The Trans-garhwal Hike

VAIBHAV KAUL

There is a beautiful 10 hr trek from Deoriya Tal to Tungnath, through the Akash Kamini Valley. I did it in June last year. There was a lot of snow on the ridge above Deoriya Tal. A friend told me that the latest outlook traveller has something on this.

If you contact the DFOs (Divisional Forest Officers)of Uttarkashi, Kedarnath, etc., they will arrange for guides (Forest Guards)and porters from the villages there. All this will be easier if you know someone in the Ministry of Environment and Forests or the Forest Service.
You will find the Tel Nos. of the DFOs on the net. They, eg. Mr. Pandey (DFO, Kedarnath)and Range Officer Mr. Mahipal, are usually very helpful.

Why have you not bought a tent? I always carry my own tent. You can carry lots of chocolate (at least 4 slabs per person per day), Haldiram snacks, etc. You can always buy more stuff after reaching Triyuginarayan. Take extra medicines for the villagers. They always need Combiflam. You will not need an ice axe in September. Have you ever done Sahastra Tal or Panwali?

Instead of doing this trek, you could also try
1. Dodital-Bakariya-Darwa Top-Shima-Hanuman Chatti-Yamunotri
2. Harkidoon and the glacier beyond it + Ruinsara Tal
3. Harsil exploratory treks
4. Kedar Tal
5. Roop Kund
6. Milam Glacier
7. Sunderdhunga Glacier
Outside Uttarakhand:
8. Tabo-Kaza
9. Pangong Tso exploratory treks
10. Nubra Valley treks

Almoraboy

in the har ki doon area, has anyone tried kedarkanta in the winters? i guess it would be lovely for snow capped views. i tried the hkd valley in feb 06. wanted to do kedarkanta afrter that but was too tired. i think if you try to climb up to kedarkanta from sankri and then try to make a path from there, right on the ridge and come down only at osla/seema .. or after that and then head to ruinsara tal..that would be fantastic.

__________________
Trek blog over here

spicetrekker

Vaibhav

I think I did not put it correctly. The trek suggested by you is great, I was looking at options for replacing the 4 days palnned for Rundranath. How does this sound


Day 1 Haridwar - Uttarkashi - Malla

TREK BEGINS

Day 2
Malla - Silla (4-5 hrs)

Day 3
Silla - Kushkalyani (7-8 hrs)

Day 4
Kushkalyani - Kyarki (8-9 hrs - start early)

Day 5
Kyarki - Parital (8-10 hrs - start early)

Day 6
Parital - Sahastra Tal (8 hrs)

Day 7
Sahastra Tal - Kalyani (8-10 hrs)

Day 8
Kalyani - Gangi (3-4 hrs)

Day 9
Gangi - Panwalikantha (6-8 hrs)

Day 10
Panwalikantha - Maggu Chatti (7-8 hrs)

Day 11
Maggu Chatti - Triyugi Narayan (3-4 hrs - start early)
Come down to T. Narayan and reach Sari (via Sonprayag, Guptakashi, Ukhimath) the same day by road

Day 12
Sari - Deoria Tal (2 hrs ??)

Day 13
Deoaria Tal - Chopta/Tungnath (10-12 hrs)

Day 14
Tungnath - Chopta (2 hrs)
Drive down to Haridwar (stay some place in between)

TREK ENDS

Day 15
Reach Haridwar

Questions:

• I am actively working on your suggestion of buying a tent - have tried AVI industries in Mumbai and they have two varieties a 3 season for around Rs 5000 with fibre poles and a 4 season with Aluminum poles for Rs 9000 - will a 3 season tent be enough and also are Fibreglass poles good enough
• Looks like from Day 2 till about Day 11 when we reach Triyugi Narayan, we will be on the hills and not reaching any road head - so should we carry provisions for 10-12 days or in the route you could buy provisions along the way
• Thanks for the Suggestions on the DFOs - I will approach them
  

Thanks once again for all your tips.

VAIBHAV KAUL

1. I do not know much about tents. This question can be answered by equipment purchase experts on this forum. I bought my tent in Dubai for Rs. 12,000 (approx.) five yrs ago. Four persons can sleep comfortably in the tent. The bag in which it is kept is about 1 ft long and 1/2 ft wide.

2. Silla to Triyugi Narayan: Carry your own stuff. Be totally self-sufficient. I always carry a lot of Glucon-D for instant energy, and compact high energy eatables rich in carb, fat, protein (Nutella, Fruit n Nut Choco, Moong ki Dal snack, etc.).
If you have one or two porters, you could also carry some utensils, Maggi noodles, Ready-to-Serve (heat/boil and serve) meals, soup packets, uncooked dal, uncooked rice, etc., so that you can have fresh warm food. I never carry all this, because I have now taught myself to survive on Dairy Milk, Lactogen, Peanuts and Moon ki Dal.
At Triyuginarayan, the Forest Guard, Mr. Negi and his friends can arrange for a nice warm meal. Don't miss the famous Pudine ki Chutney of Triyuginarayan. They will not expect you to pay for the food, but you could pay in kind, if not in cash. The panda (pandit) of the temple will ask for money. I give him Rs. 100 for the wood that is burnt to keep the holy fire alive. (In Treta Yuga, Shiva and Parvati got married there in the presence of the same fire.) You can also donate some money to the Sanskrit School there.

3. Handling Leeches: Remember to keep a lot of salt in your pockets at all times. Rub a handful on your legs every time you feel those creatures on your legs. When I did the same trek in September, I used 1/4 kg salt for this purpose in 10 days.

Have you ever crossed Triyuginarayan? It is one of my favourite hill stations. I go there when I am in a mood to relax. You could give me your e-mail address if you want me to send you some pictures of Triyugi Narayan. I usually do not like to make my photographs available on the internet before I have the copyright. This is why my photos are not available on India Mike, Webshots or any other website. But if you promise to ensure that you do not put the photographs on any website, I could send them to you.

Good Wishes,
V. Kaul

spicetrekker

Vaibhav

Thanks for the information. It is really helpful. No I have never been to Triyuginarayan but plan to go there this year. As for the photos, let me assure you I will not misuse them. I will send my e-mail Id to you in a Pvt message.

thanks.