Yhai Saur Kundi Pass Trek SK_11

ambarishjoshi

HELLO FRIENDS..
today i received Confirmation Letter and Admit Card for YHAI Saur Kundi Pass Trek.. My Group No. is SK_11 and my reporting date is 5 May, 2008.. Anybody else in the same group please get in touch..
With Best Wishes from,
Ambarish

ambarishjoshi

HELLO EVERYBODY..
i m booked on Saur Kundi Pass Trek (SK_11) from 5 May, 2008 to 15 May, 2008 and then on Sar Pass Trek (SP_15) from 15 May, 2008 to 25 May, 2008..
there are a few questions i would like to ask from all YHAI camp veterans.. as they have been there done that seen it before.. The information i require would be like :-
1. What is a typical camping day during YHAI treks like.. ?
2. I know only veg food is served to participants.. how is the quality of food like.. ?
3. Is there any facility provided where participants can safely deposit their extra baggage at the base camp-site and carry only the material needed alongwith themselves for the trek.. ? this is because, as i m planning to do two treks back-to-back and before that, would be visiting jammu, vaishno devi, patni-top, manali, etc. i plan to carry an extra set of clothes for the 2nd trek and put them in a bag and deposit them at the base campsite of saur kundi pass and move ahead and after completing the trek, pick them up and replace the fresh ones in the bag with used ones and against deposit the bag at the base campsite for Sar Pass trek and after completing the trek, march off for Nagpur rightaway..
4. Is there a laundry facility available in or around base camp site.. ? because i have read and heard that due to environmental issues and, more particularly, the fact that villages situated downstream would get polluted water if campers are allowed to wash their clothes in it, it is not permitted to wash clothes at campsites..
5. Any chances of getting mobile and battery charging points at higher campsites.. ?
6. Any chances of getting mobile network range at higher campsites.. ? which is the mobile network whose range gets easily reached at almost all campsites.. ?
7. I would be very honest when i state that i m not very fit or physically active.. i v heard that YHAI treks are easily doable.. ur opinion requested..
All other campers who need information over n above feel free to ask as u would be helping me n other 1st timers

Elektra

Hi,
I'm not a trekking 'veteran... have done 2 yhai treks. I'll try my best to answer your questions. My most recent yhai trek was in December (Dalhousie). Let's see how much I remember. Obviously there will be some changes w.r.t timings/schedules.

1) Typical camping day. It starts around 5am, tea and breakfast . Then you get packed lunch for the day, head count and you are off. Obviously, there will be breaks in between for lunch, tea etc.
2) Quality of food - Well, the food was OK, served hot. Don't expect a feast there. What you get there is simple food, nothing fancy.
3) Yes. Atleast, at Dalhousie we had the option of keeping all 'extra' stuff at the base camp.
4) Laundry? NO. Don't know about Sar Pass or Saurkundi. At Dalhousie, we didn't. Yes, you aren't allowed to wash clothes at campsites, as that pollutes the rivers.
5) Mobile charging..This depends on the place where you'd be camping. Tents, probably. Don't think you will get any charging facility.
6) For the Dalhousie trek, I never faced any network issues.
7) YES to that question. These treks are organised in a way that everyone enjoys them. Don't worry about the nature of trek and enjoy.

Have a great trek

__________________
... and miles to go before I sleep.

mridula

You can deposit extra luggage at Sar Pass though no laundry facilities. But you can try that in Kasol city after completing the trek?

YHAI treks are easily doable if you are moderately fit. But people without any exercise struggle on the walks, even though they are able to complete it.

__________________
mridula

http://www.gonomad.com/traveltalesfromindia/

surajit

u get laundry facility at kasol where u can dump your used clothes and pick them up on return
i had been to this place in 2005 on our expedition to Mt.Papsura
on east-tosh glacier on tosh valley digonally opposite to parvati
vally where i shall venture out in sp-9 this summer.
u get battery charging aids in base camp but not on higher camps.
no idea on mobile network.
dont bother much about food as HUNGER IS THE BEST SAUCE in mountains.
i dont reckon you as not very fit and active otherwise you wouldn't have associated yourself in two back-to-back trek.
very good...enjoy the nature and the treks...
drink a lot to maintain hydration level in your body and sugery
foodstuff to maintain energy level.

happy trekking...

sanjaymehra

[color="Indigo"][color="White"]YHA treks are notorious for plain food. So expect a lot of alu poori for packed lunch. Because you walk so much you are always hungry. Enterprising locals have set up tea stalls in the oddest of places, in a forest, top of the mountain etc. you can always get tea and biscuits over here. Keep some chocolate handy. it is great in the cold. AND DONT CARRY TOO MUCH STUFF. After the first couple of days you will not care about dirty clothes. And get good hunter boots. I made the mistake of taking keds and boy did I suffer. Odomos is always a good addition.
I dont think you will be within mobile range for most of the trek, so carrying it may be pointless. But you can always check at the base camp.
Extra batteries for camera always makes sense as does a good torch. A lot of camps have outdoor toilets and walking in the night, you always need a torch.

surajit

hi :sanjay
tell me one thing that how are the floor of the tents in differents camp made of for sleeping...
is it only with the ground sheet or carry mats or blankets?
advise me if one has to carry his own mat for a little extra comfy. how are the quality of sleeping bags that yhai provides
in different camps ? thank you,friend.

sanjaymehra

Dear Surajit,
The quality of tents is generally not bad, but the floor is generally covered with tarpaulin and then blankets. The floors are not too even and you have to adjust on the spot. The quality of tents and blankets varies from camp to camp and year to year. It is not a good idea to carry your own blankets because of the weight. In case you want to carry a good quality light sleeping bag. That way you can use their sleeping bag as a mattress. But remember anything extra you take along, you will have to carry it for ten days. So be careful. A good idea to take along is a swimming trunks. There are a lot of streams and it always comes in handy.

surajit

thanks Sanjay,thanks for injecting the idea of using YHAI sleeping bag as mattress and use mine for the pupose of sleeping in tents.
now please tell me that at basecamp, do they check the contents of rucksack b'coz i need to carry few packs of ciggeretts and smocking is prohibited as per the rule.
please give me an insight of this prohibition.

mridula

Surajit, they do check the bags but people manage to carry cigarettes, as some of our fellow team members smoked. But don't ask me how they managed it I have no clue.

surajit

Hi Mridula: why the hell do they check contents?
thanx mridula for alerting beforehand. i guess i would be in dire problem unless i evolve certain tricks.tell me whether they check the contents of the sack of the ladies',too.

mridula

Yes lady camp leaders do. But I think people leave their cigarettes somewhere, i.e. in a bush or something? And once your rucksack has been inspected the pack goes in again! Apart from the base camp they don't inspect it again. I mean at the camp there would be others who would know the trick.

Gosh, am I aiding in breaking rules

surajit

no Mridula no,absolutely not.you are just helping your friend
to stay tuned otherwise i shall be completely switched off without occassional puff. which year did u undergo this trek n
what is your plan this year? will we get much of snow on sarpass
in 2nd/3rd week of may? what's the likelyhood of downpour in the region? thanks once again for a nice n safe idea...

mridula

Surajit, I trekked through Sar Pass way back in 2003. We have stopped trekking through YHAI after 3 treks (Sar Pass, Goa and Har-Ki-Doon) as the crowd became a too much for us. Now we trek either as family or with friends, in smaller group. Ihave trekked every year since 2005 but not this year. My family would go on trek but not me, too much work. You have a wonderful trek. Chances of snow in Nagaru and Sar Pass are high in mid May, we got a lot. And when we trekked it had rained only two days once in Biskeri when we were safely inside the tent and once on the way to Ratapani. That day we got wet a bit.

surajit

oh! it was the same year that i was in goecha-la,west sikkim.
skip one or two year but dont give up trek as long as you can.
i mean atleast it gives me fresh oxygen to run the daily show
in life!!! just posted a file of mt.nilkanth which i shot in october last year after our trek to kuanripass and mt.pangarchula
in garhwal himalaya. thanks for all the sharings.