Trail Running in Garwhal

The Bhagirathi group at the confluence of the Gangotri and  Raktavarna Glaciers

Trip dates: May 27-Jun 1, 2012: Santhosh, Rajeev and I loved our experience at the Annapurna 50K so much that we decided then we would focus on trail running for the foreseeable future, and aim to do running trips in the Himalayas at approximately half-yearly intervals. This trip was the first of those, and included a few others whom we convinced that running up and down mountains can be fun. Some of us stayed on after the running part of the trip to do some leisurely trekking. Here's a report of a breathtaking (in more senses than one) two weeks in the Upper Bhagirathi Valley. 

We trained for this trip for several months. The main thing we did was add a lot of hill workouts to what was largely a full marathon training schedule. For hill workouts in Bangalore, we hit the steps at Kanteerava Stadium every week. Every few weekends, we would drive out of the city, and do repeats (yes, repeats!) on Nandi Hills, Billikal Betta, Savandurga, Narayangiri. We also ran Kumara Parvat in the Western Ghats a couple of times. Those were great weekend trips by themselves, and gave us opportunities to appreciate the geographic diversity of this part of the Deccan Plateau. 

Repeats on Narayangiri near Ramnagaram

Anyway - back to this trip. We all reached New Delhi by various means: Santhosh took the train, and met up with Navin and Vinnie who had reached earlier than the rest of us (Raghu, Manju, Ajay and me). My friend Shweta dropped me off at the Hebbal bus stop after a send off lunch at Ice and Spice --- I was armed with a CPR dummy called "Annie" that I had to hand over to someone from the US embassy at New Delhi Terminal 3, for transport to Ladakh for one of Cynthia Hunt's HEALTH projects. The transaction outside the airport went off smoothly, and Annie turned out to be a guy. Word has it that Annie reached Leh safe and sound. But I digress again. 

Ajay was retrieved from somewhere near the New Delhi Railway Station, from where we piled into two autos and made for Connaught Place. On a recommendation, we headed to Kake Da Hotel, where it's reputation was more than justified by the queues outside. Too hungry to wait, we retreated to the New Delhi Durbar opposite, which turned out some excellent food, demonstrating to us, poor Bangaloreans, what good Mughlai cuisine is all about. 

The overnight ride to Haridwar was uneventful, except for the last minute jitters that Navin and Vinnie provided by reaching the platform seconds before the train left. We had a car waiting for us at Haridwar, where after checking out the train station facilities, we were on our bouncy way to Gangotri, 13 hours, and several aloo paranthas and chai stops away. En route, we picked up Manoj from Dhunda, and had lunch at Uttarkashi and had a happy re-union with Gyan, our friend, philosopher and guide in these parts, all in the company of a few thousand flies. 

Soon after Uttarkashi, the road to Gangotri plunges into deep valleys crowned by the snow peaks of the Bandarpoonch and Gangotri ranges. While the Himalayan scenery was busy unfolding itself outside, inside the jeep, Ajay proceeded to demolish a few mangoes bare-handed, leaving a trail of mango juice in his wake. Seeing all of this, Manju's parantha decided that it had seen enough of his insides, and preferred to be spattered all over the road to Gangotri. 

The approach to Gangotri was unlike my previous experience. This was the start of the pilgrim season, so traffic was backed up for half a mile from the temple town that is "developing" at a ridiculous pace. We waded through the crowds up to Mandakini lodge, past the multitude of trinket shops selling religious accessories ranging from holy water containers to CDs with the latest hits on the bhajan charts. To the left of the only street in Gangotri is a chain of cheap hotels, to the right, after the trinket shops is the furious Bhagirathi. The Mandakini lodge has a steep set of steps to greet you, testing your level of acclimatization. We settled in for the night, grabbed some dinner, had Santhosh dole out the pills, checked all our gear, and hit our beds.

At the Mandakini Lodge, Gangotri. From L2R: Manoj, Raghu, Ajay, Santhosh, Manju, Vinnie, Navin

The next morning, since we planned a late start, we had time to stroll around Gangotri town and have a slow breakfast at the Krishna Cafe, just below Mandakini Lodge. It was Ganga Dussehra, a local festival, so there were thousands of pilgrims up and about, thronging the temple and the ghat. By around 9:30, we were ready to leave (not before Ajay had finished his morning head stand, of course). The trail out of Gangotri towards Chirbasa was slower going than expected, thanks to the altitude, the weight of our packs, and gradual acclimatization. Sudarshan Parbat directly ahead and the Brighupanth group to our right were clearly visible, as was the Bhagirathi group from Chirbasa onwards. We made steady progress, reaching Chirbasa in about 2 hours, and Bhojbasa in about 4.5. We reached late enough that lunch had to be simply Maggi. We camped out in a large tent set up by the GMVN guest house, and spent the afternoon gaping at the sun's fading light on the Bhagirathi peaks. Near the river, we climbed up on to a boulder, from where directly ahead, a couple of miles upstream, we could make out Gaumukh. 

Santhosh and a Bhoj tree. Whither then? I cannot say. 

The next day was an acclimatization day. Raghu beat us all to the sunrise, and was up at 4:30 am to take pictures. We spent the rest of the morning drinking endless cups of tea, walking around the campsite, and then strolled up to the Gaumukh glacier (about an hour's walk). All of us spent some quiet time at this magical place, silenced by the roar of the Bhagirathi, seemingly thrilled at escaping its icy confinement. On the way back Raghu managed to slip and hurt himself a little, something that kept him quite worried through the rest of the day. We returned to the campsite for lunch, and then lazed around, in preparation for the next day. It took team work to prevent Manju from dozing off (a bad idea from an acclimatization standpoint). At the lunch table over several cups of tea we chatted with a local guide named Chandan Chauhan, who told us many tall tales of Kalindikhal and other difficult routes. Our enthusiasm for him was dampened somewhat when he said he charges 1 lakh for a Kalindi trip!  Somewhere through the evening it became evident that the cook and Santhosh simply did not get along, but despite the acrimony, we convinced him (the cook, not Santhosh) to make us some parantha that night itself for us to carry with us the next morning.

Bhagirathi Group, From Bhojbasa

We started at 5:30 am in frigid  conditions. The sky was clear, and it was an invigorating 40-45 minutes run/walk to the Gaumukh temple, where everyone re-assembled. From here on, Manoj was the guide, leading us up and across the treacherous Gangotri Glacier. Every few minutes he would stop and survey the route ahead. He finally picked a straight route, instead of the longer arc that most trekkers take -- given the early hours, the glacier was relatively stable. At one point, Raghu was quite concerned that he saw a stone slip through a crack near his feet, and fall with a "splosh" into water, a disconcertingly long time later. In fact the Bhagirathi is actually an underground river at this point, running along and under the main Gangotri Glacier. So it's always advisable to cross the glacier with a guide who's familiar with it's most stable portions. We trudged past glacial pools, crevasses, and huge ice blocks covered with a veneer of mud. 

Twin peaks of Shivling

The weather was spectacular. Not a cloud was to be seen, and the majestic peak of Shivling against the blue sky was our constant companion as we crept, ant-like, across the giant glacier: here at least a mile wide mess of rocks, ice and gravel, imperceptibly at the mercy of the melting ice beneath, constantly reforming the local geography. No running here! We stuck together, like a train, and 2.5 hours from Bhojbasa, we had completed the glacier crossing, faced only with the final ascent to Tapovan alongside the Akash Ganga falls. We christened this point "Parantha Point", since we felt some nutrition was called for. At 8:15, we started hiking up the left of the falls, crossing it without any trouble about a third of the way up. After another 30 min or so, we rounded the final switchback, and 3.5 hours from Bhojbasa, at 9 am, we had all made to it to that idyllic place --- a meadow of grass and wild flowers, and a gentle stream, backed by the awe-inspiring pinnacle of Shivling; all of this perched a few hundred feet over the most desolate landscape. Tapovan has attracted wildlife and seekers of truth for centuries. Add to that trekkers and trail runners. And Manju, a class apart.

The only Baba we had a close encounter with

We searched in vain for Bangali Mata, but not to be deterred, Manju got himself a darshan with Mauni baba, that possibly had serious repercussions later in the day.  While Manju went on his hunt for salvation, the rest of us hung out on the ridge near the Mata's cave, admiring the expanse all around us. It was a perfect morning, and Tapovan showed off why it's such a special place. In one view, three glaciers, surrounded by majestic himalayan peaks on all sides, including Shivling and Meru behind, and in a huge arc from left to right, Sudarshan Parbat, Chandra Parvat, Bhagirathi I, II and III, KharachKund. To the far right of the field of view, the Gangotri glacier rounds a bend behind which lies its true home, and the Ganga's real origin, the Chaukhamba Massif two of who's four peaks exceed 7000m.

The Akash Ganga stream at Tapovan

At 10 am, we tore ourselves away from the place and started the long scamper down back to Gangotri. On the return we didn't exactly display the team work we saw on the way up. We tumbled down the moraine at our own speeds and reunited at Parantha Point, where a bunch of surely underage Nepali porters were taking a break. Since elder bro Gyan was not around, Manjoj was distinctly more chatty. We learnt he was 26, but had finished Class X only 5 years ago. School had taught him nothing useful. He owns a bike, and had a wrist injury to show for it. He's so tuned to the mountains that he can spend a whole day trekking, and consume only 500 ml of water. In fact, that's all he was carrying. 

Shivling and Meru from Tapovan

The return across the glacier was as tiresome as the way up. We spread apart a little more, but remained under the vigilant watch of Manoj. Once the route became clear and safe, we ran, slid, scrambled our way back to the temple at Gaumukh. Even at our pace, the best we could do was keep up with a Nepali kid, who was carrying at least 20 kg of load, and moving in bathroom slippers. At Gaumukh, Santhosh and I shared some of our food with the Nepali porters, who gladly accepted. (Nepali porters are cheap migrant labor in these parts, and are often underpayed, and not well treated by local guides). 

Glaciers in these parts look like rubble from a bomb blast

After regrouping, we moved on towards Bhojbasa, looking forward to lunch. None of us noticed Manju's uncharacteristic slience. I finally hung back with him, urging him to run the downhills on the way back to camp. He would have none of it, citing extreme fatigue. We reached Bhojbasa around 1:00 pm, and during lunch, we struggled to get Manju to lift his head from the table, or eat a spoonful. Much cajoling later, during which he lifted a white kerchief in a sign of mock surrender, he finally gave in to eating something, and heading back down. 90 minutes later at Chirbasa, Manju was his normal self. Now whether it was Mauni baba's prasad of the that-which-shall-not-be-named variety, or a mild case of AMS, is something we'll never know for certain. 

It took some effort to get Manju to smile!

We took a short break at the Chirbasa shelter, and then ran most of the 8K back to Gangotri. We were back by 6:00 pm, about 3 hours from Bhojbasa, finishing off an eventful 12 hour day, covering about 35 km, and 6000 ft of cumulative elevation change. Dinner was a disaster - Krishna Cafe's service capitulated under pressure from pilgrims and hungry trail runners --- most crucially, Manju never got his Karela Fry. 

Himalayan Blue Sheep are all over the Bhagirathi valley

Next morning, Manoj arranged for a car from his village (mera "bhai") to pick us up from Gangotri. We bundled into his car, and slowly navigated insane traffic leading up to Gangotri and stopped at Dharali for some nashta. Geoff, Srivatsan and I had stayed in this particular "hotel" a couple of years ago, and were given brown water to bathe. Nothing wrong with the water, it was just brown. Nevertheless, this "hotel" serves masala dosa, a rarity in this parts. While we snacked, we met an avuncular retired Colonel, who kept us company with stories about his mountaineering days. Currently, he runs chartered helicopter services to the Char Dham, another worrying sign of unregulated "development" in these parts. The ride from Dharali through Harsil down almost to Uttarkashi was slumberful. At a turn off a few km before Uttarkashi, a dirt road leads up and to the right, towards Sangamchatti. Gyan met us there and rode the remainder of the distance with us. 

Sangamchatti is a small village deep in a gorge, with a hair cutting saloon, a hotel, and not much else. While we waited for lunch, Vinnie got herself a hair cut from the dude who boasted Bachendri Pal among his clientele. The guy initially refused to cut her hair short, so she had to point to Gyan and tell him - "I want that". He obliged, and she emerged a few minutes later looking like a pretty Calvin. 

We started our second trail running adventure of the trip around 2:30 pm, from deep in the Asi Ganga valley among thick foliage, most unlike the desolate landscape of Gangotri. En route we met a lot of decked up local folks, traveling up to Dodital for the Ganga Dussehra festival. The route is initially steep, climbing out from the bowels of the gorge, but then starts hugging the spurs, and gently gains altitude till you reach Agoda, a peaceful village perched hundreds of feet above the snaking river below, with the most perfect rose gardens you can imagine. Ajay, Santosh and I were moving quickly, and reached Agoda in an hour from the trailhead. From here onwards the trail gradually loses elevation for about 2K, turning left into a densely forested nook, carrying a tributary of the Asi Ganga, with the tiny settlement of Bhebra tucked into a corner. 

View of the Asi Ganga, from Agoda

Bhebra was our night halt, where we were in the good hands of Ram Bharose. What Singh Panwar Ki Lodge lacked in terms of hygiene and amenities, Ram-ji made up for in hospitality and warmth. The flies in the upstairs room turned us off a bit, so we opted for sparser, but cleaner accommodation downstairs opening out on to a lawn. Most of us spent the afternoon cleaning up, showering in the freezing cold water, and then settled in for an evening of Uno, where Manju focused all his energy on Santhosh, spitting "Take it"  on a Plus 2, and then meekly apologizing when he realized the victim was me. Ram Bharose cooked up a healthy dinner, while some kids from Singapore sang and danced through the cool, not chilly evening. 

Next morning we woke early. The objective was Dodital, a lake at about 10000 ft, and time permitting, a quick hike up to Darwa Top (a 14000 ft pass that separates the Bhagirathi and Yamuna valleys), and then return to Bhebra. We left Bhebra quite early, at 5:30 am with light packs, since we would return to Bhebra by evening. The trail was fresh, with spider webs still in place. Santhosh had the happy task of clearing the way for us laggards. As the sun rose, Superman-like, he turned on his after burners. I was following him, but lost him quickly. While I was moving fast, I wasn't feeling so good, and was looking forward to the breakfast break. I caught up with him at the "village" of Kocheru, which was really exactly a one shack stop on a bend on the trail, with one charming fellow selling Maggi and "bun omelettes". We wolfed down several of these, and then in good collective spirits, ran/walked our way up to Dodital via Manjhi. Along the way we passed some locals carrying the Ganga deity in a palki, who, rightfully so, admonished us for not moving together. Ajay narrowly escaped worse than that for some misplaced poetic appreciation of the charming good looks of some pahadi women! From about 1.5K before Dodital, where we got free tilaks, it was a gentle downhill, speedy run to the lake. 

Dodital was robbed of its serenity by the Ganga Dussehra festivities

Dodital was bustling with activity: An intense cricket match was in progress on the spare bit of meadow, to a backdrop of really bad singing  from the Ganesha Temple. As with most Hindu festivals, there was lots of color, noise, people, and lots and lots of food. We hastily made our departure for more peaceful environs. The trail to Darwa Top starts half way around the lake, and immediately steeply climbs up a narrow gorge formed by a glacial stream. Several stream crossings later, the scenery opened out. The broad, but steep slope leading to the pass was littered with brilliant flowering trees, and patches of snow. The going got slower and slower the higher we climbed, and Navin and I paired up to slowly push towards the top. We reached around noon, to find Santosh and Manju playing in the snow like kids. 

Bandarpoonch, from Darwa Pass

Darwa Pass (~14000ft) is the watershed between the Gangotri and Yamunotri valleys. From here it's a couple of days walking (or a day's run?) to Yamunotri via Hanuman Chatti. Maybe a possible route for a future 24 hour run? The view from the pass included Bandarpoonch (6316m) and Swargrohini (6252m). We skipped the hike up to Darwa Top, which was another 1.5K away, and practiced glissading on the snow slopes near the pass. Manju managed to glissade right through some mule droppings, and optimistically went around looking for volunteers to help clean him up. As well deserved punishment, Santhosh decided to force Manju to lead the way down. A few prods of his stick later, Manju found himself back at Dodital --- we must have set some record for speed descent from the pass. I for one felt pretty knocked out, and was glad to be back on flat land near the lake. Reunited with Vinnie, we had lunch, not before Manju and Ajay managed to out-shout the Ganesh Temple Pujari, and not before a cricket bat landed on Manju's hind parts thanks to a wild swing from a juvenile Tendulkar. The kid was probably distracted from his immediate objectives by the high brow talk on racism and communism, and the subsequent high decibel argument between the two (but instigated by Navin) on the merits of daal vs sambhar. 

Santosh shows us how to glissade

The rest of the day was a happy run back to Bebra, along familiar trails. We stopped again at the bun omelette place, paid our respects, and bounded along to Ram Bharose's habitat. The evening was spent feverishly bathing in ice cold waters of the glacial run off, followed by some heart warming organic nutrition thanks to Vinnie and Ramji. 

Bun omelette bonhomie

The next day was full of good byes. Vinnie and Navin decided to stay on with Ram Bharose for a couple more days. The rest of us headed down to Uttarkashi where I separated from Ajay, Santhosh, Manju and Raghu, all of whom headed back to Haridwar and then Bangalore. I spent the day in a crummy hotel in Uttarkashi washing clothes and myself, sleeping off the fatigue, updating my diary, chatting with a climber in the dining hall (a most atypical Bengali girl!), reflecting on a week well spent, and wondering what the next week would be like. 

Au revoir, till we meet again.