags. Who knew that the first step itself would be eventful, almost
like a prelude to the adventure ahead? It so happened that in all his
excitement and a deep-in-the-trek thought, Kamal left a sleeping bag in the
auto-rickshaw he took to the metro station. He then had to track the auto back
to the auto stand and then a ride in another auto led him to the bag. Imagine
Kamal sticking his neck out of the autorickshaw to chase a speeding auto and
literally pulling the bag out of the running auto! The imagination is mine and
very BOLLYWOODish, I must admit. Anyway, with the much needed sleeping bag by his
side, Kamal would have surely breathed a sigh of relief and so did we. Who
would have otherwise thought of sharing a sleeping in the freezing temperatures
of the Himalayas? With the mini-adventure seeing a successful ending, 5 of us
(AP, SST, KV, Kamal and I) boarded the Delhi Metro to the Chandni Chowk metro
station. Chadni Chowk is the nearest metro station to reach the Old Delhi
railway station from where Ranikhet Express, a night train to Kathgodam,
departs at 10.40 PM. We met 3 more trek mates, Hareesh, Mayur and Abhiman at
the station. Brief introduction was followed by a quick round of packed
Biryanis which satiated us easily. The train departed at right time and with the
hopes of a great trip, we were all fast asleep. Surprisingly, the Ticket collector
didn’t bother disturbing us to check the tickets.
Day 1: In midst of
the giants
We reached Haldwani station at around 5 in the morning
giving us enough time to freshen up. It is the second last station on the
route. Not many trains leave from here in the morning, so it was fairly
un-crowded. Seeing a waiting room empty, we were quick enough to storm the room
and give ourselves the luxury of vacant toilets. Only later did we realize that
the rooms were meant for passengers with AC tickets. But, “when you gotta go,
you gotta go”. The call of nature is all too powerful to give heed to rules and
hence, notwithstanding the rule, we quickly finished our “stuff” and walked out
of the station to our transporter for the rest of the trip, a 13 seater Tempo
Traveler that we had pre-booked for the hilly journey from Haldwani to Munsyari.
With the customary good luck shout of “Jai Mata Di” we started on our journey. We
soon could feel the elevation rise with our vehicle entering the Kumaun hills.
Soon, we passed by the beautiful lake town of Bhimtal. There’s some magic about
the mountain air and when it is coupled with the terrific sight of a mountain lake,
it can easily chase away any ghosts of sleep or tiredness from anybody’s eyes.
Everybody welcomed the refreshing sight of the lake, but unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to soak in the beauty of the lake. We had to cover the 350
km long hill journey in daylight which meant continuous drive with very short
breaks in between. We stopped briefly at Kainchi to have a sumptuous breakfast of
pakodi (deep fried gram flour nuggets
mixed with spices), raita (a spiced
concoction of diced cucumber and curd), aaloo
parantha (pancakes stuffed with potatoes) and my favorite bun-butter with
tea. Thereafter, the journey was pretty boring. Asheesh and Rajesh joined us at
Almora. At Barechhina, we got our supply of the remaining tents, sleeping bags
and mats. From there on we passed the Binsar wildlife sanctuary to reach
Sheraghat where we stopped briefly and took a stroll to the bank of the Sharda River.
It is the same river which is formed at Jauljibi by GoriGanga meeting its
sister river Kali. The expanse of the river is wide here and the flow is smooth.
Thoughts of having a dip in the river were again put to rest by the urgency of
reaching Munsyari. We reached Thal by around 2 PM and set off for Munsyari
after a lunch of Soya-nuggets, eggplant curry, rotis (flatbread), rice and dal. The rest of the journey was full
of amusement. Our driver and conductor managed to sneak in some alcohol mixed
in their Coke and what followed was rounds of funny conversations between the
two and throwing away of expletives at the passer byes. Taxi drivers in the
hills tend to chase away the tiredness of long and arduous drives in the hills
by numbing it out with alcohol. We reached the Birthi waterfall soon and
stopped briefly for a photo-session. It was around 6 and we were near Munsyari.
It was raining at the time and so we could get very brief glimpse of the High
Himalayan peaks. The greenery of high alpine trees mixed with the fog gave an
ethereal feel to the rest of the journey. We reached Munsyari at around 7. The
fabled Panchachuli peaks were not visible due to the rains, but we knew that we
were in the company of the Himalayan giants who preferred to postpone their
appointment with us. We checked in to our rooms at the KMVN guest house. After
some refreshing ginger tea, some of us ventured for a bath and then
straightaway headed for some amazing, simple yet delicious dinner. I had packed
in a pack of cards in my luggage and floated the idea of playing cards which
found no ears as all that the people had in their mind was sleep! That’s what I
did, as well as others. And so, a long tiresome day ended with everybody
cocooned in their bed, deep asleep in the lap of the Himalayas.
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| Our "traveler" for the day. Getting decked up with our camping gear at Barechhina |
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| View from the KMVN guest house. It was mostly overcast and we could only glimpse some smaller peaks |
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| A panoramic view of the KMVN guest house and the surroundings |
Day 2: The permit
and the brief appointment
Everybody was feeling fresh and it looked like our decision
to stay an extra day will pay off. After a good night’s rest we wanted to eat
some good breakfast before meeting our guide and porter. The rain had been
beating down the whole night but had slowed down a little to give us the
opportunity to pull up our ponchos and set out to search for eating joints. A
small lane opens out from the KMVN complex which goes down about half a
kilometer to reach the bus station. After a little searching around the main
bazaar of Munsyari, we found the Hansling
lodge near the bus station where we
had some omlettes and parathas. Only later did we realize that we were up for
some complimentary breakfast at the guest house itself. A folly, we realized,
but could not keep us from trying our hands at the second round of breakfast. Here
we met Laxman, a local lad who was to arrange a guide for us. Meanwhile, Gopal
had joined us as the 11th member of the trekking team. In the
afternoon, the rain had stopped and we set off to the ITBP post at Munsyari to arrange
for our trek pass. The route to the ITBP post passes through the main highway
road and is a little lofted in altitude. Being close to the Indo-Tibet border,
for security reasons a limited number of passes are given. We completed the
permit process without much hassle which was unlike any other Government
institution where getting a thing as simple as a pass would have been a
nightmarish experience. Anyway, with the permit in our hand, we were feeling
like an army loaded with ammunition and ready to take on the enemy. We started
our “march” back to the guest house when the spectacle happened. The clouds
suddenly gave way and through a small opening, a shaft of the evening sun rays
bathed one of the peaks of the Panchachuli range. We were awestruck by the
spectacle and our fortune that the giants finally decided to give us an
appointment, albeit for a short time. The rest of the evening was spent in finalizing
the logistics for the trek and in re-shuffling and re-packing the luggage and
some last minute exclusions and inclusions. We decided to take 3 mules and a
guide for the trek. Our guide for the trek would be Mahendra Singh Tolia, a
local and experienced guide who had taken treks to various high passes and
glaciers of the region. We decided to set off at around 7 AM on the next day. With
the packing done and logistics arranged, we finished off the day with a great
meal yet again at the KMVN restaurant. Happy and content that we could finally
have a tryst with the Panchachuli peaks, we slept to begin our assault on the
next day.
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| The ITBP post at Munsyari (2250 meters) |
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| A beautiful local home near Munsyari market |
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| An info-board at the KMVN proclaiming the greatness of the Himalayas |
Day 3: Munsyari –
ChillamDhar – Jimmyghat – Lilam – Waef – Rargari - Bugdiar (17km) – A tryst
with the trek
Finally, the day arrived for which we had been waiting for a
long time. The first day of our trek and boy, we were so upbeat about it. The
sun was out today, although the high peaks were still not visible due to mist
over the mountains. The KMVN cooks obliged us with a quick round of Maggi
noodles as the breakfast at around 6.30 AM, it was impossible for them to
prepare a full breakfast so early. But the Maggi was sufficient to quench our
hunger for some time for which we duly thanked the cooks. After the check-out
formalities, the luggage was loaded on a Max jeep which was to drop us as at Chillamdhar,
our starting point for the trek. So there we were; 11 trekkers, a driver and a
guide all packed in to a jeep with the luggage at the top. The adventure had already
begun! On reaching Chillamdhar, we met our ponies and their owner Mohan. The
luggage was being loaded on the ponies while we set off. The first tract of
trekking would lead us from the road to a bridge over the Gori Ganga. It was a
steep descent of around 200 metres strewn with boulders, mud, sludge and
horse-shit. What a start, we
exclaimed. Harish led the way for a while before slipping on the sludge almost
half way to the bridge, fortunately with no injuries. We got reminded here about
the element of being cautious on a mountain trek. We reached the bridge at the
place called Jimmyghat. The Gori Ganga was gushing through the valley and the
suspension bridge over it added to the beauty of the spot. This was the place
where we had to wait for our ponies. Since the downhill route that we took
wasn’t suitable for pony movement, they took an alternate route. This meant
that we had to wait for some time before moving further. A delay in their
arrival led AP and I to climb the way back to the road to look for our ponies.
We had climbed only 100 meters or so when we spotted them. In the meanwhile
SST, KV, Gopal and Kamal had decided to move ahead to Lilam village while
myself, AP, Mayur, Rajesh, Asheesh, Hareesh and Abhiman followed with the
ponies and Mahendra (our guide). A steady climb of around 4 kms led us to the
Lilam village where we stopped briefly to show our permit at the ITBP post. The
route ahead was mostly a steep ascent over the stony path and passing under a
thick jungle canopy. On the way, we spotted the first waterfall and KV, in all
his humor, switched to a Nepali ascent to provide us some good laugh. The jharna (Hindi for waterfall) became Jhorna and sahib jee (Hindi for master) became shaab-jee. “Shaab-jee, oo jhorna shaab-jee. Jhorna!”, he
spontaneously blurted out. This
incidentally was captured by AP in his camera which later became a good
entertainer for us throughout the trek. We stopped at Waef midway to have lunch, steamed rice with boiled dal and chutney
made of Cannabis seeds provided us
the fuel for the route ahead. On the opposite side of Waef we could see the
village Pui which looked quite idyllic but high up in the mountain and very far away
from the nearest road. We wondered about what would have initiated the
villagers to settle here to live a life of limited means? Strange mountain ways,
we thought! We proceeded further on the stony trail along the Gori Ganga, up
and down the path, panting yet moving on. On the way we passed by a place which
was drenched by a wide waterfall. There was a temporary tin-shed along this
stretch of the trek, but the ferocity of falling water had ripped apart most
part of the tin shed, and so, there was no way one could escape the stretch
without getting wet. 2 hours of walking from Waef brought us to Rargari (also
called as Rail-gadi by some). The place is abundantly blessed with greenery and
is almost level with the Gori Ganga. Some heavy rains in the past month had led
to the bridge over the Gori Ganga from Rargari being washed away due to the
gushing waters of the river. The PWD was trying to construct a make shift
ladder when we reached Rargari. We had to tread along the river bank on some
large stones laid down by the PWD workers to reach the ladder which opened up
to a platform on an overhanging cliff. A simple, careless slip of foot would
mean being washed away in the Gori Ganga. Thanks to the makeshift arrangement
by PWD, we were able to continue on the journey. From Rargari, the route was a
steep climb of around 2 more hours to reach Bugdiyar. Bugdiyar is situated on
the bank of the Gori Ganga and surrounded by tall mountains. The valley offers
some place for camping since the valley extends on both side of the river and
has some good grassy expanse. At around 6 PM, we set foot at Bugdiyar. Another
ITBP post greeted us here. The ITBP soldiers were very cordial and offered us
tea and to our surprise, we got a chance to call our homes. The ITBP jawaans
kept us engaged for a long time with their stories and how they have to survive
the bitter winter months in the Himalayan frontline. It was touching to see
their patriotism and commitment to serve the country. After dinner at the
nearby tea house, we slept in the PWD Bungalow which was a bungalow with just
basic beds and no electricity or water, but good enough to sleep comfortably.
Day 4: Bugdiyar –
Nahar Devi – Rilkot – Martoli (19km) – The glaciers and the bouldering
We started at around 5:30 AM in two batches. Kamal, SST,
Abhiman and Mayur, the swiftest of the lot started ahead of the rest so that they
could reach Nahar Devi, our breakfast point for the day, to order for
everybody. It’s also the best for everyone to trek in their natural pace. The
rest of the group started around half an hour later. One reason to start early
was to avoid walking over the glaciers during day when the sun beats over you
and the ice starts to melt, making walking on it difficult and dangerous. On
our way, we met a pony owner struggling hard to keep his ponies together, all
because of one young pony who did not mind his way and was recklessly moving
along. He requested us to use our walking sticks to help him keep the pony
under sight and control. We happily obliged. Everyone has his or her own big
problem, and here was this pony owner whose primary concern was to keep his
ponies together, and there are people who have everything in the world and yet
struggle for more! Strange ways of life!
After around an hour and half we reached Nahar Devi to treat
ourselves to Maggi and scrambled eggs. The onward part of the trek till Rilkot
was dotted with glaciers, landslides, very very steep stretches, ghost villages
and stunning views. The route ahead of NaharDevi looked like it was carved out
of rocks, grooves in the gigantic mountain walls made to assist movement with a
deep drop over the cliff on the other side. I’m not sure if these were natural
or man-made but they made for an interesting walk. At some places there was
just enough space for one person to move while tightly hugging the rocks.
Imagine if you encounter a flock of sheep and goats on the way, whose way would
it be? Obviously the sheep’s. Animals have the first right on mountains (I
guess elsewhere too). Only 2 kilometers ahead of NaharDevi, we had our first
tryst with the glaciers. Mahendra told us that these glaciers were result of
the snow which fell during the winter months of November to February and melts
away by September. Walking on glaciers was not easy and none of the trekker
would have escaped a little slip on the ice, I’m sure. It was important to
avoid miniature crevasses on the glaciers and hence we stuck on to the route being
used by the ponies on the route. It would have been around 3 kilometers to
RIlkot when we encountered a landslide ridden place. It looked like there had
been a major recent landslide and the route was strewn with enormous rocks and
boulders. While rest of the group found a longer route to bypass the rocky
mess, our guide Mahendra saw an opportunity to shorten the journey past the
landslide. He decided to do some bouldering. There was Mahendra, AP, KV,
Rajesh, Asheesh, Gopal and I who were behind the rest of the group. While
Mahendra led the group, I decided to stay back at the last to ensure that
everyone has passed through the boulders. In front of me were Asheesh and
Gopal. Now Asheesh was in his Kurta Pyjama which perhaps didn’t allow for a
free movement over the rocks and Gopal, as usual, in his dreamy pace was a
little slow and so Gopal lost the sight of Mahendra and lost his way. At a
certain point on the rocks we were presented with two options, either to take a
downhill route or a uphill one. While I was convinced that Mahendra had gone
downwards, Gopal insisted on moving upward. I relied on Gopal’s judgement
thinking that he would have seen Mahendra take the route since he was ahead of
Asheesh and me. That was a wrong decision! We had completely lost our way over
the boulders which meant, I had to take the lead to find the way down to the
rest of the group and also ensure that Asheesh and Gopal can comfortably trek
down. Step by step and breadth by breadth we treaded past the dangerous rocks.
A slip over the rocks would have meant a serious injury and maybe a fatal fall.
Thankfully, after around 10 minutes of routing our way through, we sighted the
group and reached down safely. Another mini-adventure courtesy Gopal Kanda (remember Kandaisms) was over. We arrived in Rilkot to a super windy welcome.
Rilkot, at an altitude of 3,200 metres faces the brunt of the winds coming in
from the Johar valley. After the formalities at the ITBP post and the usual
lunch of dal and rice, we moved ahead. Starting from the valley meant that we
would definitely have to climb hard. This proved true very soon after setting
off from Rilkot. A steep and torturous ascent of around half a kilometer
drained us of energy, but what made us forget that was a vast table-top like
expanse of grass on the mountain top. One could get a panoramic view of the
Johar valley and the Gori Ganga gorge that lay in front of us. Our guide
Mahendra Singh Tolia also showed us the Tola
village from where he belongs. Like other villages, even Tola was deserted for
most parts of the year except for the summer months when villagers come back to
cultivate some herbs and medicinal plants. Almost everybody rested at the
beautiful table-top for a while. Some photo sessions later we were up, treading
the remaining 6 kilometers to Martoli. Martoli, actually does not lie on the
regular route to Milam. If one is really short on time they could avoid Martoli
and continue on to Burfu, but it is not recommended. I was sure all through the
planning stages of the trek that we had to do Martoli, simply because it is
supposed to be the most beautiful village in the entire trek. Therefore,
despite being short on time and after due calculations, we risked taking a
de-tour to Martoli to spend a night there. According to our calculations, our
next stop, the Milam village would have been 13 kilometers from Martoli and we
would anyway have to break the journey at Burfu and would have gained only
around 3 kilometers. So, we were not loosing much in terms of time and
coverage. After a fairly uneventful couple of hours, we finally sighted the
ruins of Martoli, much to the excitement of the group. Believe me; the place is
blessed with beauty and is supremely blissful! The green grasslands dotted with
multiple village homes, glacial streams, sacred ponds and the backdrop of the
snow covered Martoli peak and the Ralam Pass, oh what a delight it was to be
there! No wonder that Martoli, at some point, had the highest number of
families in the entire Johar valley living here. It is estimated that during the
peak years of Indo-Tibet trade as many as 500 families were living there.
Today, there were just a couple of families living there, and one of them had
opened their home as a home stay for the trekkers to the Milam glaciers. The
home itself was beautifully made in the traditional style and added to the
beauty of the backdrop. The sight and the amazing feeling of being at such a
pristine place made us forget the paining legs and the tiredness and brought
spring to our feet. After throwing our bags in the village home we set off to
explore the place. The scenery of Martoli is dominated by the Martoli peak
(~4,800 meters), the Ralam pass (~5,600 meters), a glimpse of the Nanda Devi (~
7,800 meters), nearby mountains eroded by centuries of Himalayan winds forming
steep cliffs, the deserted village of Martoli, some clear water ponds, other
distant Himalayan peaks and a small temple built at the base of the Martoli
peak. We decided to hike to the temple and spent a nice 45 minutes there, meditating
and losing ourselves to the serenity of the place and the calmness of the
outside and the inside world. It almost felt like time had stopped. I strongly
believe that the Himalayas have a strong life appeal about them, a spiritual
pull which calls the unsuspecting traveler closer to the mountains to feel and
embrace it. It was really a divine experience. Soon, the dusk arrived and we
pulled out our sleeping bags and mats. We got together for a game of cards
called Judgement which I introduced
to the group. Most players were new to the game and as luck would have it,
Kamal, who was playing it for the first time rode high on the beginners luck to
win the game. A little rum to help everyone sleep and some snoring by the
already asleep ones, forced almost everybody to wrap up the day.
Day 5: Martoli –
Burfu – Milam Village (13km) – Of the cricket and the anticipation
Today, we had only 13 kms to cover and we utilized the
opportunity to allow ourselves a late rise from the bed. A small window in
front of us was open and we could sense the spectacle outside. It would have
been around 6.30 and the sun was already shining bright over the nearby peaks.
Mt. Martoli was bathing in its glory and almost like a shaman telling us that
it is going to be a good trek ahead. Spirited, we woke up and after a quick
round of chai everyone started the
hunt for a place to carry out the morning ablutions, except that the hunt was
not so easy. Martoli, did not really have a lot of vegetation, all that grew
there was grass. The only option was to hide oneself behind rocks or to search
for a nook among the ruins of Martoli village. Anyways, the ever overpowering
calls of nature will eventually make you settle for a place and just do it. In
the meanwhile someone had discovered that the villagers here had laid down
pipelines from the nearby streams to the village in order to receive a
continuous supply of water. We had been without a bath for 3 days now and could
not resist the temptation to bath. However, we soon realized that the water was
unfit for bathing simply because it was glacial in nature and ice-cold. We
settled to shampoo our hair which in itself spun our head. The numbness in the
head remained for a while. Back in the home stay, it was revealed that Abhiman,
who had earlier shown symptoms of fatigue, was beginning to slow down. It was
doubtful if he would be able to cover the remaining 30 odd kilometers of the
trek back to Martoli. Anyway, the delight of the day had to be the breakfast
that we had at Martoli. Puris, deep
fried wheat flatbreads with a gram curry. It was heavenly and undoubtedly, the
best breakfast till date on the trek. Thankful of the surprise and delight of
the kingly breakfast, some of us also bought some locally made shawls and scarves.
These were made of Pashmina wool, softest of hair shaved off the neck of lamb.
The magic was in the warmth and the light-weight they had. After settling the
transactions, now was the time for some photo shoots. The amazing backdrops at
Martoli provided a great avenue for clicking some fantastic photographs. The
enthusiasm among the boys was infectious and soon everybody had a handsome
portfolio of matrimonial pictures, not that all were bachelors, but still, who
would have spared the opportunity to utilize the beautiful chance that Mother
Nature had given us at Martoli? Abhiman, in the meanwhile had insisted that he
can at least carry on to Milam village and would take a decision there. We were
worried that since he had slowed down, his pace might affect the rest of the
group. But he pushed on and we obliged. After paying and thanking our hosts for
their hospitality, we departed from Martoli. Moving along the well laid out
streets past the deserted village houses, we soon reached the edge of the mountain
on which Martoli village stood, and started a steep descent to a bridge. The
path till Milam village is mostly boring. The only green respite one gets is at
Burfu. We reached Burfu after a 4 km walk. AP, KV and I had accompanied Abhiman
till Burfu. Well actually we stopped at a teahouse overlooking the Burfu
village from across the Gori Ganga. Burfu is again a deserted village. At the
teahouse we could finally get a glimpse of the Yarsa Gampo, the bespoke magical
and exorbitantly priced aphrodisiac. The teahouse had a notice stuck at the
entrance which was a resolution by the local Government denouncing any outside
person attempting to fetch the aphrodisiac from the high snow covered mountains
surrounding the village. The punishment, if any outsider was caught, would not
have been more demeaning, parading the perpetrator naked in the whole village! Anyone
who holds his esteem dear would not dare it after such a warning. We got some
biscuits here for Abhiman to ensure some Glucose supply to him so that he could
cover the remaining 9 kms to the Milam village. After a brief stopover, we
carried on further. From here, a trek route cuts off to the Nanda Devi east
base camp through Panchu. Another
route goes over a bridge across the Gori Ganga which eventually brings the Gori
Ganga towards our left. Until now, the Gori Ganga was to our right. Abhiman
pushed on further supported and cheered by Mayur, who proved to be a great
companion for him for the rest of the journey. Midway, we spotted the ITBP
jawans being trained high atop a snow covered mountain. After around 3 hours of
continuous walking, we spotted the Milam village. The eventuality of finishing
the most boring part of the trek made us reach the village at a faster pace. We
spotted a few other trekking parties camping at the ITBP campus there. One of
these parties was apparently going from the Milam glacier to the Nanda
Devi east base camp. Ahh, only if we had more time, we could have accommodated
it into our program. After formalities at the post, we parked ourselves in
another home stay, although not as beautiful and comfortable as the one at
Martoli. Milam village is a huge expanse of flat land flanked by a deeper
valley on one side fed by the Gori Ganga and on the other side are again high
mountains. We reached at around 2 PM and as soon as we had finished our lunch, we
settled for another game of Judgement. The
ITBP jawaans had earlier informed us that they
would be continuing their daily routine of playing cricket in the evening and
soon we heard them outside on a large playing field warming up to start the
play. Kamal, SST, KV and Gopal ventured out to play followed by Mayur for
clicking some pictures. The rest decided to continue playing cards. After what
seemed an eventful game for SST the guys returned. Mayur was disappointed as he
wasn’t allowed to take pics of the campus due to security reasons. We continued
our game of cards for a while before relishing some Khichdi (rice and lentils cooked together with spices). Soon we
were deep asleep in our sleeping bags hoping for an early start the next day.
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| A Panoramic picture of Martoli |
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| The Ralam pass as seen from Martoli |
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| Our home-stay at Martoli |
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| The home stay again (notice that the locals call it a "hotel") |
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| The Martoli peak and the temple at the base |
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| A cairn at Martoli |
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| Another landscape at Martoli |
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| Martoli peak again with some vegetation at the base |
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| A pond at Martoli reflecting the surrounding mountains |
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| Another pond at Martoli |
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| The ruins at Martoli |
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| The window in our room at the home stay at Martoli |
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| Helping the local economy. The boys buying locally made shawls and scarves |
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The team before departing from Martoli
Sitting (L-R): KV, Gopal, PT, Kamal, AP, Asheesh
Standing (L-R): Rajesh, Hareesh, Abhiman, Mayur, SST
Photographer: Mahendra |
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| From near Burfu. Notice the bridge over Gori Ganga which eventually brings the river to our left |
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| Yarsa Gampo |
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| Don't you dare fetch the YARSA GAMPO! The "caution" note at the teahouse in Burfu |
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| A Gori Ganga tributary on approaching Milam village |
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| Crossing the tributary |
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| Reached Milam village |
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| A slew of markers on reaching Milam village |
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| The ITBP post at Milam village |
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| Cricket at Milam village |
Day 6: Milam
village – Milam glacier – Milam Village – Burfu (23km) – The triumph and the
camping
We woke up at around 4 before dusk and continued the routine
of finding places. By around 5.30 everyone was ready and after a breakfast of
cup noodles, we marched on to what we had been waiting for so long! Abhiman,
had wisely decided to stay back at Milam village and utilize the day resting.
The morning was the chilliest ever and with extra layers of clothing we set off
to finally have a tryst with the glacier. The sky was azure blue almost like
preparing to welcome us at Milam. After around a couple of Kilometers we
finally sighted the Trishul and Hardeol peaks from where the glacier originates.
From the distance, it looked like a glacial deposition at the base of the peaks
but we could not confirm it since we weren’t going to go any further in the
glacier owing to the paucity of time. Mahendra, in his opportunistic demenaour,
again asked us if we would prefer a short-cut to the glacier to which we
affirmatively replied. What turned out could have been a self-destructive move.
The route we took passed along the banks of the Gori Ganga and due to the fresh
landslides from the hills the route was perilous. The stones were loosely fit
and in all probability would go down the river by the application of even a
small amount of pressure. The quicker ones among us also faced tough challenges
in overcoming the route. But eventually, we made it. After struggling for
around 20 minutes along the river bank we reached atop a pile of rocks to
encounter the spectacular delight of the Gori Ganga ferociously oozing out of
the mouth of the glacier with a backdrop of high & solid walls of ice
towering above us! AP, KV and Gopal ventured ahead to check if it was worth
going any further, but to everybody’s dismay, there wasn’t any trek able route
ahead. I was expecting to see white sheets of ice but the landslides and sludge
from the higher mountains had covered the ice walls and it appeared just like
any other hill of mud and rocks. It was a triumphant feeling reaching the
glacier. How all the preparations and the difficulties of the trek become
nothing compared to the joyous moment of reaching the destination? Exhilarating
feeling it was. The boys, as usual, could not resist the temptation of
photographing the moment and what followed are all sort of antics by all,
special mention for Kamal and SST who, from now on, formed a sort of
photographic fellowship and clicked each other all through the way. After
spending around half an hour at the glacier, we trekked our way back to the
village. On the way back, we stopped for a while at a stream which was carrying
ice-cold fresh glacial water. A little dip of feet into the water gave a
crackling feeling, perhaps of the blood starting to freeze in the veins. We
rested for a while there. Passing by the intricate and well laid out streets of
the Milam village, one could not stop but appreciate the immaculate ingenuity
of the villagers in planning the streets. It felt that during good times it
would have been a pleasure living in these villages. We finished our lunch soon
and departed for Burfu after checking out formalities at the ITBP post. The
military doctor at the camp also attended to Abhiman and gave him some
electrolytes and medicines so that he could complete his journey back. There
was no respite from the route from Milam village to Burfu village due to the
boredom induced by the largely barren landscape. Add to it, strong opposing
winds all along, it certainly was more effort than normal. Rajesh and I struck
a conversation midway about childhood memories and crushes to kill the mundanely
route. After about 3 hours of trekking we arrived at the teahouse overlooking
the deserted Burfu village, the same where we had stopped to buy some biscuits
for Abhiman. We decided to camp by the teahouse. There was some flat land
suitable for camping by the teahouse and we erected 5 tents on the land after
some planning of the layout. Some tents were more coveted than others and to be
fair to everybody, I decided that the tents will be allotted on the basis of
lucky draw. The exercise brought back childhood memories of playing games where
teams and dragons were decided by numbering on the back of a player. I had
procured some tents which were all blue. With white lights dangling inside the
tents, the view from outside looked quite mystical. After yet another game of judgment, we cozily crept inside our
tents, thankful for the chance of finally having triumphed the Milam glacier.
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| Mt. Trishuli (the Trident) and Mt. Hardeol (towards the left) as seen from the route to Milam glacier |
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| Early morning departure to Milam glacier |
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| A mid-way group photo shoot |
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| Watch that step mate. Walking over the landslide in the hope of not falling in the river |
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| The Gori Ganga ferociously oozing out of the mouth of the Milam glacier |
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| Don't be misled. These are monstrous glacier walls of ice covered with sludge from the higher mountains nearby |
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A moment of triumph. The team in front of the glacier mouth.
Back row (L-R): AP, SST, Rajesh, Gopal
Front row (L-R): KV, Kamal, PT, Asheesh, Hareesh and Mayur
Photographer: Mahendra |
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| The organizers: Rajesh(sitting) and PT. |
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| Mahendra - our guide |
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| Smile for the camera! Thanking Mahendra, our guide |
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| A flagstaff honoring some of the trekking essentials - The walking pole, the gloves, the cap and the muffler |
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| The ruins at Milam village |
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| An elderly local enjoying his Hookah and the sunshine at Milam village |
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| A Tibetan relic at Milam village |
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| Pitching tents at Burfu. Notice the Nanda Devi east BC trek route behind. |
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| Looking out from inside the tent |
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| Blue accommodation for the night at Burfu |
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| Azure blue. Our tents being lit by the camping lights |
Day 7: Burfu – Rilkot
– Nahar Devi – Bugdiyar – Rargari – Rupsiabagar - Waef (32km) – The ultimate
test
Today was the day we had been conveniently pushing back till
date, but it had to confront us some day. To make it to Delhi in time, we had
to cover a distance of 32 kilometers today. That, combined with a rough terrain,
today had to be the make or break day! With positive apprehension, we had tea
and biscuits and started again in 2 batches so as to facilitate advance ordering
of breakfast and lunch. The first batch started at 5.30 in the morning and the
second at 6. Today, we bypassed Martoli and reached Rilkot by around 9. The
descent was not easy, mostly steep and the drops at some points necessitated
careful bending and traversing, fatal for knees. Every trekker knows that
descent is more difficult than ascent and care has to be taken to avoid
excessive pressure on the knees. After a breakfast of Maggi noodles and the
checkout formalities at the ITBP camp, we set off for Nahar Devi, 13 kilometers
away and our next target for lunch. After around 3 hours of walking, we reached
that part of the trek which was laden with glaciers. The guys ahead of us had,
in the meanwhile, found a slope on one of the glaciers fit for sliding down.
Sigh, you can never satisfy the kid in you. With that thought in mind I threw
my backpack and took to the slide. Boy, what an experience it was! We could
have spent more time there had we not had paucity of time at hand. We pushed
forward. After around an hour, we reached Nahar Devi and ordered Lunch. This
also gave everybody some time relax the body and prepare it for the onslaught
ahead. Abhiman was doing well in the meanwhile and we hoped that he would be
able to finish the trek. We still had around 10 kilometers to cover after Nahar
Devi. Although, we were by now drained of energy, I guess it was only mental
energy which was keeping us on our feet. On the course of this journey, SST had
a “wild” experience. Somewhere on the way he saw some villagers going back to
their villages with their herds of cows and sheep. SST, being the gentleman
that he is, made way for the animals, albeit, he stopped on the wrong side of
the path. Now, this path that he was on had a steep drop to the left over the
river and the mountain on the other side. He stopped on the river side of the
path. Poor lad didn’t know that one of the cows in the herd had a bad
temperament. It charged on SST, horns forward in a threatening mode. SST had
the presence of mind to hold the cows by its horns and give himself a push
towards the other side of the cow, thereby dodging , what would otherwise have
been, a fatal attack. Later on the trek he also spotted a python hiding in a
cave which no-one could understand how. Wild day for him definitely. We reached
Waef at around 6 PM after 13 hours of trekking. Surprisingly, Gopal, who used
to be the slowest of the lot till the day before was among the first to reach
Waef. Slow and Steady wins the race,
whoever said that must have done a trek himself. Reflecting on the day, I think it was sheer
mental grit which made everybody finish the trek despite having sapped of
energy. How else would you explain Abhiman’s exploits, a frail guy sickened
during the trek, devoid of all energy, finishing 32 kilometers of a tough trek
in 13 hours? Positive thought has powers to make the impossible, possible. It
is that mental energy which gives people the extra edge to reach for the
unreachable and be successful. Our stop for the day was a teahouse shack run by
a very old local. This was the same place where we had done our lunch on the
first day. Needless to say that we were more tired than we had ever been and
so, after dinner all one could have heard was snores.
Day 8: Waef –
Lilam – Jimmyghat – Chillamdhar – Munsyari – Almora (220 kms) – The start of
the end
The final day of our trekking was here and we left Waef at
around 7 after a breakfast of tea and biscuits. Some had braved the waterfall
near our teahouse to have quick bath. The trek was mostly downhill and midway
we passed by a herd of around 500 sheep and goats, what a commotion it was! We
reached Jimmyghat in around an hour or so. How had I forgotten that the climax
was yet to come? Remember the 200 meter descent that we had on the start of the
trek? The same route had to be taken again, albeit as an ascent, a super-steep
ascent. With panting breath and a pounding heart, step by step, we finished the
ascent and heaved a sigh of relief on reaching the top. It took us around 20
minutes to end the climax. Our Max jeep had been waiting there and once our ponies
were there with our luggage, we bid a good bye to the trek and started for
Munsyari. Here, I should mention the much needed support which the ponies and
their keeper played during our trek. Without the ponies’ help it would not have
been possible to do the trek in a meager 6 days. Hats off to the humility of
the pony owner Mohan, who kept our tents safe and ensured that we had our stuff
in time, each day of the trek. We could thank him but maybe, not enough. After a
ride of around half an hour, we reached Munsyari. In the meanwhile, we had
arranged for another Max to drop us till Almora. We loaded our baggage on the
jeep and in the meanwhile had ordered the KMVN guest house at Birthi over phone
to prepare some Brunch for us. Soon, we were on our way to Almora which is 200
kilometers away. After a brief stopover at Birthi for breakfast, we carried on
further. This was one good and tasty meal that we had had in days! Or maybe,
after days of having only boiled rice and dal, anything with a little more
spice in it would taste so delicious? The antidote to the boredom of the long
journey till Almora was provided by a singing spree started by SST and myself.
Soon, everybody including the driver had joined. Very near to Almora, a truck
in front of our jeep, loaded with stones had a brake-fail and overturned on the
road. For a moment, we had our heart in our mouth. If it would have hit our
jeep, it would have been fatal. Fortunately, no one in the truck was harmed.
But the accident led to a jam on the highway. Only after some locals demolished
the nearby parapet, the road could open for small vehicles like jeeps and cars.
We finally made it to Almora. What a journey, we thought. We reached at around
7.30 in the evening and checked in to the Ambassador hotel which is quite near
to the taxi stand. Here, we belatedly celebrated the birthday of Asheesh and
Harish. Soon we found ourselves hogging on food at a nearby restaurant. Let me
confess, seeing a city after 7 days of trekking had a delight of its own! After
a short stroll in the town, we threw ourselves on the bed and had a great
sleep.
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| Waterfall at Waef utilized by some for having a quick early morning bath |
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| Herd of sheep and goats on way to Jimmyghat |
Day 9: Almora –
Kathgodam – Delhi (350 km) – The goodbye
A late morning to start-off with. After having a good long
bath (remember, we haven’t had a good bath for 7 days running now) we set off
to find some eating joints. Rajesh, the local lad from Almora took us to a
fabulous eating joint where we had everything from Chaat to Dosa to Aloo Paranthas to Lassi to what not. We
then had Curd and Jalebi, a deep
fried wheat snack dipped in sugar syrup. It was delicious and we thanked Rajesh
for showing us the place and having a chance of savoring the local delicacy.
After a little strolling in the bazaar and visiting the Nanda Devi temple, we thought of heading back to our hotel to check-out. But Gopal had other plans. He was now craving for some coffee which led us to another round of breakfast of Tibetan momos and coffee. After the Gopal Kanda style breakfast and with Gopal satisfied, we headed to the hotel. We had arranged another Max jeep till
Kathgodam. We had briefly stopped over at Kainchi
to refresh ourselves with a glass of Jal-Jeera. We reached Kathgodam at
around 6 PM and after dinner headed off to Delhi in Ranikhet express. We
reached Delhi early in the morning and bid goodbye to each other.
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| The beautiful architectural style in one of the buildings in Almora |
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| Anglo-Indian architecture near the Nanda Devi temple |
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| The Jalebi shop |
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| The main bazaar |
The conclusion
A dream had finally come true and in what bold fashion. I
was fortunate to have trekked alongside some great trek mates. The memories of
the trek, the ups and downs, the problems and the opportunities and most of
all, the feeling of being close to Himalayas and the nature will be permanently
etched in everybody’s memory. The learning was immense in terms of knowing
one’s capability, both physical and mental. One also gets to learn that
everyone has his/her own individuality and that everybody has ample mental
energy to push oneself to achieve the impossible. As I mentioned earlier,
anyone would have labeled the idea of covering 120 mountain kilometers in 6
days as insane. But you got to do it to believe it, and make everyone believe
it. That is what we did.
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| The Nanda Devi east peak. Peaking at us from behind the clouds |
