The Sar Pass Trek 2011: Day 5

May 31st: Grahan - Padri

With the dog that accompanied us from Grahan.

Started off from the Grahan camp around 9.30 AM. Half an hour later than what was actually planned. There were a few people in the group who were late and they're the only ones who're late every time. So pissing off. Had to completely climb down the mountain on which Grahan in located and start climbing the next hill. It was a pretty steep climb for a lot of the time but I managed to keep myself at my limit and go fast so that I wouldn't suffer because of the heat later on. Met a few new people on the way - Rohan and Ankit who look like they're serious about mountaineering, Supriya who is probably the fastest female climber in the group etc.. The dog that I talked about earlier accompanied us till the lunch point. More petting. The people who were coming slowly reached only after an hour or so after we reached the lunch point. The guide didn't let us continue because we might lose our way. In the time we had here, we binoculared a bit, spotted the Nagaru camp and enjoyed the views. Carrying the binoculars was one very good thing I had done. My watch, too, turned out to be a brilliant investment. The altimeter, barometer and compass were simply brilliant. Had a lot of fun using them. 

At the Padri camp - 1

At the Padri camp - 2

At the Padri camp - 3

We soon started on our way to Padri and it started raining. Had to get my Poncho out for the first time and it did a great job! We finally reached the Padri camp in rain. The camp is locaed in the middle of several huge mountains. A really beautiful location. Just as we were exploring the camp, a hailstorm started! It really hurt when we got hit by hail! Tea was served a little later. Much awaited. Soup time. Didn't get soup as it had gotten finished by the time we got to the kitchen. Binoculared the surroundings now. The snow capped peaks seemed much nearer than before and were so inviting. I couldn't wait!

The Sar Pass Trek 2011: Day 4

May 30th: Kasol - Grahan

Somewhere on the way to Grahan.

Got up early - 5 AM. Crappy breakfast. We were spared the exercise session since we were supposed to get ready. Decided to avoid solid food as much as possible to minimize you know what. Started off from the base camp around 8.15 AM. Said my goodbyes to Guddu and off we were towards Grahan. Walked steadily, as I had decided to do throughout the trek, and talked to whoever I met on the way. Made some interesting acquaintances - Chitra, Geet and a few others. Most of the time, I was walking along with Rishya, Indrya and Rohitya and we were constantly joking around calling Rishya "Shaan Pattya" and with Indrya's and Rohitya's constant "Come home to YHAI" and "Fire Fire Camp Fire", we really laughed our asses off (so much at times that I had to stop walking, get my breath back and then continue). Got to know quite a few people after a while. Somewhere on the way, I had a freak 10 ft fall into a puddle as I stepped on some loose soil to take a pic. No injuries whatsoever. Cleaned myself (and fell once more while doing that. lol) and continued.

With a mountain dog at Grahan.

The Grahan camp.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we reached the Grahan camp around 2.30 PM. Had to run the last 200m or so because it had started to rain. Very nice location for a camp site. Had really cool views. My altimeter showed 2245m. There was a lot of time now before everyone would reach the camp. Roamed around the camp a bit. The weather began to get colder. Tea time now. Anything hot was welcome. We then had the customary briefing from the camp leader and then Soup time. Brilliant soup. Have to find out which brand they use. Almost dark now and I decided to write down my journal entry when, from nowhere, an inter-tent, girls vs boys Anthakshari starts off (checkout the video below)! Wah Wah! Brilliant stuff. Couldn't stop smiling for god knows how long. I even took a small video. There was a mountain dog at the camp. It was one of the calmest dogs I'd ever seen. Had a lot of fun petting him. Camps from here on don't have electricity and so we had to finish our dinner and everything else before it got dark. The life here is totally controlled by the Sun.