Parth Joshi:
1-We started out from Pekhri, a 10 km drive from Gushaini around noon
Parth Joshi:
2-The snow came into view near the horizon as we climbed up from Pekhri
Parth Joshi:
3-More than a dozen Himalayan Griffons were having a busy day at the office and more often than not caught me stumbling with the neck craned towards the sky
Parth Joshi:
4-The village of Lagcha is a quintessential Himalayan hamlet - wood, slate, tin, and the bovine
Parth Joshi:
5-Pekhri to Laghca was more of a short acclimatiztion hike, taking us around an hour and a half
Parth Joshi:
6-Around 40-45 minutes of uphill brought us to Saur ridge, the last patch of clean terra firma we'd see for the day
Parth Joshi:
7-An hour of steep uphill from Rangthar brought us to Kundri top, from where the snow started to increase
Parth Joshi:
8-A short walk on the ridge from Kundri top followed by a quick downhill brought us to a shepherd encampment Marohni thatch, we took a quick bite and tried to find water but the streams were frozen
Parth Joshi:
9-We ascended quickly again after lunch, crossing knee deep snow that had was making ballerinas out of us quite frequently now
Parth Joshi:
10-Hedu dwar is one of the best caves I've camped or rested in, compact yet spacious for a tent and campfire
Parth Joshi:
11-Hedu dwar roughly translates to a Hunter's lair, and had water dripping in from the roof collecting neatly into a stone fenced hole, all under the gaze of the trident
Parth Joshi:
12-Another clear and crisp morning greeted us as we started out from Hedu dwar, and we climbed up on an easy trail for about an hour, assuming this would be a cinch before the mountains starting playing mischief
Parth Joshi:
13-We thought it'd be a few odd patches of snow, but as horrficially steep alopes draped in white glared their teeth at us, 'twas time to put the bags down and take a good hard look before committing further
Parth Joshi:
14-It became apparent after a while that the snow wasn't going anywhere, so we decided to take time and break the trail properly, not that we had any other choice
Parth Joshi:
15-From knee-deep to the thighs, the snow kept getting thicker, thankfully, the weather was clear so we could take our time
Parth Joshi:
16-Old man's beard is one of the most expressive of lichens, each strand standing tall against the vagaries of winter
Parth Joshi:
17-An hour worth of trail turned into five, and 'twas quite a sigh of relief as we reached the top at Parchun, a tad higher than the eventual goal of Rakhundi top, now visible in the centre of the frame guarding the higher climes behind
Parth Joshi:
18-The snow refused to relent as we wound our way down from Parchun, but we'd had so much of it on the uphill that this failed to perturb us anymore
Parth Joshi:
19-The highlight of the day was perhaps this amazing ice sculpture, water trickling down right through its centre as the tites and the mites threatened each other
Parth Joshi:
20-Another day, another cave, this was a very congested affair however, and to top it up 'twas perched on an almost sixty degree slope
Parth Joshi:
22-We reached Ghumtarao top in a little under an hour from the camp, and I again befooled myself into thinking that Rakhundi top was an 1.5 hrs worth of trotting atop the ridge, turned out to be a 4 hr slog through snow that was chest deep at times
Parth Joshi:
23-Bear, and a couple of other, pugmarks dominated the trail from Ghumtarao till Rakhundi, the silent sure marke irritating us no less looking at our own patchy imprints
Parth Joshi:
24-'Tis a frustrating proposition, the unassuming, placid sheet of white playing pranks on you like a teenager
Parth Joshi:
25-The sigh stop Rakhundi top was quite definitive, for it signalled the end of snow that had made us do worse than crawl at times
Parth Joshi:
26-A moment or two was all we took at the top, eager to get down the ridge to wipe our snow glazed shoes on some warm grass
Parth Joshi:
27-Heaven and hell-that'd more or less sum up our experience of both sides of Rakhundi peak, chest deep snow contrasting warm, baked grass
Parth Joshi:
28-We descended steeply crossing the top, the flat ungiving facade of Rakhundi parting a sideways glance rather boringly
Parth Joshi:
29-Climbing up, one waits for the woods to be over and the vistas to begin, getting down is a much fiercer emotion in the opposite direction
Parth Joshi:
30-The thatch at Choi dwar belonged to the clan of the unorthodox, like a drunk refute to authority
Parth Joshi:
31-After the grandest of bonfires at Choi dwar, we started leisurely the next morning, and made it to Shilt hut in a little under anhour, from whereon we literally raced down unceasingly till Gushaini
