This is a tale from last December. When three friends embarked on an epic trek to the lower Himalayas, despite a lot of pessimism from friends and family quoting that it will be really cold in the Winter. But we decided to stick to the plan and book the train tickets. We made it to the base camp at Sankri, Uttarakhand after a lot of hassle and detours along the way from Bengaluru. Our first thought as soon as we got down at the base camp. Brain Freeze. It was close to 0 degree Celsius. And it was an all time low for us. We could barely think. Finishing up the formalities we settled down at the base camp. Acquainting ourselves with the new faces at the base camp. We got cozy with a hot bowl of soup, and a hot meal.
Day 1 – Acclimatization at Sankri
We set out early morning towards the ground at the edge of the road. The guides got us warmed up with some exercises. We then visited the shrine at Sankri. And then set off to a small walk to get ourselves acclimatized with the weather and our backpacks. After having a couple of ice-breaking sessions. We headed back to the base camp. Tomorrow we were supposed to set out on the 4 day trek.
Day 2 – Sankri to Juda ka Talab
Rising early, we started out towards the next camp. Juda ka Talab is a frozen lake. It was about 4 kms to the campsite. Thoroughly excited about the trek all of us set out with us at the helm of the group. We encountered our first snowfall at Juda ka Talab base camp. It was beautiful. Here is a slow motion video of the snowfall.
Sunrise at the Juda ka talab base camp.
Day 3 – Juda Ka Talab to Luhasu
Amidst fresh snow laden mountains, we set out towards Luhasu base camp. It was a short trek, with packed lunch boxes. We made way to the camp with ease. This was our final stop before we made our way to the Kedarkantha Peak. We had loads of fun jumping into the snow and having the time of our lives. This night was crazily cold. It touched a low of -15 degree Celsius.
Day 4 – Trek to the Kedarkantha Peak
Waking up at 4am in the morning. We set out for the trek after having snacks and tea. We climbed towards the peak at a steady pace. The sunrise was breathtaking. We finally made it to the peak after a lot of breaks. The view from the peak was worth all the pain we endured.
We then trekked back to Argoan base camp. And finally settled into our tents after an arduous day.
Day 5 – Argoan to Sankri
Rising at 6am. We set out to make our way back to Sankri. The end of the trek was here. And it was time to head back.