About the trek and day 1 to 3

Sar Pass is a pass at 13800 ft altitude on the hill range overlooking river parvati. The trek starts and ends at the road along the river near Barshaini village, at any of the bridges across the river. You walk in 6-7 days, from around 7000 ft altitude to a maximum altitude of 13800 ft before coming back down to road level. The trek is full of steep trails through dense forest and meadows before breaking through the tree line and onto snow.Steep trails can cause slipping if it rains.

Youth Hostel Association of India organizes this trek every year for it's members. Membership can be applied for and obtained online and it can be an yearly membership or lifetime. I had got my lifetime membership card home delivered few years back, applying online, for Rs 1500/-. 

The trek also can be booked online. In 2013, the bookings opened in Nov 2012 and the program is of 11 days, ex Youth Hostel Kasol. One batch reports each day from 01 May till 5th June, 2013 and online booking charges were Rs.3400 + Booking Amt: Rs 255. This amount includes food, lodging in tented camps (capacity 10 participants each), cost of guides etc. Dusty blankets over tarpaulins and plastic sheets form your bed inside the tents and to counter the cold you get two blankets (at Kasol) or sleeping bags (at other camps). At these camps, as a supplement to the sleeping bags, you also get either one blanket each or 4-6 blankets per tent, depending on the availability. One sleeping bag liner (cotton) is issued to you at base camp, which you can carry on the trek.

You will face moderate cold on the trek and while a T shirt and a wind cheater will suffice in the day, you may need a warm jacket/ sweater/ thermal inners with a woolen cap in the evenings and night. A waterproof poncho or raincoat or a mere 'rainsheet' would suffice for the occasional rain. Do not carry too much stuff as you are going to repent it when you struggle in rarer air at high altitudes. There is no real point in thinking of taking a bath at places other than Kasol although you may be offered hot water (on payment) by villagers at Khora Thatch and Zirmi where a makeshift bathing place is made in open wrapping a plastic sheet on 4 wooden poles.  Having said that, few people more hygienic minded than me, did make use of these facilities.

So one extra T shirt, one pair of trousers, one thin jacket, one windcheater, goggles, woolen cap, spare socks, rain sheet/ raincoat/ poncho, a tiffin and a tumbler, some vaseline, sunblock, toothbrush and paste, a pair of slippers,  LED torch/ headlamp, camera and spare battery makes the list of things to carry. Carry a large plastic trash bag to be put inside the rucksack as a waterproof liner. You can make a cheap rucksack cover by inverting a clear large plastic bag over it and cutting small slits to take out the straps. The YHAI camp volunteers check your rucksack for weight and ask you to limit it to 3.5-4 kgs.

You are supposed to carry your own utensils to eat in and a tiffin to carry packed lunch. It is advisable to carry only a plastic or steel tumbler, a spoon and a plastic tiffin with a tight fitting lid, which may have two (preferably three) pressed compartments. Normally you get dal, one vegetable (dry or with curry), chapati, rice, papad, pickles and a sweet dish (sevaiyan, kheer etc) at the camps. With a tumbler (for sweet dish?) and a tiffin with pressed compartments, you can manage your food. The packed lunch is a simpler affair with only chapatis/ pooris with a dry vegetable and pickle. Washing the tiffin can be a pain, in the cold water at high camps. You can use tissues and soap strips to rinse the yellow grease off the tiffin. Remember to expose the tiffin to air and sun when you can, to get the sour smell off it.

While people trek in all kind of shoes, including sneakers, yet I would recommend high ankle water resistant trekking shoes like Quechua Forclaz 500 available online for Rs 3999/- (cheaper if you can get it from cash and carry Decathlon stores in Bengaluru or elsewhere. I hear there is one in Mumbai too). I can not emphasize enough on the need to have deep grooved soles which grip well on steep inclines where you may face wet slippery mud if it rains. You will also walk at least one day in snow, traversing across steep slopes where sneakers and such other urban shoes would show their limitations and you would be unsure of the grip.

When you book the trek, you are allotted a batch which typically is named SP-nn where nn is the reporting date. So mine was SP26 with reporting date as 26th June. The trek takes a total of 11 days:

Day 1: Reporting at base camp, Youth Hostel Kasol (6500ft)
  

This day is an open day, merely for reporting. Normally participants arrive by Bus and get down at Bhunter, on the Manali Highway. Bhunter has the local airport and the road towards Manikaran takes off from here, to the right, over a bridge across the sangam of rivers Beas and Parvati. Remember to tell your bus driver to drop you off nearest to Bus stand Bhunter as there is another dropping point called Manikaran Chowk, which is further ahead, closer to the bridge. From 615 AM onwards, you get buses every half an hour or so, to Kasol, from the Bus stand at Bhunter. I am told that the last bus is around 6 pm, though this has not been verified. Taxis are available but are costly.

The fare is Rs 35 for a 30 km trip and YHAI camp is well known by the bus drivers. The bus ride takes anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours. Be prepared for frequent stops as passengers are picked up and dropped all along the route. The road is narrow and bumpy and there would be occasional stops to let the other vehicles cross or pass and few traffic jams may also occur. The camp is half a Km before the main centre of tiny Kasol. You will find a board on the left of the road, where steps have been made to go down to the camp.

 As you enter the camp there is a battery charging station on the right, along the hillside where about 15-20 phones or camera batteries can be charged at one time. (thefts have been reported, so you better keep close by while you are charging your stuff). A reception counter is straight ahead where you are supposed to produce your booking acknowledgement slip, medical certificate and two photos. You may be required to fill up a reporting form and a two leafed card, affixing the photos on each. You will carry this card with you on the trek. Actually the group leader carries it, getting it stamped and signed at all camps en-route. This card forms the basis of your completion certificate on return. At base camp, you would be allotted a tent where you will meet other participants of your batch or occasionally, few participants from other batches.

You will be issued two blankets (beware of the dust), a sleeping bag liner and a rucksack and you would have to sign for this stuff in a register. Remember to get these items struck off as you return the blankets before leaving for the trek and the remaining stuff when you come back from the trek and check out.

Timings for food etc., are displayed on a signboard. You can leave the camp (till 7 pm) and visit Kasol (few hundred metre) after dropping off your card into a drop box at reception. Kasol has tour operators for bus bookings, general stores, eateries and misc shops for almost all your needs. There are also hot baths on payment of 40 Rs.

Kasol camp has separate toilet and bath block with very basic amenities. The floor of baths almost always gets flooded because participants throw soap strips and other debris inside the toilet. Indian type (where you squat) toilets give an unpleasant stench. There are two wash basins with mirrors and two urinals on the men side. Water is directly pumped from River Parvati and is muddy.

Drinking water is separately stored in two Sintex tanks (with taps) outside this block. A large covered space has food counters and plastic tables where you stand and eat. This area is also used for briefings etc, for which participants bring tarpaulins and spread these on the bare ground to sit upon.

There is a structure in the rear where you can buy basic hunter shoes, socks and rain sheets from the lady living on the first floor. The ground floor has storage rooms where you can deposit spare luggage  before going on the trek. This is done on the previous evening of your departure. Two slips are filled in for each item, one of which is pasted inside a pocket of the item (and not on outer surface, to prevent the slip getting dislodged and lost) and the other part of the slip remains with you, to claim your luggage on return.

Evenings have camp fire, where the incoming batch performs (music, songs, jokes etc) for everyone. The batch checking out is given their certificates at this time.

 
Day 2: Acclimatization and Orientation

The morning starts with some stretching exercises for which you are taken to a ground approximately a km away. Do not forget to take your rain sheet/ poncho etc.,  if there are clouds. On return, after breakfast, you would line up and applaud the batch leaving for the trek. After this, you fill the rucksack given to you with a filled water bottle and the two blankets given to you. Thereafter, you are taken for an acclimatization walk. An orientation talk is also given by the camp in-charge on this day. The group chooses a leader, a co-leader and an eco-leader. The evening is again ended with a camp fire.

Some participants report on this day, who are then taken on the acclimatization walk on the next day, foregoing the rock climbing session. 

Day 3: Rock Climbing and Rappelling

After morning exercises and seeing off yet another batch starting the trek, you are taken for a rock climbing session in the forenoon and a rappelling session in the afternoon. The order can change. Rock climbing is not really an activity which can be done in trekking shoes and you can't blame the participants for not being very enthusiastic. 

The rappelling session is of some use as you can later, use a rope to come down a small patch of almost vertical path cut in rock on the day when you trek from Biskeri Thatch to Bhandak Thatch.

The evening is again ended with a camp fire.

The remaining program is as under, which is discussed in detail in subsequent posts:

Day 4: By bus to Ghatigadh (7400ft)- 13km, 1hr & trek to Youth Hostel Galgithatch (actually its Jalgi Thatch) (8500ft)- 5km, 4hr

Day 5: Trek to Youth hostel Khora Thatch (9800ft)- 7km, 5hr

Day 6: Trek to Youth hostel Zirmi (11000ft)- 6km, 5hr

Day 7: Trek to Youth Hostel Tila Lotni (12500ft)- 6kms, 4hr

Day8 : Trek to Youth Hostel Biskeri Thatch (11000ft) via SAR Pass (13800ft)- 9km, 6hr
Day 9: Trek to Youth Hostel Bhandak Thatch (8000ft) 10kms – 6hrs

Day 10: Trek up to Barshani Road (5km, 2hr) head, transfer by bus to Manikaran and trek up to the Base Camp Kasol, Valedictory function.

Day 11: Group departs after Breakfast.

Day 4: Bus to Ghatigadh & trek to Jalgithatch

Day 4: By bus to Ghatigadh (7400ft)- 13km, 1hr & trek to Youth Hostel Galgithatch (actually its Jalgi Thatch) (8500ft)- 5km, 4hr

On day 4, you are asked to be ready for departure by 8 AM. After taking packed lunch, you are led to the road above the camp where you wait for a local bus. Here things get interesting as the morning bus driver knows that he is getting 50 odd passengers. However, there is not enough space inside as other regular passengers are already inside. 5-6 of the trekkers load the rucksacks on the rooftop, along with the walking sticks people have bought/ brought with them. As everyone boards the bus, it is a dense crush load (pardon the Railway lingo) and it is not possible for anyone to board the bus en-route unless some of the passengers get off. The group leader buys the tickets for which he will get a refund on coming back to Kasol camp. The crush soon eases off as we cross Manikaran and after a 45 minute to 1 hour ride, we reach our drop off point near village Ghatigarh. 

Here we meet our first guide. Guides are local villagers who escort the batches between camps. Same guide works the same stretch each day, with different batches. There are some more sticks available for sale, at the roadside. The trek starts with a steep sloping trail towards the river, where a pedestrian bridge is used to cross over to the other side. The trail now has a steep slope upwards towards the village. The trekkers quickly feel the stress of climbing up and the batch stretches out, with the slow walkers trailing the fast walkers. A few girls offer help as porters. No one in our batch took up the offer. There are clumps of iris along the way, looking beautiful in the green background. 

Iris flower

Can you find the face on this tree?

Traditional Himachali house

With a few intermediate stops, the batch reached the village where there is a tea point within 45 minutes of the walk starting. The kitchen is in a room inside a double storey house while a tarpaulin is stretched across over a patch of ground nearby, for resting in shade. Maggi, omelette, tea, biscuits and soft drinks are on offer at a premium. This premium goes on increasing with altitude, over next few days.

After some rest, an almost level path takes us to a lunch spot which is just a km away from the tea point, along a stream. Here we rest for almost two hours as entry into the camps is planned for 3 pm at Jalgi Thatch.

Utkarsh, a tent-mate, crossing a stream

Tea being brewed at lunch point

There are two tea shops here as well. After a long wait, we finally start moving again and after another 3 km of level track, we stop for some more rest, killing time with antakshiri. The path passes through some dense forest which is a balm to eyes accustomed to concrete jungles.

We start again at 230 pm and almost immediately reach Jalgi Thatch. The trek was marked with more rest than walking. The camp is on a sloping ground in a small clearing in the forest. 4 tents for male participants and one for the female trekkers is the norm at all camps. One kitchen and two tents for storage, the camp in-charge and the workers make up the rest. There is a water point, with the water being brought by a plastic pipe from a stream nearby. A dust bin area is identified where waste is burned periodically. Toilet areas are identified for ladies and gents separately. The camps have a few toilet tents but the stench makes you go out in the open.

The camps give out welcome drinks consisting of diluted fruit squashes (normally 4 pm), tea (5 pm), distribution of sleeping bags and blankets (6 pm), dinner (0630 pm) and bournvita (8 pm). Mornings have bed tea (6 am), breakfast (7 am), packed lunch (0730 am), deposition of sleeping bags and blankets and cleaning of tents before departure around 8 am. These timings vary slightly from camp to camp. At Tila Lotni, for the trek over Sar Pass, departure is at 0445 am. The welcome drink is hot soup in place of diluted squash at few camps including at Tila Lotni.

The evenings are spent knowing each other better and I am introduced to a new game called Mafia. This game became a rage during the trek and we spent hours playing out in open, sitting on rain sheets or inside tents.

The night was uneventful, with some minor irritants like snoring tent mates, inadequate length of sleeping bags, sloping ground, some stones causing discomfort and inadequate space in tents for two rows of people to sleep, resulting in overlapping of feet. However, everyone soon adjusted.

Day 5: Trek from Jalgi Thatch (8500 ft) to Khora Thatch (9800ft)- 7km, 5hr

The trek started at 8 am and immediately we were climbing up a steep slope on a dirt track, through dense forest. There was a lot of huffing and puffing and the trail went up and up. Batch mates were taking frequent stops and rests. However, there was a lot of time and the trek has been planned in such a way that we always had time in hand.

Resting on the steep slope

Another rest point

New perspective to photography, lying down on the boulders

The Chennai gang was unstoppable - well except maybe after lunch

This dog (sheru/ jimmy) accompanied us on the entire trek, even over snow

Lunch point was another tea shop inside the forest. The two persons running the tea shop actually closed shop as we moved on and reached Khora Thatch, to open another shop already set up there, adjacent to the camp. This became a regular feature as the persons operating the tea shop at lunch point, also walked to the next camp and opened the shop there.

The entire batch was adjusting to the trek by now and the distances were not too much on initial few days. There were frequent and long rests and everything was well with us. The weather was clear and pleasant and we approached Khora Thatch. The camp in-charge was waiting for us above a particularly steep stretch and welcomed us. We waited for the batch to catch up and finally went to the camp together. By this time, tent-mates were more or less fixed in groups of 10 each. We were 40 male and 9 female participants and occupied the five tents with minimal fuss. My tent had a sizable depression which was quickly fixed, borrowing a spade from the camp staff. I filled in earth after removing the tarpaulin and the depression reduced substantially. As filled earth could not be compacted, the depression still proved uncomfortable. The arrangements made by YHAI are commendable but small items like leveling the ground or removing stones can improve things a lot.

Soon we were wandering to a clearing near the camp from where fantastic view of the snow peaks was visible. Group photographs and lot of posing, jumping into frames as pics were clicked and general laughter prevailed till the sun set.

Mafia was played on the open area between tents as we spread rain sheets and sat in a circle. Lot of fun and laughter prevailed as the players guessed and second guessed to take out the Dons. Lively discussions and defensive explanations were accompanied by hoots and chortles and we had a whale of time. The game continued after dinner in one of the tents and torches/ headlamps were used to play well into the night when a lights-out was declared by the camp in-charge at 945 pm. A star filled sky kept us engrossed for a while before we went to sleep.

Day 6: Trek from Khora Thatch (9800 ft) to Zirmi (11000ft)- 6km, 5hr

This trek turned out to be the shortest one in length. The camp in-charge and guides told us that it is 3 km only, to Zirmi. Hence we knew that we were in for long rests and a very long lunch break.

We started at 9 am, in a leisurely manner and immediately on starting, there was a murmur of excitement from the girls who were leading. There was a python on the track but it slithered away quickly. I tried to take a photograph but it turned out to be a shaky out of focus picture of the tail :-(

We carried on in the stop and start manner we were so accustomed to by now. We spent some quality time resting in the meadows in shade and clicking photographs. The trek was uneventful and the lunch break was extraordinarily long. We chatted and shared our experiences. I was almost a generation older than most participants and college life, funny instances etc., had us laughing and enjoying ourselves.

After several short but steep stretches, we reached yet another resting point from where the camp was close by. We reached Zirmi at the allotted time of 3 pm, not tired in the least.

Tent with a view

The peaks surrounding us

Ronak Soni brews some tea

Basu and his younger brother Utkarsh with T shirts proclaiming NO HOPE for JACK DANIELS

The nourishment planned at the camp in the evenings was in stages. Soup followed by tea and snacks and then dinner. As we gained height, dinner time was shifted to an earlier hour and as a result, we got soup, tea and dinner too close together. We had nothing else to do and so we had our mugs and tiffins ready as we waited for the next thing to be served.

Dinner was followed by dumb charades in a tent. The camp leader graciously gave up his candle for us and we enjoyed the acting out of clues as well as the (sometime hilarious) interpretation by others.

Finally it was time to turn in as the next day was to be a longish trek and we were to gain some real altitude to Tila Lotni.

Day 7: Trek from Zirmi (11000 ft) to Tila Lotni (12500ft)- 6kms, 4hr

This portion of the trek was the first day when everyone felt the effects of high altitude. The distance to be traveled was much more than on any of the previous days. We were delayed for a while as the batteries given to the previous day's guide for charging had not been brought back. Finally we started and immediately found that the path was steep in stretches and we faced the real effect of sun as we trekked above the tree line. The scenery got more and more impressive as we got almost a 180 degree view of surrounding snow peaks.

After lunch time, the final climb towards Tila Lotni was difficult for most of us and there were portions where we had to tackle snow. At least two members of our batch were in distress and needed help in reaching Tila Lotni.
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We started from Zirmi, with high spirits and were faced immediately by a steep accent which had us gasping for breath. After about an hour, we reached some high altitude meadows from where spectacular view of snow peaks was visible. We kept on stopping and resting, allowing the rest of the batch to catch up. The guide for the day was not very particular about keeping the batch together and we could come together at a tea break point. We stopped here for quite some time. There was a small waterfall nearby, where we filled our bottles since the lunch point did not have any water. On approach to lunch point we had to tackle the first stretch of snow. This was followed by a steep accent to lunch point.

After lunch we had a dispute with the guide who wanted us to leave the regular trek path and to take a steep shortcut. Actually the guides on the route almost always started selling maggi, eggs, tea etc., at the makeshift shops with the villagers and did not care for time as long as the sale went on. However, as soon as the sale stopped, they were very eager to go on. We insisted on the regular path since the group was already feeling the stress of altitude. The guide relented with bad grace. After another steep accent, we reached a longer stretch of snow. It was here that two members developed signs of acute fatigue and vomiting sensation. They were helped to the camp.

Tila Lotni was cold and windy. We were given soup instead of welcome drink and after a quick dinner we planned to quickly settled in for the night, as we had to wake up early for tackling Sar Pass the next morning. We were told to dress up in the clothes we wanted to wear for the next day's trek and to pack our luggage as far as possible in the evening/ night itself. As we went to sleep, we were filled with excitement at the prospect of finally walking across the highest stretch we were to tackle in this trek.

Day8 : Trek from Tila Lotni (12500 ft) to Biskeri Thatch (11000ft) via SAR Pass (13800ft)- 9km, 6hr

We got a wake up call at 0345 hours and bed tea inside our tents. The kitchen staff was working hard to make our trek successful. We went out with our torches for morning rituals and came back to find our breakfast ready. Packed lunch was a mango drink in tetrapack, a glucose biscuit packet and four mathris. The group got late and we could start at 0520 hours.

The initial part of trek was a steep climb along the ridge line. As the Sun rose, we were greeted with mesmerizing view of golden peaks around us.

We managed to climb up to a point on the ridge where a flag had been put. We rested for a while here, allowing the rest of the batch to cath up. Lot of pictures were taken before we decided to move on.

From here, we were to go on a relatively flatter path, on snow, across a long stretch which had snow. This stretch was tricky as we had to make steps on the slope with our shoes, sidestepping and stomping. Several of us slipped and fell, some of us several times. Good water resistant trekking shoes having large lugs on soles came in handy here, while those wearing sneakers got wet feet and slipped a lot.

 Progress was slow and we stopped repeatedly to allow others to catch up. However, one of the trekkers again had serious problems in walking and as a result, we had to stay at the lunch point for about 2 hours. 

 Here again, a small kitchen had been set up by a villager who serves us with tea, omelettes and maggi. A few young enthusiastic members started sliding and skiing on the slopes around us, standing upright in their shoes! The enthusiasm caught up and soon the number of sliders increased, some standing up and others lying prone on their backsides. A few ponchos came out, to protect the clothes from getting wet. Soon the slopes were full of whoops and laughter. Other members joined up as they reached the lunch point and it was fun all around. However, we were getting late and so we started for the remaining leg of the trek across the snow. We were to cross over a ridge line at a saddle point and then to take a long slide down another snow slope towards our next camp.

 As we slipped and walked our way further, the guide fell back to take care of others who were having problems, leaving a group of 12 members at the head. We decided to pull on and I side kicked and stomped my way across the snow slopes, towards the saddle point. Soon we could hear the guides waiting for us on the saddle who were supposed to escort us beyond that point. The guides who helped us from Tila Lotni till the saddle were to return back.

We struggled up the steep climb up the saddle and waited for an hour, for the remaining batch to catch up. After this wait, we were led to the snow and here, we were asked to abandon our sticks. I had a collapsible trekking pole and I collapsed it and put it inside my backpack. I was the first to slide down and the waist strap on the ruck sack was unclasped before I went down the slope, wearing my waterproof trousers. The journey down was great fun and the entire batch hooted as I caught up speed, The route down had a slight bend in the middle and merely tilting to a side made me change direction. There were a few bumps on the way and finally I came to a rest after almost 700-800 m, losing a good 300-400 feet in altitude. While the remaining batch mates slid down a few more slopes, I had had enough and in any case, I was careful enough, having hurt my knee once on a similar slide on the final days of a Basic Course in Mountaineering, at NIM, Uttarkashi, few years back.

The slide down

 So I walked my way down to below the snow line, where a canteen had been set up by a villager. After spending an hour here and eating some maggi and having tea, we made out way towards Biskeri Thatch. 

This was a long steep slope which was again difficult for us to go down on. Our knees took a hammering and it was tough going. We learned that one more member has hurt his knee ligament and was limping down, supported on both sides by his mates. Finally the entire batch reached Biskeri by 5 pm.

The camp in-charge was very enthusiastic and made us have tea and pakoras. Having reached earlier, I managed to wash up and also managed to wash some clothes. These finally dried up by the time we left Biskeri the next morning.

Two members wanted to leave the next day, going directly to base camp, bypassing Bhandak Thatch. They had an interview for a job. They were permitted to do so, but were told that they will not get a completion certificate unless they touched Bhakdak Thatch on the way down. This would have meant a detour of 5-6 km, to which they declined.

The mood in the camp was upbeat, although all of us were tired. After dinner, we went to sleep, looking forward to Bhandak Thatch the next day, which is called the most beautiful of all the camps.