Pretrek Day 3 – Nainital-Bhowali-Lohargunj (8497 ft), 30th August

Woke up to a cool morning. The lake was wrapped up in a blanket of fog and slowly the clouds were lifting away from the city. We quickly set off in a cab to Bhowali, where we met Arjun of the indiahikes team and more of the trek group. The rest of the trekkers were Andrei, Benny, Deepika, Laxmikanth, Ramesh, Rohit, Sridevi, Srikanth, and Subbu. From here on, we were a cavalcade of three Tata Sumos. For breakfast, we stopped at a nice dhaba, had stuffed paranthas and tea, in an open verandah facing the mountains. The land near the dhaba was dotted with cauliflower, legume, and green leafy vegetable beds. Ritu decided to take some rest in the sun for a while and settle her motion-frayed nerves. Well, she took rest, we tucked in hot paranthas. :-)

The day got hotter in the next leg of the drive. En route, we stopped at the Baijnath temple, located on the bank of river Gomti. The temple dates back to 9 -12^th century AD and is supposedly built by the Katyuri rulers of ancient Kartikeyapura. The shrines are built in the Nagara style, the main attraction being a standing statue of Goddess Parvati, made of grey schist, with tresses of 26 miniatures images around it. We were not allowed to photograph all the shrines. 

Pic - Baijnath Temple - Achin

Once done with marveling at the shrines, most of us cooled down (our heels!) in the Gomti River and watched tiny fish scuttle around.

Lunch at Gwoldam village was simple and delicious. After that, when Ritu and I wanted to walk a little before setting off on the last leg of the drive, we were warned not to take the right road at a fork ahead because they were infested by leeches. Thus, we saved our blood!

The last leg saw the day becoming cooler. The sound of the Pindar river gushing down below and an occasional tweet of a bird, the sight of green mountains all around, the smell of wood, pine, rain in the air - is this not balm to urbanized souls?

The cab drivers informed us that it had rained the day before and hence the roads were slushy. We took a less travelled road after a point. Because it took us time to maneuver the serpentine curves, it helped the ladies recover from MS.


It drizzled a little and one could feel the hill chill. Slowly, Ritu regained her form and we sang along the meandering ways. The most apt song was “Yeh wadiyan, yeh fazayen, bula rahi hain humein (these valleys, this atmosphere, is beckoning me/us)", with encore requests from Srini and Abhinav. Guess Sahir Ludhianvi was in some such place when he penned these lines. Suddenly, there were joyful shouts and excitement all around - we had spotted Trishul! The sight of the snow-capped peak melted away tiredness from the day long drive and enticed us with the promise of more. Pic - En route Lohargunj - Vikrant

Reached Lohargunj village by early evening. The market in the village supplied provisions to the base camp. We heard the driver quickly check with a supplier for a sack of potatoes and other vegetables.

The hustle and bustle in the market made for a different sight from the landscapes that had been unfolding in front of us. One could not help but marvel at how the folks live up there. One young lass implored our driver to let her ride with us till the next village. He was reluctant and by the time we told him that it was fine with us, she had stepped to a nearby vegetable shop and when we beckoned her, she had changed her mind!


Reached Lohargunj on time. The camp is at an excellent location in the village, commanding a great view of the mountains, with the village on the right, valley in front, and our coveted peaks to the left. Arjun showed us the Nanda Gunti peak. It was shining incandescently on that cloudy and moonlit night. Trishul was not visible at that time.


Briefing from the indiahikes team was simple yet poignant. We would be faced with three opponents - the weather, our body, and ourselves. If we battled these well, we would be victorious. We were told that everyday we would be divided into two ropes (or groups), each with its assigned leader. These leaders would set the pace and at no point was one supposed to overtake them.

After dinner, ventured out to look around the base camp. On a stroll down the road leading to the village, tried out the torch that Abhinav had supplied us with. Its radius was such that we could not see more than 10 ft at a time! We wondered how it would work up at the camps.

Settled down to an early night. With benedictions and a fervent appeal for strength, I closed my eyes and found that I was actually sleepy! Slumber came in fast and uninterrupted. The silence up there in the late night calmed the senses immensely. It was as if time had stood still and wanted me to live in that moment, blanking out everything else from the mind.