It was time.....time to walk far away from the madding crowd.....Move away from the idiot box, away from the madness of Mumbai and the morbidity - moroseness of routine and the pain of heartbreak;it was time to move on.
The hills as Julie Andrews sang are indeed and perhaps have always been and will be alive with the sound of music. For me be it a hill, hillock, mountain or a valley - just being close to these - lifts up my spirits and allows me to recharge my tired and world weary self. Luckily for me, I spent most of my childhood in Dehra Dun - at the foothills of the Shivaliks. In those days we didn't have the distraction of the idiot box or a tab to keep us busy when we went exploring. Time spent on a hand held video game or listening to shared headsets with zealously guarded batteries came much later. It was such fond memories of meandering through the pretty Garhwal and Kumaon Himalayas (hikes/ road trips) that beckoned when I came across the trek to Tungnath from Devariyatal via Chopta from White Magic Adventures.
To those who have yet to hear of either of these - quick intro while I walk you through an exhilarating 3 day moderate trek which is scenic and considered ideal for beginners. Devariyatal is a few hours ahead of Rudraprayag near the village of Sari and is known for its tranquil lake with pretty camps close by spread across rolling green meadows. The picture alongside is of the village from where we started the trek. 
The trekking group had the guide, cook and porters from White Magic, Shree, Sada, a Gujarati gentleman and his 9 year old daughter and yours truly. Sada and Shree were classmates and now with grown up children had opted to catch up on treks with each other and their set of friends.
Sanjeev from White Magic had very kindly walked me through how to prepare for the trek, what to carry and other dos n donts. These were truly helpful as climbing stairs / walking in Mumbai DOES NOT prepare you for climbing in the Himalayas - no matter how gentle the environs.
The trekking team picked me up from Rishikesh and we drove up towards Pauri with some breaks at Rudraprayag. The initial climb to reach Devariyatal is a series of rather steep steps along which we huffed and puffed. Our stuff was sent ahead and we were left with our jackets and water bottles only to allow us to make the climb. Very shamelessly, by the end of it (almost 2 hours later) we were quite glad that our guide Gaurav had taken away our stuff!!!
The camp was already laid out and while we quickly went exploring the area around the lake (at approx. 2440m), there was a brief downpour that resulted in a glorious rainbow just when we were at the view point.
The views are spectacular as you get to see the Chaukhumbha and at times Kedarnath too! After a few photo ops we came back to camp and the White Magic team had set up camp for us , the tents were set up with all our gear (including the mini trenches around it) and the tea, snacks and dinner were all done. This warm hospitality, care and affection from the White Magic teams truly sustains you through the treks! We ate food quickly and then crawled into our tents just as the heavens opened up. All through the night we slept snug as a bug in a rug as the tents were waterproof and we were quite tired. The last thought that everyone had was will it rain throughout the trek!!??!!
Day 2 dawned with the sun shining brightly. Gaurav made us do a bit of stretches and gulp down a heavy breakfast after which he gave each of us 1 walking pole each and instructed us to carry very little and only load up on water. While we broke camp we got news that our two representatives from Gujarat had to rush back the same day due to a family emergency. We conveyed our best wishes and prayers and then headed our separate ways.
Chopta (and google baba will ratify this) is known as MINI Switzerland in India. For movie buffs some trivia - the late Yash Chopra did not shoot any song featuring the leading lady draped in chiffon clad ambling down romantically with the hero. There is a solitary Forest Rest House and the views from it are spectacular.
The trek to Chopta is through a beautiful forest with many trails. While you need to cross several ridges to get to your final destination, there are plenty of scenic views to pause and catch your breath, several mountain streams to quench your thirst, smell the flowers and the clean forest air and sometimes spot the odd green coloured forest snake out for a morning ramble! While we trekked we came across several village children on their way to school, himalayan griffons riding thermals languidly, industrious pretty village women with rosy cheeks collecting wood and all parties irrespective of age were more nimble than any old mountain goat.
Gaurav and Mohan Sir, it turned out were carrying lunch for us as well! We reached a quaint forest clearing and sat down to have food and how hungry we were! As it turned out we ate just in the nick of time as a very large set of noisy trekkers then came upon us and the moment was gone. As we trudged up, it soon started to drizzle and within a matter of a few minutes that drizzle had changed to a downpour and then a mini hail storm. My jacket was warm and waterproof but there are body parts that a jacket and cap don't cover and we had to run in a forest across streams and uneven terrain to get to a point where we could take shelter from the hail. Hail pelting down is one of the most painful things to experience. Avoiding tall inflammable trees during a rain storm in the Shivaliks is next to impossible such was our plight. Rather bravely we decided not to camp and instead continue towards Chopta as we still had about 4 hours more of trek left - a bit of luck as we had started the trek early.
It was on a slippery descent that my shoes - yes both boots - simply gave way. Gaurav then very chivalrously thought of exchanging boots which he very vociferously recommended till I quietly pointed out that the size of my feet and his feet were completely different and shoe exchange was not an option. Mohan Sir had climbed back up to see what was holding us up. Well the White Magic team has some magic up their sleeves for sure. Between Gaurav and Mohan Sir they taped up my boots using scotch tape (I till date have no clue why they were carrying it) and then used spare shoe laces to bind it further. Then very sweetly helped me navigate a fairly steep descent complicated by a carpet of leaves left slippery and wet due to hail and rain. A stretch of about 12mins probably took me 25mins. Even the walking poles were not helping. The rest of the group had descended and were worried as to why we were late. They had however patiently waited for me near the noisy waterfall - that's what happens to streams in these magical places. So we joked a little bit about the boots, refilled water and then started our journey which did not have any more steep gradients and I am most thankful for that.
We slowly gained height and came up towards forest clearings surrounded by large rhododendrons with bright red blossoms. As we trekked we saw patches of snow on the ground. Gaurav hinted that it was not far and while we were tired all we needed was to now put one foot in front of the other to simply reach our camp. We had started at 7:30 am and it was close to 5pm.....It had been over 11 hours that we had been trekking. There are moments in a trek where you are physically exhausted and your mind tells you to give up yet you move forward and when you do it is then you realize that you can - that is grit. We went from sun to rain to hail to snow in a span of few hours.
We reached camp and Gaurav had us change wet footwear and then the we were fed warm tea and snacks. Our camp was set up on a beautiful hill/ meadow and we were surrounded by pink rhododendron blossoms and had the view of the beautiful valley and ridges we had crossed and snow clad mountains standing guardians solemnly. My boots were carefully checked by everyone and they eventually found a spare set that I could use if I wore double socks. It was a wonderful gesture as without it the next day's trek would have otherwise not been feasible at all.
The other interesting thing we discovered was that Shree had been regaling us with her previous treks with white magic and she had been telling us about one of their more capable cooks. It was sheer luck that the very same cook had joined our camp at Chopta!! They met like old friends.
As we hungrily gobbled down our dinner, Gaurav later revealed that we had actually trekked almost 15kms and at some point he had mentally written me off on account of the sorry state of my boots. He kept saying - I don't know what made you go on. We later got to know that a second camp that had started later than us got caught in the hail and opted to set up camp in a forest clearing was getting waterlogged. We had been quite lucky indeed!
As we snuggled down to sleep we could identify Sada's tent as his snoring was loud for all to hear. We giggled about it and he had good-naturedly put up with our teasing earlier at tea. At night however it got really cold and we could see the air mist up when we exhaled. The cold had crept up via the wet ground. I gave Shree some of the extra woollen wear I had carried but she had started to shiver and was almost on the verge of tears and panic. My sleeping bag was ex-military strength so I was not as cold. I gave Shree some of the extra woollens I had carried but by then she had started to shiver. We then finally decided to put rolled up newspaper layers under her sleeping bag after which she was able to sleep and get some rest.
The last day we woke to clear skies and warm flasks of tea outside our tents. The pic below is what I saw when I eagerly scrambled out of my tent ready for the final phase of the trek.
Tungnath is one of the panch kedar pilgrimage circuit (i.e. 5 shiv temples). It is en route to Kedarnath and actually is a tougher trek to get to than Kedarnath. Tungnath (at 3470m) is the highest Shiva Temple and is close to the Chandrashila peak (almost 12,000 to 13,000 feet / 3700m).
One of my best friends fondly called "Baloo" had told me that as a family they visited Tungnath in July and it had snow still. So in April it seemed we could not avoid this at all.
We drove from the camp to the entrance to the temple complex. From their you need to climb the poorly maintained concrete stairs. As we climbed, the stairs started to disappear under slush then snow. At one point we were using both poles to enable us to climb. The pink blossoms had given way to white rhododendrons which too stopped as we encountered 40 feet of snow.
Shree was totally excited as she had been looking forward to climbing Chandrashila and summitting. Sada was keen on reaching the temple. I was just keen on staying alive and reaching terra firma that was not snow clad. Ascending altitude in snow is one of the most trying and testing experiences I have had. Our luck gave way after around 3 hours of trek when a very hail storm ensued. All of us were far away from any place we could use as a shelter and the storm was relentless and the fresh snow became slippery and tough to walk in.
We eventually crawled up to an old ruin of a tea shop. Temporary shelter but it saved us - thank heavens. We all had been well covered due to warm jackets, mufflers, gloves and caps but there were moments we had all wanted to sit and cry and pray that the hail would stop. We instead quietly ate biscuits and tried to lift each other's morale that it was another 200 meters to go. The next 200 meters were indeed a small distance but they were quite tough for us to get through. The fresh hail had led to fresh snow and we had to be careful of where our feet was landing. Sada very nearly went in six feet at one point much to our fright. Then Shree rang the temple bell and it just gave us that much needed boost to complete the last bit.
The temple was buried in the snow as you see in the pics. The snow was right up to the door hinge. We had warm tea and biscuits and explored a little bit. We could not summit Chandrashila as Gaurav confirmed that fresh snow and hail would have made the climb unstable and unsafe for us to attempt. Shree was quite heart broken while Sada and I were secretly relieved.
After a lot of photo op, we started to descend. This had been my weakest point as I have slipped in the snow around 20 feet which was a scary experience some years back. So turn by turn everyone held my hand and actually helped me descend safely. We kept encouraging each other throughout and when we reached the place where there was no snow we had a mini picnic. Trekking requires a lot of eating and drinking as you may have realized by now. As we reached the entrance (now exit) of the temple complex Gaurav asked us if we wanted to trek back to the camp or be driven. Shameless couch potatoes that we are we unanimously asked for the drive much to his disgust. The distance from the temple complex entrance to the temple itself on a sunny non -snowy day takes around 45 mins only. It took us almost half a day to cover this distance.
We arrived at the camp as if we had conquered Everest. As we sat in the mess tent, Shree opted to teach the cook how to correctly prepare Kanda Poha (puffed rice with onions) while the rest of us assisted. Then as we sat drinking tea, it started to mist up. The mist rolled down the meadow and swallowed up our tents and soon we could not see anything. It started to rain. We opted to have tea with fried onions and potatoes fritters while we exchanged notes, joked and played games. It was after 30 mins or so that we realised that the mess tent was getting waterlogged as it was slightly lower than the other tents. With all hands we very quickly moved up items to a higher level and luckily the rain stopped and the sun came out.
While we went to change shoes and socks that were by now quite drenched the mess staff got ready for dinner. I was secretly thanking my stars that I had packed extra socks and even a woollen pair. They had even organised a bonfire for us - they salvaged the wood first to ensure it remained dried. Dinner was pizza - very delicious and desert was cake. They had baked it in a pressure cooker!!!! Sada, Shree and I sang songs as we sat by the bonfire and ate. Truly a lovely way to end the day.
The next day saw us pack up and break camp. We drove to Rishikesh and had to make quite a few stops as there were landslides along the way and clearing work was still in progress. We listened to songs on the drive back and slept for some time. It was with a heavy heart that we said goodbye to each other and the White Magic crew. It had been a wonderful journey and a memorable trek. I came back happier, healthier and wiser.
PS - next time - yes a definite YES for a next time with White Magic, I will carry not only spare socks but also spare set of shoes!
You can get more details on the trek on the link below.
https://www.whitemagicadventure.com/trek-walking-holidays/chopta-chandrashila-summit
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