My last stint in Chitkul where I witnessed the Milky Way
Galaxy in its full glory had left me wanting for more of the stars. In Chitkul,
I had travelled as a tourist, stayed in a hotel stepping down in the night to
capture the sky. My wife being an avid trekker used to keep boasting about the
clear skies and stars during her treks. "You will have to go beyond the
towns and villages to see the stars shine brighter".
I have never been a trek person, I am fit enough to climb
mountains, but I value a hot shower and a cosy bed every night. Hence, I never joined
her for any treks. However, this time I decided, that enough is enough and I
need to try it out. So, i started researching about treks which offer good sky
views starting January. While researching I hit upon this lovely trek in GHNP
called Rangthar-Marahni. That is when it struck me. Last time I was in Tirthan,
I showed the Chitkul milky way snap to a trek guide. He laughed and said
"Agar taare dekhne hai sir to Ranghtar aao". The more I read about
the trek and what it offered, the more I was hooked.
I called up Butts and asked him if wanted to join. He gave
the same reply as every year "Aana to hai mereko yaar, but dekhna
padega". However, after a few calls and back n forth conversations, he
decided to join me. "Last minute kalti mat dena" I told him.
We selected 3 nights in May around the new moon. It was
going to be a total of 6 days for us.
Day1: Fly to Chandigarh, travel to Tirthan and stay
overnight in a hotel.
Day2: Start the trek, spend the night in Rangthar
Day3: Trek and cross Kundri, reach Marahni base camp.
Day4: Summit Marahni peak, start the descent and spend the
night at Rangthar.
Day5: Back to the hotel by evening.
Day6: Travel back to Chandigarh and fly back home.
I called up Pankaj Sood, our trusted friend and advisor in
the Tirthan Valley to book the rooms and trek for us. He was happy to hear back
from me as I have been visiting Tirthan every year during summer. He was
excited about the choice of our trek but also gave me a warning that it is a
relatively tough trek. We had 2 months to prepare, so I was confident that we will
be able to train hard and prepare ourselves.
Butts booked the air tickets and now there was no looking
back. The trip was confirmed. We were going to go for sure!! Woohoooo!!
Day 1
We started the trip on Thursday morning. We reached Pune
airport at 5.45, where I was met with a pleasant surprise. Buts had upgraded
the tickets to Premium Economy. I am generally thrifty as compared to Butts who
is usually more lavish. The “Premium” tickets came with extra leg room and
excellent breakfast within the flights. Luckily the flights were on time too
and we reached Chandigarh at 1.00 pm.
Our cab driver was waiting for us, and we started our road journey without any further delay. Google maps showed the journey to be 6 hours, but the driver that we would take 8 as the roads near Tirthan were not good. We passed by fields of gold in Punjab, what a magnificent plateau. Had lunch at Manjeet’s which is a popular eatery and proceeded to Himachal. The landscape changed as we entered the new state. The never-ending plateau gave way to tall peaks, gorgeous valleys and winding roads. We crossed Sunder Nagar and Mandi and turned right for Tirthan. So far, we were doing good on time, and I was hopeful of reaching the hotel by 7, but as we left the NH, the roads became extremely bad. There were places where our driver struggled to get the car going on steep ascents due to many potholes. Plus, it started getting dark, so we proceeded slowly with caution and finally reached our destination “Gushaini” at 8.15 pm. The first thing that greeted us was the cool breeze which was a delightful change, the second was the gurgling Tirthan river next to the property. I was super happy.
We were greeted at the hotel by Panki bhai, who gave us instructions
about the trek prep and assigned us a cosy room. There was an amazing dinner
buffet, which we hogged like pigs. Panki bhai’s place has the most delicious
meals. The kitchen is overseen by her wife who ensures that they serve only
quality hot fresh Indian food.
Panki gave us another pleasant surprise when he announced that
we would be accompanied by Sanchit, an avid photo/videographer who would
capture the moments of the trek and convert it into a promotional youtube video
for the upliftment of tourism in the area.
The hotel manager came and checked our trek stuff that we
had to carry the next day. He gave us a thumbs up after going through all
details. We retired to bed early, as a long day awaited us tomorrow.
Day 2
We woke up to the chirping of birds in the morning and soaked in the river view, the tall mountains and the fresh unpolluted morning air. We had piping hot breakfast which again was amazing where we met Sanchit. He came across as a jolly, smart guy who had relocated to Tirthan from Indore a couple of years back. Post breakfast we got ready to leave for the trek by 9.45. Our guide was Hardesh Kumar already ready too with his crew. There were a total of 9 men to accompany us. They would be carrying tents, food, and other gear needed for survival in the wild.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
We got into a mini truck and set off for Pekhri which we reached around 10.45. Just for reference Pekhri is situated at 2100m above sea level. Our goal for the day was to reach Rangthar which is a meadow on top of a mountain perched at 2900m. One the way we would cross Lakcha village which is approximately at 2500m. This is where we would have lunch.
We started the ascent slowly and steadily. Stone steps laid out
by villagers gave way to rocky trails and every 15 mins the landscape started getting
better. We crossed fields, apple orchards, apricot trees and took breaks to soak
in the views. There was only one distant mountain with slow covered peaks that
was visible from here. It was looking breathtaking even from a distance, I secretly
wished that we would go closer towards it during the next two days.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Halfway up, we enjoyed packed lunch at the lakcha village after which the trail got steeper. The sky was overcast, the wind was howling and we could see rain clouds following us. However barring a few drops here and there, it didn’t rain much. Sanchit was leaving no stone unturned to capture our ascent and the views around us with his mirrorless DSLR. I was worried that if the sky didn’t clear up, we would not be able to see the stars that night.
We reached the Rangthar campsite around 4.30pm and I was
mesmerized by the view from there. Though it was still overcast and the temperature
was under 10 degrees, the visibility was ok and we could see the GHNP snow
mountains in full glory. We just sat there admiring the beauty for the next
hour or so while the crew set up the tents and served hot tea and maggi. By 6pm
by the grace of God, the sky started clearing up and by 7pm there was not a
single cloud. It was totally clear; we were in for a treat!! Such is the
unpredictability of the mountains; no one knows how the weather will behave
after 4 hours.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
As the sun set, first Venus and then Jupiter came into full
view. Shining bright, making their presence felt in the other naked sky. We
finished our dinner in a hurry to ensure that we were fully prepared to enjoy
the stars. By 9 pm, we could see a million stars and by 10pm we could see a gazillion.
But the star of the show “The milky way” was not visible yet. Using the sky guide
app, we came to know that we would get a good view post 11 pm, so we stayed
awake, bantering away, killing time and enjoying the sky.
Around 11, we saw the faint outline of the cloudy milky way
galaxy. by 11.30, it was up in its full glory, but I was not very happy as
there was ambient light due to the villages below. Due to which, the view was
slightly hazy. However, we clicked pictures using our iPhone and Sanchit’s DSLR.
The photos came out to be terrific though (despite the ambient light). Around
12 we retired to our tents, snug into our sleeping bags looking forward to the
next day.
.jpeg)
Surprise visitor to our camp was a white-tailed fox, who
observed us from a distance and then ran away.
Clear sky, crisp mountain air, dew on the grass awaited us the next morning. What a fantastic view to and feeling to wake up to. Today was going to be the toughest day of the trek. We had to make it to Marahni campsite which is at 3500m. On the way we would have to cross the Kundri Peak which is at 3350 feet, then descent a bit into the Kundir meadow and go uphill again.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
We stopped for having our packed lunch after crossing the Kundir
meadow on a ridge which provided amazing views all around. Post lunch, the
weather suddenly changed and it became overcast with a light drizzle. Though
the rain wasn’t enough to make us wet, the accompanying cold breeze was spine
chilling. Finally after an arduous journey we reached the Marahni campsite around
3.30 pm.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Sanchit was not up yet, so we called out to him multiple
times, but he seemed to be in deep sleep. The tripods and DSLR were with him. Stupid
iphone doesn’t let you take a 30 second exposure without tripod. ☹
After trying to wake him up for few mins, we gave up. Gave the sky a good final
look and went back to sleep.
Day 4 and 5.
Again, woke up to a crisp clear cloudless sky with the sun beating down on us at 6 am. Had quick breakfast. Today’s goal was to summit Marahni which is at 3700m and then start the descent to Rangthar campsite. The ascent to the peak was pretty steep and we had to zigzag our way carefully to the top. Progress was extremely slow and the air was thinner too. After around 90 mins or so, we reached the top.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Butts declared that this was the most beautiful place he had
been to in his life and let me tell you, Butts has been to New Zealand,
Australia, USA, etc. Nothing comes close to the Himalayas. The grandeur, the sheer
size, the expanse, it is surreal. Peak, after peak after peak, it was only the
Himalayas, nothing else. We sat there for a good hour while Sanchit made some
videos using the drone.
Around 11.30 we started our descent. This is when I realized
that I am afraid of heights 😊. Progress was slow, the guide helped us a
lot. After 45 mins or so, we were off the peak and back to the trails where it
was easier to walk. Or we though so. The descent was brutal. We didn’t realize
that it was this tough while going up, but no every step was a blow to the knees
and toes. After countless steps and some missteps and with tired legs we
reached Rangthar campsite again.
We airdropped photos and videos, chatted like crazy, had a
fun dinner and slept off with a sense of achievement. Something that has been
lacking in our lives for a while now. This summit was a big deal for Butts and
me. I was so happy that everything turned out well.
Next morning, we trekked three hours to reach Pekhri and
another hour to reach the hotel.
This is a lifetime memory; one we are proud of and we will
cherish to the end of our days!
Heartfelt "thank you" to :
1.
Butts: for accompanying and fighting it out in
the truest of spirits
2.
Our guides Hardesh and SherSingh: For assisting us
when we acted like kids. The rest of the crew for spoiling us for choices by serving mouthh watering delicious food everytime and taking care of the tent logistics.
3.
Sanchit: for making it memorable by capturing
our moments, we met as strangers and departed as friends.
4.
Panki Bhai for making all the arrangements
5.
Our respective better halves who supported us so
that we could make this trip.
6.
The Gods for blessing us with good weather throughout
