Bhrugu and Beyond

The day begins : Mitraji overlooking the group

We wake up at 5.00 am as Mitraji calls out for us. Moon is not willing to go off duty and Sun is already sprinkling golden rays on the mountains. It is a marvelous site indeed. We quickly get ready and eat our delicious breakfast of Upama and Daliya.  It is extremely cold at the moment. It takes some more time to prepare packed lunch for us hence we busy ourselves in taking picture. It is already seven in the morning. All sixteen trekkers are eager to make an appointment with Bhrugu Lake.

Snowy Campsite

After basic instruction for the day, we step our feet on the snow. It is hard at the moment and hence we are more careful while stepping on it. As we proceed on our route, we realize that, the day is going to be as hard as the snow is, at the moment. We cross one hill and another snow covered hill is in front of us. There is one campsite on the hill. As we go closer,  we notice that the tents have been erected on the snow covered land. We are told that some of the tents flew away from this campsite last night.

Some Rest in the snow

There are no trees now. There is only white snow spread everywhere. Karan is heading the team with snow axe in his hands. He cuts the steps for us so that we can climb faster. We are heading towards Roli Kholi  which is mid way through. Sun is now peeping out from clouds. The rays bring some warmth and also lot of hope that we will do the summit. We now need to traverse a patch very carefully. This almost half a kilometer patch looks dreadful. There is valley on one side and mountain on the other. We need to watch our steps and have to fall in line. Everything looks white ahead of us. 

Thrilling Climb

Dineshji walks parallel to us on the slop to protect us and also to give us confidence.

It is already 10 am and we have not reached Roli Kholi yet. There is a rockpatch waiting for us eagerly. We rest for a few minutes to drink some Water, since Dineshji persistently tells  us to drink lot of water.

We now proceed further fervently. There is another traverse we need to cross. The snow is almost 10 to 15 feet deep. Dineshji walks on the slope with ease and encourages us to keep climbing. His enthusiasm is infectious. We gear up to cross another mountain.

Everybody is enjoying every bit of this climb. Sachin is making short videos on his mobile with his patented ‘love you’, ‘miss you’ etc. I try to crack jokes which no one wants to listen to. Suhani and Sushant, father and daughter duo is busy taking selfies. Narendra and Anirudh feel they are on the top of the world.

Roli Kholi : Water amidst snow

We now reach Roli Kholi. This is an amazing place. In the midst of the snow covered mountains there is a very small water reservoir. Everything around this very small pond is cover with snow. Nature is magical. It has a  touch of mysterious and mind-blowing setting. The water is really cold but it is so fresh and Devin. This place is truly mesmerizing. I have already decided to come back to this place another time. In my entire lifespan if I want to live in tranquility this is the only place where I wish I would live forever. There is some kind of stillness about it. Nothing seems to move here not even your thoughts.

However with great difficulty I move ahead with the group. The ascend is getting more and more difficult now. Months of our practice is coming to our rescue. Mitraji and Sachin walk ahead of us.

Shardul a young lad is climbing with determination. His fragile frame keeps taking tiny steps on the snow. I walk side by side with Chandan. It is amazing how nature has given up all the colours except white. White earth is inviting blue skies to meet.  

United we stand with Tricolour

We finally decide to wait for others since there is a lot of gap between us and the rest of the group. It is already mid day and we need to take a call as to how far we can go. Chandan spreads his poncho and sits on it. I decide to lie down on the poncho. Cold snow feels good for my back. After taking rest for a few minutes I come back to senses. Mitraji briefs us that Bhrugu is almost one hour away. Even if we go up to Bhrugu Lake it is going to be frozen. As we are discussing, others arrive one by one. Most of us are tired yet eager to go to bhrugu lake. Clouds have started accumulating and weather is changing swiftly. Dineshji is fearing sudden change in the weather. The decision is left on us as to whether we would like to proceed further or would like to return. It is tricky and we are in a dilemma.

As we deliberate without reaching consensus, nature comes to our rescue with flakes of snow. Snow fall starts suddenly and without any doubt we take a collective decision that we will come another time to meet up with bhrugu Lake. Whatever we accomplished is good enough and it is better to return. Himalayan mountains can mislead you if there is low visibility. It is extremely dangerous not to listen to the signals sent by the nature.

Shardul and Sharvari

As we decide to return, everybody gets busy in taking pictures of point of return. Sushant takes out a tricolor which he had packed carefully in his back pack. All of us are thrilled with the presence of mind that he has exhibited. We get together for a group photo with the tricolor.

Suhani and Sushant

Tanaya and Sharvari are busy taking pictures. Chandan is hurrying everyone to return,

Ashok is busy observing the surroundings, Sachin is trying to look as far as he can to check if he can get a glimpse of Bhrugu Lake. I run on the soft snow as if it is a sea shore. Each one of us try to absorb the intimacy of Himalay. We feel the warmth of these cold snow covered mountain. The warmth within.

As we start our journey towards our camp, Dineshji promises that it is going to be easy and enjoyable. We need to traverse the same patch again. There is a group of people returning from Roli Kholi itself.

We are now on gigantic slopes. Dineshji guides us on how to slide down. Each one of is wears the raincoat pant and slides on the snow. It is amazingly thrilling. All of us enjoy this part of the trek the most.

Descending Delightfully

The descend gets more and more delightful due to the sliding expedition. I doubt if any amusement park will be able to provide such experience. We slide down at least 50 feet at one time and are astonished at how we climbed these slopes in the morning.

After sliding down atleast 6  to 7 times we are able to see our campsite. We are drenched in snow and rainfall. The shoes are heavy and wet. We quickly change and go back to the dining tent. Steaming hot Maggie tastes heavenly. We chat and try to recollect our experiences.

Sun has set and the sparkling moon has returned. Slivery mountains shine in front of us. We try to look at Bhrugu and beyond. Beyond Bhrugu there is perseverance, there is teamwork and above all there is unity.  

The Dream is closer

Bright Morning

It is a bright day today.  I peep out of the tent to see the Sun rising. The golden sunshine is spreading arms. We are fortunate it is a great weather. After a delicious breakfast we head to our next day of trekking. We are still walking in the meadows. Blue skies, and green mountains welcome us with sparkling sunshine. 

We suddenly stumble upon a small portion of snow. It the first time in this season, we are able to see

Himalayan Resident : Treat to the eyes

the snow. We take pictures and march ahead. There is no change in the surroundings, however the huge Devdar trees are slowly disappearing. And suddenly we are standing in front of a mountain blanketed with the white snow. Dineshji, our tour guide tells us that we must climb this mountain for practice. He briefs us that tomorrow we will be climbing many such mountains in deep snow hence the practice. We carefully march ahead after learning the technique. All of us try to master the technique of walking on the snow with much efforts.

Ashok, Pranav(JCB), Sachin, Kalyani and Prerana

After about 30 minutes of practice full of masti and magic, we finally declare that we are done with it and may proceed further. As we climb another mountain we reach our destination for the day. We have reached rather early and hence we once again do tent pitching and relax for a while. After a sumptuous lunch many disappear in their tents. Some of us decide to sit in the open to absorb the fresh air and golden sunshine. As I am engrossed in a chat with Kalyani and Ashok, Shardul and Tanaya join us. Shardul spots a small rabbit like animal. We take the snaps and proceed to the tents. Ashok wants to try   digging out the snow. We are trying to figure out which fort it is going to be. Finally we are told that he is making Shivaji Maharaj.  This looks like an ambitious plan and we withdraw from it.
his hands on Snow once again. He starts building a structure in the snow. Pranav, our official JCB of the group starts

Sharvari : The Smiling Star

The tea is served by the side of the kitchen tent. Simultaneously Mitraji declares that he will be teaching us how to tie different types of knots  to a rope. Everybody tries his hand. It is a useful exercise indeed. As the time passes by we start preparing for our big day tomorrow. We are going to have a long day, since it is a climb of almost 6 hours and a descend of 3 hours. We are thrilled about this portion of the trek. It is going to be absolute pleasure to climb the mountain filled with snow. Dinesh tells us that we would be starting our trek at 6.00 am in the morning. He gives instructions about back pack and assures us that he will do his best to reach us to the destination. 

Moon Lit Mountains in the midnight

Since it is extremely cold I use my veto and tell everyone to have turmeric milk (Haldiwala Dudh). Some characters who are in the habit of skipping milk since their childhood escape silently. However I am able to hold on to 7 people to drink the milk. Finally we are off to our tents.

Dream Bhrugu

I suddenly wake up in the middle of the night to attend to nature’s call. It is extremely cold and it is impossible to leave the warmth of my sleeping bag. However it is next to impossible to sleep without going out. I curse myself for drinking water in the evening and gather courage to go out. As I come outside, the sky is lit with full moon. The moon looks like a silver disk. It is glowing like a Diwali lantern. I am amazed at the sight. The snowy mountains are bathing in the moonlight. The blue sky is lit with the silvery shiny light spread all over. I am forced to go back to my tent due to the cold. However I do not want to close my eyes with the fear of wiping out the spectacular seen of nature I just captured.  

I fall back to sleep with the dream in my eyes. Dream of moon lit Bhrugu Lake.