Mayali Pass
“I go for a Himalayan trek and return as a very different
person - always”
I am back again with a story of new adventure in the Himalayas.
Sandeep and I had been discussing about which trek to do this year since rains
had caused quite some destruction in many parts of Himachal and Uttarakhand. We had been wanting to do the “Auden’s Col” for a long time, but finally we
zeroed down on its younger sister, “Mayali pass”. We decided to do it at the right time of the
season which is the month of September.
Many of our regular trekking partners backed out due to their personal commitments. I knew
Brijesh and Sudhi will definitely join us. One fine Sunday when we visited
Mohan after long time and I casually asked him if he could join the trek with
us. It came as an extremely pleasant surprise when he said, he would be joining
us.
Ghuttu a small village on the Bhilangana is the start point
of the trek. We decided to stay a night at Rishikesh before commencing our
journey to Ghuttu by road. Bangalore to Dheradun was a long flight, but not eventless.
The scary turbulence along the way kept me awake throughout the flight. We met Brijesh at Dehradun
airport who was joining us from Surat.
We had a nice evening stroll in Rishikesh along the Ganga
ghat at Ram Jhula and had our dinner at Chotiwala ( the other one ).
In the evening when Brijesh was checking the distance
from Rishikesh to Ghuttu, Google flashed
a “heavy to very heavy rain fall” warning around that area. I was little
worried but I knew we would be taking
all the precautions before heading for the trek. Frankly, unseasonal rain and
snow was the only thing I was really worried about. ( Along with how were we to
cross the Bhilangana, but more on that later )
Rishikesh to Ghuttu was a nice drive. The roads were in good
condition, possibly because of one of the G20 summits around this area. After
Tehri, the drive is along the Bhilangana river and I knew we would be crossing
the river during one of our trekking days. I kept praying that the crossing would
be easy with a bridge available.
We reached Ghuttu at 1 PM and it is just another of those
quaint Uttarakhand villages. We met Gyan bhai and our support staff in Ghuttu. They had travelled all the way from Uttarkashi.
Gyan bhai had made arrangement for the night stay at a “marriage hall” in Ghuttu, which I should
say was quite comfortable.
The evening was spent walking around upper Ghuttu in an area
called Chakragaon. The weather was
holding up till now, but in the evening there were rain clouds in the skies,
which was a concern.
In the evening, Gyan suggested that we should take a vehicle
till Gangi ( around 18 kms from Ghuttu ), instead of walking it. We were looking forward trekking to Reeh and
Gangi but given the weather conditions, we liked what our guide had suggested and
thought we could use the day that we saved, for any contingency.
The long walks in the muddy and murky forest
It was a couple of hours of drive till Gangi. Our trek
started from Gangi. Today’s destination was Kalyani at 2642 mts. We started
from the village of Gangi and initially it kept on descending,
which was
surprising. We were thinking the climb to the campsite would be tough in latter
part of the hike.
The entire trail was muddy and slushy as it climbed up and down
in the forest of rhododendrons and oak. Halfway,
we saw a giant squirrel foraging in the trees. Brijesh also collected a lot a
spines from a porcupine which were lying on the forest floor. There is also a trail
to Sahastra Taal which connects to Uttarkashi from Kalyani.
We saw some temporary shepherd huts along the way, but there
is no other civilization after Gangi. We setup camp at Kalyani for the day.
Kalyani to Kharsoli is again a long walk through the forest
with some elevation gain. The trail in the oak, rhododendron and some pine
forest continued to be very slushy because of the recent rains. The muddy trail reminded me of my Malnad Ultra
run in 2019 and the lush green mountains were reminding of the western ghats. Despite
this, the walk was very enjoyable with lots of wild flowers on the trail.
We
were on the true right of the Bhilangana all the while as the trail climbed up.
The vegetation was almost similar as yesterday, but we were seeing more pine
trees now. We were still below the tree line.
As we neared the campsite, it
started drizzling. By the times the tents were setup, it turned to a downpour,
but we were well ensconced in the tents. The great part of these treks is that one
has a lot of time in the day. Almost all the days, we spent the afternoons and
late evenings, settling down in the bigger tent, playing cards mostly, but also
chit chatting, gossiping and generally having a gala time doing absolutely
nothing.
Short climbs, mountain views and crossing the
Bhilangana
Most of the trekking groups would go to Chowki directly from
Kharsoli. This is perfectly ok as the distance is very much doable in a day. However
there is a catch. In order to reach Chowki, we needed to cross the Bhilangana
river. Sometimes the resident shepherds construct a temporary bridge but due rain these kind
of bridges are mostly washed away. In the absence of the bridge, one needs to trek
till the snout of the Khatling glacier (called Zero point ) and cross the river
there where the span of the river would allow for a crossing. To check if the
bridge was available or not, someone would have to go all the way and check
Our guide suggested
we stay at Tambakund between the Chowki and Kharsoli and cross the river the
next day, either over the bridge or from Zero point. If we get the bridge, it would mean a very
short hike till Chowki. We were ok with this plan.
As we started from Kharsoli, we had to descend down and the
initial couple of kilometres were along the river bank. After that we climbed a
ridge which was totally broken and then entered into other beautiful oak forest.
After crossing multiple small streams, the final climb to the campsite was
little tough but I didn’t mind getting my heart rate little pumped up. This was the first real climb on the trek in
the last few days.
Tambakund which is at around 3400 mts and above the treek line.
It is a very small camping ground along the trail and I think only three to
four tents can be pitched here. As we settled down, there was a lot of
sunshine, but as always in the evening, fog and mist blanketed the entire campsite
in a few hours. This was the campsite where we started to get some cold weather
accompanied by slight wind as well. It rained a lot during the night, but by
morning the weather had cleared up. As we got up, we could glimpse amazing snow
peaks to the north near the Zero point.
I have read a lot about the beautiful campsite of Chowki and
I was excited to get there, but between me and Chowki was the Bhilangana river. When we started for Chowki,
I kept on thinking about the bridge and was hoping that we would get a bridge.
I am not very fond of river crossings after my experience on the Dhumdar Kandi
trek where I had a fall in icy waters while crossing the river. But still I was
mentally prepared either to climb till the glacier snout or even for the wading
into the ice cold waters for crossing the river.
From Tambakund, we were climbing gradually on a well-marked
trail. The pattern was climb up the ridge, for crossing the smaller stream climb
down, cross the stream and climb up the ridge again. We could see the snow capped
peaks in the front. I was sure this was the Thalaysagar range and beyond it was
Kedartal, but there were other peaks which I could not guess. Coming back home
and checking the maps, I think I did see Bhartekunta and Kirti Stambh. The
Kedarnath peak was still not visible from here.
After a while we reached a point where couple of the staff
members descended well to the river bed to check whether the bridge was
available or not. After few minutes we got the signal that there was indeed a
functional bridge. The descent to the river bed was slightly treacherous , but
we negotiated it with the help of our guide. We all went till the river bed to
cross the bridge.
The bridge on the river Bhilangana below was nothing but two makeshift
logs and some wooden stumps strewn across. It was swaying perilously over the
roaring stream below. Gyan bhai decided
to take precaution and few members decided to hold ropes and we used rope harnesses
to cross over. All of us were able to cross over without any incidences. This
was indeed a highlight of the trek for me.
From the river bed, it was a steep but a short climb to the campsite.
We left the Bhilangana river and followed the trail. It was steady climb amongst
really lovely wild flowers and some plants having leaves like tea leaves. I felt I
was walking in a tea garden, although these were very small bushes.
We reached Chowki which at around 3600 mts relatively early
in the day. Chowki is a flat ground and very beautiful campsite with many
flowers in the surroundings. Although, it was really very windy compared to the
earlier days. All of us were relaxed and enjoying the day which almost felt
like a rest day. All of us went strolling around the campsite. There was a
small pond just across and spent some time there. Our staff members too found
jadi bootis (herbs) like “Atish” and “Chouri”
which they collected from around the camp.
We could see the Khatling galecier which needs to negotiated
during the Auden’s col trek towards the North West and right in the North was
the massif of Mt. Thalaysagar.
As usual after a while the whole sky was overcast as the
mist and fog came up the valley. It had also started getting very windy and
cold. We huddled in one of the tents and whiled away the time doing the most
important things folks should do on a trek – “nothing”.
Grasslands and boulders enroute Masar Tal
Chowki to Masar Tal is a climb of around 800 mts climb and
we knew that today’s day was going to be relatively tougher. The initial walk was
along the ridges and crossing multiple streams. We were gaining altitude
slowly. Our guide made us a climb one such ridge to get the awesome view of “Khatling Glacier” which was right opposite us
towards the northern direction and also Mt. Thalaysagar was clearly visible.
The last climb to the campsite was tough. There is no proper trail and it is indeed
very steep. We were making steady progress and walking few steps, taking a
short rest and continuing. Enroute we had lovely meadows ( or bugyals as they
are called in Garhwal ) strewn with flowers of all colours. It was indeed a
very beautiful sight to behold.
We decided to take a short break and have our packed lunch
at one such lovely meadow before making the final push to the campsite which
was still a long way up.
At higher altitude when the campsites are decided it is
important to make sure the water sources are around. Masar Tal actually has a couple
of campsites and we decided to put the tents just before Masar Tal on a flat camping
ground where the water source was close by.
After we pitched the tents and were relaxing, our guide
pointed out towards a small hill up in the distance where we could see a bloom
of whitish yellow flowers. These were
the esoteric Brhama Kamals ( the state flower of Uttarkhand ) which bloom for a
short period after the rains and before the first snow arrives. Mohan and
Sandeep decided to hike up and check those flower. The guide reminded them not to
pluck the flowers as the locals believe plucking them before the full bloom brings
bad weather along with bad luck.
There was a steep climb going from the campsite towards the
Taal which we had to do the next day. Mohan and Sandeep decided to climb up to
check if they could Masar Taal from the top and went for a further short hike
after checking out the flowers.
We decided to hit the sack early because the next day was
going to be long day. We were also at a
decent enough altitude even by Himalayan standards. There were some apprehensions
of headaches, initial signs of altitude sickness, but thankfully all of us were
in good spirits and we did not have any such issues.
Crossing the
Mayali Pass and the serene Vasuki Tal
The most exciting day of the trek is definitely the day of
the pass crossing. There are a lot of unknowns and apprehensions about the climb,
the terrain, the weather and what not. These kind of days always remind me to
be humble and that’s what keeps me to work hard during the rest of the year, just
so that I can fully enjoy the climbs and the hardships that come with the it.
When we got up in the morning, we could see the valley below
through which we had climbed, was full of clouds. It looked beautiful but scary
at the same time. The weather otherwise
was perfect to start the climb. The mountains around were alive and there was
fresh snow on the peaks what with last nights rains.
We had a quick breakfast and started the day coule of hours
early than our regular schedule.
It was a steady climb towards Masar Tal which took us most
part of the hour. Finally we were at Masar Tal which itself is a snow fed lake.
We thought the climb to the Masar Tal was tough but once we looked at the route
from Masar Tal towards Masar Top, all of us mentally upgraded the definition of “tough”immediately.
The climb to Masar Tal was indeed the toughest during the
trek. The boulder zone starts from here in the true sense. The entire climb was
over big and small boulders and rocks, most of which were loose and slippery. There
was no trail and we were gaining altitude at a very fast rate. When I was climbing
Masar Top, I had decided that I needed to be friends with the boulders
otherwise it is going be difficult day. It was a slow, steady climb but a damn
steep climb and I remember I was thinking I wish I had a heart of a horse or
mule. It was the terrain which made it difficult but we were encouraging each
other and that made the job easy.
After reaching Masar Top , I though most of the job is done
but I was so wrong. From Masar Top one cannot see the pass. There is glacial lake
which is formed due to a receding glacier and around the lake there is the
moraine of the an older glacier. It was strewn with rocks, some of them with
pointed edges. Really difficult to walk over those.
One of the staff members told me that the lake is relatively
new. Earlier that entire lake bed was the glacier and it was relatively easier
to cross over the snow rather than zig-zagging our way over the boulders and
rocks. So much for climate change.
We had to negotiate the boulders and loose rock for almost
an hour before we reached the beginning of a large snow field.
By this time, I was feeling famished. The breakfast I had in
the morning was long gone and the titbits that I was carrying were not enough.
I would have generally planned carrying some heavy snack, but for some reason I
did not expect I would feel hungry so soon. It was probably the long steep
climb which was seeping away all the energy.
The initial walk on the snowfield was on the hard ice and
since there are hardly any crevices, it was safe to walk on the glacier. The snowfield slowly climbs up and after a
while we could the see the rocky pass. It was another three quarters of an hour
or possibly even an hour to climb up to the pass after negotiating some
slippery sections.
We had climbed up steadily and had taken up around four and
a half hours to reach the rocky pass. The
weather was holding up nicely and we could see the majestic Kedarnath peak (and
possibly Bharte Kunta) very close by. We did the customary pooja and our guide
also put up Buddhist prayer flags. We also performed the ritualistic “Garba” on
the pass (we have been doing for a few years when we reach the pass) .
The weather had suddenly turned sour and it became misty and
windy all of a sudden. We still had a long way to go so we decided to wind up
and start our descent towards our camp.
The climbing down from the pass is always difficult because most
of the energy is spent while climbing up. So as always, climbing down requires
one to be more careful and vigilant. The initial descend was on big boulders and
then on loose rocky stones. I was hopping from one boulder to another with my day pack dangling on
my shoulders and realised I won’t trip or fall once I get into the rhythm of
descending. I was still very careful and not taking any chances. The descending
was knee breaking indeed, but we were not hurrying up since the weather, even
though was still bad, there were no signs of rain or snow.
As we reached towards the river bed ( an unknown stream ), the
descending became relatively easy. We had our packed lunch near the stream on
the way to campsite. The last couple of kilometres were easy as we ambled along
easily on flat green meadows.
The Vasuki Tal campsite is another beautiful campsite. Typically
folks don’t camp near the lake as it is considered sacred. So the campsites are
around a kilometer or two before the lake. As we setup camp, I could sense that the mood
amongst everyone was relaxed and overall happy. We had done the hard part
without any untoward incidences and I too was very relaxed knowing that.
To Kedarnath – Har Har Mahadev.
When we started , we thought we had to descend considerably
to reach Kedarnath but we were wrong. Kedarnath itself is at a high altitude
and the campsite of Vasuki Tal was at around 4300 mts. As we started from our
campsite, the terrain was mostly easy, undulating for a couple of kilometeres
as we reached the actual Vasuki Tal.
The lake is absoulely surreal. It was larger
than what I had imagined and is surrouned by jagged peaks rising up in the
skies.
After last days climbs, I thought we had done with all climbing on the
trek. But from Vasuki Tal we had to again climb up what I think is possibly
some 200mts towards Vasuki top. It was again a short but a very steep climb up
to the top where we saw some one had hoisted the Tricolor. Jai Hind. From
Vasuki top, it was now all down the valley towards Kedarnath.
The other side of
the valley was packed with clouds and there was still a lot of fog, so nothing
was visible. We realized we are now on the pilgrim trail as the descent was on
a well-marked path which made it easier going down.
After a while we could hear helicopters and we could see the
helipad where many of them were landing and taking off. After a while we could also
hear the temple bells and that’s when we realized we are now close to civilization.
After a long descent, we could finally see the Kedarnath
town and that’s when I realized with a heavy heart that I was at the end of my
trek.
Looking Back
Mayali pass has been our list from 2010. We were all ready
to do the Auden’s and Mayali trek in 2012, but due to unavoidable circumstances
we could not do that. But I am glad we could do the trek finally. September is a very good time to do some high-altitude
treks and we were lucky to have clear weather and avoid rain and snow on all the
days. This trek is easy in the beginning but there are some very hard days
after Chowki so it is definitely not for
the first timers.
I love being in the mountains because I find the experience
very enriching. People ask me why do you do it year after year and really I
have not been able to explain. It is simply that I love the mountains.
During this trek I had an amazing company of friends who
made the tougher days looked easy and easy days very enjoyable. There was not a single dull moment during the
trek and I looked forward to both being on the trail and reaching the campsite.
I am so proud of Sudhi who did this trek very comfortably with
us. I am very happy that Mohan could join us on a trek after such a long time and
I really enjoyed his company on the trek. I am also glad that Brijesh who has been our companion on
all the treks since the last few years was again with us during this time. He is
an awesome companion and always helpful. Thanks to Gyan and his team as well. As
always it was the company of these friends and the team which made this wonderful
trip possible.
Also special thanks to my friend Kanishka who introduced us
to our guide Gyan. This has opened up many trekking options for us in Uttarakhand.
Next year it will be Sandeep and mine 20th year
of hiking in the Himalayas. Watch out this space for a special adventure trip which
will soon be planned.
For more pictures see this Mayali Pass Photos