Finally We could say that we did a Trek in true sense….Trek to Nag Tibba during last week of March 2022!!

Six of us in the age group of 55-60 years,  Bapi(Brother), Smita(SIL), Sajal(BIL), Simi(Sis), Saibal(hubby), and Nina(myself) were excited right from the beginning about trekking after a long gap filled with frequent comfortable trips.  The idea was thrown on the table by  Dadabhai  and finally we all were enrolled with the group India Hikes in February 2022.  

The preparation started with regular exercises, running challenges, shopping, eating right..

The guidelines were too steep to execute but we were managing with the focus of making it to the summit.  Well, in the mean time Saibal developed ankle pain (started with uric acid medication, crepe bandage without much help) and Smita developed knee pain.  But we all were determined to go ahead.  Bapi has both degenerative knees.  Sajal uses anti-snoring device which is bulky to carry.  Considering our challenges, we planned to take a day off in Mussoorie the day before trek to acclimatise and rest but we ended up walking through the Mussoorie trails, Landour and Kempty falls..We had gone back to our younger college days!!!

We started early morning around 7:30 am  on March 26th from our resort at Mussoorie and boarded India Hike tempo traveller around 8:15 am which took us to Panthwari. The people in the van were in their late 20s or early thirties max.  Our co-trekkers were obviously way younger and were curious about our story!!

Once we reached Pathwari, we were registered  and were given guidelines by the trek leader, Dawa, a 24-year old guy originally from Leh but resident of Delhi. There were 5 of them from India Hikes and other 17 people including us.

We started our trek/climb around 1 pm from Panthwari under the scorching sun , a steep trail and obviously very uneven.  We were told that the total trek on 26th would be around 6 kilometres but it was way more in actuality.  I think the whole team started, scattered in about half a kilometre and gradually it stretched to over a kilometre. 

The barren path was rarely having vegetation initially and then we passed through patches of shrubs and bushes almost bruising us.  Then the trail went through quite dense tropical kind of forest with red flashes of rhododendron which  really lifted our perspiring spirit all the way distracting from the exertion.   We were told that our lunch break was in  a scenic village next to a stream.  Yes, it was a beautiful spot and shaded as well.  And the bonus was to see many different varieties of vegetation.  We took around 20 minutes to have our packed lunch, wash and start again.  

Now, the trail was beautiful and the climate was getting comfortable with gaining altitude and the softer sun in the afternoon/evening.  Here, at times,  I enjoyed the steepness partly because of foliage all over and partly for the satisfying experience of being able to climb a gradient of 50 degree at ease. Felt my basic mountaineering training came to some use!! We waited for the whole group to come together… but how far was the destination?? .no one knew.  Two locals, who were part of the India Hikes team, had no clue of kilometre vs time..Cant really blame them as they were trying to match our pace.  And they knew time required at their speed probably.

The desire to see sun down at beautiful Khatyan was fading as it started becoming dark.. We finally reached the base at 8 pm…there were meadows in between but we had very little time to even enjoy that as we had plans to start very early the next morning for Nagtibba summit and then climb down the  same day  till Panthwari, which called  for a change in altitude of 5500ft over 7 hrs period.

Getting back to the evening of 26th, we saw yellow tents were laid in a row to be occupied by us, the extremely exhausted lot.   I wished I, could visualise  the site in sunlight … when the picture could be a perfect one.  Nevertheless ‘ek picture to banta hai’ and hence clicked one under the night sky.  To tell you frankly my other gang mates might have felt I was crazy as all of them were really exhausted by then. I was too, but hey I had to think about my blog pictures right?? Anyways..we were served hot north Indian dinner followed by some guidelines for the next day.  The biggest concern there was the mobile loo !! It was the toughest of all to adjust even with all our preparation and orientation. 

OMG!! As I entered the tent and stretched my leg, severe cramp in all muscles of both the legs…Just asked Saibal to pour one sachet of ORS in one litre of water and drank it full.  I think it took half an hour to subside within the sleeping bag.  Probably it happened due to dehydration, temperature difference.  My BIL had severe difficulty in breathing, SIL had given up due to severe pain. One thing may be worth mentioning here is, the dry food we carried were completely extra as we hardly had time to eat but water/ors were necessary.  

We had to quickly unpack for next days change and then pack the rest again as we were told that the tents would be folded by the time we return from summit. I was getting the feeling of camping in Panagarh when I was 18 year old.  

We started around 4:30 am on 27th with very little things this time. We left Smita, Sajal and Simi behind.  Smita decided not to strain with her knee and Sajal was fatigued due to disturbed sleep without the  breathing machine.  Simi stayed back too.  We learnt the hard way the guideline of carrying minimum weight.   I was walking following other’s footsteps in the dark as I forgot my headlamp behind.  But then came the best part , the cracking of dawn slowly with chill in the wind and  bugyals(meadows) on our way.  This time we met many other trekkers who came by themselves.  The slope was not much most of the time.  I think , we climbed/trekked for about 3 hours from Khatiyan and the altitude was from 7627ft to 9915ft.  This road seemed well travelled,  known to all and we reached the summit around 8 am.

 

What a site..I tell you…All snow clad peaks around,  more than  270 degree covered and the tree skeletons from forest fire spread less than a quadrant down the mountain range with Mussoorie city as the back.drop. It was mesmerising and spectacular.  We were lucky to have clear blue sky, could see all peaks.  

The series of peaks from Swaragrohini to Nandadevi (the most eloquent peak at 25,643ft.  The4 most intriguing peaks from Nagatibba were Bandarpunch, White peak and Mt Kalanag.  ).  A symmetrical pyramid peak between White peak and Gangotri, Mt Srikanta. 

Myself, Saibal and Dadabhai sat for sometime and ate some nuts and oranges.  Dawa, the guide started explaining how the fold mountain is formed.  I was surprised seeing his passion and dedication for mountain rules and knowledge.  Then it was the picture time with all the trekkers and flag…a moment will be cherished for rest of my life… fulfilling a dream kept under cover for 35 years..

Not done yet..We started climbing down around 9 am..Hey it was not easy for people with knee problem.  I was okay though and did not require poles this time.  Well laid trail mostly with changing gradient at times.  It took around 3 hours for us to reach Khatyan.  

The tents vanished and teammates who did not go to the summit, left for Panthwari by then.  We were given an hour to have lunch and pack our things back to hand over to mule porters.  Well , I relished the rice , rajma, aloo sabji so much which I repented later. 

I was pretty happy thinking the tough part was over and only climbing down is left.  Wait ..wait.  again it was 1 pm and we started under scorching sun.  In a time of about 30 minutes we found ourselves with trails full of boulders, rocks of different shapes and sizes.  Oh my God!! This was never expected.  I started climbing down very carefully imagining if I fall by chance.  The the thought came that having the hot lunch so soulfully wasn’t a good idea…There was every chance of fatal injury considering the surface we were passing through.  To my dismay, the local guide told me, I was unnecessarily scared.  I should have made faster moves instead, to climb down.  How do I explain that you tend to become extra careful after you cross a good 57 years of your life.  Anyways, I gave a mouthful for not telling us in advance about the trail expectation.  Later I heard, my sister who descended before us, had to cut her nails to climb down.  I had really bad pain in my toenails for quite some time after that.

Whatever said and done, it was a never before million buck experience,  worth every second of it , though was set in a tight weekend schedule!!

It was completely out of our comfort zone…But the comfort of making it to the top and climbing down without any glitches was a Million Buck experience for sure!!

Happy Trekking!!