Trek To Kedarnath

I have always enjoyed climbing mountains, and the Himalayas are my favorite. Its no wonder that I set out this year too in June to visit the shrine of Kedarnath in the mighty Tehri region of Uttarakhand.

I started my journey on 19 June from Mumbai and took a flight to Delhi. The excitement started at the airport itself with Indigo airlines delaying the flight by four hours due to a technical glitch and what followed at Delhi was a mad rush to the bus stand to catch the bus to Dehradun. I missed the bus but luckily could change my booking to the next bus thanks to the kindness of the operator whom I had telephoned as soon as I got down from the aircraft. Reached Rishikesh at 6 A.M. after a comfortable journey in an AC sleeper bus. Got freshened up and then got a Sumo to Sonprayag and from there to which is the base for Kedarnath. Reached Gaurikund after a grueling ride on a bumpy road climbing the hills and escaping some narrow misses of rocks falling from overhead. Welcome to the Himalayas, the youngest and most fragile mountain ranges in the world.

But looking at the natural scenery en route and the cool air blowing at your face takes all the strain away. Luckily my booking was a confirmed one at the TRH guest house of GMVN at Gaurikund, so I did some shopping and looked around the wonderful place at about 9000 feet above MSL. Seeing the waters of the mighty Madakini river gushing down below was a sight to behold and we could keep watching it with awe the whole day. Had a look at the hot springs in the town, then followed it up with a hot dinner and finally went to sleep early so as to get ready for the next day's grueling trek of 32 kilometers on the newly constructed track to Kedarnath Dham.

I set out the next day at 0600 sharp with a backpack and a lot of enthusiasm. After about 7 km realized this was no ordinary trek. The incline was steep,the breathing was difficult as we were at high altitude and the temperature was around 5 degrees Celsius. So I slowed down my pace, took deep breaths and kept myself continuously hydrated. the tea halts were also very useful. The final five kilometers were the toughest and it was only a steely determination that made me reach the top at around 12.30 P.M. After a quick Darshan of the shrine and a quicker lunch, I started my descent at around 1 P.M. the descent was easy but at the same time there was a lot of pressure on the knees so one needs to be careful. I Was back to base after a 13 hour non stop trek at 7 PM.

It was a great experience that can't be described merely by words but tried my best to do it. One thing for sure, I will be back climbing the mountains for sure as they are highly addictive and mesmerizing. So sayanora to the Himalayas until we meet again next year this time to Yamunotri.