Towards Pindari, serendipitously

Serendipitous Kumaun
My love with Uttarakhand,
and with the Himalayas started in Garhwal.
Kumaun was its lesser known side for me.
This time, when the roads to the Devbhoomi were to be packed,
the map of UK was asked for a suggestion,
and HE whispered, escape to Kumaun.
Ah, the tickets to Haldwani were available for the same day afternoon train,
and within 5 hours, I was in the train to Haldwani.
A friend boarded the bus from Delhi, to accompany me,
and by 11 pm, I was at my friend's house in Haldwani,
catching up over dinner.
As my friend from Delhi (Shashi) arrived,
we walked to the bus stand at 2 30 am,
not wanting to wait anymore.
Ah, I forgot to tell the destination,
it was to be Pindari,
but both of us were sure that we had less time for the trek,
and so, lets see, where we go- was the attitude.
co-incidence was that we got the bus going till Song- the road's end for Pindari.
The bus moved at its own pace,
as we caught our lost sleep.
At 5, we were still at Bhowali, 45 kms from Haldwani.
The slow pace was a boon, slowing us down further,
and we woke up at times to stop for breakfast,
to repair a punctured tyre,
or to look around the bus for a lost mobile,
thus, after passing through Almora and Binsar,
we reached the temple town of Bageshwar.
the bus was to stop here for an hour,
and we roamed around,
saw the temple of Baghnath (shiva) and confluence of Sarayu and Gomti,
stoked up ourselves with dry fruits, maggi, raincoats and other provisions,
on our return, the bus was still there,
and was to take time to get herself repaired.
We were given refund for the remaining journey,
and took another bus for Baradi,
and a jeep to Song.
the path was a dirt track now in monsoons,
a site of frequent landslides,
and we could not be sure of getting a jeep back when we returned,
thats why, no tourist came here during monsoons,
amidst a downpour, and with a new friend- Gokul,
we went up to Loharkhet, a village towards Pindari,
this guy had his guest house, where we stayed for the night,
dinner was in his home,
and we had a chat with his family,
it always feels to be good at home,
any home.
We were adviced not to go ahead to the glacier,
as the streams would be in their full capacity during monsoons,
and difficult to cross.
the next day, after breakfast,
we started our trek,
the leeches met us soon,
and any sensation now in the feet brought me into panic mode.
we got lost in the jungle when I took a shortcut,
and my friend bore with it patiently,
this was his first trek,
a dog was moving with us,
and I looked at him to guide us back to the right path.
suddenly, I heard a woman's voice, and moved in that direction,
and in a short while, we were guided back to the trek route,
with me resolving not to take shortcuts again.


So, back on the trek route,
we moved up, and up,
and HE was in a good mood,
so, there was little rain to slow us down,
the streams of white water were omnipresent,
and so were the leeches,
now we got used to them,
and the panic reduced.
the route was frequented by villagers,
their homes being at Dhankuri, Wacham, Khati and beyond.
a family was carrying an infant,
returning from the doctor at Baradi (down on the road)
we reached Dhankuri top by 12 noon,
and then, moved down to the clearing in the woods,
where the rest houses of PWD and KMVN exist.
After a cup of tea at the local tea stall,
we decided to stay there, instead of moving ahead,
and return the next morning.
Tired we were, and slept lazily,
I woke up Shashi and cajoled him to come out,
Lakhan, the shop owner's son took us around,
and four of us- me, Shashi, Lakhan and our dog- who was named- song went for a trek to Lakhan's village,
the landscape changed markedly after Dhankuri,
and this valley was beautifully surrounded by mountains,
at Lakhan's home, Song was chased by his dog,
and yours truly, being an expert with dogs,
pacified both of them,
now, we returned with two dogs,
and ours was enjoying being at a new pace,
at times disappearing to a puddle of water,
to appear suddenly when we almost loose hope of its returning.
So, thats how, the day passes in the hills,
for me, it would've remained incomplete without a cold water bath,
so, I take one, rejuvenating myself and finishing a ritual,
the sun sets beautifully,
and we retire after a hearty dinner.
An early morning breakfast starts our day,
and we target reaching Delhi within 24 hours,
a walk downhill takes less time,
and by 10 30 am, we are at Gokul's in Loharkhet,
Without stopping, we continue our trek to Song, and hope that we get a jeep waiting there,
and as I hear the jeep's horn,
I run down, asking Shashi to come slowly behind,
huffing and puffing, I find a jeep there.
Two of us get in,
and here we go, back to where we came from,
there was little time to say a goodbye,
but as the jeep moves along the Sarayu,
I look out of the window and absorb what I see around me,
changing jeeps, we reach Bageshwar,
and immediately take a shared taxi to Almora,
the Pine trees of Binsar stand tall,
but we have left behind the dense, diverse forests,
after packing some parathas at Almora,
we take a bus to Haldwani,
and I call my friend there,
that I'd be there for dinner,
we were saying goodbye to the Himalayas,
the last ones standing at Bhimtal,
and leaving them, we descended to the plains,
like the river that meandered out of the hills with us,
at the bus stand, we were approached by a driver who was driving back to Delhi after dropping clients at Nainital,
he was to charge Rs. 500/person,
and was incidentally going where I stay in Delhi,
so, after meeting my friend and his parents in Haldwani,
we allowed ourselves to be taken to Delhi,
the suspicion that we had soon vanished,
and talking about hills, rivers, ghosts and Gods,
we returned to Delhi.
It was 2 am, and we were back in my room.
The short sojourn to Kumaun ended soon,
I was to return again or sure,
and for the next few days,
I could deliberately slow down,
miss a metro instead of rushing,
go out in the rain,
pause.
as some time has passed,
my pace has quickened again,
lets see how I slow down now.
Till then,

The Baghnath temple at Bageshwar,


another Shiva temple near Baghnath


Loharkhet village


A temple on the way to Dhankuri top


the trek route passes through the woods


fungi growing on a tree trunk.


a mule grazing in a meadow.


white waters, the taste of which I now miss a lot.


SONG- our dog loves water. here, he pauses for a drink.


Tail wagging, grazing horse.


this is how the landscape changes after Dhankuri.


the Himalayas on the way out o Dhankuri


Lakhan, his friend and SONG- our dog, seen as silhouettes.


our home for the night, at Dhankuri.


the Sunset.


lakhan's brother and sister.


the snow at a distance.


Dhankuri top.

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and I return.


with time, I got used to the leeches, so much that I could let this one continue sucking, while I captured her image.


cannabis is a popular crop here. so...


the Sarayu turns into a significant stream at Bageshwar.


The pine trees at Binsar.


cows eat the grass that grows after the fire in Pine forests.


Binsar


it blocked our way, basking in the sun.


Standing Tall


A fully grown Cobra lily.


lakhan at his shop.


the Sarayu near Song.


SONG having his own fun.


he was a constant companion, except for the few times when he went on his own.


I don't know what this plant is called. can someone tell?

excellent ... unique write-up ... add some more photos pls ...

Dr K - very unique write up. Nice memories of the route - Dhakuri is an awesome place in its own right.

most of the pics that I have have been added. thanks.

yes, Dhankuri is good, and next time, I'll try to make it to there the very first day.

Hello DRK, Very nice post and great collection of pictures.

Leeches in Himalayas?! I thought they flourished only in warmer places like Western Ghats. Were they plenty in number on the trails or just few here and there?

Could the frequent visitors to Himalayas let me know about leeches in Sep-Nov time frame. Asking because, AMS may spare me but leeches get me nauseated!

Thank you!

You get Leeches during monsoons in the Himalayas. On this particular trek, they are in abundance. as october starts, they would stop being a menace. Wear shoes, keep salt.

The last image is also cobra lily.

http://neerajjaatji.blogspot.in/2011...ier-day-1.html

Hi karan,
Very uniquely written, nice pics !
I have a question - i am am average trekker. I have done kedarnath trek. But it was sort of bit tough trek for me. Can i do this trek ? How would you rate the level of this trek - easy, medium or tough ?

Kedarnath is a well laid trek. This trek is a bit long. thats 45 kms one way. You can plan it in September, after monsoons. Go slow, at your own pace. the journey is beautiful, even if you return from halfway- as we did.

Thanks karan. This september is not possible. Any other month in which i can visit ? Any contact nos of your guide for the trek ?

may - june and sep- oct is good. guides will be available st loharkhet though you dont need one as the trek is well demarcated.

Great photographs ...

Keep up the good work,

Regards,


S. Roy Biswas

WT - this is a 7 day, 90 km (round trip) teahouse trek. One of the most popular in the country so facilities are easily available but can be rushed in season. Best time is June and October followed by September and November. If you want to find more snow April-May are also options.

Rainy season is avoidable. There are atleast 5-6 guides available at Khati village to do the trek. Debu is a popular guide, whose services we took last year.

It is graded easy but then it is definitely tougher than Kedarnath.