DIY Har ki dun trek

HAR KI DUN TREK

After getting cooped up in a long and difficult period of contagion, we started planning for trek in the high Himalayas in Jul'2021. Looking into several options, I had chosen "Harkidun trek" in Uttrakhand as we haven't had yet completed any treks in the State. Consequently, I sent the proposal to the trekking team for consideration. Three of the team member immediately agreed and thus begin the sequence of events, with the option for the fourth member to join later on.

Since, the date of trek was set 2 months away i.e. from 24th-sept to 29th-Sept, not much was accomplished right away apart from confirmation of dates and taking leaves from our bosses, who were “as supportive as always”. Next significant development in planning process came after first week of September, I bought Scotch, “Niraj san” bought food items and fourth member was decided- “Rohit san”.  All four members decided to go to Decathelon for buying trekking essentials on Saturday, 11th but unfortunately, due to poor health of “Devender san”, the plan had to be postponed to the next weekend. In the meanwhile, rest of the planning and purchasing continued.

As planned, Shopping day was approaching which was slightly modified to a day earlier on Thursday, 16th evening, and we all went shopping on Sohna road Decathelon, Gurugram. I bought a Trekking shoe, Jacket and woolen cap and rest of the members also shopped as per requirement. As the fateful day was approaching fast, our excitement level was getting higher but as our plan was nearly finalized, we got to know about a major flaw in our plan, as per recent changes in Uttrakhand laws, “trekking guide is mandatory for every moderate or Difficult level trek, without which permits cannot be issued”. Therefore, we started talking to various trekking companies for arranging permits and also started looking into different trek in Himachal Pradesh in case the first plan somehow doesn't pan out. Luckily, 2 days before trip, we booked a guide and a tent for him from a trekking company called Himalaya High and we were all set to go. 

We started packing our bag packs from 21st of September 2021 evening as we have decided to begin our trip on 23rd evening itself after office, so we will not get the chance to go back home and pack afterwards. We packed for a bit on 21st and completed the remaining packing on 22nd September. As decided, we left with all our stuff packed in our cars for office and after working for entire agony filled day, finally left the office. I had to drive to our meeting place of MSIL, Manesar car parking but before that, I also had to pick up the "Go pro camera" from a friend’s house". I reached the rendezvous point at around 8 pm and met the other team members there. After changing out of my office uniform, transferring all stuffs to travelling car and Parking my car to a corner spot, we all got into the travelling car and the much anticipated journey began....

Sankri town

First stop after leaving was the fuel station, we got our tank full at the station and got back to the road. As pulled over on to the KMP express way, it started raining and things got even more exciting and condition were perfect for all night drive. After driving for 100 Kilometers, we reached our first destination Murthal and we stopped for dinner at Gulshan dhaba for about 1 hour and then resumed our journey. As the weather was enchanting, conversation lively and the music was captivating, our fun filled journey continued till the foothills of Himalayas and reached eerie Jungles of “Kalesar national park”. The roads through the forest was covered in vegetation and trees of the either side were forming a sort of arch and the amazing drive continued. We were a hankering for tea at 2 am in the morning, so we decided to stop for tea at Paonta sahib, Town at the junction of 4 states. But we couldn't find any place open at this hour, so we continued and crossed the Yamuna river to Uttrakhand and we found a tea shop open just after the bridge and stopped there for a while.

Taluka

After a short refreshment, we continued our travel and crossed the town of Vikasnagar and reached the first Himalayan roads. Soon after getting to mountain roads, we found huge and frequent landslides nearly blocking the road but not entirely, so we passed through. We got a rush of adrenaline watching freshly fallen boulders on the road and water flowing everywhere over the road. After driving further in light rain for another 3 hours, we stopped at 5 am on a roadside for a quick nap in the car. We slept for just 1 hour and then continued driving and after a short while we stopped at Uttarkashi district border for some tea and biological breaks for about half hour. After tea, we moved ahead and crossed the town of Naogaon in 20 kilometers and reached the beautiful town of Purola at around 10 am. Purola is such a mesmerizing town surrounded by rice filed terraces that we couldn't stop staring at it while driving through and beside it.

After crossing Purola, we drove through pine forest for 20 kilometers and stopped for Brunch at a restaurant and after an hour moved from there to Mori, where we did some last minute shopping for bread, lemon and cold drinks. I found chestnut there in the market and bought it to try how does it tastes. after moving from Mori we passed through Netwar check post and then finally reached Sankri at around 1 PM on 24th of September. After reaching our Trekking company, "Himalaya High", we found the place locked and enquire the neighbors about their whereabouts. Neighbors said, "they went to Kedarkhantha trek and will not return before tomorrow evening".

Descending to supin river

Start of trek

3 Kms into trek

Seema

We got disheartened by the news but somehow couldn't believe it to be true, so we decided to call our booking agent, with whom we had several conversations but did not knew his name. As the town of Sankri does not have electricity for the past 3 days and also phone network was not available either, we asked around for the way to contact our agent. People were very helpful there and someone suggested to use the wifi at the store and we enquired at several stores but all said their wifi is not working currently. Therefore, as we were contemplating on our next course of action, suddenly we saw a girl talking on her phone to someone. so we waited patiently near her so that we could ask for her help after she is done with her conversation. As usual she took her sweet time to finish with her call, after that we asked her very politely if she could help us make just one call and she graciously agreed. Subsequently, we called our agent (named Suman) and got reassured that their local staff will return before three o'clock in afternoon and we waited, taking a walk in Sankri and took a nap in our car, in the meanwhile look at every on-coming person and wondering- "is that him -Mr. Ramesh". Finally, the guy returned at around 4 pm and we showed him the receipt and explain to him the details and requirements of our trip. After a brief chat with Mr. Ramesh, we altered our plans a bit and decided to stay at his Lodge that night and start our trip the day after on 25th September.

The evening at Sankri was amazing, we had a coffee at "Meraki cafe" overlooking the valley while having some lively conversations during the sunset. After that we went back to hotel to get our stuff to our room and pack our bag packs for the next day. I went back to market with our agent Mr. Ramesh to find us a guide and get forest permit for trekking and camping however we couldn't find the official at the check post and had to leave it for the next morning. Later we went back to the Sankri market for dinner at a Restaurant suggested by our agent, which we had ordered during our coffee run in the evening. we had few sips of scotch whiskey on the way and were really buzzing a bit when we got there. I ordered chicken curry with roti which was delicious. After dinner we went back to hotel and call it a day, a really long day.

Seema bridge

Climb from Seema towards Osla

Farms of Osla

Climb before Kalkatiyadhar

Saturday, September-25, we got up early at 5 am and after completing our biological functions and some last minute packing, I went to the forest check post for Permits along with our guide Mr. Jasram Rana and agent. We got the permission in around 15 minutes and it costs 1100 rupees for 3-night camping, after that we headed back to our car and put all the non-essential items in the car. We also had to rent a tent and a sleeping bag for our Guide and somehow we had to carry it also along with our stuff. We were served tea by our host and after that we got moving, we had to get to the Village of Taluka through taxi which was 12 kms. away but the road was blocked at 2 places, one due to landslide and the other one due to road construction activity. Fortunately, our agent had a brother who is also a taxi driver, he ferried us from Lodge till first road block site about 3 kms away for 300 rupees and we had to walk to cross that road block which was very scary as there were huge boulders just above the steep ravine for the way, one wrong step and you'll be a goner. Our driver had also arranged a taxi on the other side of the road block but the driver was nowhere to be found, possibly he was back at Sankri. So, we decided to start our trek early and walk till the next road block and we started walking. I had to carry the huge 4-person tent which was really uncomfortable, after walking for a while, one of our companion who was a former boys scout and offered to help in tying the tent to my backpack. he tied a special kind of knot with a rope and attached that bulky tent to my back pack. I was still feeling a bit comfortable but it was walkable, so we started walking again. After walking for a while for around 1.5 kms we spotted a construction tractor moving towards us and we requested for the lift till the next roadblock. The ride in the was anything but smooth but still preferable to walking as that will mess up our whole Itinerary. At the next roadblock we found the different tractor waiting and again we requested them for the lift and they very kindly agreed. The way to Taluka was bumpy but beautiful and few shutter bugs among us started clicking pics and videos. 

View of Kalkatiyadhar

Harkidun valley

View of Bali pass from Kalkatiyadhar

At Kalkatiyadhar

We reached Taluka at around ten in the morning and decided to have brunch there before starting our trek. We started moving at around 11.30 am after applying generous coat of sun screen as the day was brilliantly sunny. From Taluka we descended down towards our trail and walked for 1 km before taking our first rest in the shade after this we moved down on the banks of Supin river finding a little trout farm on the way and also we encountered some people on their way back from the trek we just started. We walked relentlessly as our first day camping destination was around 13 Kms away and we were hoping to regain the lost time in, permits, commute and roadblocks. After 3 kms on the trail we took our 2nd rest at a place with 3 wooden gazebos, we found mountain lizard there basking in the sun. We had a photo session there before moving on, trail ahead was full of wet forest and trees covered with moss. After walking a while we found some steep stairs to climb on a very difficult trail and we walked taking intermittent rest on the way and making way for numerous mule to pass through with provisions on their back. After walking for about 2 hours we reached a tiny little tea shop in the middle of the forest around 7 Kms from our starting points. We had tea and took rest there for a while before getting back to our trail. As the sky was getting cloudy, we walked with greater pace, after 1 hour of walking we reached the village of Gangarh, one of our fellow trekker slipped and felled here but he quick got up and we started moving again. After walking for about half hour, it started raining and we had increased our pace yet again, we were already exhausted from all the climbing. The rain was getting harder and the evening was getting closer and we were completely drained of energy, so we decided to stop at the next suitable camping site after 11 kms of walking on the first day. We found such a place near a shop and waited in the shed of the house for rained to get over. After about 45 min of waiting, the rain finally stopped and we were able to pitch our tent and cook for dinner. we made rice, dal and eggs for dinner along with a bit of whiskey.  By the time we finished dinner, sky got cleared of clouds and we had an amazing view of the galaxy to gaze and admire. we slept soundly exhausted by the hard day.

From Kalkatiyadhar

First view of Harkidun

Kalkatiyadhar camp

Harkidun

Exhausted at Harkidun

Sunday, September-26, I reluctantly got up at around 6 am in the morning but was delighted to see "Kalij pheasant flock" near the thicket. After having coffee and light breakfast we moved ahead on the trail as we had a long day ahead, after an hour of trekking we reached Seema forest rest house, relaxed there for a while and again got moving. About 2 Kms from our camping site, we reached a suspension bridge of Seema, there we again coated ourselves with generous amounts of sun screen as the sunshine was getting intense, after crossing the bridge our trail had a steep ascent of about half hour, we reached the top huffing and puffing and took rest at the top near a bridge. Resuming our trek, we passed though the farms of Osla village, the very on gradual inclination but there was nothing to protect us from the intense sun, from here the highest point of Kalkatidhar was also visible and we were dismayed and discouraged just by looking at it. But somehow we regained our poise and decided to tackle the problem one thing at a time, after crossing the fields we again faced a steep cliff and reached the top of it panting deeply. At the top of the cliff, we took rest and decided to have lunch break there. we had Maggie, bread and eggs there in the meadows filled with knotweed flowers which smelled like heaven. After lunch, we started making our way through the dense vegetation of knotweed and through that knotweed fields we reached the base of Kalkatiyadhar mountain and started climbing it. The climb was not as exhausting as imagined and passed quite comfortably and also weather has improved considerably during the climb. The top of kalkatiyadhar was majestic, with the view of Harkidun valley on one side and Ruinsara valley and Bali pass on the other side. we had a long photo session at the top. 1 Kms from the dhar lies the camping site of kalkatiyadhar and from here Harkidun is about 5 Kms. About half hour after the camping site, we crossed a beautiful water fall and a wooden bridge, here we passed another group of trekkers returning from harkidun. It was around 4 in the evening and the sky was getting cloudy again with few drops of rain falling on to us. We again had to increase our speed as Harkidun was still 3.5 Kms away but the trail was very steep with stairs which was even more taxing on the knees, my right knee was worn out yesterday and I was trying to use the left one more often to have less strain on the right one. We were completely exhausted by this point but somehow, we gather all the willpower we could muster and moved forward. Some of us were too exhausted to even move a step but we carried on. At about 5.30 pm in the evening, we reached a camping area before Harkidun, our guide said we could also camp here and the destination is about half hour from here. We decided to move ahead and camp at destination. We drag ourselves to the camping ground at around 6 pm just in time for sunset, weather was chilly but the view of the Swargrohini mountain in the sunset was Mesmerizing. We gathered some firewood and pitched our tent there, after getting the fire going and music stated, the atmosphere there got warmed up. Clouds also disappeared and we had an amazing view of snow clad mountains, river Supin and Star studded sky. We had dinner and drinks besides fire and for the moment all the hardship of the day disappeared and we went to sleep.

Towards Marinda tal

Swargrohini peak in morning

Getting burned in sun

Marinda tal

Valley

Monday, September 27, We got up at around 6:30 am in the cold and started preparing for the long fun day, after a change of clothes and coffee, we started ahead towards "Marinda tal" lake which was at 3800 m and 3 Kms away at around 8 am. After a leisurely climb without our stuff, we reached the enchanting lake. The lake area was extremely quiet and tranquil. we enjoyed ourselves there for about 1 hour before descending back to our campsite. Here we again packed our bags and started moving quickly back to our 3rd day camping area. we were very quick today and able to reach kalkatiyadhar in about 2.5 hours. Here we met our elusive trekking agent Mr. Suman and had lunch of rice, rajma and eggs. After quick lunch we started moving briskly with few stopovers. Today, we encountered a lot of fellow trekkers moving towards Harkidun at kalkitiyadhar, Knotweed fields and we finally stopped for a long time at top of Seema bridge before descending. After descending down the stairs and crossing the suspension bridge, we reached our camping ground which was littered with goat turd and discarded sheep wool. Although we were tired, we decided not to camp here and move ahead to the same location as day 1 which was 2 kms away. We reached our destination again tired and exhausted on the third day. we decided to cook something simple and sleep early as both of our knees are entirely worn out. we ate boiled egg, dal and rice and slept early.

Relaxing at Harkidun

Kedarkhantha peak from Harkidun

Tuesday, September 28, Today we decided to move early as we had to get Taluka before 11 am at which time there is high chance of getting a transport from there to Sankri. So, we packed immediately after getting up and got back to our trail, after about 1 hours we reached Gangarh village and had tea and snacks there. After snacks we again set off quickly from there and walking steadily we reached the jungle tea spot, here we collected a lot of fallen wild wall nuts and rested for a while. After this rest we got moving quickly to get catch up with the transport at Taluka. Next we stopped at a bridge about 5 Kms before Taluka, by now it was clear that 11 am target time is not feasible. We also passed a group of trekkers near this bridge. After this bridge we took a rest at three Gazebo area for a while. now The Taluka is only 3 kms form Here. We got moving from here quickly and after a quick stop on the banks of Supin river, begin our final climb to Taluka, this final climb took everything we had but finally we got a great relief when it was over. There was deep sense of satisfaction when the trip was over. It was one of those things which is hard when you are doing it but also glad that you did it. you emerge renewed and refreshed from it, as if we were rotting for the past 2 years and this trip was an opportunity for us to burn with rage and emerge a new and changed person like phoenix from the fire.

Tired and exhausted to bones

At Taluka we had lunch, even the simple food was tasted great, we had roti, rajma and sabji of aalo-meetha karela. After lunch we found our transport and in quick succession found other two vehicles near the road block point. We got our car, said good bye to our guide and quickly got moving. By 9.30 in the evening we reached Vikasnagar and stayed at a hotel there. and next day we drove from there to Gurugram, feeling lazy and too drained out to do or say anything.