“Getting to the top of any given mountain was considered much less important than how one got there: prestige was earned by tackling the most unforgiving routes with minimal equipment, in the boldest style imaginable.”
― Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
This one sentence accurately defines the trekking experience 19 of us had in our recent trip to Kedarkantha. Kedarkantha peak at 12500 ft. seem to be too remarkable, but as the name says shaped like Shiva’s Neck, (Kedar means Lord Shiva and Kantha means Neck), actually one of the most scenic trek and offers great views to the Himalayan ranges, reason behind making it to one of the Top 10 treks in India by Conde Nast.
Almost at the Top
Mid November, the trekking plan was made keeping forth-coming holiday season in mind by colleagues Anurag (our team captain) and Shikha (Co-captain). Mostly like other corporate people, none of us had any previous trekking experience or required physical fitness. A small fitness schedule was shared, but I am not sure how many of us actually followed the same.
The Plan:
20th December: Pick up from Dehradun railway station. Drive to Sankri (10-11 hrs).
21st December: 3 km trek starts from Sankri 6,450 ft to Juda ka talab 9,100 ft.
22nd December: ~3 km Trek to Juda ka talab 9,100 ft to Kedarkantha base 11,250 ft.
23rd December: ~4 km Kedarkantha base 11,250 ft to Kedarkantha peak 12,500 ft and down to Sankri
24th December: No Plans… Buffer
25th December: Drive from Sankri to Dehradoon Railway Station and Train to New Delhi
The Team: Amit, Anurag, Ankita, Ashish, GauravS, GauravG, Kamal Thakur, Kamal Ahmed, Kuldeep, Mohit, Munish, Pawan, Rahul, Raj, Shalini, Shikha, Varun, Vikas, Yogi
Team : Always Ready to Rock n Roll
Sankri :
Around 200 kms from Dehradun via NH123, criss-crossing over the hills and valleys this is a place where the experience is not just in the destination, the road to the place are all part of it. In some ways, the area harks back to the ‘old hill stations’ before they became over built messes – a few scattered houses, the little bazaar, patches of forest and wide open views.
Sankri : Football Match
Sun Shine and the views
Some stretches after the Kempty Fall, are damaged due to frequent land sliding and require a vigilant driving. However the highway provides a great and expansive view to the river following down on the left side of the road, recommended for quick stop on the way up to the mountain to take in the view or a selfie. With rounds and rounds of Antakshari, Dumb charades and numerous stories, we didn’t feel the ups and downs of the Tempo Traveler, not even the tyre burst.
Quick Click : On the way to Sankri
Late evening arrived in the Hotel Wild Orchid, with all the dust, most of us directly headed for a quick shower/nap with all the questions and answers in our mind regarding next day trek. It is recommended to book Hotel Room in advance during peak season as Sankri has 2-3 hotels offering some facilities for travelers. Only BSNL seemed to be giving some connectivity option in Sankri for an hour-two in the morning. Check with locals for the exact timings (depending on the generator’s availability)
Reaching Juda Ka Talaab :
Great People n Great Team work
JKT as locals call it, is a small mystic land surrounded by snow-capped mountains, beautiful scenery and picturesque landscapes. A 3 Km trek started around 10:30 am with all of us full of energy and spirit even to win over the Everest and the same seemed to have eloped after a short while. Kept on encouraging each other after each fall, telling stories, discussing future plans, office culture, around 2:00 pm we entered to a flat landscape covered with snow where bright sunlight was filtering through thick oak trees. During Summers I hear this gets convert into a lush grassy meadow.
Juda Ka Talaab : Frozen Lake
This lake has a picturesque setting amidst oak and pine trees. Camps were set up and Dal-rice was in today’s menu for lunch, with limited cutlery and water, somehow finished the lunch one-by-one. Yogi brought his guitar and evening was spent around a cheery bon-fire. Most Challenging part of the day was yet to come…. Sleeping Bags, trust me it’s not easy to sleep in these in -18 degree, unless you have blessings of an “Old Monk” to take care of you.
Camps Setup at Juda Ka Talaab
Kedarkantha Base Camp:
Some of us decided to go back to Sankri due to injury and rest of us made two groups and group one with 11 of us started the trek around 9:00 post breakfast, second group with 5 teammates were to follow us once ready. The enclosing Deodar forest and fresh snow made it difficult to follow the trail and we had to make our own paths, however offered remarkable views of snow peaks and valleys. A maiden dressed in white, this is how the base camp looked after approx. 3 km of trek and the white radiance of the land had a mesmerizing ambience.
Kedarkantha Base Camp
From here you get the first glimpse to the Kedarkantha Peak and feel “Oh Yes! Abhi”.. This is tranquil spot, offering solace. The rarified air and the clouds gliding by give the sight a surrealistic setting.
The Summit : First Glimpse
Lunch was getting ready but where’s the second group. After an hour of wait, we really got worried and sent some local guides in search of our team-mates. Finally after 2-3 hrs of rigorous effort, got the good news and meeting those 5 people was the great relief.
Lunch at the Shack
Colors of Life
In the shack, there were stories from the LOST n FOUND group and the views that we would be missing as we didn’t get LOST. Another night in sleeping bags, guess what me and shikha found an innovative solution and stuffed the sleeping bags with all our remaining stuff from rucksacks and used our overcoat as blankets inside the sleeping bags. It did help, but tonight there was another problem, with all the lost n found event, camps were made up in hurry and the base was not leveled, another freezing night and zero sleep.
Kedarkantha Base Camp II
The Summit Yatra :
Early Morning hour was spent in dilemma to go or not to go ahead, untill the Team Captain asked us to get ready, that brought us back to the reality, and a glance to the top, energized us. We quickly got ready with our Tractions and Gaiters (temporary one) and started to what we refer now as “The Journey to Another World”.
Kadam Kadam Badaye Jaaa..
It does become more strenuous as you start to reach the top. The views afforded on-route were phenomenal, and every turn was a must-stop-and-soak-in-the-view location!
Almost at the Top
Finally, we reached and each one of us shouted …. YES…..!!!
Feeling : Top of the World
The large flat hilltop presents a 360 degree views of the area. Besides the perennially snow-capped chain of the Greater Himalayan ranges, very few peaks in the vicinity match the grandeur on display here.
The Summit : Yes we did it and did it together !!
Starting from Base Camp in the morning to the Summit and reaching Sankri by evening had to ascend and descend, covering 12km in a single day, not an easy task. It’s not for everyone, but is makes for a great challenge for those who are up to it and yes we were!!
Mostly trek operators/itinerary recommends to make another stopover at Har ki Gaon, another beautiful place. The enclosing deodar forest keeps the spot shaded and hidden away. However as planned, by evening we were at Sankri. Followed the same route from Sankri to Dehradoon, but this time it was not the Antakshari or games, but memories of the trek and stories that kept us busy.
Trek Essentials:
Apart from Physical Fitness, the most important item : Shoes. Forclaz 500 and above is recommended, tractions and gaiters are a must if you plan to visit during winters. A visit to nearby decathlon store will help. Bag packs and Rucksacks from Wildcraft are also available online at Amazon. Ultimately it would be your determination that would take you to the Summit.
“Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.”
― Barry Finlay, Kilimanjaro and Beyond
Shalini, truly a brave and thrilling trek successfully completed by you & your colleagues. You should really feel proud. And thanks for an engrossing travelogue !
Thanks Venkat for your kind comments…. Yes it was a proud feeling for all of us!!!
Awesome trip !! Life time experience and summarized very nicely by Shalini. Thank you.
Thanks Raj
wowwwwwwww !!
salute to you Shalini……
Thanks Mahesh for liking it.. :-)
It is a very nice post.
The pictures were simply super.
But how did the other group get lost for a few hours?
Thanks Udai… The other group’s guide was new and thought that there could only be one trail in the Jungle and missed one turn…
Very Well said Shalini, the Quote of the trip ” Jungle main sirf ek hi trail hoti hai…….”
First of all I wana thanks Anurag to arranging this trip and secondly want to thanks shalini to writing this wonderful blog ..!! I still remember the day when I was about to miss my train for this trip but thank God I did’t missed it and got a chance to meet all of you wonderful people. All of u gave me life time memories and every one is a hero in there own way..!! Eagerly waiting for next December trip..!! Love u all :)
Thanks Mohit…. Straight from Heart…
An engaging story…So nice was your narration that I skipped the pics for finishing the story first. Great! Congratulation to you and your team.
Thanks for sharing, Shalini!
Thanks Anupam… n yes the trip was full of adventure and surprises… Thanks for your comments.
It was tough out there specially after kedarkantha base when we had to make fresh steep trail but with such motivated teammates around you, there is no stopping.
Like Shalini said “Every mountain top is reachable if you keep climbing”
Three cheers to full team.
Thanks Shalini for the wonderful photos and this very nice blog.
Thanks Ashish…. truely said… was not possible without everyones support.
wow…………good post.
all pics are good
Thanks
Awesome experience with perfect description.. Loved it :)
Thank you dear… it is indeed an unforgettable experience. ..
Nice post and a memorable journey!
Did you take a tour operator or had you done the leg work yourselves? What are the costs involved? Will help fellow travellers like us…
Hey Naturebuff : we engaged Wanderlust and the cost was around 12500 pp includibg the return train tickets delhi to Dehradoon… A Visit to Indiahikes website will provide you all the required information. Since we wanted a customised itenrary tgerefore went with Wanderlust.. Let me know if you need the contact details etc..
Thank you! Will surf these sites for further info… and will trouble you if there are any hiccups :-)
Sure No problem
It was great experience, for me best part of the this trek is that all of us became good friends and want to go again. Truly unforgettable trip.
Thank you Shalini for amazing photos and this blog.
Thanks Varun… it was a wonderful trip and meeting people like you was like cherry on the cake :-)… Full of Energy
Thanks Shalini for the post.
Amazing experience, awesome team…
The blog is equally nice.. short crisp and beautiful.
Thanks Vikas for your nice comments
Wow Shalini! Very well written. I see everyone really enjoyed the trip. Well done team.
Thanks Narendra jee
If we arrange the flowers in a artistic way, then they looks more beautiful…….the same thing you have done Shalini and your log has become so good….and of course the entire group of your friends have played vital role during the journey……
In Robert Brault’s words……Most of us dont need a psychiatric therapist as much as a friend to be silly with.
Thanks arun for encouraging words… Really.
Very nice blog Shalini, hats off to your bravery and grit for making it to the summit. Very encouraging for those who just keep on thinking. keep it up.
Thanks Sanjay.. May be next time we all can plan one :-)
I must say it was awesome experience with full of thrill ..keep traveling :)
Thanks Pamela :-)
Adventurous Trip indeed! Well-written post with superb photographs! Waiting for your next post.
Thanks Amit for encouraging lines… :-)
One of the most memorable trip.. with lovely people.. and yeah, beautifully drafted :)
When is the next one ;)
Thank You Gaurav… I know… will plan soon
It is hard to believe :-) and now I better understand the rush behind getting this published. hehe.
Great log Shalini, truly inspiring thing. When a regular person like me reads this, he gets a lot of motivation and (assurance) that this is achievable. Thank you.
Thanks Nandan, coming from you, feels really great :-)
Hi,
I am planning a trek with my friends. Can you provide me the contact number of the guide. You can email on my mail “navaneetkdas@gmail.com”.
Hi Shalini.
Nice write-up and photos. Everyone knows that Kedarkantha trek is one of the best winter treks in the Himalayas. So we are also planning to go for Kedarkantha Winter Trek on the coming Christmas Eve.
It would be helpful for me if you could suggest me Do’s and Dont’s during this trek !!
What is the best time(weather & month) to do the kedarkantha trek.
Amazing blog. Very nicely written informative blog.. I could find all the details on youe blog thankyou
Hi. I am planning to do Kedarkantha in Jan. Is that a good month to do this trek? How much snow can I expect? Thank you for writing this post.
Hello, Found your post interesting to read. Good Luck for the upcoming update.This article is really very interesting.
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Kedarkantha Trek is one of the thrilling adventurous trek in Uttarakhand. situated at an altitude of 12,500 ft. It is well known for its spectacular beauty. When i visited last time there, i visited during winter months because it offers the travelers a thrilling adventurous experience. If you are planning to visit this popular trek, visit during winter months for best experience.