This is the third post of the Chanderkhani Pass trek photo story.
Click here to read the Preface page: Chanderkhani pass trek with YHAI: Preface
Click here to read the previous page: Through the Malana village, Parvati valley and Watching forest
Day 7 - Chanderkhani Pass and Naya tapru camp.
We started after early breakfast at 330am from 9000 feet. Oh man. The initial walk was through a jungle before sunset carrying torches. By the sunrise we climbed up hill and we could see the beautiful Parvati valley and Behali camp (The places we stayed before). We continued our walk to the pass without taking much breaks. Our expectations were rising. By this time, our team of 11 people became good friends. We were a lot of sarcasm and jokes on the way. The walk was tiring as we stopped rarely plus we didn’t get much sleep the night.
Peak point on the way to the pass from Nagroni
Sunrise at Behali
Reaching the pass - 12190 feet
Reaching the peak was as dramatic as I expected. The view from there was unbelievably spellbinding. There were only snow capped mountains all around but far distanced. There were a few patched of snow at the pass itself. By the time we found snow, no one could resist playing with it. That was the first time I saw snow. Suddenly there were these teams that formed and started fighting throwing snow and pushing others into snow. Some started sliding. Some including me shamelessly started taking selfies and pics. Though it was embarrassing to be acting like kids seeing just a few meters of snow patch, the feeling was startling. The expected enthusiasm upon seeing something that was never seen before would have certainly justified it all. After an hour of tiring work with snow, we walked away from the peak. We found a temporary store for food setup due to the month long YHAI camping trips itself. That is somewhere one would lest expect a shop or any kind of human settlement. Had lots of omelettes, Maggi etc along with the packed lunch. [Maggi is the best food for travels.]
That's my friend Dhananjai
View from the Chanderkhani Pass
Descent to 9000 feet
By the time we started our descend journey it was 2 and it was so cold. I felt like tired. And then it hailed. That was it. The day could not have gotten any better. Witnessing hail (Alipazham in Malayalam) in the first time of life, I just stood there trying to catch them with my hand. Warning: if you are seeing hail for the first time in your life, chances are you will start acting like a five year old.
It was late already and we had to rush to reach the next camp in Naya Tapru. A few trekkers started going very fast. We tried our best to catch up, but couldn’t find them. At some point we even thought we lost the way so we literally had to run through the harsh descent. We couldn't even stop at places to adore the ambience or scenery. At around 5 PM, after a lot of running, we reached Naya Tapru camp and straightaway went to tents and lied there like wood logs (The day started at 3am). It was a camp on a windy hilltop. It got very cold by night, probably -3 degrees. At night after dinner of Chapatis and Jaggery sweet (which is good for cold climate), we heard some rumbling in the forest. It was like the homecoming of pack of wild dogs trying to capture back their territory. (I’m being nonsensically dramatic here). In the morning, the camp leader informed us that it was actually a group of bears that had been roaming around the forest. That freaked all of us out literally.
..and the Hail (Alipazham in Malayalam)
We started from there after breakfast and left back to base camp. After reaching base camp, we saw the new batches getting there acclimatisation. We felt like we were some super seniors in this trekking centre and felt the arrogance. Afterwards, we went to Kulu town. The place had a street that is stone paved and very neat. It had an old town kind of ambience.
Kullu town
Back to Delhi
Returning back to civilisation, we were craving many many dishes. On reaching we had many food missions: of which most were executed
1. Breakfast at Samridhi canteen, Kerala House, Janpath - Didn't get appam and beef though
2. Lunch at Karim's, Jama Masjid - Chicken and mutton
3. Sweets at Haldiram's, Chandni Chowk
So long...
Journeys are the best way to meet people as they all would be away from the smartphones and their mundane lifestyle. All would be happy and wholly present in the moment searching for new memories and experiences that stay forever. Friends made in journeys are friends for many journeys.
The awesome team.. again!
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