Memoirs of Gidara Bugyal

Part 2: Rikoda - Dokrani - Thalotiya

Rikoda is a beautiful campsite, an almost flat spot in the meadow, surrounded by trees. With

the greater Himalayas in the backdrop, Mt Srikanth peeping slightly above the clouds. The setting couldn’t be prettier, except that we were looking for our tents to escape from the rain. Thankfully, our kitchen team were already settled and they had pitched our tents, so we don’t get drenched any further. Just another display of the generous nature of the villagers from Bhangeli.

Eventually the rain stopped and we explored the area nearby. If one climbs a bit above the campsite, a clear view of the mighty Gangotri range can be seen in the distance. We had climbed almost 3500 ft in one day and the effects were showing as we settled in our tents after dinner for a much needed rest.

The next morning we started from Rikoda for the next campsite called Dokrani. It was going to be another 1500 ft climb and we started witnessing a pretty clear day. The sun was shining brightly, which helped dry off most of our wet clothes.

The trail started through the meadow; a gradual ascent for about half an hour. The Thirya river was visibly cutting through the valley below and we needed to cross it. I turned around one more time to take a final look at Mt. Srikanth and other peaks, standing tall at a distance. The sky was inky blue and the mountain range with its white and grey features, formed the perfect painting, with the Rikoda meadow in the foreground.

An arduous downhill journey started through the trails which was filled with loose stones and the soil underneath wet, due to the rain yesterday. It was a good hour long descent through the slippery trail which claimed quite a few casualties, but thankfully no serious injuries happened.

We eventually reached the river bed, which was surprisingly quite narrow, considering it was monsoon season. I could see a log bridge up ahead, but we all decided to cross the river on foot, wading through the water, getting our feet wet, in proper trekking spirit. Before we crossed, we filled our bottles with the sweet and chilled water which can even quench the thirst of your soul. We started climbing on the other side through another thick forest section, until we came to a clearing, filled with flowering bushes and plants.

This was the Thirya campsite, named after the river flowing below. This was going to be our campsite when we return from Gidara Bugyal. Thirya is another meadow like clearing amidst tall growing bushes. Although I could see a defined trail ahead of us, our guide took us left to go through the bushes, which actually hid another trail to climb the mountain towards Dokrani camp.

A we started climbing on the steep trail, and it started raining. Grey rain clouds had already covered the sky and more started forming in the valley just below us like a smoke screen, as we feared the worse. We immediately geared up and started following our guide as quickly as possible. We climbed further up and got off the bushy trail, into the forest section. We found a large tree and huddled under it to eat our lunch, as the rain increased its intensity. There was no time to rest any further, after the steep climb from Thirya river, so we trudged ahead in a single file.

The trail was getting worse. There were sections which were already copiously wet and didn’t get a chance to dry. The heavy rain made it worse. The trail got extremely muddy and slippery. Half of us somehow managed to cross this area and the trail just disappeared. Our guides and some of the trekkers, started planting stones and rocks, so there is enough foothold for the ones trailing behind us. We continued to climbed through the trail, through forest sections, which I am sure was beautiful, but we couldn’t enjoy due to the heavy rain. From our shoes, socks, pants to now our sleeves; everything was dripping wet and I prayed that my clothes at the campsite is hopefully dry. We continued climbing on the the trail which was hardly legible now, and after what seemed like ages, we could see the yellow kitchen tent at a distance. The climb towards the camp was pretty tough, but I was determined to reach there. I could already see our tents were pitched and ready for us and I yearned to be inside one of them and change into something dry. Little did I know that our troubles were just beginning to surface.

Upon reaching the camp, I asked Dweep and Sid to go in first as they were pretty soaked and my offloaded pack was somewhere in the dining tent. I went to the dining tent where our Trek Leader Areeb urged me to get in and wait there, away from the rain. Kiran, another fellow trekker joined me in a few minutes just before the wind picked up speed.

I have witnessed severe sandstorms in the many years I spent in the gulf region. I have also witnessed Kaal Baisakhi storm which literally means “deadly summer storm” in West Bengal which is one of the fiercest storms accompanied by heavy rainfall. I even experienced heavy blizzard/ snow storm in Sandakphu which raged on throughout the day and night, but never had I ever witnessed such winds which shook me internally. The wind blew in from all eight directions, firstly uprooting most of the pegs that held the tent floor to the ground and eventually defeating the guy ropes which holds the tent in place. There were two large rods on either entrances of the large dining tent and the one on our side, started to tilt out of the ground. Kiran and I immediately sprang into action and pushed from both sides, to ensure that the pole stands erect. But we couldn’t do anything about the other side and in a matter of minutes, the other pole was uprooted as half of the tent almost fell on the both of us. We took turns to hold on to the pole as long as we could. To make matters worse, we heard shouting outside the tent, and realised that the kitchen tent had also fallen. I was worried that if a fire was to start in the kitchen tent, we would have nothing to eat and literally nowhere to go. Thankfully, the kitchen tent was resurrected and other than some spilled hot water, we didn’t incur any severe losses. There was no way we could erect the dining tent in that wind and Areeb urged both of us to go to our respective tents and dry off as much as possible.

Changing into the dry clothes gave me some much needed comfort, but the wind was relentless and that’s where the Hillman tents of Indiahikes literally stood its test of resilience. Not a single drop of water could get in and not even a single peg came off in the face of such diabolic gale that took down a much larger and tougher tent. I was feeling so relieved and was grateful for the tents and the Indiahikes team for doing whatever they could in the face of a storm to make us feel safe, when Areeb called us to open the tent and take snacks and hot tea. I was quite dumbfounded for a few moments; there was a torrential rain outside and no one would want to leave their tents in those conditions, and here was our Trek leader with his trusted guide, bringing us piping hot food and tea to ensure that our tummies are full and we are all safe and sound. Just moments before we almost lost the kitchen tent, but the standard of the Indiahikes hospitality has not dipped even by a millimetre. I ate quietly and sipped on the tea, wondering with what were these men and women of Indiahikes are made of. I reminisced on my previous treks with Indiahikes and realised that all the trek leaders, assistant trek leaders, green trail leaders accompanying us on the trek, the kitchen staff, the guides, all were imbibed with the same principle. The level of care, service, alertness, and camaraderie that I have witnessed amongst everyone I have met in IH is surreal. It goes to show the kind of efforts that the founders had put in and the kind of rigorous training program each one has gone through, that it doesn’t matter which trek you are on and who is your TL and support team. You are always in good hands. such is the passion.

Yes, and that’s why I trek with Indiahikes!

The rain eventually stopped and Areeb asked us to come out. As we came out, a breathtaking site unveiled in front of our eyes. The clouds had parted and revealed the entire Gangotri range, complete with the ever visible Mt. Srikanth, parts of Gangotri massif, Jaonli and Draupadi ka Danda. It was quite a day for us, so we decided to have an early dinner and settle in for the night. Tomorrow would be the shortest day of the trek as we go to the final camp called Thalotiya, from where we would finally climb to the amazing Gidara Meadows.

The next morning was fairly sunny and we prayed that the rain god be merciful on us. We dried our wet clothes as much as possible and enjoyed some hot tea and breakfast. Our guide spotted an India black bear, about 30 meters from our campsite lurking in the tall bushes. Our excitement was probably too much for it, as we saw the bear dash for the tall tree-line which was exactly on the trail we took to reach this camp. We packed our stuff and started climbing up towards Dokrani Bugyal Top. It was an hour long of steep climb through an undefined and some barely defined trail, most of which was caked with mud as a result of the incessant rain yesterday. Slowly and steadily we reached the Dokrani top, where we were greeted by one of the most amazing views in front of us. The mighty Gangotri range was even closer than before and the trail that laid ahead was rolling green meadows, speckled with dandelions. We sat down on the grass and and took in the view and some much needed breath.

We picked ourselves up and started on the undulating green path ahead. There were some ridges that we walked on that formed on the meadow.

Cool wind was blowing from the mountain side and the path ahead was just mesmerising. After about 45 minutes we reached the point where we start our decent to Thalotiya campsite. We started climbing down the trail which was fairly easy to walk on in compared to some of the other trails we had experienced before for about half the way and then some parts affected by rain was quite tricky. We had descended for about 45 minutes when our guide gave us the first glimpse of Gidara Bugyal on the other side of the mountain.

Although it was quite a fascinating sight, but my eyes fell on the river below and and the spot where we were going to camp. In the another 15 minutes, we reached Thalotiya campsite. Nestled in the middle of the narrow valley right next to the flowing river, Thalotiya is a truly picturesque camp. Speckled with varieties of flowers, some of which are holy for the local guides, we pitched our tents in the middle of these flora.

I took some time to see around the camp, go near the water and walk on the dry river bed. It was a great place to enjoy some much needed ME time. Listen to the inner voice, finding some answers which are difficult to derive from within amidst all the chaos of the city. I found a solitary spot right by the river. As I sat there my thoughts started to flow with the river, in a melancholy strain, the slight breeze coming from the valley was like a breath of fresh air, while the afternoon sun high up in the sky, gave me warmth as I sat in the lap of mother nature.

That moment brought me nothing but immense peace.

Stay tuned for the next chapter...

Watch the video journey here: https://youtu.be/pj-Thp6SPic