Exploring the Unexplored Side Of Me – Trekking – Part 1

Aug 6, 2024 Tuesday

All the participants had to report to the base camp on 6th August. Camp was near to Dachigam National Park ,Srinagar. Our batch number was 23. Before going there we decided to explore few places in Srinagar namely – Sri Sankaracharya Temple, Nishat & Shalimar Garden, Chashme Shahi Garden, Char Chinar which is situated inside of the Dal Lake. We took a cab from Hotel Latif which would take us above mentioned places & drop us at the base camp.

Everyone from our group got ready on time & after having breakfast we left around 8 o clock in the morning.

1. It took us approx 45- 50 minutes when we reached Sri Sankaracharya Temple.There was a tight security. We Visited the temple & the cave ,a place where he meditated. Cave is located next to the Temple. Initially I didn’t noticed it when Aarti asked me have I went there, then I went back & saw. It was peacefully beautiful. Photography was prohibited inside the temple so I didn’t took a pic. After spending 15-20 minutes we came out of the temple.
2. Next spot was Char Chinar – One can visit the same with Shikara (boat) ride. We didn’t go because the shikara person told us ridiculously high price. We took a photo from outside & saw the same from the Dal Lake.
3. After that we went to Nishat garden & I was blown away. It was huge but most importantly well maintained. We were there for an hour & took countless pictures.
4. Post which we went to Shalimar Garden which wasn’t upto the mark in terms of maintenance. Lot’s of construction was in process & Nishat kind of set a benchmark unknowingly. It will be wrong to do the comparison, as both of them are unique in its own way. But personally I liked Nishat garden more.
5. We didn’t go the Chashme Shahi Garden as our cab driver told it was not in the travel plan & we also didn’t pushed the topic further.

We decided to go straight towards the base camp as there was no harm of reaching early than other way round. We reached the YHAI base camp around 12.30. After doing check in formalities such as medical form, photo submission & Aadhaar card copy, we went to our respective tents ( separate tents for boys and girls) which was allocated by the staff. Overall it was pretty smooth process. We got 3 tents on sharing basis- 4 people in each tents. In the afternoon, the temperature was very hot in the basecamp inspite we were 5,500ft above sea level. Thanks to global warming (sic) this year it was one of the hottest temp in that area. We came to know at the same time it was raining heavily in Mumbai & there temp was pretty cold, what an irony.

Camp Lunch reminded us home cooked food. It was so delicious. We had Poli, Bhaji, salad & tiny jaggery pieces , they say खाने के बाद कुछ मीठा होना चाहिए. After spending sometime in the camp after an hour we went to Dachigam National Park for a walk. Entry ticket was Rs25 pp. The place was full of greenery & it’s quite big. We walked for sometime, clicked pics , listened to magical sound of nature. There was diverse variety of trees, birds and I could hardly recognize any. So I decided to focus on the walk & observing & listening to the friends who could identity tree & birds effortlessly. Abhishek, KK took out the camera & started capturing awesome clicks. This place is also one of the ideal spot for photography. We also saw huge trout fishpond which was managed by the government. After sometime we went to see the zoo – we saw Leopard it was sleeping most of the time, I guess it’s about the timing. We also saw huge brown bear & Sahib – Asiatic black bear ( Sahib is the bear name)

We came back in the camp around 4.30 had a cup of tea. Till then other members & friends came. It was the first time I got to meet them all in person. I got introduced to Avinash & Sunil Munj who were school buddies , also met Gajanan, (Gaja) Makarand (Mac), Mamta etc.

Our group was pretty interesting, we had Doctor a skin specialist – Avinash, Aarti a Police by profession, Shashank Ex Navy, Pranav – Fat-loss Coach, Priyanka – A lawyer by profession, Dipangshu a Govt employee. There were many artists – Gaja, Mac , छोटू – fabulous singers. Kishor is the all rounder (those who knew him needs no introduction ), Abhishek a visionary & has eye for the camera & true artist, Mamta – CA by profession & writes poetry effortlessly beautiful. I was lucky to be part of this group as there was so much to learn from everyone. A strong base of the group is bonding & in our case it was from the day 1 when we all met. I think its because of

[A] Out of 25 – 22 people were Marathi (16 from Mumbai, 6 from Pune) speaking so there was a different vibe from the beginning. Other 3 were from WB (West Bengal) but they used to understand Marathi & we used to talk with them Hindi, English so the communication was never the issue.

[B] Even though there were 16 people from Mumbai we all met each other first time at the basecamp. But it didn’t feel like that way. It’s like we already knew each other that was the feeling.

Dinner was served around 8 o clock & post that , spending time inside the camp ( Gate was closed so nobody could go out in the night) roaming around the site, we went to sleep. Light cut in the camp was around 10pm.

Aug 7, 2024 Wednesday

Next day we had morning tea around 5 o clock followed by a short walk which included few exercise & some stretches. Before that we gathered to give the best wishes to the batch no 22 who was all set to go for Nichnai camp. Post which we went for the workout routine for the day. After few minutes it drizzled so we found a big bus stop and we all went there. Within few minutes weather was clear so we went ahead.It was a short walk & camp leader took us to the ground where we all gathered in a big circle & followed the exercise pattern. We also clicked countless pics in between, group pics, we could sense the high energy along with positivity in the overall group. That day we had to select a leader, co-leader & environment leader among us. We chose Shashank as Leader, Aarti as a co-leader & Priyanka as Environment leader.

Around 7.30 we had Idli, Sambar with Chutney & Tea, coffee for the breakfast which was delicious. We all, 25 gathered around 9 o clock for our acclimatisation walk with our guide Gulzar. As per the camp leader this walk was 7-8% of the KGL Trek which was just a gist. We carried our luggage as part of the practice as on the actual Trek we had to carry weight till we reach respective base camps. We started walking with luggage in our back & some of us carried hiking poles.

We covered around 7km in that walk. Trail was mix of flat, uphill & downhill. Some of the road had rocky patches & we also crossed the water by putting our feet on stones. For me crossing the water & while coming downhill was a task. Practice is required & that’s the key. Few times I put my feet in the water while crossing but the outcome was my shoe was clean (sic). (Well that was the sarcasm.). We came back in the base camp around 11.30 am & had lunch around 1.30 ish. We had poli, Aloo-brinjal sabzi & dal rice + salad. Post which around 2 o clock we all gathered for orientation session by field director Mr.Dilip Chauhan. He talked & briefed about AMS ( Acute mountain sickness) & how to deal with it. He told that AMS starts usually between (6000-8000ft) & we at the basecamp was already on 5000ft above sea level, so the side effects would start on 1st day itself. In order to deal with it he told

1. Drink water – ideally sipping in between & keep oneself hydrated all the time
2. Slow walking let the body get adjusted to the surroundings
3. Not immediately remove the bag when you halt ( Gap of 3 to 4 minutes). Let the body cooldown first.

Apart from that he briefed us about

1. Trek Overview
2. Route ( which was on point)
3. Things to carry – limited & essential clothes only & how to pack your bag – One hack/tip was keep the light weight stuff down & heavier one on upper side and remaining space keep other things that will accommodate.
4. Things to be done once you reach on the campsite – Like removing shoes, turn socks upside down , massage with the moisturiser etc
5. Do’s & Don’ts at the time of trek – For a start follow the instruction of the local guide , avoid clicking pics once reach at Military check post. Even if you click pic by mistake mobile will be last seen at that spot (sic). So if you love your phone try to avoid it. Military check post will be on Day 1 – Nichnai , Day 5 Gadsar & Day 8 Naranag thats what he said which was true.
6. Tips for Glares – Blue sunglasses should be avoided in snowy conditions because they don’t filter out enough of the blue light that is heavily reflected by snow. Snow reflects a large amount of blue light, which can cause eye strain, discomfort, and even damage over time. Additionally, blue lenses do not enhance contrast as effectively as other lens colours like brown, amber, or grey, which are better suited for snowy environments where high contrast is essential for seeing terrain details and reducing glare. Co-incidentally my shades were blue, I was in a confuse state of mind whether to buy from local market or not to purchase it ; To go or to not to go was the thing, but my friends told that outer look of my glares that is the shiny side is blue but from inside its black so it won’t be an issue & we will hardly get any snow in current scenario so I decided to stick with it. 🤞

The overall session was quite insightful & got to learn many new things. After having a cup of tea we came back to our respective camps & unpacked everything.

I took out extra Enerzal, Hankerchief & one T shirt & extra undergarment. Initially planning to carry 4 t shirt ( 3 for the entire journey and 1 at the night) but decided to carry 2 t-shirt for trekking and 1 at the time of sleeping. Apart from that I carried hyderation pouch so total weight was approx.10kgs. In the evening we met for team bonding session, it was Aarti’s idea to do that- some of us danced, sang songs & few gave speech why they like trekking etc. We had dinner around 8 o clock. Next day as per the timetable Tea was at 4 o clock in the morning & around 6 o clock sharp we would be leaving basecamp & start the trek. Plan was to get up by 3.30 in the morning. We decided to sleep early but before that some of our friends decided to have small Karaoke session. छोटू had karaoke mic & everyone sat on the grass outside our tent. After few minutes people from other- next & upcoming batches joined us & to our surprise within few minutes there were 15-20+ people came for the session which was unexpected. Plan was to sleep around 9 pm but session lasted till 10.30. Irony was our friends who had this original idea vanished & went for a sleep after few minutes & except few of us there were other people singing with us. But most importantly, we all had good time thats the beauty & magic of music. Wen छोटू took his mic back till then one of the guy from other camp took out his acoustic guitar & he was strumming & jamming. He was planning to carry it all the way for trekking. You need guts to think & do that, thats what I said to myself because I thought for such challenging trek carrying a guitar along with your bag gonna be a task but thought that, why should I worry & think as it was the dudes call , he will look into it not my scene. That night I called my folks – was able to speak with Aai, told her there won’t be network for a week in mountains & I will be fine as I will be in a group & once I’m back will text.

Aug 8, 2024 Thursday

Next day I got up at 2 then slept again & sleep was in between. Normally this happens before the big trek or expedition. All the tent buddies got up by 3.30/45 am had our morning tea around 4 o clock. For breakfast there was bread butter & Jam. I didn’t feel like eating that early so grabbed half slice of bread butter. We got Poli bhaji for packed lunch ( packed lunch, everyone carried their own tiffin box). After getting ready 25 of us came & formed 3 lines & drill was each of us count themself as number like number 1,2 & so on after finishing count till 25 we sang National Anthem & started walking. Some of us gave camera to the next batch who came to see us off like we did for batch no 22 yesterday. Batch no 24 gave their best wishes to us (which was much needed). Post which we came outside the gate. Plan was to go till Sonamarg by car & from there we would start walking. So we divided ourself 8-9 people in each car and 3 cars. It took us approximately 2.5 hours of the total duration of the journey. In the car I called Baba because I couldn’t speak with him yesterday. He gave me best wishes & blessings which meant a lot. We took a halt for washroom, nature call & refreshments break. Some of us had Kahwa (Kashmiri Tea which was fab ) Around 8.30 am We got down from the car. Took our luggage. Some of us carried their own luggage, some of us gave the extra luggage to the Mule & they will get the same at the end of the day’s play. We got introduced to our 2 Kashmiri Local guides namely – Saddam & Tarikh. Saddam used to lead group from the front & Tarikh used to stay at the back. We were all excited & looked forward for the journey ahead…

That day our stay was at Nichnai camp which was approx 12-13km (11,948ft) above the sea level. More on that day & remaining trek in next blog post series. Peace out ✌️

Journey Continues…